Coming Summer of 2023: Deeds of Our Fathers

This summer, an astonishing anthology filled with stories by writers you may know, and others you may not. From seasoned noir experts like Troy Lambert and Vincent Zandri to newcomers like C.S. Kajar and James T. Lambert, you;” find a story that scares you, touches you, or just plain creeps you out. Stay tuned for updates!

An Excerpt from New Beginning by Troy Lambert

The light scattered the shadows from every corner of the tiny room. A sixty-watt bulb would have done the trick, but Daddy liked hundred watt-ers.

“No sin can hide in this room! Lord be praised for the gift of electricity!” His bulk filled the door frame. I squinted against the light.

Daddy moved deliberately. A shuffle hindered his typically agile gait.

“You are a sinner!” he declared. My voice hid in the back of my throat. My chin bobbed in a nod.

The stack of Playboys had fueled his rage like kerosene on a fire. My mattress lay bare and flat on the floor, sans frame.

“A filthy, filthy sinner!” Daddy’s right boot dragged on the floor as he stepped forward. It had never done that before.

My eyes adjusted. Daddy’s right eye looked red and oozed puss. His right lower eyelid drooped onto his cheek, his cheek drooped onto his chin. The flesh on that side of his skull appeared to be sliding off.

Something was wrong with Daddy. Arguably, something was always wrong with Daddy. Today it was physical.

From Pathological by Vincent Zandri

“I’d like permission to marry your lovely daughter,” I smile.

 “Over my dead body,” shouts the convertible sofa bed king inside the wood-paneled study of his country mansion.

Exactly, I think. Over your dead body.

Here’s what I do in the angry, ugly face of rejection: I bite down hard on my bottom lip, shift my gaze to the fire roaring in a fireplace large enough for a full-grown man to stand inside. There, proudly displayed on the railroad crosstie mantle above it, a gold-framed family portrait captured in vivid oils: the old man seated between his wife (now deceased) on one side and his beautiful golden-haired daughter on the other—my future matrimonial prospect.

Stay tuned for more excerpts, author bios, and more!