THE BLOG WHERE HORROR DWELLS   Sunday, May 12, 2013: "The Monarchs Now an Audio Book" "The Monarchs is now available as an audio book from Audible.com! Narrated by the venerable Chet Williamson, The Monarchs is a tale of nightmarish intrigue, set in the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina. The audio production is unabridged, with a running time of 8 hours and 27 minutes...." (Read more.)

n case you haven't guessed, you've stumbled upon The Realm of Stephen Mark "Damned Rodan" Rainey. Browse around, check out my books (click on the covers below for detailed information), and drop me a note if you find something to fuss about. (You may call me "Mark," by the way; people who address me as "Stephen" usually want money.) Feel free to play with the buttons. Check the News section for the latest publication news—and please do visit The Blog Where Horror Dwells. If you haven't read my work before, there's never been a better time to give it a try! Lots of my titles are currently available in various editions, including e-books and audio books. I hope you find something here that will scare the pants off you!*            *Sorry, but I cannot be held responsible for your pants.

NEW! From Crossroad Press THE MONARCHS Lost in the Dismal Swamp.... After her husband murders their daughter and then commits suicide, Courtney Edmiston, devastated and homeless, accepts an invitation to move in with her old college friend, Jan Blackburn. Jan lives with her brother, David, and eccentric Aunt Martha in the town of Fearing, North Carolina, at the edge of the Dismal Swamp. The Blackburn family has suffered its own recent tragedies — and Courtney learns that Jan and David have more than their share of enemies in the town. Because of her association with them, Courtney soon finds Fearing a very dangerous place to live. Certain members of the Surber family, who once worked for the Blackburns, hold a deep grudge against Jan and David and, on several occasions, attempt brutal acts of violence against them. Courtney, determined to help her friend in her own time of crisis, sets out to broker a peace but instead becomes more and more mired in the bitter feud. For reasons Courtney cannot comprehend, many of the townspeople fear old Martha Blackburn. However, she begins to understand why when Martha threatens the Surbers with swift retribution — by way of a ghostly entity known as the Monarch — and gruesome death does indeed visit the Surbers. And to her horror, Courtney, caught between the two feuding families, at last becomes the focus of Aunt Martha’s fury. In desperation, two of the Surber brothers abduct Courtney and Jan and threaten to kill them unless the Blackburns meet their demands. However, Martha unleashes the horrific Monarch against her family's rivals. And Courtney, whom Martha now considers an enemy, becomes as much a target for its inhuman wrath as the remaining members of the treacherous Surber family.... "I would recommend The Monarchs to anyone who enjoys their horror intelligently written, character driven, and bloody. Without giving too much away, I can say that The Monarchs has one of the most exciting endings to a novel that I’ve read in the last year. You really shouldn’t pass this one by."—TT Zuma,  Horrorworld  Check out The Monarchs here.

Now available for Kindle! THE GODS OF MOAB Start reading The Gods of Moab on your Kindle in under a minute at Amazon.com. A pleasant New Year's Eve outing becomes an experience in otherworldly horror when two close-knit couples discover a shocking secret in the darkest corners of the Appalachian mountains. At an opulent mountain inn, Warren Burr, his fiancee, Anne, and their friends, Roger and Kristin Leverman, encounter a religious zealot named John Hanger, who makes it his business to bear witness to them of his peculiar...and disturbing...faith. His efforts rebuffed, Hanger insidiously assumes control of the couples' technological devices, leading them to stumble into unexpected, surreal landscapes...landscapes inhabited by nightmarish beings that defy explanation and rationality. To return to the world they thought they knew, Warren and his friends must not only escape the deadly entities that pursue them but somehow stop John Hanger's nightmare-plague from spreading to the outside world.   Check out The Gods of Moab here.

Now in paperback! BLUE DEVIL ISLAND The war that never ends has begun.... AUTUMN, 1943: The beginning of the American offensive against the Japanese in the South Pacific. Just west of the Solomon Islands lies a remote, desert island called Conquest, where the U.S. Navy stations a new fighting squadron, led by Lieutenant Commander Drew McLachlan, an ace pilot and veteran of the Battle of Coral Sea. With his group of air warriors, who call themselves the Blue Devils, McLachlan soars into frequent combat with the Japanese, inflicting serious casualties upon the enemy. However, on the squadron's island home, signs appear that it may not be entirely alone, for in nearby volcanic caves, McLachlan finds evidence of habitation by unknown natives—natives that resemble no known living race, and that may yet exist in the mysterious subterranean catacombs. As the tension on the island mounts, McLachlan is forced to fight on two fronts: against their known enemy, the Japanese, and an unknown, predatory force that leaves mutilated victims as the only evidence of its presence. As the Solomons campaign enters into its final skirmishes, the Japanese at last turn their attention to Conquest Island. In the final conflict, the Blue Devils find themselves the target of an overwhelming assault by the desperate Imperial Japanese forces—and McLachlan must face the reality that the key to his men’s survival lies deep in the dark and deadly caves of Conquest Island itself. "...An enjoyable World War II adventure with a science-fiction plot twist. Readers nostalgic for the era's war movies and pulp fiction will enjoy the ride."—Publisher's Weekly Check out Blue Devil Island here.

Now in paperback! THE GAKI & OTHER HUNGRY SPIRITS Trade paperback as well as signed, lettered, and numbered hardback editions from Dark Regions. Strange shapes hiding in the shadows cast by the moonlight. Eerie noises drifting out of the forest and rising into the night. The sound of inhuman footsteps approaching from somewhere in the darkness. A pair of gleaming eyes peering in through your window at midnight....   This is the nightmarish, haunted world you will enter in this new collection of 17 tales—including six never before published—by Stephen Mark Rainey, longtime editor of Deathrealm magazine and author of such acclaimed works as Balak, The Lebo Coven, Blue Devil Island, The Last Trumpet, and Other Gods. Enter willingly…and prepare yourself for a chilling journey through some of the most frightening literary landscapes you have ever experienced.   Check out The Gaki here.

Click on the covers for more information about each book.

"Damned Rodan!" Author photograph by Stephen Mark Rainey Visit this site frequently for author news, special offers, and occasional otter-flopping. Last revised: May 17, 2013.