Tales from the Lake with Joe Mynhardt

Today Joe Mynhardt of Crystal Lake Publishing takes control of my blog, so a big, scary (and chilly) welcome to Joe!

Every now and then a book comes along that creeps the hell out of a person; a book that leaves you spellbound even days after you’ve read it. For me that book is Tales from The Lake Vol.1. Now you’d think that after editing and working on these stories for the last 9 months I’d be tired of them, but believe it or not, they’re still stuck in my head, whispering to me at all times of the day… and night.

I didn’t want to give too much away, but here are just a few examples:

From Tim Waggoner’s "Lover, Come Back to Me":
He didn’t want to look, but he did. Greywater Lake lived up to its name. The water was murky, but from the ripples on the surface, he thought Jan was right. Before the school of fish had stretched a couple feet from the canoe’s hull. Now it was double – no, triple that. And worse, was their canoe beginning to spin slowly in the same direction the fish were swimming?

From Elizabeth Massie’s "Don’t Look at Me":
I blink. Blurry, painful light bleeds into my eyes. I blink again and Connie comes into view.
I cringe.
She is perhaps eleven, maybe a little younger. She has thin brown hair and a thin sallow face. Bruises the shape of fingers are on her neck and there are scratches on her forehead. Her left eye is blackened.
“I see you,” I manage.
“I know,” says Connie. “Now I got to put you back. Mama said I better be down to fix supper before five o’clock. I’m going to fry some bologna.”

From Taylor Grant’s "Dead Pull":
Mackey swallowed audibly. “Rats?”
Brennan felt a quiet glee warm his heart watching Mackey’s face grow pale. “Rats, snakes, lizards… you name it. Every once in a while one escapes from their cage. The damn things are impossible to catch once they end up down here. And let me tell you… some of those bastards have gotten pretty big.”
Mackey glanced nervously at the darkened corners of the basement.
Brennan continued, “But hey, you’re good with animals, right? Ain’t nothin’ you can’t handle.”

From Bev Vincent’s "The Lady of Lost Lake":
A few moments later, I heard him dragging the canoe from the shore into the lake. This unexpected sound helped me clear my head. Crawling to the open doorway, I poked my head out into the fog-bound night just in time to see Alf paddle into the mist. The moonlight reflected around him, giving the whole scene an ethereal, transcendental look.

What others have said about Tales from The Lake Vol.1:
“The imagination and inventiveness in this anthology display a creativity and diversity of talent seldom found in such collections… This extremely neat, thoroughly edited anthology of carefully selected tales is another proud feather in the cap of Crystal Lake Publishing. For a collection of tales that will thrill, horrify, and generally captivate all readers of horror and dark fantasy, I highly recommend Tales from the Lake Vol.1 as a must-read!” – Ellen Fritz – Books4Tomorrow

“There are ghost stories, weird people of the sea, murderous toys, and super-humans, among other things. Rather than go the safe and typical route, the authors use such fantastical concepts as a starting point in exploring fears that lurk deep beneath the surface. Whatever raises the hairs on the back of your neck, or has you jumping at the slightest sound, chances are that something here will hit close to home. Tales from the Lake Vol. 1 is a collection of tales well worth diving into.” – Josh Black – Hellnotes

So dive right in… the water’s fine.

Universal Amazon Link (paperback and Kindle)
Crystal Lake Publishing (Kindle)
Smashwords (Various eBook formats)

And if my words failed to lure you in, then perhaps this will...

Happy nightmares!