Friends List by Rob Watson

Title: Friends List

Author: Rob Watson

Genre: Suspense/Thriller/Mystery/Horror

Release Date: January 2, 2018 Publisher: Limitless Publishing

My friends are being slaughtered one by one. Decapitated. Burned alive. Chopped to pieces. The hooded killer has vowed to keep murdering people I care about until they’re all dead, their profile pics on social media replaced with photos of their mutilated bodies. The police can’t catch him. They have no leads. The horror is making the visions come back—the fire that took my parents, leaving my twin Alex and me alive, but broken. The hooded killer won’t stop until I’m completely shattered. He’ll eat away at my mind, heart, and soul until there’s nothing left. No one left to love, no one left to trust, and nothing I can be sure is real. Dr. Cross thinks a trip back to the place my parents died will stop the visions. Alex is afraid it’s a trap. But I know the hooded killer won’t hurt me. That’s not his game. His game is much deeper. Much darker.

The music’s volume lowered and knocking echoed through the speakers. The words “Someone’s Knocking” appeared next to the door graphic. Kimberly closed her blog window and moved her avatar to the peephole.

Another dialogue box appeared, inside which Kimberly typed: Who’s there?

The peephole widened and an avatar of a hooded figure appeared. A dialogue box popped up next to the avatar, and inside the box appeared the screen name IWNTUDED.

Kimberly typed: Do I know you?

IWNTUDED responded: Yes. But not the way u think u do.

“Seriously, this is so not the time for this,” Kimberly muttered to herself. She typed: Doug, is that you? Look, I know you still love me, but it’s over. It’s nothing you did, it’s just that I’m going through so many changes right now. She sighed. I’m sorry. Tell you what.  I’ll give you a weekend of goodbye sex when I get back, okay?

After a few uncomfortable moments passed, IWNTUDED responded: Sounds like fun, but I’m not Doug.

 “What the hell?” Kimberly whispered as the ambient light from the laptop’s screen eerily illuminated her pretty face. She stared at the screen and typed: Who is this?

There was a long moment before IWNTUDED responded: The last person you’ll ever see.

“Okay, fuck this,” Kimberly blurted. She clicked the “KEEP OUT” icon next to Iwntuded’s screen name, and the “LOCK DOOR” icon on the keyhole graphic.

“So long, creep.” She picked up the Starbucks cup sitting on her Abnormal Psychology textbook, took a sip, spun her chair around, and reclined with her back to the computer.

While she sat there thinking how much easier life would be if it was this simple to get rid of people in the real world, the word “Unlock” appeared on the door graphic, and the Iwntuded avatar entered the room and approached the Kimber avatar.

Finished musing over the inherent advantages of Cybering, Kimberly turned back toward the laptop screen and was dumbstruck when she saw Iwntuded’s avatar standing next to hers.

“What the hell?” She placed her Starbucks cup on the desk and then typed: How did you get in here?

The Iwntuded avatar held up a key graphic, and then IWNTUDED typed: I have a key.

Kimberly’s heart skipped a beat. She sank down in her chair and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

Should I be scared of this creep? She shook her head. Of course not, this is just some acne covered kid with nothing better to do on Datenight USA, or some overweight, balding pervert who gets off on scaring the shit out of young girls.

He fear morphed to anger and she sat up straight in her chair. Look, jerkoff, she typed, the Roommates website recorded your IP address when you logged on. So get out of here and leave me the fuck alone before I report your perverted ass.

IWNTUDED replied: Okay. But first, will u do me a favor?

Kimberly typed: What?

May I have a sip of that coffee?

What the fuck?

Kimberly typed: What coffee?

After a few tension-filled moments, IWNTUDED replied: The Starbucks next to your keyboard.

The words on her laptop screen leapt out at Kimberly as if they were in 3D. She glanced at the Starbucks cup, after which she jumped to her feet and scanned nervously about her dimly lit apartment.

Oh my God – someone’s here! But how did he get in? And where is he now – watching me?

Just as she reached for the phone to dial 911, Kimberly spotted the webcam atop her computer’s monitor and a wave of relief washed over her. “You little hacker.”

She sat back down and yanked the USB cable from the webcam. “Show’s over, jerk wad.” She smirked at her laptop screen and held her middle finger up to Iwntuded’s avatar.

That wasn’t very nice.

Kimberly replied: What – ending your little peep show?

IWNTUDED typed: No, giving me the finger.

Kimberly jumped to her feet. She glanced wildly around the room and then back at the monitor. Fight or flight mode started setting in as she typed: Who are u and what the fuck do u want?

I told u – I’m the last person you’ll ever see. As for what I want…

On the opposite side of the unlit apartment, a closet door quietly opened. A hooded figure emerged holding a smartphone in one hand and a sixteen-inch hunting knife in the other. While Kimberly sat staring at her computer screen, the figure typed on the smartphone’s keypad, and the reply displayed on Kimberly’s laptop screen: It’s all in my name. What’s my name, Kimberly?

Wide-eyed, her hands trembling, Kimberly typed: IWNTUDED.

IWNTUDED instantly replied: That’s what I want!

