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deathlings.com's past issues:       1- 3      4 - 6      7 - 9      10-12

issue 15

We challenged you to write about substances imbibed or partaken that left a person, well…incapable of normal functioning. To describe the after effects: sometimes funny, sometimes scary and sometimes, perhaps, having a significance that lived long after the revelry was over. Here are the stories that stood out from over 70 submissions: Good for What Ails Them By Jane Gwaltney Another first for deathlings.com: an all-female issue (and we've been publishing for over 5 years now.) Jane Gwaltney's Good for What Ails Them is an intriguing look at an escaped asylum inmate who encounters a talky cabdriver who stops at his favorite bar and…well, you must read the story with its wham bam surprise ending. [1st place deathlings.com "Impaired" short story contest.]

The Three Wishes of Henry Hoggan By Monica J. O'Rourke Could anyone resist a story that begins, "Who hasn't heard some foreboding tale about a dark, desolate cemetery?" We couldn't. This is well-known horror writer Monica J. O'Rourke's first appearance in deathlings.com and a memorable one it is. Her story has a creepy setting, a quirky protagonist and liberal doses of humor. Read and enjoy! [2nd place deathlings.com "Impaired" short story contest.]

Sin or Redemption? By Penn Madison Penn Madison's story "Do You Believe in Magic?" appeared in deathlings.com's The '70's Were Hell and We Didn't Even Know It/Working Stiffs issue (that's right, we had a double theme that issue.) She admits that Sin or Redemption? was originally written for an absinthe-themed anthology that was never published. Now, usually we don't like recycled stories, but this one we couldn't refuse…evocative and chilling with (like our other stories) another surprise ending. [3rd place deathlings.com "Impaired" short story contest.]

issue 14

We challenged you to give us the good, the bad and the ugly about families in our "Family Values?" short story contest. So, without further ado, here are the stories that stood out from over 100 submissions.   The Cuckoo in the Clock By Brett Alexandor Savory and Paul Tremblay A first for deathlings.com--a story that was written by two authors: Paul Tremblay and Brett Alexander Savory--who are both making a name for themselves in the horror writing world. Their story "The Cuckoo in the Clock" features a now-you-see-him/now-you-don't character in a forbidding inner city alleyway, phone calls to the dead, the mystery of information that won't be shared and, finally, questioning the nature of reality itself. We found it reminiscent of one of our favorite movies: "Memento" and we promise you it will linger in your own memory long after you've read the last word. [1st place deathlings.com "Family Values?" short story contest.]

Proof Most Positive By Jerry Budinski "You'll never be rid of me. I will reach you from the grave," promises the evil grandfather in Jerry Budinski's eerie Proof Most Positive This is Jerry's first appearance in deathlings.com, and we know you'll enjoy his story with its unsettling surprise ending. [2nd place deathlings.com "Family Values?" short story contest.]

The Room By CV Gelvin Frequent contributor and deathlings.com fiction editor CV Gelvin describes the mother-from-hell in her nasty little story: The Room . [3rd place deathlings.com "Family Values?" short story contest.]

issue 13

All the stories in this issue are winners….and not just because we liked them. But like our first "Buried Treasures" issue (Fall 2000) all the stories included in this issue have placed in a contest, but have not been published. We here at deathlings.com intend to "write" that wrong (sorry, couldn't resist) so here goes…the winners of our Buried Treasures II short story contest:   Hopeful New Century By Jeff Kozzi "A streaming rocket blasted from the industrial zones or somewhere beyond, wobbling upwards on a growing, burning charcoal-and-strontium platform of crimson with a sparking tail." With description like that Jeff Kozzi's "Hopeful New Century" impressed us--we just couldn't stop reading. "Hopeful New Century" ranked #78 of 1,600+ entries in the 2001 Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition, Genre short story category. Jeff works as a property manager and freelance writer in Providence, Rhode Island and used to work at Rhode Island's infamous hotel/go-go club combo. Despite those coincidences, he denies that the narrator of the story is based on himself and has assured friends and family that he is not an alcoholic. He does admit, however, to being a pretty complacent drunk while maintaining his website. [1st place deathlings.com Buried Treasures II contest.]

Avery Dog has his Day By Steve Verge You won't look at the family pet the same way after you read Steve Verge's "Avery Dog has his Day" which was the third place winner in Twilight Tales' Flash Fiction Contest at the 2004 World Horror Convention in Phoenix, AZ. We heard from Steve that contrary to rumors circulated after the contest, he did not model the Avery character on himself. Although he has slobbered on his pillow, and may have inadvertently urinated on someone's shoe, to the best of his knowledge he has never drunk out of a toilet. [2nd place deathlings.com Buried Treasures II contest.]

The Norwegian Women's Auxiliary Laughed, At First By Greg Beatty Our third place winner "The Norwegian Women's Auxiliary Laughed, At First" is by frequent contributor Greg Beatty. (Greg's stories: Nanojacked and Welcome to the Phobia Group can be found in deathlings.com's past issues.) Greg earned a PhD in English from the University of Iowa. Before graduate school, he held the usual assortment of odd jobs, including licensed massage therapist and tending bar on a charter boat. This story took Third Place in the 2004 Conduit XIV Short Short Story Contest. [3rd place deathlings.com Buried Treasure II contest.]