The review website I Smell Sheep has posted a new 5 Star…er, “sheep” review of Michael West’s first short fiction collection, Skull Full of Kisses, available now from Hydra Publications. Here’s a snippet:

“There are demons. Ghosts. Aliens. Serial killers. Dinosaurs…freaking dinosaurs. West makes the reader feel like we’re glued to the old late-night horror show on television. I couldn’t wait to get to the next story to see what other monster was waiting for me. What wicket twist was going to grab me and get my heart pounding in my chest? 5 out of 5 sheep!” ~ Belle Bivdavo, I Smell Sheep

Originally published in 2010, Skull Full of Kisses contains some of West’s earliest and most well-regarded works.

Love and evil know no bounds! Turn the page and enter a world of shadow, as Michael West brings together his most disturbing short stories — twisted tales of forbidden desires and ghoulish deeds, where nightmares manifest in the most mundane and unlikely of places…

The basement of a Japanese restaurant, where a seductive creature promises comfort to a lonely hitman, if only he will set her free…

A ruined city, where survivors of a natural disaster have become prey to something unnatural…

An Indiana farmhouse, where a frightened child attempts to fool the Angel of Death…

And the darkest regions of space, where a man fights to protect the woman he loves from invaders only he can see…

Ten reasons to lock your doors.
Ten reasons to keep the lights on.
Ten reasons why you may never sleep again.

Skull Full of Kisses includes the following stories:

“Jiki”

“The Bridge”

“Dogs of War”

“Trolling”

“Einstein’s Slingshot”

“God Like Me”

“To Know How to See”

“For Her”

“Sanctuary”

“Goodnight”*named Best Horror Short Story of 2005 in the annual P&E Readers’ Poll.

Skull Full of Kisses is available now from Hydra Publications!

We are excited to announce that the unabridged AudioBook version of Michael West’s Hades’ Disciples, the second book in the best-selling Legacy of the Gods series, is now available through Audible, Amazon, and iTunes! Narrated by S.W. Salzman!

Synopsis of Hades’ Disciples: Terrifying creatures exist all around us, hiding in plain sight. Ancient. Deadly. They gather in secret, conspiring, dreaming of nothing less than humanity’s destruction, and their numbers are growing. Earl Preston knows the danger all too well. After tangling with a horde of mythological sea monsters in Colonial Bay, he has been tasked with finding these beasts and exposing their plans whatever they may be. But Earl is not the only one with a mystery on their hands.

At the very top of the world, Carol Miyagi has stumbled onto an artifact from Earth’s past, something magnificent held captive in a prison of ice and snow. Now, Carol and Earl must work quickly to decipher the will of the gods-a plot that defies imagination-and to stop their followers from carrying it out. 

They thought the nightmare was over, but they are about to discover that the horror has only just begun. 

Hades’ Disciples is book two of the Legacy of the Gods Series!

Get the AudioBook of Hades’ Disciples at any of the links below!

Audible

Amazon

iTunes

The picture above is one of my all-time favorites! Author Brian Keene and I reading each other’s work. Brian is one of the reasons I am where I am today. He helped me prepare for my first pitch session with Don D’auria of Leisure, a major New York publisher at the time. The story I pitched? Cinema of Shadows. Based on that pitch, I was asked to write Cinema for Leisure. And who was the first person to shake my hand and congratulate me? Brian Keene. Leisure didn’t end up publishing Cinema of Shadows (That’s a whole other story!), but that novel, all the ones that followed, and maybe my career, wouldn’t exist without that original pitch and the guidance of one Brian Keene.

Brian has done so much for so many over the years, but now it’s Brian who needs assistance. Brian was involved in an accident about a week ago, and was badly burned. He is without insurance, and his medical bills could be somewhere north of $300,000.00! A GoFundMe has been established to help with Brian’s growing medical expenses. If you are able to give, please do so. Here is the link.

Thank you in advance for whatever you can do!

Seventh Star Press is proud to reveal the new cover art by Nabin Karna for bestselling author Michael West’s “Ave Satani”, a short story that will be released in all eBook formats on April 27th!  A Kindle pre-order window is opening today, and those pre-ordering will have the eBook automatically delivered to their devices on the day of release!

Named one of the 10 Best Horror Stories of 2016*, the short story was only available in the 2nd edition of the Reel Dark Anthology, a title that is no longer in print.  Michael wished to make the story available to readers and Seventh Star Press is thrilled to offer this chilling tale as a single ebook release for his fans.

“Ave Satani” tells the story of a legendary film composer’s even more legendary final score — music written for an Italian Horror film from the 1970’s that was ultimately never used. For years, it has been one man’s holy grail. Now, he may actually get the chance to hear this lost symphony…and we may all pay the price.

All the story will cost you is $0.99…and maybe your sanity.

Direct Order Links:

Kindle Version

Nook Version

Kobo Version

iTunes Version

This is the first time “Ave Satani” has been made available as a single eBook.

*TOP 10 FINISHER: P&E Readers Poll for Best Horror Short Story of 2016

About Michael West: Michael West is the bestselling author of Cinema of Shadows, Spook House, The Wide Game, Skull Full of Kisses, and the critically-acclaimed Legacy of the Gods series. He lives and works in the Indianapolis area with his wife, their two children, their turtle, Gamera, and their dog, King Seesar.

West loves movie music and often listens to film scores while he writes.

Scarlet Lane Brewing Company, in McCordsville, Indiana, has always been a little different.  The Horror-themed brewery has sponsored movie screenings of new and classic fright films, has been a fixture at Horror festivals and conventions, and has even brewed the official beer of HorrorHound Weekend: HorrorHound Ale!

Now, this Indiana legend has teamed up with celebrated Indiana Horror author Michael West in a big way.  All of West’s dark fiction novels and short story collections are now on sale in the brewery’s Tap House.  Even better, West has signed every copy!  Horror fans* can now stop by Scarlet Lane every day of the week to enjoy a tasty brew while they read some truly terrifying books.

Scarlet Lane Brewery
7724 Depot St
McCordsville, IN 46055

*MUST BE 21 YEARS OF AGE TO ENTER THE TAP HOUSE!

Seventh Star Press is proud to reveal the cover art from award-winning artist Matthew Perry forHades’ Disciples, the 2nd Book in the acclaimed Legacy of the Gods series from best-selling author Michael West! Hades’ Disciples takes you on the urban/dark fantasy journey that began in Poseidon’s Children.

Terrifying creatures exist all around us, hiding in plain sight. Ancient. Deadly. They gather in secret, conspiring, dreaming of nothing less than humanity’s destruction, and their numbers are growing.

Earl Preston knows the danger all too well. After tangling with a horde of mythological sea monsters in Colonial Bay, he has been tasked with finding these beasts and exposing their plans whatever they may be. But Earl is not the only one with a mystery on their hands. At the very top of the world, Carol Miyagi has stumbled onto an artifact from Earth’s past, something magnificent held captive in a prison of ice and snow. Now, Carol and Earl must work quickly to decipher the will of the gods–a plot that defies imagination–and to stop their followers from carrying it out.

They thought the nightmare was over, but they are about to discover that the horror has only just begun.

Regarding the upcoming release of Hades’ Disciples, Michael West commented, “Whenever I write a story, I hope it appeals to people, that the characters will feel real and connect with my readers, and I am so pleased that readers all around the world have fallen in love with Carol, Earl, and the rest of my diverse cast. With Hades’ Disciples, I get the chance to dive more deeply into the mythology introduced in Poseidon’s Children, and the stakes are much higher now. Fans who thrilled at all the action, excitement and twisted weirdness of Book One will not be disappointed.”

