Month: November 2019

This is not a normal poetry book. It is an exorcism of the soul. A poet will write about the highs and lows of their life in excruciating beautiful ways. Wrapping their pain with a ribbon to either be kept as a secret or presented. L. Bachman has gathered some of her most emotionally raw verses selected from a nineteen-year period of her life and is the first volume of complete non-fiction to date.

With bruised white knuckles, created by a humbled self-diagnosed battered and broken being on the road to healing and coping from a painful childhood. This is a display of work created to express personal struggles and surviving through periods of insomnia, moments of love, depression, anxiety, and healing.

Cover to cover you will read the inner workings of a reclusive introvert that has spent her lifetime trying to answer her own questions about who she is, what part she plays in life, and trying to heal from things she couldn’t. You will see into the mind of the woman known as L. Bachman through over thirty poems left up to the reader to interpret with an introduction by author KJ. Taylor.

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At a young age, Lynn Lesher began writing and creating digital art, unaware these things would play such a powerful role in her life. Taking upon the pen name L. Bachman, she began putting her talents to good use in her publishing career. Firstly, she put her skills as a digital graphic artist and in 2015 she published her first book, Maxwell Demon, introducing the world to The Blasphemer Series. A series she began developing in her youth. This led to her second release, a short story titled Human Ouija, that garnered her being listed as a bestseller and went on to gain awarding from “Author’s Excellence Awards” for “Best Horror Story 2017”.

She continued as a freelance graphic artist throughout her career creating a network that led to her being involved in several anthologies for charitable causes. These shorter stories can still be found in various publications, including her work Little Lunacies. Bachman became known for her emotional darker style, through these shorts and her novels, that some called ‘gothic in nature’ and ‘reminisce of an older style of writing’.

In 2019 she released her first non-fiction poetry collection called All of My Every Things, that continued holding true to the style she’s become known for. This poetry collection has been called ‘an exorcism of a soul’ as it bears some of her most emotionally raw poems collected over nineteen years of her life.

If you would like to read a longer biography, check out interviews and media, get updated by subscribing to her newsletter, or check out more information on L. Bachman, you can go to her website www.lbachman.com.

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Confessions of a Chubby Girl

 

A monster lives inside every girl.

Sometimes it’s a big one that drowns out all the others.

Sometimes it’s not.

Sometimes it’s a crowd. Sometimes it’s just one. My biggest monster was a creative beast that craved chocolate and felt good if I drowned her in starch and, on occasion, an overabundance of exercise that cancelled out ALL those calories.

Then she spawned a piece of art I never anticipated.

 

The Chubby Girl Monster

 

By twelve years old, I was blatantly imperfect, flawed, and terribly insecure about it—like a lot of humans. So I did what any hormonal, emotional wreck-of-a-tween would do.

I turned to the loving, constant arms of food.

Brownies were a favorite, though I wouldn’t turn down Ben and Jerry’s or mozzarella sticks or any other battered goodness that I could just pop in the oven or microwave. Fistfuls of animal crackers? Perfect snack with a quart of sugary-sweet guava juice from concentrate. Mom cut up carrots and apple slices, but I dipped them in gobs of peanut butter.

Nutrition therapy at it’s finest.

 

Growing Up Chubby

 

Being a kid is hard enough, but being an overweight kid is even harder. Combine frizzy hair, an odd obsession with books, and an absent father, and I was a walking monster mine. By third grade, I knew I was a “big girl” because the other kids told me.

That’s when my whispering monster started.

I didn’t really notice the monster at first. I mean, I did. When you’re in fifth grade canvassing a room to see if you’re the biggest kid in there, you know something is different about you. But I didn’t really understand how much power the monster had until the cutting verbosity of seventh grade teenagers shredded holes in the curtain of my denial.

You need to be smaller, the monster would say. Look at how big you are.

I won’t get into details, but suffice it to say that kids and monsters are mean.

 

Learning to Wog.

