Mark Matthews

Meet Macon. Tattoo artist. Athlete. Family man. He's planning to run a marathon, but the event becomes something terrible. During a warm-up run, Macon falls prey to a bizarre man and his wife who dwell in an underground drug-smuggling tunnel. They raise their twin children in a way Macon couldn't imagine: skinning unexpecting victims for food and money. And Macon, and his family, are next.

A grieving mother must learn the secrets of their beloved lake to save her daughter's soul."Deep, disturbing, and beautifully rendered."—Christa Carmen, Bram Stoker Award winning author of The Daughters of Block Island—Preorder and save 40%— When Jewel Jordan dies from cancer, her father's wish is to scatter the ashes inside their beloved Torch Lake. But after the grieving mother hears her daughter's voice coming from inside the urn, how can she let the ashes go?  Especially after a mysterious pastor believes her claim and promises to reunite her with her daughter's soul. Who should she listen to?  Even creatures from the lake whisper to her at night, pleading for the remains of her daughter. Who can she trust?  Nobody knows the truth and the bargain she struck that led to her daughter's death. Now she has to fight to save her child's soul, and the Lake holds the answers. But the lake is cold, the truth is deep, and it will take the ultimate sacrifice, for...The Lake Speaks Most Honestly to Those Willing to Drown.

Addiction starts like a sweet lullaby sung by a trusted loved one. It washes away the pains of the day and wraps you in the warmness of the womb where nothing hurts and every dream is possible. Yet soon enough, this warm state of bliss becomes a cold shiver, the ecstasy and dreams become nightmares, yet we can't stop listening to the lullaby. We crave to hear the siren song as it rips us apart. Six stories: three novellas, three novelettes, written by a powerful list of talent, all featuring the insidious nature of addiction--damaged humans craving for highs and wholeness but finding something more tragic and horrific on the other side. FEATURING: Caroline Kepnes author of You and Hidden Bodies Kealan Patrick Burke, author of Sour Candy and Kin Mercedes M. Yardley, author of Pretty Little Dead Girls John F.D. Taff, author of The Fearing Mark Matthews, author of Milk-Blood Gabino Iglesias, author of Coyote Songs

"My soul's bliss kills my body, but does not satisfy itself." ~Emily Bronte Addiction is the perpetual epidemic, where swarms of human moths flutter to the flames of hell. Because that warm blanket of a heroin high, that joyful intoxication of a pint of vodka, that electric energy from a line of cocaine, over time leaves you with a cold loneliness and a bitter heart. Relationships destroyed, bodies deteriorate, loved ones lost, yet the craving continues for that which is killing us—living, as the title suggests, like an Orphan of Bliss. Welcome to the third and final fix of addiction horror and the follow up to the Shirley Jackson Award Finalist, Lullabies For Suffering. A diverse table of contents brought together for an explosive grand finale-an unflinching look at the insidious nature of addiction, told with searing honesty but compassion for those who suffer. *Table of Contents includes: Kealan Patrick Burke Cassandra Khaw Josh Malerman S.A. Cosby John FD Taff Christa Carmen Gabino Iglesias Samantha Kolesnik Mark Matthews Kathe Koja *The three Addiction Horror anthologies, Garden of Fiends, Lullabies for Suffering, and Orphans of Bliss, do not have to be read in order and are not sequential.

Grief, depression, loneliness, suicide. Prepare to be taken by the hand to explore the darkest of human emotions and fears. Stories about those of us who have had too much and cry out desperately for help, begging for relief, asking of anyone who might listen—Let Me Out I've Had Enough. The first collection of shorts from Mark Matthews, the author of novels such as Milk-Blood, The Hobgoblin of Little Minds, and the Shirley Jackson Award Nominated editor of Lullabies for Suffering. Stories range from the most basic horrors to the most cosmic. A father dangling from a noose after an attempted hanging gone wrong. A psychiatrist haunted by the spirits of his dead ex-patients. An alien woman must contract a virus to save the human race, and a father must sacrifice his life to do the same. You'll visit eight different worlds, created by the 'master of modern psychological horror,' and after you've returned to where you began, you'll arrive completely safe, but certainly not the same. *Content Warning for frequent mentions of suicide* Includes the previously published work 'Body of Christ', new fiction set within the world of the author's novel The Hobgoblin of Little Minds and multiple other pieces of never before published fiction.

Kori Persephone Driscoe suffered through her dad's mental illness. All she wanted was for him to get better, but instead he disappeared. Kori trespasses into the abandoned Northville Psychiatric Hospital, the last place her dad was treated, seeking solace and traces of his memory. What she finds instead is something no longer human living deep in the underground tunnels. During the last days of the hospital, a rogue psychiatrist had been manipulating the mood swings of the mentally ill, transforming patients into savage, manic creatures who seek justice by the light of the full moon. When the creatures hunt for prey, only an escaped patient and her beloved child can help Kori survive. But they better act fast, because the creatures want blood, Kori wants to save her dad, and the whole hospital is about to be blown to pieces and bury Kori alive.