Need help wrapping up the Christmas shopping?

We made it past the Mayan Doomsday, but your personal D-DAY is just around the corner because Christmas is here and you haven’t finished your shopping.

Maybe your significant other has everything she (or he) needs; perhaps you need a little token gift for a coworker or casual friend; possibly you just procrastinated and now you’re up a creek without a paddle (or perhaps you just want to treat yourself to a little electronic stocking stuffer).

Ever thought about e-gifting a book? It’s inexpensive, you don’t have to worry about on-time delivery (in fact, delivery is FREE), and it’s just a cool 21st-century thing to do.

You can give an e-book to anyone who has a valid e-mail address, and they don’t even need to own a Kindle to read your gift. For complete information on how to e-gift a book, visit giving an e-book, then check out my offers here:

For the suspense lover who has a little romance in them, might I suggest my novel CLAIMING MOON? It’s a riveting, fast-paced murder mystery with a serving of humor, a healthy dose of romance, and a little bit of the macabre. And it’s just $3.99 deliverable to a Kindle or Kindle reading device.

For horror lovers, I offer HOLIDAY HORROR, a $1.49-short story collection (five tales) built around three of my favorite holidays – Halloween, Christmas and New Years. I won’t give any of the tales away, but I will say this: You’ll never look at Christmas angels the same again, you’ll think long and hard about setting any more New Year’s resolutions, and come next October you might be a little more hesitant about visiting any of the seasonal haunted houses that spring up around your community.

And if you’re looking for something for the zombie lover in your life (who’s probably having Walking Dead withdrawals), I have a brutal short story that fills the bill, and at 99 cents SUMMER’S END is affordable for everyone.

Last, I offer a story for the lover of old books – you know, those things that used to be printed on paper, with a cover and everything. Think older, collectable books are great? You might not after reading THE JOURNAL, for just 99 cents.

Just click on any of those titles to order, or visit my author page at Amazon.com for additional choices.

If you purchase any of my work, I hope you (or the one for whom you buy it) get great enjoyment.

And most of hall, have a Merry Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by.

Finally - Dark Secret of Warren Home available for your reading chills

I’m nearly two days late (and always a dollar short) with this posting, but THE DARK SECRET OF WARREN HOUSE, the fourth story in my Nine Weeks of Halloween Horror series, is now live at Amazon.com.

Here’s the little book blurb I’ve posted at Amazon: Kevin Franks has been fascinated – no, obsessed – with a large vacant home at the edge of Warrentown ever since moving to the small North Carolina town. Everyone has a different story about the structure, but two things he learns is that Warren House is ancient, perhaps the earliest structure built in the 300-year-old town, and the townspeople believe it is the center of their existence.

Kevin is thrilled when he is invited to attend a Yuletide Gathering at the home and has a chance, hopefully, to get some answers about the house and why it is so important to the folks who live in Warrentown. He also has a fantasy come true when librarian Marcia Jones reciprocates a long-simmering flame he’s carried for her. Together, they learn an awful, ancient secret about Warren House, and that knowledge may carry an eternal price.

Warren House is a thrilling tale of dark secrets and ancient evil. It is the fourth story in the Nine Weeks of Halloween Horror series.

And here’s what a few readers have said about WARREN HOUSE: "Very cool haunted house story…is Shirley Jackson meets Lovecraft…very entertaining read."

"Plays out like a Twilight Zone episode."

"This felt a lot like a gothic ghost story. It would have been good if it was just a ghost story. But the introduction of something else living in the house was a nice twist that made the story truly original."

Of course, the first three stories in the series, SUMMER’S END, PATRON SAINT, and THE JOURNAL, are all still live, and each of the stories is available for 99 cents.

A few readers have been downloading the stories, and that traffic seems to have picked up over the past week or so. One even wrote me to say how much he enjoyed THE JOURNAL, and another left a 4-star review in which he called parts of THE JOURNAL sadistic—but in a good way, of course.

