CARSON, the new thriller by award-winning author Michael Houtchen, is now available in print and eBook editions from Seventh StarShadow!
Thriller readers everywhere will love this exciting introduction of Carson, an assassin with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), who is the only hope for an eight-year-old girl taken captive by the men who murdered her mother. This novel is the first release in The Sicarii Series!
It has always been thought, people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are born without emotions and feelings. They were a bit like Spock from Star Trek ̶ analytical and logical. To the world, it seems, they can’t love, and in turn, they can’t care for anyone. People with ASD make the best assassins.
Carolyn Johnston, the eight-year-old daughter of the recently deceased prostitute Freda Johnston, finds herself a captive of the men who murdered her mother. As fate would have it, her life now depends on an assassin with ASD.
His name is Carson.
About the Author:
I’ve been lucky to be with Seventh Star Press (SSP) for five years. Stephen and Holly are beautiful people, as are all the members of the SSP family. My first novel in the SSP franchise, Tybee Island H-Bomb, won the 2020 Imadjinn Award for the best thriller. Since then, we’ve come out with two sequels, Death of Innocence, and Phantom of the Circus.
My wife of thirty years next February, Stephanie, and I live in Owensboro, Kentucky. Owensboro is a small town on the Ohio River in the western part of the state. We have five kids and ten grandkids, with a new one on the way. I mustn’t forget Tony, our pound puppy. Okay, he weighs in at fifty pounds, so I wouldn’t necessarily call him a puppy. The point is, I don’t want to leave him out. The last time I did, he pouted for over a week.
The Phantom of the Circus, the brand new thriller from Michael Houtchen, is available today in print and eBook formats! Thriller and Mystery readers alike will love this new addition to Michael’s franchise that includes Tybee Island H-Bomb and Death of Innocence.
Death has a way of drawing people together, and it’s no exception for Betty Hall and her mother, Zoe Payne. With the death of Innocence ‒ Betty’s daughter and Zoe’s granddaughter ‒ the two were again united but for only a few short weeks.
One day, not long after Zoe returned to her home with a traveling circus in California, Betty received a call from the Santa Monica police saying her mother’s body had washed up under its famous pier. The following day, Betty, her dad FJ, and his friend Ray Harris boarded a plane bound for L.A. to retrieve the body and bring her mother home.
Lucia Torres’s grandmother was concerned about her granddaughter. Why? Lucia Torres was becoming a young woman.
Unfortunately, the human monsters that occasionally invaded her little Mexican town would also take note. Their hearts would be filled with lust, and make no mistake about it, the monsters would want to pluck the little budding flower.
Call it fate. Call it destiny. Soon Betty Hall and Lucia Torres’s lives would collide, all thanks to the Phantom of the Circus.
About the Author:
I’ve been lucky to be with Seventh Star Press (SSP) for five years. Stephen and Holly are beautiful people, as are all the members of the SSP family. My first novel in the SSP franchise, Tybee Island H-Bomb, won the 2020 Imadjinn Award for the best thriller. Since then, we’ve come out with a sequel, Death of Innocence. Holly is looking at a short story, a prequel to Tybee Island H-Bomb. I’m also about to finish another novel in the Tybee Island series. Hopefully, it will be in SSP’s hands in the next month or so.
My wife of thirty years next February, Stephanie, and I live in Owensboro, Kentucky. Owensboro is a small town on the Ohio River in the western part of the state. We have five kids and ten grandkids, with a new one on the way. I mustn’t forget Tony, our pound puppy. Okay, he weighs in at fifty pounds, so I wouldn’t necessarily call him a puppy. The point is, I don’t want to leave him out. The last time I did, he pouted for over a week. I started writing back in 2012, and I self-published several works.
SSP is thinking about re-publishing several. In addition, I have another completed manuscript in SSP’s hands. It’s about an assassin with Autism.
Raymond Harris has looked into the eyes of the dead before, but none ever touched him like the eyes of a sixteen-year-old girl found murdered in an abandoned house on the outskirts of Franklin, Kentucky. Her death struck a nerve because Ray knew her. Ray knew her likes and dislikes. He knew everything about her because she was his Godchild. She was the granddaughter of Ray’s best friend, and Ray knew her grandpa would seek revenge. Finding her killer would become the driving force in Ray’s life. The deceased was beautiful, kind, and caring. Everyone loved her, and she didn’t desire to die. Her name was Innocence.
