I’ve got more exciting news for you. I’m happy to let you know that I’m very close to releasing my next short story. This one is called Shades of Hadesand it’s scheduled to be released soon. I’m still planning to release a collection of my short stories in an anthology over coming months and the anthology will include this story, plus many more.
To whet your appetite for Shades of Hades, I’ll be doing a cover reveal in coming weeks. So keep an eye out for that post the near future.
Here is the next sample of my work in the 10% Club series of posts, I give you a peek at Little Monster, a short horror story about a little monster that turns out to be big trouble. I hope you enjoy this glimpse of horror.
Little Monster by Allan Walsh
The creature was hideous; the dimples in its bulbous eyes reminded Jordan of a golf ball. Wart-ridden, black skin glistened over its body like an oil slick on a giant toad. Jordan stared at the thing’s long arms, his eyes straying down one of the creature’s muscular biceps, across its trunk-like forearm to the huge hand—knuckles dragging through the dirt, leaving a slimy black trail as the creature skulked along.
“I hope I don’t get that one,” he grumbled, flipping the cereal box over. Words seeped down the front of the packet—‘Monster Crunch, a little fiend in every box. Collect all six.’ He already had Godzuku and the Trull, he didn’t care which of the others he got, as long as it wasn’t the Akuma. That one gave him the creeps. He slid his finger under the flap.
“Ouch!”
He pulled away and saw a line of crimson leaching from a paper cut. Jordan popped his finger into his mouth and sucked on the wound; the metallic taste of blood crept over his tongue. A moment later he tried opening the box again, this time tearing the flap open. He took the waxy packet from within and pulled on either side. The seam gave way with a jolt and cereal burst into the air, clattering down to the tabletop.
There it was. The Akuma. Just lying there on its back. Bulging yellow eyes glaring up at him, pocket sized collectors’ card beside it. Jordan grabbed the figurine and held it aloft, studying its grotesque form. Blood oozed from the slit in his finger, smearing on the Akuma.
“Why’d it have to be you? You’re so damn ugly, why would anyone ever want to collect you?” he said, tossing it away.
If you enjoyed this sample of my writing, please share it with your friends.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.You can also find his titles available in some libraries.
Well it is finally here! The new short story, Little Monster, is now available. You’ll find all the links you could possibly need below the blurb. And don’t forget the anthology, which will include this short story, will be coming out in the not too distant future.
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Could you take the supernatural seriously if your soul depended on it?
Jordan collects monster figures for inspiration. He doesn’t believe in the paranormal and all that rubbish, after all, it’s a load of nonsense… isn’t it?
Little Monster is a short horror story. If you like creepy tales, spine-tingling horror, and dark mythical monsters, you’ll love Little Monster by Allan Walsh.
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If you don’t want to wait for the anthology, you can get a copy of Little Monsterat the following retailers:
I hope you love the story. I certainly enjoyed writing it. Please let me know what you think and feel free to forward this email to any friends or family who might enjoy a good short horror story.
It is an exciting time for me as the release date for Little Monsterdraws nearer. With that in mind, and as promised, I’m delighted to share the cover with you. And here it is…
I’ll keep you posted on any further developments and will let you all know when the book is released.
Happy Reading Allan
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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I’ve been quite busy of late but I now have some exciting news for you. I’m delighted to let you know that I’m very close to releasing my next short story for your reading enjoyment. The story is called Little Monster and is scheduled to be released in the near future. I wrote this story for a writing competition some time ago and while it didn’t win, it did receive an honourable mention. I’ve made a few changes to the story since then in the hope of improving it.
But that’s not all. I also plan to release a collection of my short stories in an anthology over coming months. The anthology will include this story, plus many more. And to whet your appetite, I’ll be doing a cover reveal next week. So keep an eye out for that post in the coming days.
Happy Reading
Allan
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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Many people are doing it tough around the world in the current environment and yours truly is no exception. Like many others, I’ve been looking at ways I can generate a bit more income while I’m out of work in these times of Covid-19. I read a statistic just yesterday that said you have a 0.5% chance of getting a new job in Brisbane right now. If you’re looking for work too – I know, it doesn’t fill me with confidence either, but hey, we’ve got to keep trying or that chance reduces to 0%.
It has been good to see communities helping each other out in these times. I’ve seen people volunteering to get groceries for other who are in isolation, businesses offering free courses, writers offering discounted books (myself included), friends playing games via Zoom, etc. I’ve even started learning the guitar again through a free online course from Fender. It has been a welcome distraction from everything else that’s been going on over the last couple of months.
