Excerpt + Giveaway Of Not Before Bed by Craig Hallam
Not long ago, Craig Hallam recently released his short story anthology, Not Before Bed, into a paperback edition. This version of the book contains several new stories that have been added that were not apart of the previous version.
This anthology is a mix of horror and speculative fiction short stories – stories that are intriguing, provocative, and unique. You’re sure to enjoy what the book has to offer. I know I did!
To commemorate the recent release of this new version of the book, we’re offering you a complete excerpt of one of the stories found within the anthology.
In addition to that, we’re also offering a giveaway of 5 free PDF copies of the book. To enter the giveaway, just fill out the appropriate boxes in the form below. This giveaway will run starting today, November 12, 2011, and will continue until the 11:59 pm EST of the 20th of November, 2011.
Good luck to all the entrants. I hope you all enjoy the excerpt that I share with you all today. Many thank you’s to Craig Hallam for allowing me to offer you the excerpt and the 5 copies for the giveaway.
March of the Broken
Unsteadily I take to my crippled feet, make my first shambling step.
Survey the carnage. The ground is slick with scarlet and I drag my reluctant toes through the gore unsure of my destination. The silence is maddening. I can not feel myself as I move, propelled forward by preternatural will, but I can feel the hunger. It rises in my dulled mind with insatiable ferocity that catcalls and jeers to only me.
There are more, so many now. We move in shuffling unison, a broken battalion, an exodus of the hungry.
And there are the others. They move so swift, and always away.
Please. Don’t leave me.
My voice sounds so morose and the words merge into a single hollow syllable. Some of them cover their ears as I plead in vain.
Only in the earliest morning has the city ever been so still. There is a dreadful tension in the chill air. The buildings themselves seem to quiver with the effort of remaining still. There is a vacuum caused by the holding of mortal breath as I wander by.
A sound. It catches my instinctual ear and I am drawn.
My tattered hands scratch ineffectually at their walls, their doors. They plead like prisoners, afraid of their guards. They beg me to leave them alone. I can hear them from behind their barriers of brick and wood. They think them impenetrable. Nothing is more timeless than me. I am beyond the grasp of Time and Death. Not your bricks, not your wood, not your fragile lives can withstand my patient hunger.
I wait. Outside.
There is a press of bodies without people. Torsos and limbs held together by force of habit. We jostle and sway in the dark, our senses strained toward one inescapable goal. There is movement and the mob flows with wilted vigour. A sorrowful lament rises from our swelling ranks.
I am here. Can you not see me? Help me.
Let me inside. I’m so alone and the world hurts my insomniac eyes.
Sometimes they shriek and writhe in my arms. They beat at me like a beast, thrash and struggle. The thick taste of tin as it jets against my palette or the wet crunch of flesh is all that I ask for. Yet, they are so reluctant.
So warm. I just want to be warm.
I see you, a face from the locked vault of my mind. Your hair, I remember, it felt as if I were touching a dream. I knew you before. There was something before the stained shirt. There was something before your face was so cold and scarred with tear tracks. You know me. Who am I now, that you see me with such loathing? There was love there once.
A whisper as you raise the rifle to your shoulder.
Yes. That was my name.
You say you’re sorry.
Please, please.
Book Blurb: A collection of dark tales to tingle your spine and goose your bumps. While reading, you’ll encounter tentacle pods, bogeymen, dark gods; vamps, zombies, werewolves and Things with No Name.
Barricade your door. Say goodbye to your loved ones. Check behind the curtains and in the wardrobe. But don’t read it alone, and definitely Not Before Bed.
Book Reviews: “I read the opening section IN BED! Thanks for that sleepless night!” – Michelle Green
“I love the twisted little stories of [Craig Hallam’s] imaginings. Whether the tale is deliciously creepy or falls into the realm of the downright wierd, each one will leave you turning page after page into the wee hours of the morning.” D.H. Nevins
About The Author: By day Craig is a mild mannered Nurse from Doncaster, UK. By night (or any time he gets a few minutes to himself) he writes fiction. While he loves to write anything that pops into his head, his horror stories and darker material have gained him the most accolade. He’s been tackling short stories since late 2008. Since then his credits have included New Horizons (The British Fantasy Society), Murky Depths and the anthologies of Misanthrope Press and Pill Hill Press. Not Before Bed is a collection of his horror stories with some old favourites and newer work thrown together. His first novel, a Gothic Fantasy called Greaveburn, is finally finished, and he’s waiting patiently for someone to take it on. While all this is happening, he’s working on his next novel which is a zombie fairy story about a little dead girl wandering the world after our own.
Connect With Him Online:
Twitter: @craighallam84
Email: craighallam@live.com
Website/Blog: http://craighallam.wordpress.com
Purchase info: Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Not-Before-Bed-Craig-Hallam/dp/1466420235