About Michael Houtchen:
Kentucky has always been my home. I was born in Owensboro and raised in Daviess County. Life was simple back then. I grew up with outhouses, hand-pumps, and coal stoves. If you wanted hot water, you heated it on the stove. Both of my parents have passed on. I have a half-brother, Danny, but most of our younger lives he lived with his father, so we didn’t get to see each other often. Looking back, sadly, it was like being an only child. My closest friends were the cows, chickens, pigs, goats, sheep, turkeys, geese, ducks, and horses my dad kept on our small farm. I hope I didn’t leave anyone out. Farm animals can be so jealous. Our grocery store – mason jars of mom’s canned vegetables and the occasional trip into town to the IGA.
My dad was a woodsman. You could give him a shotgun, a box of shells and a book of matches, and he could disappear into the forest for weeks. I used to hunt with him, but I was never the woodsman. I can’t tell you how many deer, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and ground hogs I’ve eaten. My wife, Stephanie, and I have five kids (three boys and two girls) and eight grandchildren (five boys and three girls). All but one son live here in town. You should see Christmas day at our house.
I’ve had several jobs during my lifetime. When I was thirteen, I had a summer job. I was a soda-jerk at the Utica Junior High School playground. The school is now defunct. It is not my fault the school went defunct. As an adult, I started out as a janitor. Loved the work, but not the pay. Mapping came next. In other words, I was a draftsman who created maps from surveys. I did that for over twenty years. Mapping fulltime and going to Brescia College (It’s now a University) at night, I got a BS in Computer Science. Career change. I was a Computer Analyst for over twenty years. There came a day when I realized I was the dinosaur of Computer Science. Technology had passed me by. So, I up and retired. That was in 2014, and I haven’t missed working a day. Truth be known, I do miss the people I worked with. Notice, I’ve said nothing about writing. I could tell you a pretty good story, but putting it on paper was another thing. Stephanie, my wife, asked, “And why not?” I had no answer.
I should keep this short, so, I will tease you with two important events that happened in my life; two events that I haven’t already discussed. When we meet each other, don’t hesitate to ask me about them. Monday, September 6, 1965, was a Labor Day, and I was out of school. On that day, I came in contact with a high voltage powerline. Seven thousand two hundred volts entered my hand and exited my head and my feet. That’s not a typo. It was seven thousand two hundred volts. I was given up for dead for three days. There is a “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey used to say. Ask me about it when we meet.
The second event: September 17, 2017, I was ordained a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Church. It keeps me busy these days. If you’re not sure what a Permanent Deacon does, Goggle “Permanent Deacon of the Catholic Church.”
There you have it. My life story summed up in 1000 words or less. It sounds like a writing contest doesn’t it. There’s so much I left out. I could tell you about riding the rails, or the time I hung myself. But, those will have to wait until we meet.
Award-winning author Tommy B. Smith’s brand new suspense and coming of age novel Anybody Want to Play WAR? is now available in print and eBook formats from Seventh StarShadow!
Get your copy of Anybody Want to Play WAR? at the direct links below!
As the teenaged survivor of a savage dog’s rampage, it’s a lesson Bryce Gallo will never forget.
Struggling to cope with his damaged appearance, along with a newfound fear of dogs and mounting anxieties at home and school, he flees his suburban home into the moonlit streets of St. Charles.
Along the roads of suburbia and through the shadowed heart of the city, he encounters Wheels, a maintenance worker for a series of apartment buildings; Paloma, known to some by the moniker of Lady Luck; and a woman in a dark house who is, as far as Bryce can fathom, like no one else he has met before.
His new life is not without obstacles or enemies, he learns. The future is a battlefield. Fire and smoke loom on the horizon, and his dangerous course may see the lives of his family and friends forever changed.
About the Author: Tommy B. Smith is a writer of dark fiction, author of The Mourner’s Cradle, Poisonous, and the short story collection Pieces of Chaos, as well as works appearing in numerous magazines and anthologies throughout the years. His presence currently infests Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he resides with his wife and cats. More information can be found on his website at http://www.tommybsmith.com.
Seventh Star Press is proud to reveal the cover art by Bob Freeman for his new novel Descendant, A Novel of the Liber Monstrorum. Descendant will be released in print and eBook editions on October 31st, the day of Halloween!
Pre-order the Kindle edition today at the link below!
A supernatural thriller that readers of horror will also love, Descendant includes several original illustrations from Bob Freeman! The novel is interrelated with Bob’s short story collection First Born: Tales of the Liber Monstrorum, but can be read on its own.
Synopsis: Descendant is a supernatural thriller filled with daring action, adventure, and artifice set against the backdrop of a very familiar world – but it is a world in which preternatural entities, clandestine magical orders, ancient bloodlines, and unholy alliances converge within the shadowed recesses of our darkest imaginings.
Federal Agents Selina Wolfe and Martin Crowe are called in to investigate a series of bizarre deaths in a small rural community. What first seems to be a misadventure involving black magic and satanic ritual soon takes on even more deleterious overtones, as the agents become embroiled in a plot by a sinister cabal intent on unleashing Hell on Earth.
About the Author:
is an author, artist, and paranormal adventurer whose previous works include Shadows Over Somerset, Keepers of the Dead, and First Born.
A lifelong student of mythology, folklore, magic, and religion, Freeman has written numerous short stories, articles, and reviews for various online and print publications and is a respected lecturer on the occult and paranormal phenomena.
He lives in rural Indiana with his wife Kim and son Connor.
Seventh Star Press is proud to announce a brand new imprint, Seventh StarShadow, that will debut with the release of The Storm, a brand new thriller from USA Today bestselling author Dan Jolley!
In conjunction with this announcement, Seventh StarShadow is revealing the cover art for The Storm, created by award-winning artist John Nadeau!
The Storm will be released in trade paperback and eBook formats on December 14, 2018, and a special limited edition hardcover will be offered through a crowdfunding campaign that will be opened up soon.
Seventh StarShadow, the new imprint of Seventh Star Press, will release compelling, thought-provoking Mystery and Thriller titles. Look for new announcements to come soon regarding future releases and new authors who will be represented under this exciting new imprint!
Synopsis of The Storm:
RED SPRINGS.
A tiny town in Georgia’s northwest corner — ninety-five percent white. Five percent black. Utterly unprepared for the devastating tornado that rips and smashes through it one dark August day.
SHERIFF ZANDRA SEAGRAVES already faced an uphill battle. Elected by a fluke, Red Springs’ first-ever black, female sheriff leads the recovery efforts, despite knowing how much the townspeople—and her own department—loathe her. But Zandra has no idea just how hellish things are about to get.
Because one of the relief workers stumbles across a ghastly secret: the tornado tore a long-abandoned house off its foundations, revealing a grisly, recently-used torture dungeon below it.
A monster has been dwelling in Red Springs. Undetected for years. Preying on the unsuspecting populace. His atrocities only brought to light because of the storm.
Now, amid the tornado’s wreckage and surrounded by people who want her gone, Zandra has to hunt this monster down before he disappears again.
And to do it, she’ll have to peel back all of Red Springs’ dark, corrupted layers. One vile secret at a time.
About Dan Jolley: Dan Jolley began writing professionally at age 19. Starting out in comic books, Dan has worked for major publishers such as DC (Firestorm), Marvel (Dr. Strange), Dark Horse (Aliens), and Image (G.I. Joe), and soon branched out into licensed-property novels (Star Trek), film novelizations (Iron Man), and original novels, including the Middle Grade Urban Fantasy series Five Elements and the Urban Sci-Fi Gray Widow Trilogy.
Dan began writing for video games in 2007, and has contributed storylines, characters, and dialogue to titles such as Transformers: War for Cybertron, Prototype 2, and Dying Light, among others. Dan lives with his wife Tracy and a handful of largely inert felines in northwest Georgia, and enjoys connecting with readers via his website (www.danjolley.com) and on Twitter (@_DanJolley).
Seventh Star Press is proud to reveal the cover art by Enggar Adirasa for E. Chris Garrison’s Road Ghosts: Omnibus Edition and announce the opening of the Kindle version pre-order window!
An exciting blend of thrills, the paranormal, and humor, Road Ghosts: Omnibus Edition includes the complete Road Ghosts Trilogy (Four ’til Late, Sinking Down, and Me and the Devil) plus the bonus short story “Spectral Delivery”. Road Ghosts: Omnibus Edition will be released on September 29 in print and eBook formats.