 

Fortunately, I had many friends that loved me in spite of my mongster, one of them being the lean, red-haired, spit-fire Breanna. She invited me to jog with her one day when I was in 8th  grade. Because I wanted her to like me and I wanted to be cool and svelte like her, I agreed.

The monster, for once, was quiet.

“Jogging” is an generous term for what I did. (see shuffle and walk.) But it didn’t matter. It was one of the first times that exercise felt good. Breanna didn’t make me feel like the fat kid, and helped me learn how to breathe through side cramps. Silencing the monster felt amazing.

“The world is much more clear after you run,” she pointed out one day. I remember blinking rapidly because she was right. Even my vision had came into sharper focus through the lens of exercise.

After profusely apologizing for being slow, I decided I could do more of this “running” and asked if we could go again the next day.

And the next.

It became our thing together. We’d run in the country by her grandpa’s house. We’d run along the canal. Through the neighborhood. At the cabin. Anywhere. My wog slowly turned into a trot, and then a jog, and eventually I could almost keep up with her on the sprints at the very end.

But never, ever did I beat her.

My monster reminded me all the time.

 

Fairytales? Pah.

 

I’d love to tell you I slimmed down to a lean size 6, started a spinning class, and ate only sprouts and carrot sticks sans peanut butter, but it didn’t happen. Sometimes, my love of exercise cancelled out my greater love of food, but not enough to make me like myself. Or be actually healthy. In fact, I kind of went crazy on both in middle school.

In ninth grade I satisfied the monster and joined a gym. I’d work out for an 60-90 minutes after school. My favorite? Walking 4.0 mph on the treadmill until it maxed out at 100 minutes while reading cheesy romance novels.

Hey, I was exercising, so the monster was quiet. Then I could dream of being a damsel-in-distress. Remember, I was kind of bookish weird?

I went from a size 18 in seventh grade to a size 12-14 sometime in ninth. For the most part, I hung out around there. It was a far cry from the emotionally fragile seventh grader that had been made fun of so much, but my insecure monster still thrived, never satisfied. She chanted to me late at night.

Must get smaller. Must get smaller.

Not even exercise could silence the monster now.

 

Hobby, Shmobby

 

After getting my RN at twenty and working as a pediatric nurse, my obsession with nutrition and exercise became my favorite hobby.

I dove into half marathons, marathons, centuries (100+ mile bike rides), snow shoeing, lots of hiking, and trail running with gusto. Did my weight drop? Nope. I leaned out, could hike like a boss, but the scale never seemed to go anywhere. I counted calories, drank water, avoided pop, and worked my butt off.

Not literally, of course.

Ever run 20 miles and watched the scale maintain? #frustratingas@#$*(!%*(

Must get smaller, sang the monster. You’re still a size 14. Must do more. Must get smaller.

 

Figuring It Out

 

Thanks to other issues in my life, I started seeing a professional therapist and learned that food had *gasp* become the way I didn’t cope with my emotions. Truly, I’d never, ever, ever comprehended that food was an emotional escape. It seems to obvious to me now.

*face palm*

Happy ending?

Not quite. Because no matter what, the monster reminded me that I still wasn’t smaller. Despite an active lifestyle, the pants size didn’t waver. My health was good, and I felt okay with how I looked. A veritable 3-4 on my self-diagnosed “Hotness Scale”.

Then I met the love of my life at 24 and suddenly my perception of health, self, and food took on a whole new meaning. The mega attractive, sarcastic, intelligent guy I was dating didn’t care that I was still imperfect, insecure, needed therapy, size 14, and loved California Pizza Kitchen to a fault.

He also didn’t know about that niggling monster who insisted you aren’t small enough for him.

 

Loving the Chubby Inside Me

 

Meeting my husband and realizing that he didn’t care about me being smaller threw everything I perceived about myself into question. I started realizing that I’m good enough just because I’m me, not because I measure up to some defined quality of beauty established by a magazine.