If you haven’t downloaded any of the stories yet, now that the weather is turning cool and autumn is here, this would be a perfect day, or evening, for a creepy read. And while I like all of the stories, if I had to offer you just one or two, I’d suggest downloading either THE JOURNAL or PATRON SAINT. Of course, any of them will give you more than a few chills.

John Peters is author of the murder mystery romance novel CLAIMING MOON, available now for download to your Kindle. Don’t have a Kindle? No sweat – you can download a free Kindle reading app right here.

Cool weather, shorter days, and some scary stories

Ah, it’s finally here. The cool weather – our high yesterday was 72, 74 today, and last night the temperature dropped to a very autumn-like 52 – making it feel as if fall has officially arrived, even if the calendar says we have a few days of summer.

Yesterday while doing a bit of grocery shopping I even saw a big Halloween display, complete with life-size skeleton in one chair, and a skull that’s twice the size of Herman Munster’s head in another spot. There’s a field near my house, one I pass every day on my way to and from work, and it’s now dotted with hundreds – maybe thousands – of pumpkins nearing harvest time.

Yep, summer’s over and autumn is upon us, and it’s now really feeling like time for a few scary stories. I’m a day late posting this, but THE JOURNAL, my second release in the NINE WEEKS OF HALLOWEEN series, is now live and ready for you to download at Amazon.com.

I’m sure writers can identify with this next statement, heck, I suppose everyone can to some degree. I’d like to think that everything I write – the short stories, the novels, the novellas – are all great, a figurative home run if I may slip into baseball terminology for a few minutes.

The truth, for me and probably most folks who write for a living, is that sometimes I’m a little more on my game than others. A few of my stories, going back to the baseball descriptions, might be considered strike-outs, and those I generally discard and no one ever sees them. I probably put a lot of singles and doubles out there – and there’s not a thing wrong with those, because there have been quite a few baseball players over the years who have made a Hall of Fame career out of these.

Every once in a while, though, I know I’ve hit a home run. Back when I played baseball and softball, generally I could tell when I hit the ball if that thing was going to clear the fence. It’s just a feel you have, when the sweet spot on the bat hits the ball at the perfect place in your swing.

I’ve had a few stories like that, and this week’s release, THE JOURNAL, is one. If it’s not a homer, it’s at least bouncing off the top of the wall for a triple.

I’ve got a couple more such stories coming out over the NINE WEEKS OF HALLOWEEN, and I hope you download and enjoy them all. But, if you’re only going to get three or four of my stories, this one needs to be one of those.

If you haven’t already, you can pick up last week’s story, SUMMER’S END, which is an appropriate title given we really are at the end of summer. Only thing for the folks in SUMMER’S END, that’s not all that is coming to a close.

And if you haven’t yet purchased it, check out my novel, CLAIMING MOON. It’s got a serial killer unlike any other, a fair amount of romance, and in the end a bit of supernatural horror.

That ought to stock up your reading needs for the next few days. Drop me a line to tell me what think.

Free fiction for you, a little favor for me

I have an offer for you. Well, for some of you, anyway. And I’d like to ask a favor, too.

I know from various discussion boards, writer’s groups, Twitter and Facebook that quite a few of you reading this are big-time fans of horror fiction. And I’m going to give a few of you some free horror fiction, a couple of stories that are part of my NINE WEEKS OF HALLOWEEN series.

Over the years I’ve written a fair bit of fiction – mostly horror, some romance and erotica, even some children’s work and a couple of inspirational/religious pieces. My biggest problem has been I just haven’t followed through with a lot submissions to various markets.

Oh, I’ve had some nice publications for my work – a couple of pieces in the Stoker-nominated Horror Library anthology series, work published in Dark Recesses, the Australian magazine Midnight Echo, the United Kingdom publisher Spinetinglers, and a number of anthologies and websites.

But, overall, I’ve mostly written and put it aside. While I have had some folks who read my fiction contact me, a couple even wanted to interview me for blogs and reviews, I guess you could say I haven’t been consistent enough to build a big following.