Readers can pre-order the Kindle version today, and have the eBook delivered to their Kindle devices the moment it is released on September 29.
Pre-order the Kindle version today for just $4.99 at this link: Kindle Pre-Order Link
Synopsis: Somewhere Between Scooby-Doo and Supernatural
The Road Ghosts Trilogy introduced readers to E. Chris Garrison, one of speculative fiction’s most gifted voices. Presented here for the first time in a single volume, you’ll meet amateur ghost hunters Brett and Liz, along with their friends Gonzo, Jimbo, and Frannie. Go along for the ride as the gang chases ghosts and battles demons, ghouls, and stranger things up and down the interstate highways of the Midwest.
The Road Ghosts Trilogy spawned several short stories (such as “Spectral Delivery,” included here!) and introduces readers to “Skye” MacLeod, whose adventures continue in Garrison’s popular Tipsy Fairy Tales Series. This omnibus volume includes:
Four ’til Late (Road Ghosts Trilogy, Book 1) Brett, Gonzo, Jimbo, and Liz embark on a road trip with dangerous detours, dreadful dreams and dire warnings. Along the way they discover that some spirits leave you with more than a hangover and regrets. Turn up the radio and get moving, because the road ghosts are waiting.
Sinking Down (Road Ghosts Trilogy, Book 2) Brett and Liz are back in over their heads when a forest hunt for a roadkill-eating creature offers up a ghoulish little surprise. Worse than that, they find that Brett’s fate is linked to the creature’s. So it’s back out on the road, with unexpected pit stops with a greedy ex, a convention of ghost hunters, partying with fake vampires, and drinking and fighting alongside Uncle Gonzo.
Me and the Devil (Road Ghosts Trilogy, Book 3) Brett, Liz, and Gonzo undertake a difficult three-night webcast leading up to Halloween. If they’re successful, they may finally get the recognition Brett seeks. But ever since the events in Sinking Down, Brett has been a little… off. On the first night of the webcast, Brett’s sudden tantrum both boosts ratings and terrifies his friends. As Halloween approaches, Brett’s friends find themselves in a desperate fight to save his soul — and his life.
“Spectral Delivery” (Bonus Short Story) Meet Enid, a pizza delivery trainee who’s stuck riding along with ghost-geek Brett on Valentine’s Day night. Her boyfriend begs her to try to get off early, but things get weirder and weirder as she and Brett encounter the paranormal at every stop.
About the author: E. Chris Garrison writes fantasy and science fiction novels and short stories.
Chris has two series published by Seventh Star Press, the Road Ghosts trilogy and its companion series the Tipsy Fairy Tales. These urban fantasies feature ghosts, demonic possession, and sinister fairy folk delivered with a “lightly dark” side of humor.
Her latest series is Trans-Continental, a steampunk adventure with a transgender woman as its protagonist. The series is set in one of the worlds in Chris’s dimension-hopping science fiction adventure, Reality Check, also published through Silly Hat Books. Reality Check reached #1 in Science Fiction on Amazon.com in 2013. Silly Hat Books released Alien Beer and Other Stories, a collection of her short stories, in 2017.
Chris lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her wife, step-daughter and many cats. She also enjoys gaming, home brewing beer, and finding innovative uses for duct tape. Keep up on the latest news and releases from Chris at https://sillyhatbooks.com/
Be sure to also check out the Tipsy Fairy Tales releases Blue Spirit and Restless Spirit by E. Chris Garrison!
For a limited time you can get Death’s Dance, the first novel in Crymsyn Hart’s paranormal/thriller/horror series Deathly Encounters, for just 99 cents on Kindle!
Seventh Star Press is proud to reveal the new cover art by John Nadeau for Gray Widow’s Walk, the first book in an exciting new trilogy from USA Today Bestselling author and co-writer of the world-wide #1 selling game Dying Light Dan Jolley
Gray Widow’s Walk will be released in print and eBook formats on May 13, 2016, and a special pre-order offer for signed copies of the trade paperback is now open at the Seventh Star Press website. Follow the link below to see the offer and reserve a copy.