I’d love to tell you that I banished the ugly monster who controlled me like a puppet, who reminds me that my weight hovers dangerously close to Husband, that a wife should be smaller. I’m still not model size perfect and never plan to be. I still love CPK, and I still battle food cravings and the need to turn to food for comfort on a daily basis.

And I still have a monster inside me.

 

Write It Out

 

That monster is why I started writing Bon Bons to Yoga Pants. I knew I couldn’t be the only person to have a chubby girl monster, because there are skinny girl monsters, and straight hair monsters, and knobby knee monsters.

There are monsters for everything.

Lexie Greene is born from that insecure, flawed little girl I told you about at the beginning of the post. Like me, Lexie struggles with weight, she doesn’t want to diet, and when things get tough, she turns to Little Debbie. Lexie and I are not the same person; I love exercise and she tolerates it. She has a sister and I don’t. But we are the same insecure little girl with similar monsters.

We’re all fighting monsters. But that doesn’t mean we fight them alone.

We are perfect just the way we are.

*Winner of the 2015 Watty Awards Best of HQ Love*

Lexie Greene has always had such a pretty face.

Unfortunately, that’s where it seemed to stop. She’s grown up hearing her Mother constantly remind her that she needs to lose weight. And twenty-two-year-old Lexie knows she’s overweight.

With her younger sister’s wedding on the horizon and a crush to stalk on Facebook, Lexie’s had enough. She gives up her constant daydreams about food and joins a dieting group. As the pounds melt away at the gym, she finds that life on the other side of junk food isn’t what she thought.

Bon Bons to Yoga Pants is an inspirational hit about a girl coming to terms with herself, and her past, all while navigating a world of food and fitness.

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The Health and Happiness Society Book 2

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Our children are our soldiers.

After his impeachment, the president of the United States refuses to leave office, and the country erupts into a fractured and violent war. Orphaned by the fighting and looking for a home, 10-year-old Hannah Miller joins a citizen militia in a besieged Indianapolis.

In the Free Women militia, Hannah finds a makeshift family. They’ll teach her how to survive. They’ll give her hope. And they’ll show her how to use a gun.

Hannah’s older brother, Alex, is a soldier, too. But he’s loyal to other side, and has found his place in a militant group of fighters who see themselves as the last bastion of their America. By following their orders, Alex will soon make the ultimate decision behind the trigger.

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Craig DiLouie is an acclaimed American-Canadian author. Formerly a magazine editor and advertising executive, he also works as a journalist and educator covering the North American lighting industry. Craig is a member of the Imaginative Fiction Writers Association, International Thriller Writers and Horror Writers Association. He currently lives in Calgary, Canada with his two wonderful children.

Craig DiLouie is an author of popular thriller, apocalyptic/horror, and sci-fi/fantasy fiction.

In hundreds of reviews, Craig’s novels have been praised for their strong characters, action, and gritty realism. Each book promises an exciting experience with people you’ll care about in a world that feels real.

At https://craigdilouie.com/, you can find all of Craig’s major works, interviews, and hundreds of interesting blog posts. Be sure to sign up for Craig’s mailing list so you can stay tuned on new releases.

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The Dark Verse Vol 1

by M. Amanuensis Sharkchild

Genre: Horror

Publisher: Armored Books

Publication Date: February 19, 2013

Twenty-six short stories of occult, metaphysical, and fantastical horror that will follow you to the visions of your sleep.

The Dark Verse is a multiverse of Lovecraftian horror, spanning different realms and times, that touches upon evils that transcend the knowable. Whether a galactic entity that casts flesh off the wicked, a scientist harnessing the power of metamorphosis, or a diabolical overlord that torments souls in a dimension of unrelenting pain, there is no escape from the occult horrors that await you within the innumerable folios of The Dark Verse.

This is Sharkchild’s first collection of grim and ethereal tales.

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The Dark Verse Vol 2

Publication Date: February 19, 2013

Twenty-six short stories of occult, metaphysical, and fantastical horror that will follow you to the visions of your sleep.

This is Sharkchild’s second tome of terror. It is a complete experience on its own and does not need the first DARK VERSE volume to be enjoyed.

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The Dark Verse Vol 3

Publication Date: July 1, 2014

Twenty-six short stories of occult, metaphysical, and fantastical horror that will follow you to the visions of your sleep.

This is Sharkchild’s third tome of terror. It is a complete experience on its own and does not need the previous DARK VERSE volumes to be enjoyed.

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The Dark Verse Vol 4

Publication Date: November 6, 2018

Twenty-six short stories of occult, metaphysical, and fantastical horror that will follow you to the visions of your sleep.

The Dark Verse is a multiverse of Lovecraftian horror, spanning different realms and times, that touches upon evils that transcend the knowable. Whether a stadium audience dazzled by the mystic power of alchemy, a gargantuan entity that plummets to the earth calling out a single human’s name, or a world where all doorways leading to it usher death, there is no escape from the occult horrors that await you within the innumerable folios of The Dark Verse.

This is Sharkchild’s fourth collection of grim and ethereal tales and can be enjoyed independently from the other Dark Verse volumes.

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The Dark Verse Vol 5

Thirteen short stories and a novella of occult, metaphysical, and fantastical horror that will follow you to the visions of your sleep. Whether a cosmic assassin able to annihilate any living entity across all of existence, a universe where physical size is a direct relationship to magical power, or a realm where money is made of living and dead flesh, there is no escape from the occult horrors that await you within the innumerable folios of The Dark Verse.

This is Sharkchild’s fifth collection of grim and ethereal tales. It is currently being funded on Kickstarter and is estimated to release at the end of Spring 2020. Back the book now and get your name on its pages.

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M. AMANUENSIS SHARKCHILD is an award-winning author and publisher of a growing series of Lovecraftian horror short stories called The Dark Verse and of the dark fantasy novel, The Spirit Collectors. His self-published books are praised for their illustrious hardcover binding and artwork and have won six awards. The Dark Verse is also a podcast through which Sharkchild releases new short stories on a regular basis. The style and atmosphere of his writing is often compared to the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

He lives in lurid wakefulness and lucid dreams, overtaken by visions that uncontrollably seethe in a torrent of horror and fantasy. As a zealot of the imagination, he embraces the strange, the bizarre, and the great unknown. His path of creation has only just begun.

Some of Sharkchild’s other projects include Dark Energy Discoveries and Gravescabs. Dark Energy Discoveries is an EBM music project containing his rich vocal layers and soundscapes that are embodied by a virtual group of inter-dimensional beings who have joined forces to explore the ever-expanding reaches of existence. Gravescabs are reversible plush covers that are placed over a base plush toy called a Skell.

Sharkchild.com is home to his distinct creations.

THE DARK VERSE

THE SPIRIT COLLECTORS

His writing.

GRAVESCABS

His toys.

DARK ENERGY DISCOVERIES

His music.

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Lone hunter Amanda burns for revenge. After years of torture at the hands of the bloodsucker king, she’s determined to destroy the creatures who enslaved her. But a pitched battle with her tormentor ends in a stalemate and leaves her alone in the wastelands—grievously wounded.

Rescued and healed by a mysterious stranger, Amanda and her new ally set off for the last fortified human city. But when she learns her old nemesis plots to raze it to the ground, she fears she won’t arrive in time to prevent the massacre.

Can Amanda find her way to the town before a rabid feeding frenzy decimates the inhabitants?

Tainted Hunter is the pulse-pounding first book in the Huntress Bane dark fantasy series. If you like bold heroines, gory combat, and edge-of-your-seat suspense, then you’ll love Derek Shupert’s action-packed tale.

Buy Tainted Hunter to wage war on an army of darkness today!

The Huntress Bane Series Book 2

Her hands are happily stained with monsters’ blood. But slaying the horde’s leader may require joining the creatures she loathes…

Though her vampire heritage fosters mistrust, half-breed hunter Amanda fights for the humans in this fateful war. So when bloodsucking fiends breach the walls of mankind’s last fortress, she ignores the city fathers’ demands and creates a trail of undead carnage. But even she is stunned when a rogue vamp battles by her side to repel the invasion.

