Content: ghosts

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It's a little humor and a little horror. Not sure what genre to put it under. Anyway, I'm putting together a book of short stories from the zombie, halloween, and other short stories I've published here for various contests. I do have to warn you that you shouldn't read a couple of the zombie stories with a mouthful of milk. I never write serious zombie stories. I'm thinking I'll break the book down by sections: Missing Parts, Dark Hearts, and No, I'm Sane, Honest!

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Charity longs to be free…free to be herself, but who is she exactly? She hadn’t a clue until she comes across Adrian. Soon after their meeting, strange things start happening. In search of answers, she turns to her clairvoyant grandmother Alma. She discovers Charity bears the mark of the “Luna Roja” the coven that’s protected their family for two centuries. When Adrian’s father a Miami real estate tycoon falls ill, he’s forced to take on an empire. Now with their family’s dark secrets coming to light both Adrian and Charity must face their connected pasts to save their future.

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An ancient evil dogs a young heiress pushing her into destiny and her greatest fear -- to die . . . willingly. The Black Key opens in Kansas City during the early 1960’s. Samantha Gates is a very young child when she is brought to the mysterious twenty-first floor of the Ferrara Building. There she is indoctrinated with an array of information that she, a child, can not comprehend. Nevertheless, from that time forward Samantha has nightmares born of those lessons imposed upon her at the twenty-first floor.

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An 1890s preacher discovers a town scandal and meets the love of his life...or is that afterlife?

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A prostitute learns of an unsolved murder next door, the work of a modern-day Jack the Ripper. Can a group of Trekkies help her? This is actually taken from a ghost tale that lingered in my grandparents' hotel when I was a kid. It scared the peejeebies out of me then.

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What if Purgatory existed in a pane of glass?

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just a little piece i was toying with...thoughts are welcome.

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When Maggie Bernett returns to Bonaventure Cemetery to visit her dead husband Clem, she has an experience of a lifetime.

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***Updated on 4-22-2009 with edits. Thanks for all the feedback so far!** 19-year-old Diane Macauliffe's dreams are haunted by a walking, talking skeleton--and that's the least of her worries! First, she must survive basic training at Fort Devon's Army Base. With an inspection looming, she and fellow med-tech trainees Jack and Susie have been assigned clean-up duty in Devon's hospital morgue, which is rumored to be haunted. Jack comes up with a plan to smuggle in beer so that they can drink while they work, risking expulsion from the Army if they are caught. The three friends meet Edgar, a creepy janitor with a dark past who often lurks nearby. Edgar becomes trouble when he discovers what the young trainees--who have dubbed themselves "the morgue drinking club"--are up to. Is the morgue really haunted by ghosts, or merely by someone of flesh and blood who wants to keep them away? Diane must also face the thing she is most afraid of--the repressed memory of the way her father died. Along the way, she learns that she is not alone. After all, everyone's afraid of something; some of us are just better at hiding it than others. This is a young adult novel for readers ages 14 and up. I would like feedback on what works in this story and what doesn't, and how it could be made better. I think the characters are solid and I'm happy with the dialogue (however, please feel free to disagree--one agent commented that he thought the female characters sounded too old for 19, but I think their dialogue rings true. I'd be interested to learn what other writers think). I think the plot needs tightening, and I'm concerned that there may be too many times in the book where the characters are just talking--are these scenes boring? Also, I suspect that the plot may need more tension to drive it forward--maybe more creepy scenes with Edgar and Diane? Finally, does the plot go off on too many tangents? Any suggestions and feedback on these and other aspects of the book would be welcome.

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Charles "Cash" Register is a Private Investigator whose new case is to reclaim the missing wife of a weird little mystic from the "Spirits of the Great Beyond." His mother thinks she is a reincarnation of Annie Oakley. She's very handy with a lasso. His assistant is a gorgeous but ditzy blonde who's built like the best brick outhouse money can buy. She has a lot of skin to cover in places. Somehow she always has a little trouble keeping it adequately covered. When Chuck-A-Roo the Clown; Cedrick the Sissy; and old, senile Mrs. Snodgrass and her dog get involved, it becomes a calamity. The humor is a little silly and over-the-top in places. BEWARE: There is a lot of sexual inuendo, adult situations and adult language. And yes, our P.I. is a bit chauvanistic at times. Any comments you would care to make are welcomed. Anything from a general "I like it" or "I don't like it" to a lengthy technical critique would be fine. I am writing this as I go. I have completed but four chapters at this point. I was rather reluctant to do it this way. But, what the heck. It will force me to work hard on it. Problem is...I don't have a clue where the story is going yet! Should be interesting! Thanks in advance.

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