Read an exclusive excerpt from Night to Dawn 39 presented by Barbara Custer

 

Welcome to the book tour for Night to Dawn 39, a dark fantasy presented by Barbara Custer. I have an exclusive excerpt for you to read today, and if you follow the tour, you'll get to see even more. Remember to leave questions and comments along the way. Best of luck in the giveaway!

The apocalypse of the movie screen and the printed page has become a reality. A microbe threatens humanity, making Corona seem like the common cold. Innocents die to appease young and hungry gods. A doctor feeds the souls of his patients to a demon. Featuring Marge Simon, Lee Clark Zumpe, Margaret L. Carter, Rod Marsden, Matthew Wilson, and other authors.

Read an exclusive excerpt:

Marge Simon’s excerpt from The Dimeter Diaries, “Sleepless Nights”

O love, these nights I find it increasingly impossible to sleep. Mama worries so. She says I’ve grown thin as wheat and summons Doctor Seward. He prescribes an opiate. The pills are small, easy to tuck them under my tongue and pretend to swallow. Sarah brings me hot chocolate and tea cakes fresh from Cook’s oven, yet I’ve no appetite. How I wish they’d stop fussing over me. Only a few days, and they are so concerned! It’s not food that I crave—I am consumed with passion for a man I’ve never met. I’d so like to confide these feelings with my dear friend Miss Lucy, but she is terribly unwell these days. Besides, it would never do for me to be unfaithful to Jonathan. I should feel such shame—and of course I would, if these recent fantasies were real. And yet, here I am telling you my feelings!

Tonight, I have Sarah draw my bath and dismiss her. I soak the sponge and let it linger in certain places as I wash. I imagine your hands caressing my skin, your lips between my thighs—I blush to think of such a thing! But it is true, I would deny you nothing. The bath salts turn the water the color of sweet grapes. I find this quite pleasing, for it matches the veins in my arms. The scent is hypnotic. I don’t try to understand what this means, but it seems as if you are so close.

When I open the tallest windows in my room, the air is warm and moist, breathing on its own. I bite my lips into a shade you’d like, wipe away the drops.

The End

From Mina’s role in The Demeter Diaries, Marge Simon (Mina) Bryan Dietrich (Vlad), Independent Legions, 2019, Winner of the Lord Ruthven Assembly Award for Best Fiction Novel, Bram Stoker Finalist

Buy links:

Amazon * BN * Doylestown Bookshop

Barbara lives near Phila., PA, retired from her job as a respiratory therapist. Nowadays, she chases Mylar balloons at the supermarket, enjoys a fright flick, or works on horror and science fiction tales. Many of her short stories have appeared in numerous small press magazines. She’s been editor of Night to Dawn Magazine since 2004.

Books by Barbara include When Blood Reigns, Twilight Healer, The Forgotten People, Steel Rose, City of Brotherly Death, Close Liaisons, and Life Raft: Earth. She enjoys bringing her medical background to the printed page and then blending it with supernatural horror. She maintains a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and The Writers Coffeehouse forum. Look for the photos with the Mylar balloons, and you’ll find Barbara.


Website: www.bloodredshadow.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/barbara.custer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NighttoDawn1

Barbara Custer will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway