Speculative Fiction
An Anthology of the Weird and the Peculiar
Published: October 2017
Do the dead dream?
Dive a wreck that was never there, in the waters off Bimini . . .
Meet a young girl who debates with rooftop monsters . . .
Dine at a tiny café teetering on the edge of oblivion . . .
Take refuge from a downpour in a gas station from nowhere . . .
Discover the real reason behind migraines . . .
Encounter a love gone bad before it ever existed . . .
Explore the emotional remains of a woman’s not-quite-dead past . . .
Follow a WWII airman plummeting through flak-filled German skies . . .
Edgy.
Unnerving.
Not quite right.
These are but a few of the surreal, the weird, and the peculiar you will encounter in a realm few willingly tread…with or without the lights on.
Early Reviews
“F. P. Dorchak writes like a hot-rodder heading toward a brick wall. Edge of your seat entertainment! I pondered over each of these stories long after I’d finished reading them. That’s what great writing is all about!” - Dean Wyant, Co-Founder, Hex Publishers
“A collection that folds upon itself like a Möbius strip. A twisted landscape of the humane, the weird, and the fantastic.” - Mario Acevedo, Author, University of Doom
“Stylistically edgy and willing to muck around in the darker corners of life, the stories in Do The Dead Dream? are both bold and gritty. Readers looking to be soothed and reassured about the human condition, seek elsewhere.” - Mark Stevens, The Allison Coil Mystery Series
“F. P. Dorchak’s anthology—a collection of forty-five short stories—spans decades and showcases the author’s wide-ranging talent. With tales that are at turns engaging, suspenseful, twisty and often slyly humorous, Dorchak focuses his penetrating gaze on those things we too often take for granted—and makes us laugh or shiver in the doing. Reading Do the Dead Dream? takes you across a threshold into a Kafkaesque world where anything can happen; if Rod Serling were still on Planet Earth, he would be the first to offer his voice for the audio version.” - Barbara Nickless, The Sydney Parnell Mystery Series
“So reminiscent of the Twilight Zone! Imagine a story between light and shadow, between science fiction and superstition, between what you know about horror, and what horrors one can only imagine. Gritty and beautifully crafted, Do the Dead Dream? is the sort of collection readers will enjoy story after story.” - J.A. Kazimer, Author of CURSES!
“From the surreal to the all too real, F. P. Dorchak’s stories delve into the realms of the mind, otherworldly beings, loves lost, and the fickle nature of death. With a little bit of everything, this collection of stories will haunt readers long after they’ve closed the book.” - Shannon Lawrence, Short Story Author, Blogger, The Warrior Muse
“Do The Dead Dream? is a masterpiece. F. P. Dorchak effortlessly weaves the real and surreal into twisting, epically personal stories. “Etched In Stone” and “Tail Gunner” challenge what we know as real and yet are completely human tales of love, loss, and camaraderie with incredible resonance. This is a collection of the highest order from a supremely talented author.” - Kevin Ikenberry, The Protocol War Series
“F. P. Dorchak’s short stories take a look at the world in an inside-out, rarely visited way. These are neither happily-ever-after tales nor ghost stories solely meant to creep you out. They are worlds that can be deliciously understated like dreams of dreams, as enigmatic as time warps, and as unexpected as falling in all directions at once. We meet werewolves and undead and people whose past lives bleed through. These tales are nostalgia-meets-a-future with nighttime borders that hint something is not quite right, each one putting the reader in a graying state between sleep and wakefulness.” - Karen Albright Lin, WritersLaunchPad
“F. P. Dorchak blurs the lines between reality and the paranormal with his vast collection of unnerving tales that are sure to keep you up past midnight.” - Joshua Viola, Denver Post bestselling author
“From a dangerously precocious little girl who befriends gargoyles to a conventional guy who discovers (first hand) an invasion of mind-blowing creatures, F. P. Dorchak offers up a collection of horrifying short stories in Do The Dead Dream?, which he delivers with an inimitable, unique voice. The reader accompanies Dorchak’s characters’ bizarre experiences that manifest as rapid-fire flashes of thought-pandemonium . . . as would naturally occur under such unnatural circumstances. Just when you think the path is headed in an obvious direction, Dorchak jerks the road out from under your beliefs to find yourself suddenly drawn along a most unexpected thoroughfare.” - Jan C. J. Jones, Executive Producer/Writer, FOREST ROSE PRODUCTIONS, LLC, A Journey with Strange Bedfellows
“You may think you’ve read it all, but F. P Dorchak’s “Do the Dead Dream?” will test the limits of your imagination. Picture Stephen King as a mad scientist, mixing bits of Night Gallery with a generous helping of Black Mirror, a dash of Altered States, a pinch of metaphysics, and a healthy dose of surrealism. Dorchak takes you forward and backward in time, puts you in the cockpit of a plane, plunges you into the ocean, and ushers you into other realms you never expected. Buckle up for a unique and unforgettable ride.” - Paul Gallagher, Writer/Editor, Blogger, Shadow & Substance
Excerpt
Homecoming
2000
There comes a time in everyone’s life when you must face the music.
To think back to your childhood . . . when you were basically not held accountable for much. Those were the fun times, happy times! Happy and carefree. Life was your amusement park!
You had no real responsibilities, aside from school and a few chores. If you had a bike, you were mobile and that meant freedom! The world was literally at your feet! And the challenges! Nothing went unchallenged! Everything was suspect, from your home to your school. You’d try to get away with as much as possible, testing the system. You’d steal that candy bar just to see if you could get away with it . . . stay out later and later on dates.
It was all part of being a kid.
The excitement of being a kid!
But then things begin to change about mid-way through high school.
Slowly but surely more responsibility was layered into your life. No longer did things remain just mere “unaccountable challenges” . . . and if you later became one of the few to go to war, you witnessed the atrocities of mankind. Things that seared your soul with an intense anger and hatred.
Sadness.
It was anger at the cruelties and callousness of conflict. At how the Human Condition could inflict torture—mental or physical—upon another. You wondered how could such things be? How could—can—people be driven to perform such atrocities—horrible, unspeakable acts upon each other.
How God could allow such things.
But it was and is real . . . and won’t ever go away.
The worst part is that it isn’t just confined to wars: it breeds . . . finding other ways to manifest . . . unleash itself. War (you find) just becomes a convenient excuse.
And while you’re in the middle of it all, you may find yourself thinking back to a particular girl you knew . . . before you left and everything went crazy. You think back to when you and her were an item.
Inseparable.
In love.
You think back with a sadness that bites deep. You think back to when you told her not to worry . . . you’d be back.
She says, well what about all the others who’ve said the same? You look her in the eyes and tell her—with all seriousness—that you’re different.
Yes, you think back to that time . . . and how you began to doubt your own words. She was the one you really cared about.
You remember that when that night was over so was your relationship. No one said anything, but you both felt it. And it wasn’t that you would necessarily never come back . . . no that wasn’t it. It was the waiting . . . and what you might become . . . .
She never wrote to you and you never wrote her—well, maybe once. You did write her that one time just to let her know you were okay. But that was it. When there was no response, you knew why.
There was no animosity. It was just something that had to be.
But you did come back . . . all limbs and mentality intact. At least you think so. Maybe you are a little rougher around the edges—there was no part of your being that was not bruised from your “experiences,” “they” call them—but you were still you.
That boy who’d gone off to war.
So you found your way to her place, that lone porch light still on the way you remember it. You knock at the door . . . her father opens it. Looks outside. He looks right through you as you stand before him . . . then he solemnly turns around without saying a word and reenters the house, head slumped miserably forward.
You, however, straighten yours up more.
You’re prepared.
Couldn’t be more prepared.
You turn back to the street . . . your thousand-yard stare catches you off-guard . . . recall the firefights . . . the carnage . . . the smell of death and destruction . . . but also the life you had before the war . . . before . . . before you’d changed . . . .
It seems you stand there for an eternity.
Then a hand reaches out for you.
You turn.
She stands before the door, face to face with you.
You’re knees buckle.
Something inside you unhinges.
Tears . . . pain . . . in both sets of eyes.
You weren’t the only one who’d changed.
You thought you’d forever lost her . . . and she you. Sure, she had her “experiences” (“they” call them) while you were gone . . . but she’d always held you closest . . . never really wanted to let you go. You see it in her eyes. Feel it in the electricity between the both of you.
You were back . . . and so was she.
Back for you.
Gently you take her hand. Together you both turn . . . and hand-in-hand step off the porch . . . and vaporize as your feet hit the path leading away from one life . . .
Into another.
About the Author
F. P. Dorchak writes gritty speculative fiction. Frank is published in the U.S., Canada, and the Czech Republic. His novels are Voice, Psychic, ERO, The Uninvited, and Sleepwalkers, and his first anthology, Do The Dead Dream? won the 2017 Best Books Award for Fiction: Short Stories. His short stories have appeared in the off-the-grid The Black Sheep; You Belong 2016, Words and Images from Longmont Area Residents regional anthology for 2016; The You Belong Collection, Writings and Illustrations by Longmont Area Residents regional anthology for 2012; Apollo’s Lyre. Frank can occasionally be reached in séances, and his website is www.fpdorchak.com.
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Title: Caged Fire
Author: LM Preston
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Cover Designer: We've Got You Covered
Publication Date: March 7th, 2019
Hosted by: Lady Amber's Reviews & PR
Blurb:
They say you can't run away from your problems. EmVee knew from experience it was true. She and her father tried to run, until the truth came and got them. Now with nothing to lose, she must confront the monster that changed her life forever. Unfortunately, she has to work with his best friend, Kayson who she is almost sure, isn't quite as nice as he seems. Kayson revealed not just why her father disappeared, but a new world of magicals that wanted the debt he left behind to be paid.
Buy Links:
Insatiable Darkness (Vigilant Book .5): https://amzn.to/2RgFajD
Caged Fire (Vigilant Book 1): https://amzn.to/2LUvJ3o
L.M. Preston, a native of Washington, DC. An avid reader, she loved to create poetry and short-stories as a young girl. She is an author, an engineer, a professor, a mother and a wife. Her passion for writing and helping others to see their potential through her stories and encouragement has been her life's greatest adventures. She loves to write while on the porch watching her kids play or when she is traveling, which is another passion that encouraged her writing.
Author Links:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2vxZKx9
Website: http://www.lmpreston.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LM_Preston
Buy Links:
Insatiable Darkness (Vigilant Book .5): https://amzn.to/2RgFajD
Caged Fire (Vigilant Book 1): https://amzn.to/2LUvJ3o
Title: Frozen in Flames
Author: Brandy L. Rivers Genre: Adult PNR Publication Date: January 7th, 2019 âHosted by: Lady Amber's Reviews & PR
Blurb:
Words can freeze or burn, as well as mend. Ready to give up on love, Lonny stuck around to ensure Lanaâs safety at the request of an old friend. But every day is a painful reminder she doesnât want to love a Fae. The words of her father left Lana doubting herself. Finally free of his opinion, she realizes she wants Lonny in her life. But someone will stop at nothing to claim her for his own agenda. A series of attacks turns the tables. Now itâs her turn to chase Lonny while uncovering secrets buried in her past. As they grow closer, she learns who she is and how wrong she was, but the threat hasn't ended.
Buy Links:
Nights Embrace: https://amzn.to/2GXHEP4
Storm Mistress: https://amzn.to/2sdKMfo
Accepting Fate: https://amzn.to/2CRX3vX
Changing Destiny: https://amzn.to/2CT0ItA
Coming Together: https://amzn.to/2LSJSOo
Storm Wrath: https://amzn.to/2sf0x5P
Twisted Bonds: https://amzn.to/2SAocsJ
Darkness Binds: https://amzn.to/2CT3W08
Frozen in Flames: https://amzn.to/2RxGNIV
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Author Bio:
Brandy L Rivers is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is kept busy writing the Others of Seattle, Others of Edenton, Combustible, and the Pine Barrens Pack series. An avid reader, Brandy has always loved writing. She became serious about it as a stay-at-home-mother. With every story her world of characters expands, pulling her new directions. Living in rainy Western Washington with her husband and three kids, Brandy is already working on future stories in each of the series, and several other projects. â Hi everyone!!