So I’m going to give some of you free horror fiction, some of my better work. And I all ask in return is if you like my work, let others know. Tweet about it, post it on Facebook when I publish the stories, maybe even ask others to buy it.

That’s it. I’ll give you some of what I think is pretty decent work, you read at your leisure, and if you don’t care for it, just throw it away and no biggie. If you do like it, I ask only that you help spread the word a bit, let others know and hopefully they’ll have a chance to enjoy it as well.

That’s it.

My next story in NINE WEEKS OF HALLOWEEN HORROR is a little tale called THE JOURNAL. You know, if you’re a writer, sometimes you get the feeling a piece you’re working on is going to be a home run? Or at least a triple slammed off the outfield wall? Well, that was the feeling I had when I wrote this one. A few folks who read it felt the same – these are some of the comments I received: “Well written and original, if somewhat twisted,” “What a creepy tale. Poe? Better or at least as good as King. I hadn’t planned to read it today, but it grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. This is one hell of a story!”

This one will be officially released on Amazon on Sunday, Sept. 9, selling for 99 cents. The first 12 people who contact me at johnpeterswriter@yahoo.com, or by message on FB (look me up by my yahoo email) or direct message on Twitter (@johnpsterswrite) with the words FREE FICTION in the subject line will get a copy sent to them absolutely free. Just read it and, if you enjoy, spread the word, encourage others to go to Amazon and download the story.

On Sept. 16 I’ll release another story entitled PATRON SAINT. Again, this is one of those that really excited me when I put it together, and others have had the same reaction. Here are a few comments I’ve gotten: “The only bad thing that I can say about this story is that it made my teeth tremble and I would want to give a health warning to any reader before they read this.” “Teeth – yikes. I was hooked by this story.” “Great stuff, got me hooked from the start and never let go.”

The second dozen people who send me an e-mail with the words FREE FICTION in the subject line will get this story sent to them, absolutely free. Again, all I ask is that you read it and, if you enjoy, spread the word, ask others to check it out.

Remember, just e-mail me at johnpeterswriter@yahoo.com with the phrase FREE FICTION in the subject line. Who knows, I may even have a surprise bonus down the line a bit for those who take me up on this offer.

And if you really like my work, there’s plenty more to check out. The first story in my NINE WEEKS OF HALLOWEEN HORROR is a wicked little zombie tale called SUMMER’S END. Additional stories will be available each Sunday through Oct. 28.

And my debut novel, CLAIMING MOON, is a romance/thriller with a healthy dose of horror thrown in for just $2.99.

But first, the free fiction. Go ahead and send your e-mail, I’m ready to send you one of my stories absolutely free.

As summer ends, zombies come out to play

I don’t know about you, but where I live it’s feeling like mid-summer again. Two days ago we hit 90 degrees, and yesterday we were at 88. After a couple of weeks where we’ve been about 10 degrees cooler, these temps have been a little on the uncomfortable side.

No matter what it feels like, though, we’re in September now, the last days of summer. I pass a couple of large open-air produce markets on my daily work commute, and Friday I got my first glimpsed of big orange pumpkins for sale – which was an odd sight given that they were next to bins of fresh watermelons and cantaloupes.

Nevertheless, autumn is near, and it’s time to start thinking about cool nights, hot apple cider, and Halloween. More specifically, Halloween horror stories.

Starting today I’m launching my series NINE WEEKS OF HALLOWEEN HORROR.

Every Sunday between now and Oct. 28, one of my scary little stories will be posted at Amazon.com, available for download to your Kindle for just 99 cents. If you don’t have a Kindle, fear not (there’s plenty to fear in the stories), you can download a free Kindle application for your PC, Mac, or mobile device.

Enough with the tech stuff. For a full list of stories I’ll be releasing, please see my Aug. 26 blog entry.

Today’s story, SUMMER’S END, is a nice little … well, let me show you what a couple of readers have already said:

“This is a great zombie tale. The narrator with her slow evolution from innocent to survivor finally to heartless killer was extremely well done.”

“I'll get straight to the point -- I loved this. This is a great zombie tale.”

