Decay. The word inspires images of mold-encrusted carpets in abandoned hotels, forgotten toys in the rain, and rusting roller coasters. Those of us who call ourselves urban explorers are obsessed with it, perhaps because of its profound sense of sadness; if we are still and listen, we can hear the whispers of a brighter past. This pervasive ghost doesn’t only haunt the physical world; it invades our bodies, minds, relationships, and societies. It is inevitable; we are helpless to stop it. In these stories, one man is suddenly stalked by the same hooded figure that pursued his terminally ill father, while another stalks the world’s evil at great cost to himself. A woman who’s recently picked up smoking undergoes a monstrous transformation, another reels when she sees her boyfriend for what he truly is, and North Pole elves experience heartbreak for the first time. There are more; fifteen tales in all. These are the things we lose; we die a little each day. Some of us just more quickly than others.

Death. Murder. Betrayal. An inevitable undoing. The selfish and terrible actions of humans rarely go unpunished in a world where Fate is a cruel mistress and Karma can be more vengeful than a woman scorned. Hell is real, and it exists here on Earth as several characters in the stories contained within can attest as they face war, jealousy, domestic violence, and supernatural forces. Some face Hell on a literal level as others discover it is one of their own making. None were prepared for the reality of their consequences. Authors Michael Barron, Eric M. Battaglia, Eddie Cantrell, Michael R. Collins, Patrick Hackeling, Matthew Lett, J.A.W. McCarthy, Karen Metcalf, Ben Nein, Liam Quinn, RL Schumacher, Caleb Stephens, C.J. Thomson, Jackie Valacich, and J.S. Watts weave together dark tales that question how far one is willing to push to get what they desire and explore the consequences of those more interested in themselves than their fellow men and women.

The world is a beautiful and terrifying place, where the lands have secrets of their own. There’s a rustle in the trees in the French countryside. Is it the wind? Or the soldiers who should have died just once? The fields of India encircle the shaman as he performs rituals that can take away a life or bring it back. The woods next to a lake in New England hide a camp full of archetypes and a psycho who may or may not wear a mask. There’s something about a place in time folded into a tale that becomes a character of its own, something that tantalizes and mesmerizes. From the twisting, gravel roads of New Zealand to the dusty, hard-lived ranches of the American West, we travel the world to find the disturbed, the mysterious, and the heart-wrenching. Authors Luke Bandy, Nick Barton, S. B. Roark, Michael D. Burnside, Gwyneth Cooper, Dana Himrich, Brooke Reynolds and introduce us to their worlds and invite us in to see it as they do.

Relationships are complicated at best. Some are beautiful, some are beautiful disasters, and some are just deadly. This edition of Ink Stains explores some of the most fantastic, frightening, and fascinating dysfunctional relationships ever put down on ink, be it with a parent, a friend, a would-be lover, or Kurt Cobain. Authors Clay McLeod Chapman, Mario E. Martinez, Matt Meyer, Ted Myers, Adam Michael Nicks, Jay Outhier, Doug Russell, Ryanne Strong, Bobbi Thomas, Lynden Wade, Kathleen Wolak, and Todd Zack give us a look at interactions between people behind closed doors and in the dark corners of their minds where dangerous, delirious thoughts sometimes turn into actions.

Death. A permanent end. Termination of life. Some embrace death as if reuniting with a long-missing old friend. Others fear it, try to outwit it, hide from it. And then there are those who are fascinated by it, mesmerized by it, chasing it down, taunting it, challenging it. In Ink Stains, Volume 1, eight authors explore death in all its facets in a collection of short stories that range from fantastical to gritty to supernaturally creepy. Join them in a journey through the darker side of fiction. Ink Stains, Volume 1 features stories by Michelle K. Bujnowski , Eddie Cantrell, John S. McFarland, Steph Minns, A. O’Neal Tamela J. Ritter, Aaron Vlek, and J. S. Watts.

A mischievous dog takes matters into his own paws when his beloved owners split up in this offbeat romantic comedy. The Man has custody Monday through Friday, The Woman has custody on the weekends. But that's not enough for Gatz, who will do anything to bring them back together—even if it kills him. And it almost did. Of course he knows chocolate is bad for him, especially two whole pounds of it, but it’s the risk he’s willing to take to get them back together. Gatz knows that The Man and The Woman are perfect for each other—how can they not see it too? She is an editor and he’s a writer. She’s a social butterfly and he’s as introverted as a guy can get. After the misguided death-by-chocolate attempt, Gatz thinks he still has time. But when New Man—so handsome, so nice, so perfect—enters The Woman's life, he realizes he’ll need to step up his game. And you know what they say: drastic times call for drastic doggy measures. A laugh-out-loud romance that will touch your heart and make you want a furry friend of your own.