Happy New Year!!! Can you believe we are in 2019 already? I feel the last year has flown by. 2018 was a year of growth, finding my voice and sticking up for myself, along with growing Good Books & Tasty Morsels, expanding my To Be Read List, and learning about new to me authors. I hope 2019 will bring about good changes and even more growth with Good Books & Tasty Morsels. I look forward to reaching my goals I have set for the blog, and personally. I am making it a goal/ priority to attend more book events this year! I want to meet/see authors and talk to them about their books. I hope everyone has a great year and I look forward to working with you all! Thanks, and as always enjoy!
Title: Legendary Box Set
Author: Multi-Authors
Genre: SciFi Fantasy
Cover Designer: Paper Gold Publishing
Blurb:
From the publishers of Legends and Legacy, the two longest-running, best-selling sci-fi fantasy collections comesâ¦
LEGENDARY
Freecurrent: The Legacy by Deanna J. Compton
A long-lost diary promising a world where magic and dragons rule.
Bernie and the Lost Girl by Steve Lebel
Not long ago, a young girl disappeared, and all of God Town feared for her life. After extensive searches, little Emily could not be found.
Mecha 1: Steel Trap by Brendon Berg
Earth has become devoid of anything natural due to large scale fracking. The planet is a barren, devastated, global wasteland. Jason, an ex-marine, discovers his training doesnât count for much on Mecha 1.
The Tin of Honey by Holly Barbo
Life is tough for Zoe in the new world. As a small child, her voice can never be heard and she may as well be invisible. Except as a slave.
Adamanta: Season 1, Episode 1 by T.Y. Carew
For humanity, hope is merely a fantasy, until Colonel Xander Finlay meets Matt. Sheâs mastered control of a brand-new technology. A new weapon. Can her experience and her parentâs lifetime of research turn the tide of war?
Pick of the Litter - A Mutt is Born by Sean Gallatin
He can survive on the junkyard planet. The pack of dogs provide some company, but he must find a way to get away and pay someone back. Can he cobble together something that will get him off world and back in the game?
A Fire's Sacrifice by Jess Mountifield
Narway's life will never be the same. Her father is dead. Almost entirely alone she must choose between two paths. Whatever she decides she'll have to make a sacrifice.
Martin Little Resurrected by Ella Medler
Meet Martin Little -- Little by name, little by fortune, and with a luck to match those two. Once he breaks into Heaven, it's all a downhill slide to Hell.
Deirdreâs Dawn by J. Michael McFadden
Young Deirdre loves Celtic lore. Are the heroic stories true or legend? Living in year 1000, she avidly reads ancient manuscripts at the Abbey will she become part of the stories? Best friend Culain dares her to discover Ancestral Secrets in the Enchanted Ards Forest! Will faerie magic prevail over her doubts?
Lost Shadows by Julie Elizabeth Powell
Not only had Adam lost his parents in a car crash, but heâd also forgotten who he was. Pamela is haunted by the patient who was murdered by her father. Barbara and Mike have mysterious secrets. Harry seeks solace at the bottom of a glass. Most are strangers, all are haunted by darkness â does this unite them? Will they find what is lost?
The Owner by Nathan Boxall
Peace on earth! That's what the elves promised when they came out of hiding. We did get that, but do we know what it cost us?
Zero Cadence by Rene Folsom
âI am intrigued by the notion that love was once a choice. The adventure of falling in love, finding your soul mate amongst billions of people around the Earth, seems so much more realistic than being told who youâre meant to be with for eternity. I feel like I would much rather go through loss and heartache in order to find my true match, instead of being told by a stupid internal timer when my soul will finally be complete.â
The Timely Gift by Suzy Stewart Dubot
Ivan Tait, Lord Palmer, has a gift. One might suppose that it is his astounding good looks, but one would be wrong. His gift is not visible. A time-travel novella.
In Pursuit of Cheese A Cat and CoDee Novella by Cherime MacFarlane
Greenhouse II, one world where Cat can be herself, may no longer be safe. As they struggle to communicate without using their bond, neither sense the menace lurking in the warm jungle. A catastrophe on a far-off world which produces a fine cheese may prove to be Catâs undoing.
