Posted on by Chris Sarantopoulos · 1 Comment

At Horizon’s End cover reveal

Here we are again for another short story. Are you ready? It’s time for the world to see its cover. The story’s title is At Horizon’s End.

Genre: Horror

Publication date: 30 July 2017

For the next three months, At Horizon’s End will be available exclusively from Amazon. Like The Man Behind The Bar, my new story will be available worldwide.

I have already contacted three reviewers to comment on it, both on their sites and on Amazon, so unlike The Man Behind The Bar, this one will have reviews waiting for it when it goes live.

Also, did you notice the new pop up for my newsletter? You can sign up for it and be informed of new releases and future giveaways.

Finally, I was interviewed this past week. I will post a link here on the web page either next week or the week after that. I will most likely include a short excerpt in my newsletter, so if you’d be interested in knowing a little more about me and my work, consider subscribing to it 😉

Posted on by Chris Sarantopoulos

Two weeks until next story (At Horizon’s End)

The day draws near when At Horizon’s End will be available, and that day is none other than July 30. The story is about The Man Behind The Bar (a fancy name for Death personified) and the idea of altering the nature of something eternal and inevitable, like the passing of a mortal life, a phenomenon that in a way obeys a force that seems (to us) to making arbitrary decisions on who goes and who stays. A force that, to an outside observer (perhaps another eternal being), never makes a mistake. Which birthed a question: what if?

What if? I’m a firm believer that this question has driven mankind to great lengths. I wouldn’t be surprised if scientists in future years conclude that everything humanity has achieved through its multitude of cultures and civilisations, relies on that simple, two-word question. What if?

So, in lieu of that, what if Death actually made a mistake? What would Death do to set things right? How far would he go to rectify that mistake? How much would Death’s nature change through his constant dealings with mortals? Would it? Would concepts like love and family seep into him? Could Death, if he were a person, gain a human element? If so, what would that be?

These question were the driving force behind what inspired me to write At Horizon’s End.

As it is, the story breaks some rules. In particular, the story uses two point of view characters: The Man Who Fed on Tears and Stella, a four-year-old girl. Technically speaking, when it comes to creative endeavours, there are no rules. More like guidelines, but it’s not very often one gets to have two point of view characters for this length of a short story. However, every once in a while, it’s okay for a writer (or any creative person for that matter) to break the rules.

What if it leads us to something new and great?

At Horizon’s End

Available: July 30

Story blurb:

The Man Who Fed On Tears always knows whose time it is to remove from our world. His existence is one of a symbiosis between his need for the tears and woe he causes to those closest to the deceased, and the natural order of life and death to which he is bound to obey. He never questions himself or his actions and has never made a mistake. Until now.

Stella is a four-year-old girl who misses her mommy and wants to see her again. She doesn’t yet understand the concept of loss, so when she sees close family members crying, she tries to stay cheerful and optimistic. After all, Mommy said they’d see each other again when the time comes At Horizon’s End. So if they’ll meet again, why is everyone crying?

Posted on by Chris Sarantopoulos

Writing Prompt 44

Mike kicked a pebble on the pier and watched it plop down into the sea. “Okay, we’re here. Now what?”

Alex rolled his eyes and sighed as if he had other, better things to do than explain trivial things to the village fool for the tenth time. “Now we wait.” He spoke slowly and intoned each word to make sure the message got through. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and bounced on the balls of his feet.

Mike fought the urge to introduce his fist to Alex’s face. Instead, he nodded and chewed on his lower lip. Moments later, when the silence became unbearable, he spoke again. “For how long?” Pompous, know-it-all little prick was going to get the beating of a lifetime, if he gave him another stupid or arrogant answer.

“Until something big happens. Now. Shut. Up.”

Mike flexed his fist and tried to picture his friend’s nose as a swollen, three-feet-wide monstrosity across his face. He caught sight of something strange from the corner of his eye. He turned his head to it, and something cold sped from the base of his skull, down his spine, all the way to his limbs. “Big as in… like that perhaps?” He pointed at the shore.

Alex turned and looked. His face turned ashen, and the bulge on his throat went down once and rose slowly. His mouth hung.

“Sea going away big enough for you? Where’s the sea going, Alex? Huh? You messed up. Again.”

Posted on by Chris Sarantopoulos

Free short story on Amazon and information about At Horizon’s End

Today is the last day you can download The Man Behind The Bar for free from Amazon. I was lucky enough to see it reach the number one spot in its category and that made me really happy. It means people read the story. Hopefully, it’s something they enjoy.

If you download it, consider leaving a review (even if you don’t have something positive to say) for other readers. This coming Tuesday (July 4th) is also the last day the story will be available on Kindle Unlimited, so if you intended to read it, but never got around it, this is your last chance. Soon after that, I will make the story available to other retailers (Kobo, ibooks, Google, etc).

So, what happens next, you may ask. Well, the next short story I’ll publish is called At Horizon’s End and it’s a horror story (not gory or splatter). Advanced Reader Copies are already in the hands of some reviewers, so when it goes live, it should have a couple of reviews waiting. Here’s an early blurb:

The Man Who Fed On Tears always knows whose time it is to remove from our world. His existence is one of a symbiosis between his need for the tears and woe he causes to those closest to the deceased, and the natural order of life and death to which he is bound to obey. He never questions himself or his actions and has never made a mistake. Until now.

Stella is a four-year-old girl who misses her mommy and wants to see her again. She doesn’t yet understand the concept of loss, so when she sees close family members crying, she tries to stay cheerful and optimistic. After all, Mommy said they’d see each other again when the time comes At Horizon’s End. So if they’ll meet again, why is everyone crying?

I have yet to make up my  mind on a firm release date. I can’t decide if it should be July 23 or July 30. The thing is, I’m trying to figure out when most of you will be on your summer vacation, because I like the idea of you going away with my story in your e-readers. I should have decided within this coming week.

Stay tuned for the cover reveal 😉

 

Posted on by Chris Sarantopoulos

Writing Prompt 43

 

Jimmy glanced behind him and gnawed on his lip. The shouting was distant, but getting closer. “Are you going to will the wall go away by staring at it or something? It’s a dead-end. We’re trapped. Come on.”

Ramona reached out, grabbed him, and shushed him. She traced the mortar between the bricks with her finger and closed her eyes.

Jimmy tapped her on the shoulder. “Hate to have to disturb you, weird lady, but they’re coming.” He glanced over his shoulder at the mouth of the alley. By the sound of it, a small riot had broken out not far from them and was headed their way.

He put his hand on her shoulder to shake her, but she slapped his hand without sparing him a look. “If you don’t want to end up encased in the wall, or land in an off-world volcano, or at the bottom of a quicksilver ocean, I suggest you stop interrupting me.”

Jimmy moaned and wrung his hands together, his gaze oscillating between Ramona and the other end of the alley. Weird lady will get me killed, he thought. “Come on, come on. They’re getting -”

“There,” she said. She brought out a small metallic bundle of spheres and a tiny crystal hammer, then clinked a few of the spheres with the hammer. The spheres rang, floated to the wall, and the mortar glowed. “Take my hand and don’t let go.” She cupped his jaw and squeezed. “You don’t want to let go, understand?”

He nodded awkwardly, the way she held on to his face. Really weird lady.

She patted his cheek. “Good boy.”

The bricks vanished, and a bright light engulfed them. Something pulled at Jimmy – not only physically, but mentally – a force unlike anything he had ever felt before. At some point, Ramona’s hand burrowed into his, warm, strong, soft, radiating confidence.

“Trust me,” she said over a harrowing whistling sound, and winked at him.