Take a trip to the carnival. Waft in the overwhelming aroma of hot dogs, kernel corn, and caramel apples. Lick sticky cotton candy off your fingers.

Do you enjoy the lights and excitement that come with the vibrant fair?

Imagine now that the earth and sky turn dark. The tents and rides are worn, torn, and hum a wicked song.

Welcome to The Dark Carnival – a place full of eerie chills and frightful screams.

Last Halloween, bloggers Pen & Muse hosted a thrilling themed story and illustration share of the horror variety. The theme—The Dark Carnival. Each day of October was filled with frightening art and stories. This October the complete collection with be available via The Dark Carnival Anthology. Sound interesting? Add it to your To-Be-Read list on GoodReads! Watch for its arrival on Amazon soon!

Interested in helping us get the word out? Sign up to be part of the cover reveal and Book Blitz at Pen & Muse. Your help is truly appreciated!

Dark Perceptions began as a short that can be found in this collection under the name Perceptions. Starting at a mere 2900 word story, it blossomed and twisted into a full 14,000 novelette. A novelette that you will find available on Amazon before the year is up!

~Excerpt~

 Breathe.

Just breathe.

A shiver swept through me. The night’s brisk breeze not to blame. I laid that squarely upon the ride standing before me. A deeply rooted prejudice festering in my belly. One seeded a lifetime ago and since, reinforced tenfold. I didn’t like carnival rides. Hated them, actually. Especially fast ones, flipping ones, twirling ones, spinning ones, and tumbling ones. Anything tempting the laws of physics. I straightened my shoulders, dug my heels in, and shoved my courage to the forefront.

 Tonight was different. The tragic events of the Claytonville disaster would not be relived. The past was behind me. I wasn’t going to think about sixth grade, all the people I had known, or the Zipper taking a flying leap into the crowd. There were no repeats, and a silly whirl and twirl wasn’t going to get the best of me.

Pull it together, Sara.

 Breathe, breathe, breathe.

Would you like to follow a month of chilling stories and illustrations? This year the theme at Pen & Muse is The Haunted House.

Doesn’t that get your imagination churning? Check out the details and watch for the coming onslaught of horror!

Do you enjoy shocking stories? How about short reads? Share some of your favorites. We love hearing from you!

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Members of the monthly letter got to see the Dark Perceptions cover over two months ago! Register today and become part of the inner circle. Get informed early on big events, receive early sneak peeks and privy information that only registered members have access to. I’d like to hear from you. Know what you’d like to see in upcoming issues.  Drop me a line or post to my author’s page. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for stopping by! I truly appreciate your support.

Until next time, immortally yours.

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