AustLit

'Whatever happens, don't bleed...

'What should have been a breeze of a bank heist for James Glenn and his crew goes violently wrong, forcing them to flee, blood-stained and angry. They stumble onto a remote lodge that doesn’t open for another month—a perfect place to lie low until the heat’s off.

'Except it’s occupied.

'The Moore family, just arrived to prepare for the season, are taken hostage by the criminals, but not without bloodshed. And when blood gets spilled, something ancient notices. Something malevolent. Something ravenous.

'Their only hope is the youngest Moore, teenager Rueben, outside and unseen when James and his gang arrive. It’s up to Rueben to get help and save his family, but the influence of the ancient evil is taking a toll on him as well…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Olivia has been missing for months. Her family have tried to accept that perhaps she’ll never be found, and they’ll never know what happened. So when her brother Craig unexpectedly receives a stack of letters from Liv, all written not long after her disappearance, he’s both excited and frightened. Reading through her correspondence, Craig begins to get a sense of where she was, but he still doesn’t know where she is now, or if she’s still alive. Using what clues he can from the old letters, Craig sets off with his partner and his father to find Olivia, hoping for the best, fearing the worst.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Damnation Games is a smart and scary anthology of crime and mystery stories all with a supernatural or horror bent. From heists interrupted by ghosts and gangster organisations infiltrated by monsters to cops investigating inexplicable crimes and PIs dragged into occult madness - these mysteries will chill you to the bone.

'The anthology, from Clan Destine Press, showcases the breadth and depth of modern dark fiction writing in a collection of stories from some of the biggest names in the horror world, including international bestsellers and award winners.

'Within these pages you'll find tales of theft and murder, of crooked cops and honest cons, of the lengths some people will go, and through them all lurks a shadow of the weird, the cosmic, the supernatural, the unexplainable. Do you dare engage in these Damnation Games?

'Damnation Games features 18 all-new stories by a crew of acclaimed dark fiction writers including Kaaron Warren, Aaron Dries, Joanne Anderton, Dan Rabarts, Maria Lewis, Robert Hood, Alan Baxter, Gemma Files, Gemma Amor, Kyle Lee Ward, Philip Fracassi and more. Many of the contributors are finalists or winners of various awards including the Aurealis, the Ditmar, the Australian Shadows, and the Bram Stoker.' (Publication summary)

'Something old and deadly has awoken.

'When two teenagers go missing from the small, rural town of Sallow Bend, the residents come together to search for them. Little do they suspect that finding the wayward girls will be the start of their problems. An old evil is rising, and only one man seems to realize that everyone is in danger and this is not the first time it’s happened. With the carnival in town, people want to have a good time, but for many, this will be the worst time of their lives.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The isolated Australian harbour town of Gulpepper is not like other places. Some maps don’t even show it. And only outsiders use the full name. Everyone who lives there calls it The Gulp. The place has a habit of swallowing people.

'A man enjoying early retirement makes the mistake of visiting The Gulp.

'A fishing boat crew find themselves somewhere entirely unexpected.

'A farmer has an argument with his wife that turns violent and then entirely catastrophic.

'A Venture Scout troop from Enden travel a little too far on their bush excursion.

'Everything that’s been getting stranger than usual in The Gulp begins to run completely out of control.

'Five more novellas. Five more descents into darkness.

'Welcome to The Gulp, where nothing is as it seems.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The world's greatest theme park has a new main attraction!

'When on old friend calls for help, Sam Aston returns to the home town he tried to leave behind. It soon becomes apparent there is something loose in the rainforest, and everybody wants a piece of it. Aston and adventure television show host, Jo Slater, find themselves in a race against local criminal elements, environmental extremists, and mysterious mercenaries to find the creature before it kills again. Sam enlists the aid of his old rival, park ranger Rusty Crews, and Ned King, a naturalist with a flair for self-promotion, who would like nothing better than to find the perfect main attraction for Crocalypse, his new bio theme park.

'Crocalypse - An action-packed monster thriller with bite!' (Publication summary)