“You have a nice subtle way about horror and a visual style that makes a person who generally steers very clear of the genre, like myself, be able to read to the end and enjoy the tale.”

Now, it’s time for you to see for yourself. Purchase SUMMER’S END for just 99 cents, and then sit back, relax, and have a read.

John Peters’ debut novel, CLAIMING MOON, is just $2.99 and is available for purchase and download to your Kindle at Amazon.com.

Line-up announced for Nine Weeks of Halloween Horror

The calendar keeps moving right along, and that means we’re just two weeks away from the launch of my series NINE WEEKS OF HALLOWEEN HORROR.

For those of you who missed my last post (if you really want to check it out, it’s just below this one – scroll on down) I’ll be releasing a series of creepy little tales each Sunday from Sept. 2 until Oct. 28 in celebration of Halloween. The stories will be available at Amazon.com for download to your Kindle (and if you don’t have a Kindle, you can get a FREE Kindle reading app for you PC, Mac, or mobile device right here).

Now, as promised, the list of stories coming up in NINE WEEKS OF HALLOWEEN HORROR. I’ve included a few comments from folks who have seen the first four tales. To keep the blog from going on too long, I’ll hold back on reader comments on the final tales for a few weeks.

SUMMER’S END (Coming Sept. 2). I’m not going to tell you much about this, other than to say sometimes monsters come in all shapes. What a couple of folks have said about SUMMER’S END: “I'll get straight to the point -- I loved this … this is a great … tale.” “…reminiscent of The Cask of the Amontillado…”

THE JOURNAL (Coming Sept. 9). Ever wonder if we have any real control over our lives, or if it’s already written and we merely follow along? What a few readers have said: “Well written and original, if somewhat twisted…” “What a creepy tale. Poe? Better or at least as good as King.” “I hadn’t planned to read it today, but it grabbed me and wouldn’t let go.” “This is one hell of a story!”

PATRON SAINT (Coming Sept. 16). A killer with a dark obsession, a victim with a darker secret. Readers’ take: “The only bad thing that I can say about this story is that it made my teeth tremble and I would want to give a health warning to any reader before they read this.” “Teeth – yikes. I was hooked by this story.” “Great stuff, got me hooked from the start and never let go.”

WARREN HOUSE (Coming Sept. 23). An ancient home holds an unshakable power over a town, and a couple of newcomers find there is more than Southern hospitality behind the welcome they receive. Readers’ say: “Very cool haunted house story…Shirley Jackson meets Lovecraft…very entertaining read.” “Plays out like a Twilight Zone episode.” “Good, old-fashioned story-telling.”

THE CHOSEN, RETURN OF THE MESSIAH, and THE HEARSE (Coming Sept. 30). That’s right, folks, three tales this week. Because they’re all on the short side, I want to make sure you have enough to keep you reading for a while.

THE CHOSEN: What is a parent’s greatest fear? RETURN OF THE MESSIAH: The New Testament and the Mayan Empire both had it right. THE HEARSE: Didn’t see that one coming, did you?

WITCH HOUSE (Coming Oct. 7). A bit of friendly hazing for freshmen on the high school football team turns tragic. Sometimes the horror is of our own making.

ANYTHING FOR THE CAUSE (Coming Oct. 14). With eternity on the line, how far will a few religious zealots go for their cause?

FOR WANT OF A GHOST (Coming Oct. 21). When a magazine editor promises to find local ghost stories for a Halloween issue, he soon uncovers more than he bargained for.

A MOTHER’S LOVE (Coming Oct 28). How far will a mother go to save her child?

I hope you find a few – maybe even all – of those stories intriguing. Halloween is my favorite time of year in many ways, and horror was really my first love when I began writing. I’m excited about publishing these stories, and if you like horror (who doesn’t at this time of year?) I think you’re going to enjoy them.

Until then, check out my debut novel CLAIMING MOON. It’s available for download at Amazon.com. If you don’t have a Kindle, that’s okay. You can get a free Kindle app that lets you read any Kindle story on your PC, Mac, or mobile device right here.