I’ve also been finding it a struggle to write at present. You’d think this would be the ideal time to knuckle down and get some writing done, but it’s hard for me to get into the mindset with everything else going on around me. I will need to get more work out if I want to break even with my writing though. I do have some new short stories I have finished, but I need to get them edited and that costs money, so I need to hold off on those until I find a new job. I could put ads on my website, but I’ve always hated going to websites only to be inundated with them, so I’m very reluctant to use ads on my own website. I had arranged with a couple of local businesses to get some of my art up for sale on their walls. Then lockdown measures were put in place… that’s going to have to wait until the restrictions are lifted now (which thankfully isn’t looking too far away here in Queensland).
In the mean time I’ve been toying with the idea of adding one of those ‘buy me a coffee’ donation type plug-ins to my website. But then I got to thinking. My short stories cost less than a cup of coffee anyway – and my readers get something to read during isolation. It’s a win-win right?
So, if you want to help out this author in these uncertain times, don’t buy me a coffee, buy one of my books! You’d make this guy really happy, and who knows, you may even enjoy my stories.
How are you coping in the current environment? Feel free to let me know in the comments section below.
Happy Reading.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why notcheck out his books here.You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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Art & Craft of Writing: Secret Advice for Writers by Victoria Mixon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As you can guess from the title, Art & Craft of Writing: Secret Advice for Writers by Victoria Mixon is a non-fiction title providing insights into the craft of writing.
The Cover: This cover has a warm feel to it and it works for the non-fiction genre. I’m not a huge fan of the font used, but the black band with white writing makes the text clearly visible.
The Good Stuff: I have been writing for some time now and I’m always looking for new information. There were one or two nuggets in this book for me, but mainly it was that Victoria looks at things from a slightly different angle and explains them in a slightly different way. This resonated with me and I will keep this book on hand for reference in the future.
The Bad Stuff: It’s a pretty short book and a lot of the information has been covered before.
Overall this book is put together from the authors most popular blog posts. In my opinion it is worth a read, you may not get new information from it, but you may look at things with a new found appreciation and understanding. This one gets an ink splattered 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks from me.
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why notcheck out his books here.You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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I hope you have had an amazing festive season and are all ready for the year ahead. As I mentioned in my last post, I was going to take a look at what I achieved last year and set some new goals for the year ahead.
So here’s what I accomplished in 2019:
I met my goal to write 4 short stories,
I am just about half way through my double diploma,
I got a new job,
I have made 3 new author collaboration contacts,
I increased my mailing list from 350 to 959 (smashing my goal of 600),
I read 13 books (1 more than my target),
I garnered 11 new reviews.
And here are the goals I didn’t quite reach:
I didn’t get to finish 2 stories that have been on the back burner for some time now,
While I managed to get a new job, I gave it up 4 months later because it just wasn’t what I was looking for and I am yet to find another,
Although I am about half way through my double diploma, I had planned to have it completed by the end of 2019,
I did not hit my target of 12 new author collaboration contacts,
I didn’t manage to release the anthology of short stories I was planning,
I didn’t hit my goal for reviews I wanted to garner.
That’s quite a bit not achieved isn’t it? Well, I still consider this a success. I had set goals on what I wanted to achieve through 2019 and this gave me some direction. While I didn’t achieve them all, I did make progress. Progress I may not have made if I didn’t set the goals to start with. I am sorry I didn’t release anything new over the year, but considering the tumultuous year I’ve had with redundancy and job seeking, I am pleased with the progress I have made.
Now, what’s on the cards for 2020? These are the goals I have set myself:
Find a new job,
Target to write 6000 words a week,
Gain 10 new reviews,
Get my 4 short stories edited,
Create and release anthology of 10 short stories,
Finish 2 partially completed stories,
Read 12 new books,
Write 12 reviews.
As you probably noticed, I have carried across most of the goals from last year in a hope to complete them this year. A lot will swing on getting a new job, as the time taken searching and applying for roles is quite substantive and I will need a steady income to pay for editing, but I am hopeful I will get there.
So, what are your goals for the new year?
Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.You can also find his titles available in libraries.
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Halloween, All-Hallows-Eve, Samhain, what ever you call it, it is almost upon us. It is a night renowned for spooky happenings, scary sights, and frightening tales. It is a time where the boundary between the spirit world and the physical world can more easily be crossed. Making it a night where ghosts are more likely to come visit. This is any true horror readers dream night to get stuck into a scary tale. So what have you chosen to read? Something a little frightening? Something a bit Gorey? or something that will plain old scare the pants off you and have you hiding under your covers all night?
If you haven’t found anything yet, why not check out one of my short horror tales listed below:
Art & Craft of Writing: Secret Advice for Writers by Victoria Mixon
