Logan Rickover, owner of a hardware store in a small town in Kentucky, has lucid dreams of life as an astronaut that intrude upon his life at any moment. Which of his lives is real? The quiet paradise of Danville or the terrifying jungle world of Stheno D?
This novelette is a terrific read for those who have only a quick break to take a breather and escape to another reality. In this sci-fi thriller, I endeavor to blur the boundaries between alien-induced hallucinations, the brutal reality of the present, and memories of an idyllic past.
Ron Baker calls it “Nightmare Planet”, gives it five stars, and comments: “This short has exactly what I like in science fiction: planet exploration and bizarre otherworldly aliens, in this case insectoid. The horrendous purpose the aliens have for the hapless astronauts who make planetfall to find the numerous previous missing exploration teams is grisly. I love the mystery of the planet and the authors device of alternating from the aliens bizarre perspective then switching to the astronauts point of view.”
Cover for New Print Edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror
The new print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror is out at a much reduced price of $14.95.
The original print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror has been prohibitively expensive from the start. I recently decided to change that. Producing a new edition also gives me a chance to come out with an improved cover design. I was new at publishing with Amazon when I first published ATOH and my cover design came out as less than exciting.
One of the mistakes I made with the original print edition was that I chose the option for full color printing thinking this applied to the cover. Full color printing is always expensive, so I wasn’t surprised when the price came out at $53.99 and didn’t know any better. However, as I came to find out later, that option was for color interior pages. Amazon bases the printing cost on number of interior pages and whether the interior is in color or black and white. I found out that the cover can be color without affecting the printing cost so long as the interior pages are B/W. For example, when I published Click in print, its cover was in color, but the price was very reasonable (and still is).
I have been working on a second edition to bring down the price to something reasonable. Republishing it also gives me an opportunity to expand the distribution to brick and mortar stores by using Amazon’s expanded distribution, which I did not take advantage of initially. However, the important changes for the reader are that the price will be reduced considerably: down to $14.95 from $53.99 and finding a print edition should be easier. Note that A Tale of Hell… is about 300 pages long, so $14.95 is not unreasonable for a book of that length.
The new cover is similar to the Kindle edition (as I just love that painting by Adolphe Bougereau) but is modified slightly to conform to the limited formats available for Amazon print books.
Cover for New Print Edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror
The new print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror is out at a much reduced price of $14.95.
The original print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror has been prohibitively expensive from the start. I recently decided to change that. Producing a new edition also gives me a chance to come out with an improved cover design. I was new at publishing with Amazon when I first published ATOH and my cover design came out as less than exciting.
One of the mistakes I made with the original print edition was that I chose the option for full color printing thinking this applied to the cover. Full color printing is always expensive, so I wasn’t surprised when the price came out at $53.99 and didn’t know any better. However, as I came to find out later, that option was for color interior pages. Amazon bases the printing cost on number of interior pages and whether the interior is in color or black and white. I found out that the cover can be color without affecting the printing cost so long as the interior pages are B/W. For example, when I published Click in print, its cover was in color, but the price was very reasonable (and still is).
I have been working on a second edition to bring down the price to something reasonable. Republishing it also gives me an opportunity to expand the distribution to brick and mortar stores by using Amazon’s expanded distribution, which I did not take advantage of initially. However, the important changes for the reader are that the price will be reduced considerably: down to $14.95 from $53.99 and finding a print edition should be easier. Note that A Tale of Hell… is about 300 pages long, so $14.95 is not unreasonable for a book of that length.
The new cover is similar to the Kindle edition (as I just love that painting by Adolphe Bougereau) but is modified slightly to conform to the limited formats available for Amazon print books.
Logan Rickover, owner of a hardware store in a small town in Kentucky, has lucid dreams of life as an astronaut that intrude upon his life at any moment. Which of his lives is real? The quiet paradise of Danville or the terrifying jungle world of Stheno D?
This novelette is a terrific read for those who have only a quick break to take a breather and escape to another reality. In this sci-fi thriller, I endeavor to blur the boundaries between alien-induced hallucinations, the brutal reality of the present, and memories of an idyllic past.