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2CMiv5z
Participating Authors:
Deanna J. Compton
Steve Lebel
Brendon Berg
Holly Barbo
T.Y. Carew
Sean Gallatin
Jess Mountifield
Ella Medler
Rene Folson
Stewart Dubot
Cherime MacFarlane
J. Michael McFadden
Julie Elizabeth Powell
Nathan Boxall
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2CMiv5z
Title: Sailing Backward
Author: Cherime MacFarlane
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Designer: Paper Gold Publishing
Publication Date: January 4th, 2019
Hosted by: Lady Amber's Reviews & PR
Blurb:
Olivia has had enough of paradise. The Bay Babe is hers, bequeathed by her father. The young woman sneaks out of the Hawaiian harbor bound for Alaska. Itâs a long trip single-handed for a lone woman, but an urge for home on Kachemak Bay drives her.
Adrift in a lifeboat on the Gulf of Alaska, Don wonders if heâll live to see morning. Every rotten thing heâs ever done haunts him as he bails. The white sails of an approaching yacht might mean survival if he can get their attention.
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2SAgten
I came to Alaska kicking and screaming in 1976, and I never want to leave. I cut firewood on shares for money to get through the winter. I swore I would not live above the Alaska Range because it was too cold there and wound up in the Copper River Basin where it got just a cold as Fairbanks.
My second husband, a Scot from Glasgow, was the love of my life. When I write Scots dialect, I experienced hearing it from my in-laws. Each time my husband got on the phone to Scotland after five seconds, I could hardly understand a word. I was my second husband's chief mechanic's helper and roadie.
I live in a cabin which is slowly being surrounded by the city and wish I were farther out. My cat and Husky-Collie mix dog are happy in our little slice of heaven called Alaska. In the silence of winter dreams of people and places provide a rich pool of ideas to explore.
As a reporter for the Copper Valley Views, Cherime MacFarlane received a letter of commendation from the Copper River Native Association for fair and balanced reporting.
Author Link:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BTKMFC
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CherimeMacFarla
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2SAgten
He led her to the crew quarters and Ole sighed. âI get it. The bunks are one atop the other and there are only two. Why is this area so small?â
Don tapped her on the shoulder. âOver here and youâll understand. The man who owned Sandy before me had her built to his specifications. He and his wife never had kids and she fished with him all the time.â
He opened the door behind them and Ole stepped inside the captainâs quarters. âLiked her comfort, did she? Iâve never seen a working vessel this size with two heads. And you can actually walk around the bed on both sides. Living in the lap of luxury, thatâs what this is.â
He shrugged his shoulders and sat on the edge of the built-in bed. âThe perks of ownership, what can I say?â
With a laugh, she flopped down on the side of the bed next to him and fell backward with both arms out. âThis is comfortable. Youâd better be careful; the crew might mutiny one of these days.â
He turned his head to look at her and the smile left Oleâs face. Something about the manâs expression, maybe the glint in his eyes, pinned her to the mattress. As if a switch got flipped, it all changed between them.
âOle?â Don turned on his side and leaned back on one elbow. The fingers of his free hand pushed the hair away from her forehead. He traced her eyebrows then slid a fingertip down the bridge of her nose to her lips.
Her breath hitched when his thumb slid across her bottom lip. One of her hands cupped his cheek. Don bent his head and kissed her. Everything before Don fell away. The guys who fooled around and tried to cozy up to her for the Babe were far short of Donâs league.
She might have given in if he pushed it, but he didnât. Ole wasnât sure how much time passed before he sat up, stood, and held out a hand to her. âUpsy-daisy, sweetheart. You need to get your delish self and the Babe home.â
With a sigh, he tugged her into an embrace. His cheek rested on her hair. âThat was out of line. I probably shouldnât have. Iâm too old and got too much baggage to be messing with a sweet thing like you.â
She slapped him lightly on the chest. âDonât be a Dick, Don.â
He groaned and Ole laughed as she leaned back in his arms. âI donât want to hear another word. Thereâs no reason to ruin a perfectly good kissing session with bullshit.â
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