Hades’ Disciples will be released in late April in trade paperback and all eBook formats, including Kindle, Kobo, Nook, and for the iBookstore. The book will feature new interior illustrations from Matthew Perry and also brings back Poseidon’s Children editor Amanda DeBord. For further information on The Legacy of the Gods series or Michael West, please visit the author’s site atwww.bymichaelwest.com or Seventh Star Press at www.seventhstarpress.com

About the Author: Michael West is the bestselling author of Cinema of Shadows, Skull Full of Kisses,The Wide Game, Spook House, and the critically acclaimed Legacy of the Gods series. He lives and works in the Indianapolis area with his wife, their two children, their turtle, Gamera, and their dog, King Seesar.

West avoids manhole covers and sidewalk grates whenever possible. He just doesn’t know what’s down there, and he’s not sure he wants to find out.

Start the series today!  Pick up your very own copy of The Legacy of the Gods Book One: Poseidon’s Children!

Download it for Kindle here!
Download it for Kobo here!
Download it for Nook here!

Bitten by Books just posted a wonderful new review of my first anthology as editor, Vampires Don’t Sparkle!  Here’s an excerpt:

“Vampires Don’t Sparkle! is a collection of stories that have one thing in common: they all highlight the good old-fashioned vampire. The vampires here are evil, wicked, and glory in all the blood they can. There are no creatures that regret their existence, pine after mortals, or limit themselves to subsist on animal blood. These are the vampires of old, the vampires that make us humans crave the daylight and fear the darkness. Along with the twisted, fun, and Gothic darkness of these fifteen stories, a major highlight of this anthology is that a portion of the proceeds of the sales of Vampires Don’t Sparkle! are donated to cancer research as a tribute to a dear friend of West who lost her battle, as well as to his wife, who is a cancer survivor. Each story includes a bit of information on the author including their favorite vampires… totally original, inventive, current, and completely fascinating… stays with you long after the last page.”

Read the full review here!

And get your very own copy of Vampires Don’t Sparkle! here!

Mike’s Film Talk just posted a glowing new review of my Harmony, Indiana novel, Cinema of Shadows, giving it 5 Stars!  Here is an excerpt:

“Stephen King, James Herbert, Richard Laymon, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub, and maybe one or two more make up my ‘horror stable.’ I’ve now added Michael West to this small very talented group of writers who have the ability to entertain the hell out of me…The book is fast paced and the story made me think of Straub’s ‘possessed’ movie theatre in Ghost Story but more in-depth and a damn sight scarier…With a minimum of muss and fuss West has come up with characters that I liked.  More importantly, I believed their assorted back stories and I could empathise with all of them.  He also does a brilliant job with the dialogue of each character.  Very few authors have the knack for making the people in their stories sound real.  Michael West has a ‘good ear’ and he has the knack of making their speeches and conversation sound natural and real.  Cinema of Shadows was an excellent introduction to a new author and he is now a member of my small stable of writers who can deliver not only scares but stories that carry you away.”

Read the full review here!

And get your very own copy of Cinema of Shadows here!

Cabin Goddess has posted the first in a three-part series on my new novel, Poseidon’s Children.  

Today, she highlighted the novel for Teaser Tuesday. 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB @ Should Be Reading (she also hosts some other great memes) . Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

– Grab your current read
– Open to a random page
– Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
– BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
– Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Tomorrow, Cabin Goddess will feature a quick interview with Peggy, a character from the novel, and some seafood recipes to go along with the book.

And Thursday, the site will feature their full review.

Click here to read the Tentacle Edition  edition of Teaser Tuesday!

Wag The Fox just posted the first review of my new novel from Seventh Star Press, Poseidon’s Children, and it’s a great one!  Here is a small snippet:

“Michael West has created a story that is as much event driven as it is character driven, with several characters offering viewpoints for the action and mystery to play out. Michael doesn’t hold back on the gruesomeness, either. The introductory scene involving the ‘shark’ attack gives a pretty clear idea that there will be more horrific elements than what readers might expect from conventional urban fantasy. What comes as no surprise, however, is the richly laid out history of the underwater progeny that are making their presence known. And by the time you reach the third act, all bets are off, and you wonder just where the story is going to lead in the next book. Poseidon’s Children is a strong blend of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, and it seems like it’s about time some Atlantian-style source material got the spotlight.”

Read the full review here.