JERSEY GHOULS
A.L. Sirois
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Azure Spider Publications
Publication Date: June 15, 2018
Publisher: Azure Spider Publications
Publication Date: June 15, 2018
A disabled cop and his ex battle giant centipedes and ghouls in a small riverside community that's about to be flooded out.
The rain-drenched riverside town of Sherwood's Landing, NJ is invaded by a species of centipede from Central America armed with psychedelic venom. Former cop Lafferty "Hoff" Hoffman and his ex-girlfriend Beatrice St. John are swept into terror as their neighbors are enslaved by a centipede-generated group mind. Those remaining free must band together to survive the onslaught of ravenous ghouls.
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Follow the book tour from July 11 - 24, 2018.
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Shortly after 5:30 AM, Eduardo Diaz, the breakfast cook at Gabby’s Diner in Sherwood’s Landing, pedaled his old bicycle north along Route 29 in the rain. He didn’t mind the rain, especially in the summertime. He liked the way it sounded in the trees. His poncho flapped around him as he rode and he whistled through his teeth along to a tune on his iPod. He lived in a rented room outside of Stockton and rode his bike to work most days. Once he got to the diner he’d towel off, get the grill going, and fry himself up a couple of eggs. People would be in around six and he’d be all ready for them, with home fries on the grill and the coffeemaker’s pots full: one regular, one decaf.
A car came up from behind, but he stayed where he was in the road. Most drivers gave cyclists a much wider berth than was necessary, so Eduardo wasn’t concerned. Sure enough, the car passed way on the other side of the road, well into the opposite lane. Some moments later another car did the same. He didn’t recognize the vehicles; commuters, he figured. No sight-seers in this weather, and it was too early in the day for tourists. Both vehicles disappeared around the curve ahead, and he thought nothing more about them until he rounded the curve, too, and spotted brake lights flicker about half a mile ahead. The cars had stopped.
Moments later he knew why. A tree across the road completely blocked it.
“This is balls.” The drivers milled around outside their cars, but in the rain he couldn’t quite make out what they were doing. Were they going around one side of the tree?
Gonna drag it off the road. Nah, it’s too big for that. Well, he could pitch in. Three guys might manage it.
By the time he had coasted up to the tree a few moments later, the drivers were nowhere to be seen. The cars were still running. Their exhaust plumes drifted through the humid air. Eduardo coughed and waved his hand to dispel the fumes, then moved a little to one side, frowning.
Where were those guys? He couldn’t hear them talking, but they weren’t making any effort to clear the road. Under his poncho he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and got ready to dial 911 to report the tree fall. He put one foot up on the wet tree trunk while he fumbled for his phone. He noticed that no roots were visible at the bottom of the trunk.
“¿Que mierda?” The tree hadn’t fallen; it had been sawn, cut down deliberately. Before he had time to ponder this, two enormous centipedes erupted from the foliage. He screamed, dropped his cell phone, and turned to flee. Two men with bloody faces and arms pushed out of the dripping woods to watch the struggle. One of them picked up Eduardo’s phone. He looked at it in mild curiosity then threw it, hard, down on the road, where it shattered.
Eduardo crossed himself as he ran. It didn’t help.
A.L. Sirois is a writer, developmental editor, graphic artist and a performing musician. His publication career began in 1973 with the appearance of the short-short story "War Baby" in Fantastic. (It would be called "flash fiction" nowadays.) He has gone on to have fiction in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Fantastic, Amazing Stories, and Thema, and online at Electric Spec, Mystery Weekly, Every Day Fiction and Flash Fiction Online, among other publications. His story "In the Conservatory," from Thema, was nominated for the Pushcart Prize. In addition to JERSEY GHOULS, other Sirois works include a children's book, DINOSAUR DRESS UP (Tambourine Press / William Morrow), a graphic novel, THE ENDLESS INCIDENT (2014), and a fantasy novel, THE BOHEMIAN MAGICIAN, published in 2017.
As an artist, he has hundreds of drawings, paintings and illustrations to his credit. Al has contributed comic art for DC, Marvel, and Charlton, and has scripted for Warren Publications. He wrote and drew "Bugs in the System" for witzend #12, the famous comics fanzine started by for MAD artist Wally Wood. He lives in Rockingham County, North Carolina with his wife and occasional collaborator, author Grace Marcus. Together they are writing a Young Adult novel set in ancient Egypt.
WIN FREE BOOK AND MORE
Prizes up for grabs:
1. Print Copy of Jersey Ghouls by A.L. Sirois
2. Color Rough of the book cover, painted in acrylics on illustration board
3. Drawing of the book cover on tracing paper
4. Drawing of the book cover on layout bond paper
2. Color Rough of the book cover, painted in acrylics on illustration board
3. Drawing of the book cover on tracing paper
4. Drawing of the book cover on layout bond paper
Contest runs from June 15 - July 24, 2018.
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