Ron Baker calls it “Nightmare Planet”, gives it five stars, and comments: “This short has exactly what I like in science fiction: planet exploration and bizarre otherworldly aliens, in this case insectoid. The horrendous purpose the aliens have for the hapless astronauts who make planetfall to find the numerous previous missing exploration teams is grisly. I love the mystery of the planet and the authors device of alternating from the aliens bizarre perspective then switching to the astronauts point of view.”
Cover for New Print Edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror
The new print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror is out at a much reduced price of $14.95.
The original print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror has been prohibitively expensive from the start. I recently decided to change that. Producing a new edition also gives me a chance to come out with an improved cover design. I was new at publishing with Amazon when I first published ATOH and my cover design came out as less than exciting.
One of the mistakes I made with the original print edition was that I chose the option for full color printing thinking this applied to the cover. Full color printing is always expensive, so I wasn’t surprised when the price came out at $53.99 and didn’t know any better. However, as I came to find out later, that option was for color interior pages. Amazon bases the printing cost on number of interior pages and whether the interior is in color or black and white. I found out that the cover can be color without affecting the printing cost so long as the interior pages are B/W. For example, when I published Click in print, its cover was in color, but the price was very reasonable (and still is).
I have been working on a second edition to bring down the price to something reasonable. Republishing it also gives me an opportunity to expand the distribution to brick and mortar stores by using Amazon’s expanded distribution, which I did not take advantage of initially. However, the important changes for the reader are that the price will be reduced considerably: down to $14.95 from $53.99 and finding a print edition should be easier. Note that A Tale of Hell… is about 300 pages long, so $14.95 is not unreasonable for a book of that length.
The new cover is similar to the Kindle edition (as I just love that painting by Adolphe Bougereau) but is modified slightly to conform to the limited formats available for Amazon print books.
Logan Rickover, owner of a hardware store in a small town in Kentucky, has lucid dreams of life as an astronaut that intrude upon his life at any moment. Which of his lives is real? The quiet paradise of Danville or the terrifying jungle world of Stheno D?
This novelette is a terrific read for those who have only a quick break to take a breather and escape to another reality. In this sci-fi thriller, I endeavor to blur the boundaries between alien-induced hallucinations, the brutal reality of the present, and memories of an idyllic past.
Ron Baker calls it “Nightmare Planet”, gives it five stars, and comments: “This short has exactly what I like in science fiction: planet exploration and bizarre otherworldly aliens, in this case insectoid. The horrendous purpose the aliens have for the hapless astronauts who make planetfall to find the numerous previous missing exploration teams is grisly. I love the mystery of the planet and the authors device of alternating from the aliens bizarre perspective then switching to the astronauts point of view.”
My novelette, Click, is available free today on Amazon Kindle.
For it or the paperback version, go to my Amazon author’s page: Amazon.com/author/philslattery. If you like Click, you will probably enjoy my other works available on Amazon as well.
Frank Martinez, a policeman with the Corpus Christi Police Department, has unintentionally shot and killed an unarmed man when called to intercede in a domestic violence case. To recover from the guilt while the incident is under investigation by the CCPD, Frank’s fiancée arranges for him to stay on a secluded island owned by her father’s former law partner. While dozing one night on a lounge chair in the yard, he awakes to find two hitmen slipping onto the island and breaking into the cabin. Are they after him? Are they after the cabin’s owner? Most importantly, how is he going to reach his pistol in his luggage in the bedroom?
Reader Charles Stacey gave “Click” five stars on Amazon and commented:
“Author has a wonderful ability to develop the characters using few words. Great foreshadowing to build suspense. And then a really outstanding twist at the end that left me smiling.”
Joe Leonardi gave Click five stars on Amazon commenting: “An interesting story with a double twist ending that left this reader wanting more….” while he also reviewed Click on his website, ShortStoryScribe.com, saying:
Author Phil Slattery takes us on an interesting ride. He gives a twist ending to the story, that once revealed, you realize he peppered the story with clues. The second twist ending hits out of left field, and left this reader wanting for more.
The motivation is as old as storytelling, but that doesn’t make it bad. Slattery’s words make us care for the main character and seeing his view of his marriage leave us, in the end, feeling sad for him in his moment of triumph.
Edward Z gave Click five stars on Amazon and commented:
A policeman on leave on a secluded island after shooting an unarmed man with a toy gun finds himself under siege by two criminals looking to use the place themselves…
A lot of detail goes into both the psychological aspects of the story as well as the action. This one is packed with every character’s motives, inner dialogue, and very well thought out. When it gets to the action it keeps this up as well as adding a lot of excitement.