Gray Widow’s Walk is the first book of the Gray Widow Trilogy. The cross-genre trilogy, with a mix of science fiction, thriller elements, and dark fantasy, features captivating female protagonist, Janey Sinclair, the masked vigilante dubbed “the Gray Widow” by the press.
Synopsis of Gray Widow’s Walk:
“The only thing in this world you can truly control is yourself.”
Janey Sinclair’s ability to teleport has always been a mystery to her. She tried for years to ignore it, but when tragedy shatters her life, Janey’s anger consumes her. She hones her fighting skills, steals a prototype suit of military body armor, and takes to the streets of Atlanta, venting her rage as the masked vigilante dubbed “the Gray Widow” by the press.
But Janey’s power, and her willingness to use it, plunges her into a conflict on a much grander scale than she had anticipated.
Soon she encounters Simon Grove, a bloodthirsty runaway with a shapeshifting ability gone horribly wrong…
Garrison Vessler, an ex-FBI agent and current private defense contractor, who holds some of the answers Janey’s been searching for…
And Tim Kapoor, the first person in years with a chance of breaking through Janey’s emotional shell—if she’ll let him.
But as Janey’s vigilantism gains worldwide attention, and her showdown with Simon Grove draws ever closer, the reason for her augmented abilities—hers and all the others like her—begins to reveal itself. Because, high above the Earth, other eyes are watching. And they have far-reaching plans…
Gray Widow’s Walk is book one of the Gray Widow Trilogy, to be followed by Gray Widow’s Web and Gray Widow’s War.
About Dan Jolley: Dan Jolley started writing professionally at age nineteen. Beginning in comic books, he has since branched out into original novels, licensed-property novels, children’s books, and video games. His twenty-five-year career includes the YA sci-fi/espionage trilogy Alex Unlimited; the award-winning comic book mini-series Obergeist; the Eisner Award-nominated comic book mini-series JSA: The Liberty Files; and the Transformers video games War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron. Dan was co-writer of the world-wide-bestselling zombie/parkour game Dying Light, and lead writer of the Oculus Rift game Chronos. Dan lives somewhere in the northwest Georgia foothills with his wife Tracy and a handful of largely inert cats. Gray Widow’s Walk is his first adult novel.
Seventh Star Press is proud to announce that the eBook version of Peter Welmerink’s new zombie thriller, Hunt for the Fallen, Transport Book Two, will be available this coming Monday, December 22nd! We are proud to share the cover art by Jason C. Conley and a pair of interior illustrations by Tim Holtrop!
Cover Art by Jason C. Conley from Hunt for the Fallen
A journal entry from Captain Jacob Billet gives you an idea of what to expect in the pages of this new novel…
“Journal Entry – Sunday April 5, 2026
It’s raining, it’s pouring, the undead are roaring…
Amassed at the UCRA east end enclosure, the dead strain the fence line while soldiers keep watchful eyes, the survivors on the opposite side of the rising river about to lose their minds.
It’s a crazy time: nonstop precipitation; everyone’s up in arms; paranoid city council members with an asshat City Treasurer. Water, water everywhere. Zees dropping into the churning drink. Troops afraid of being stitched up and thrown back into the fray as Zombie Troopers. Tank commanders getting itchy to head out on their own after drug-laden shamblers. Reganshire insurgents trying to extract our west side civvies for some unknown reason, possibly pushing the city into taking heavy-handed action against them.
Interior illustration by Tim Holtrop from Hunt for the Fallen
Then there’s some black-haired dead dude staring at me through the fence, grinning like he’s off his meds.
And I thought Lettner was a headache.
All this sh*t might give me a heart attack.”
Interior Illustration by Tim Holtrop from Hunt for the Fallen
The eBook version of Hunt for the Fallen will be available on Monday, December 22 for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iTunes and others. The print version will be right at the New Year!
For further information on Brick Marlin and Seventh Star Press titles, please visit www.seventhstarpress.com
About Peter Welmerink: Peter Welmerink was born and raised on the west side of pre-apocalyptic Grand Rapids, Michigan. He writes Fantasy, Military SciFi, and other wanderings into action-adventure. His work has been published in ye olde wood pulp print and electronic-online publications. He is the co-author of the Viking berserker novel, BEDLAM UNLEASHED, written with Steven Shrewsbury. TRANSPORT was his first solo novel venture. He is married with a small barbarian tribe of three boys.
