THE NEWEST NEWS... 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 available 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. Check out Blue Devil Island here. NEW FREE FICTION! Now available: "The Jack-o'-Lantern Memoirs" (previously published in Octoberland (2002) and Other Gods (2009). A serial killer from hell? For real? Oh, yes! Here on Earth, the Jack-o'-Lantern killer was a regular monster. Down in the underworld, he's so rotten that even the devil doesn't want him. Every Halloween, Old Nick sends the Jack-o'-Lantern Killer back to Earth, with the promise that, if he doesn't kill anyone during his little "vacation," he will be freed from hell forever. But it's not so easy being a vicious, bloodthirsty demon, and when you're hard up for blood, bodies, and mayhem, things are never as easy as they seem on the surface.... Enjoy "The Jack-o'-Lantern Memoirs." A little Halloween treat for you! Click here to read. Now available in paperback! LEGENDS OF THE NIGHT At the heart of all legends.... ...lies a sense of wonder. The perception of awe-inspiring power. The recognition of something larger than life. Legends of the Night spawns new myths, dreams, fables, and nightmares; all larger than life, all brimming with the power that can only be found in the merging of the legendary with the contemporary. From the frigid skies above the war-torn Europe of 1918, to shadow-haunted catacombs of futuristic Los Angeles... from the exotic, tropical jungles of the south Pacific in 1942, to medieval Scottish moors ruled by the fighting machines of H. G. Wells's dreaded Martian invaders...author Stephen Mark Rainey presents a collection of tales that both embrace the power of ancient myth and celebrate the intensity of today's most vivid storytelling. Check out Legends of the Night here. THE GAKI & OTHER HUNGRY SPIRITS Signed & limited hardback editions as well as paperback edition now available 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 & Other Hungry Spirits here. BALAK Now available in Kindle and Nook e-formats from Wildside Books and as an audio book from Crossroad Press! Children around Chicago are being abducted, for purposes that Claire Challis cannot begin to imagine. Two years ago, her own son was abducted, his fate never determined by the police. Now, her search for the truth brings her into contact with a strange cult, whose secrets are far darker and more bizarre than she could ever have imagined — for its roots stem from Biblical times, and its history is one of depravity and violence that spans the ages. Balak is a novel of grim reality and nightmarish fantasy, intricately woven into the esoteric universe that author Stephen Mark Rainey has perpetuated through his short fiction for over two decades. With gripping prose and superb imagery, Balak shines as an example of subtle psychological terror combined with striking, graphic horror. Check out Balak here. THE NIGHTMARE FRONTIER Now available in e-book and audio book formats from Crossroad Press. "Remember what it was like to read a horror novel that actually made you sweat with dread and your hand shake ever-so-slightly as you turned the page? Remember what it was like to feel your heart thud against your chest as the plight of the characters became your own? Remember what it was like to have a story cast a spell over you rather than ram everything down your throat? If so, you've reason to rejoice; if not, then you need to discover what that's like. In either case, Mark Rainey's The Nightmare Frontier delivers the goods. This is the Good, Real Stuff. From its powerful opening in the jungles of Vietnam to its nerve-wracking finale, this novel never releases its grip on the reader's nerves, brains, and heart." —Gary Braunbeck, author of In Silent Graves, Things Left Behind, and more Free audio sample More information about The Nightmare Frontier here. THE LEBO COVEN Now available as an e-book from Crossroad Press. After a ten-year absence, Barry Riggs returns to his hometown of Aiken Mill, Virginia, in search of his brother, Matt, who has mysteriously disappeared. Not only is the younger Riggs missing, but his house has been ransacked—and branded with the strange word “LEBO,” painted in blood on the bedroom wall. Faced with a local sheriff whose efforts to solve the crime are less than devoted, Barry sets out on his own to discover the truth. He meets a number of locals he had known in his youth, including a young woman named Jennifer Brand, whom he had once treated with contempt because she suffered from a repulsive, crippling affliction. After some awkward moments, the two become friends, and together they begin to unravel the mystery of Matt’s disappearance. Certain locals suggest that the name “LEBO” holds certain, ominous significance, but no one will so much as whisper its meaning. Barry eventually encounters a mysterious character who goes by the name of Ren—a reputed Satan worshipper. As Barry and Jennifer unravel the clues, they learn that all is far from what it appears—and that dark, inhuman forces are at work. Check out The Lebo Coven here. OTHER GODS My collection of short fiction available from Dark Regions Press. It features 16 of my tales, including the never-before-published "Antidotes." The book is available as a signed, limited-edition hardback (both lettered and numbered volumes available) as well as a trade paperback, featuring cover art by Wayne Miller and an introduction by Elizabeth Massie. Other Gods is available in the trade paperback and numbered hardback editions. Click the book cover image to go to the information page or visit www.darkregions.com. Complete Contents of Other Gods:  Fugue Devil   Rapture in Black   Sky of Thunder, Island of Blood  Other Gods  Antidotes   Circus Bizarre  The Lake of Shadows  The Jack-o'-Lantern Memoirs  Silhouette  The Violet Princess  Elegy  Epiphany: A Flying Tiger's Story  Signals  The Fire Dogs of Balustrade  The Transformer of Worlds  The Devil's Eye DARK SHADOWS: BLOOD DANCE Due for April 2010 release by Big Finish. The year is 1929. Seeking a life free of the nightmares at Collinwood, Quentin Collins finds himself in Chicago, captivated by the city’s energy and the prospect of a new love. However, drawn into the twilight world of speakeasies and organized crime, he discovers even darker shadows that threaten to overwhelm both him and Chandres Tessier—the enigmatic woman to whom he feels drawn yet can’t be sure he fully trusts….   Blood Dance is a new audio production I've written based on the classic Dark Shadows TV serial, featuring the talents of original series actors David Selby (Quentin Collins) and Lisa Richards (Chandres Tessier). Click the cover image for more information, or click here to read more about this and other Dark Shadows audio dramas. DARK SHADOWS: CURSE OF THE PHARAOH Now available from Big Finish! Dr. Gretchen Warwick, famed Egyptologist and friend of Professor T. Elliot Stokes, comes to Collinwood, searching for the answers to life in the hereafter. At first, Carolyn cannot comprehend why an expert in ancient, mystical lore would desire her help, but to her horror, she discovers that she is indeed the key to a dark, dangerous world on the other side of death...   Curse of the Pharaoh is an audio production I've written based on the classic Dark Shadows TV serial, featuring the talents of original series actors Nancy Barrett (Carolyn Stoddard) and Marie Wallace (Dr. Gretchen Warwick). Click the cover image for more information, or visit www.bigfinish.com to order this and other Dark Shadows audio dramas. DARK SHADOWS: THE PATH OF FATE Now Available from Big Finish... The Path of Fate is an audio production I've written based on the classic Dark Shadows TV serial, featuring the talents of original series actors David Selby (Quentin Collins) and Lara Parker (Angelique). The hour-long drama is now available on CD or as an MP3 download from Big Finish Productions. Click the cover image for more information, or visit www.bigfinish.com to order this and other Dark Shadows audio dramas.   "Over there, it's a cruel, dark place. The master tells me that when Quentin Collins finds my heart, I can come back. Now I am back." —Isaiah Mason THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE Podcast Q & A abut Lovecraftian fiction and The Nightmare Frontier, conducted by site host Gail Z. Martin, September 2010.