Smart, fast-paced, and full of action. The characters are well done and don’t suffer from the usual boring tropes too much, and the two criminals are interesting as the author knows how to do ‘bad guys’ rather well.
An Amazon customer gave Click five stars and commented:
“This novelette is a quick and very entertaining read. It opened with a grabber (“Tell me again whey we have to kill this guy…”) and kept pulling me in from there. Frank Martinez is a cop trying to recover from a shooting incident in solitude on an island off the Texas gulf coast. T.J. and Benny are the bad guys. Their hunt and chase on the small island kept me in suspense. It ends with a surprise twist. Slattery proves here he is a good storyteller.”
While on my author’s page, check out my other works.
Don’t forget to leave your own review on Amazon, Goodreads, or other social media.
Cover for New Print Edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror
The new print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror is out at a much reduced price of $14.95.
The original print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror has been prohibitively expensive from the start. I recently decided to change that. Producing a new edition also gives me a chance to come out with an improved cover design. I was new at publishing with Amazon when I first published ATOH and my cover design came out as less than exciting.
One of the mistakes I made with the original print edition was that I chose the option for full color printing thinking this applied to the cover. Full color printing is always expensive, so I wasn’t surprised when the price came out at $53.99 and didn’t know any better. However, as I came to find out later, that option was for color interior pages. Amazon bases the printing cost on number of interior pages and whether the interior is in color or black and white. I found out that the cover can be color without affecting the printing cost so long as the interior pages are B/W. For example, when I published Click in print, its cover was in color, but the price was very reasonable (and still is).
I have been working on a second edition to bring down the price to something reasonable. Republishing it also gives me an opportunity to expand the distribution to brick and mortar stores by using Amazon’s expanded distribution, which I did not take advantage of initially. However, the important changes for the reader are that the price will be reduced considerably: down to $14.95 from $53.99 and finding a print edition should be easier. Note that A Tale of Hell… is about 300 pages long, so $14.95 is not unreasonable for a book of that length.
The new cover is similar to the Kindle edition (as I just love that painting by Adolphe Bougereau) but is modified slightly to conform to the limited formats available for Amazon print books.
Cover for New Print Edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror
The new print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror is out at a much reduced price of $14.95.
The original print edition of A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror has been prohibitively expensive from the start. I recently decided to change that. Producing a new edition also gives me a chance to come out with an improved cover design. I was new at publishing with Amazon when I first published ATOH and my cover design came out as less than exciting.
One of the mistakes I made with the original print edition was that I chose the option for full color printing thinking this applied to the cover. Full color printing is always expensive, so I wasn’t surprised when the price came out at $53.99 and didn’t know any better. However, as I came to find out later, that option was for color interior pages. Amazon bases the printing cost on number of interior pages and whether the interior is in color or black and white. I found out that the cover can be color without affecting the printing cost so long as the interior pages are B/W. For example, when I published Click in print, its cover was in color, but the price was very reasonable (and still is).
I have been working on a second edition to bring down the price to something reasonable. Republishing it also gives me an opportunity to expand the distribution to brick and mortar stores by using Amazon’s expanded distribution, which I did not take advantage of initially. However, the important changes for the reader are that the price will be reduced considerably: down to $14.95 from $53.99 and finding a print edition should be easier. Note that A Tale of Hell… is about 300 pages long, so $14.95 is not unreasonable for a book of that length.
The new cover is similar to the Kindle edition (as I just love that painting by Adolphe Bougereau) but is modified slightly to conform to the limited formats available for Amazon print books.
I have been in the marketing/publicity mode for Shadows and Stars tonight, so in addition to my new Twitter banner, I also designed one for my LinkedIn page. I downloaded the background image from Pexels.com, where you can get high-quality, royalty/fee-free, public domain images.
I have been in the marketing/publicity mode for Shadows and Stars tonight, so in addition to my new Twitter banner, I also designed one for my LinkedIn page. I downloaded the background image from Pexels.com, where you can get high-quality, royalty/fee-free, public domain images.
Alien Embrace is included in my collection A Tale of Hell and Other Works of Horror: Stories of Wizards, Werewolves, Serial Killers, Alien Worlds, and the Damned.
Phil Slattery, Writer, Publisher 