Convinced this mysterious traitor could be the ally they need to turn the tide, Amanda embarks on a dangerous quest through the wastelands to learn who he is. But with her quarry holed up in a vampire stronghold, there’s every chance she’s walking straight into a trap.

Can Amanda survive treachery and manipulation to tip the scales of this conflict, or will she be lured to her death?

Crimson Thirst is the savage second book in the Huntress Bane dark fantasy series. If you like gutsy heroines, apocalyptic landscapes, and page-turning action, then you’ll love Derek Shupert’s heart-pounding tale.

Buy Crimson Thirst to join the battle against ruthless beasts today!

Derek Shupert is an emerging Science Fiction Author known for his captivating dystopian storylines and post-apocalyptic-laden plots. With various books and anthologies underway, he is also the author of the Afflicted series and Sentry Squad.

Outside of the fantastical world of sci-fi, Derek serves as the Vice President at Woodforest National Bank. During his free time, he enjoys reading, exercising, and watching apocalyptic movies and TV shows like Mad Max and The Walking Dead. Above all, he is a family man who cherishes nothing more than quality time spent with his loved ones.

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Hometown Series Book 6

by Kirsten Fullmer

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: October 1, 2019

“I was crying one minute and laughing the next. A definite must read!”

Winnie is content in her role as the reigning matriarch of Smithville, but when a letter arrives from a long-lost friend, the door to her past is reopened. Memories come flooding in, drawing her back to 1968, her college days; a time filled with people and events she hasn’t allowed herself to recall.

Tara knows her husband, Justin, is up to something. She may be crazy busy running her inn and trying to manage little Bella, but her gut tells her there’s more to Justin’s busy schedule than just work, and she’s determined to find out what it is.

Join in the fun as Smithville’s leading ladies unite in this charming, must-read novel filled with love; past, present, and future.

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Hometown Series Book 1

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Hometown Series Book 2.

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Hometown Series Book 3

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Hometown Series Book 4

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Hometown Series Book 5

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Kirsten grew up in the Western US and graduated from high school in 1984. She married soon thereafter and quickly built a family. With three young children and number four on the way, she returned to college in 1992. Her career as a draftsman included many settings ranging from a steel fabrication shops to prestigious engineering firms. Balancing family life with the workplace forced her to become the queen of multitasking. In 2001, bored with the cubicle life, she moved on to teach drafting in technical college, then to open her own consulting firm teaching 3D engineering software. Due to health problems, Kirsten retired in 2012 to travel with her husband for his job. She now works writing romance novels and enjoys spoiling her three grandchildren. Since 2017 Kirsten has lived and worked full time in a 40′ travel trailer with her husband and her little dog Bingo.

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$50 Amazon gift card

I’m an award-winning author from Melbourne, Australia. I write short stories, novellas and novels across the darker spectrum.

My latest releases, through several publishing houses, include the horror novels “Body Farm Z”, “Contrition”, and “Devil Dragon”; the horror novella “Thylacines”; the crime-noir novellas “Dark Waters” and “Ronnie and Rita”; and the dark fantasy and horror collection “Perfect Little Stitches and Other Stories” (winner of the Australian Shadows Best Collected Work 2017).

My short fiction has appeared in many well-respected magazines such as Quadrant, Island, Aurealis, SQ Mag, and Midnight Echo. My fiction has been shortlisted for numerous Australian Shadows Awards and Aurealis Awards, long-listed for a Bram Stoker Award, and included in various “best of” anthologies. I’m also guest editor of this year’s edition of Midnight Echo.

Other credits include TV scripts such as Neighbours and Australia’s Most Wanted, feature articles for national magazines, non-fiction books published by Reed Books and Random House, and award-winning medical writing.

Publisher: Severed Press

Facebook: @SeveredPress Twitter: @severedpress