Kimberly studied her tormentor’s username with the urgency her situation demanded. Then, in a dread-filled whisper, she read aloud, “I…want…you…dead.”

Rob Watson was born in Santa Monica, California. He is married and is the father of three children. He is the president/CEO of Damaged Psyche Productions. He is a horror/sci-fi fanatic and has been ever since early childhood. He has been imagining and writing stories for as far back as he can remember. Some of his idols are Rod Serling, Steven King, David Cronenberg, Edgar Allan Poe, Alfred Hitchcock, Wes Craven, and Dan Curtis. Rob studied film and creative writing at Long Beach City College and California State University, Long Beach, after which he spent a couple of years working on movie production crews (as set PA, second assistant director, boom, etc.). Since then, he has written almost a dozen feature length screenplays (mostly horror and/or sci-fi) as well as numerous short stories and scripts. He has two original screenplays currently in pre-production and has written several “work-for- hire” scripts.

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The Thing About Forgiveness by Jenni Lynn

Title: The Thing About Forgiveness

Author: Jenni Lynn

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: January 2, 2018

How many mistakes can a person make until they are unforgivable? It only takes one for Cole Campbell. After a wrong decision costs him his wife and child, he knows he is beyond redemption. How many times do you need to get burned before you stop playing with fire? Bennett Holloway's past is nothing but pain and betrayal at the hands of those she once held most dear. Leaving them behind seems like her only way forward. Can two people who've sworn off love find it in each other? Fate keeps bringing them together until they can't deny they're falling hard. But no one can outrun their past forever. And there is no hope for love without forgiveness. An emotional standalone novel about a single father, a nurse, and how tragedy can forge the most beautiful bonds.

(CLICK ME)

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Claiming Cooper by AF Crowell

Title: Claiming Cooper

Series: An O'Loughlin Brothers Novel

Author: AF Crowell

Genre: Romantic Suspense/NA/Western

Release Date: January 2, 2018

Her first crush. 

Her first rejection. 

Cooper O’Loughlin is everything Kinsley Allen has ever wanted. 

Just when Kinsley should have been starting life, finding herself. She ended up running. When she landed back home to deal with the fallout from the one night that had changed her entire future she never imagined she would end up tied back to him. 

Much like every other time before, Cooper shut her down before she could admit her true feelings. She was in love with her best friend’s brother. 

In the dark shadows, secrets hide. Time was up. Kinsley’s consequences followed waiting to exact their revenge. 

There’s no place safe, not even home.

"I loved this book so much and I cannot wait to read more in this series. I ugly cried, I laughed, I cried some more, I was happy, I was hopeful, and most of all… I fell in love with the O’Loughlin family."  ~Stacy Stewart

"Omg. My heart couldn’t handle this book a few times, but I must say it was amazing. This book takes you on a crazy roller coaster of emotions and tragedies." ~Candice Handy

"I read this story in one night... as in it was so good I didn't sleep because I had to find out what happened. AF Crowell is putting out another great series and this one has sexy cowboys!! YES!!!!"  ~Beth at White Hot Reads

Suddenly, the shed door burst open with a whoosh of humid air. On the other side was none other than the gorgeous Cooper O’Loughlin. “Ryan, I fuckin’ warned you once to stay the hell away from Kinsley. What the fuck?”

My jaw fell open at his words. Why would he have told Ryan to stay away from me? Ryan was Ashton’s best friend and I considered him a friend as well.

“You need to chill, bro,” Ryan said nonchalantly then handed the bottle back to me. “Kins asked if I wanted to do shots with her. It’s not like we’re in here fuckin’ or something.”

“Get the hell outta here,” Cooper seethed, his cheeks were crimson and splotchy.

What the hell is his problem?

“Later, Kins.” Ryan shouldered past the wall that was Cooper, muttering something indiscernible the whole way.

“Seriously?” I raised my brow. “What was that?”

“How wise do you think it is to get drunk with him?”

“Oh, get the hell outta here with that shit, Cooper. I’ve known Ryan almost as long as I’ve known you. He’s never tried anything.” My voice got louder as I went, and my arms flailed wildly. “And what the hell would it matter to you anyway if I was in here screwing Ryan?! You’ve made it perfectly clear you aren’t interested.” By the end, I was pointing my finger and yelling at him.

Cooper didn’t back down. He didn’t apologize. He yelled back. “When did I ever say I wasn’t interested?!”

I stood there, rooted to the floor, my whole world rocked to the core by one question. Before I could even answer him, he came at me from across the small room like a heat-seeking missile. Directed straight at me.

“Fuck it.” His strong hand slid along my jaw and roughly cupped the back of my neck at the same time his right arm came around my waist and yanked me to him.

Almost losing my balance, I crashed into his hard chest and found myself transfixed by his eyes. While I saw familiarity, I also saw a smoldering passion that had never been there before. It was spellbinding.

“I never said I didn’t want you.”

A.F. Crowell lives in Charleston, SC with her husband and two sons. They have two dogs, Diesel, a German Shepherd rescue and Dez, a black Labrador Retriever. She shares her love of books with her children, who have a head start on becoming life-long readers. 

Romance fiction hit her radar when her husband forced her to watch Twilight one weekend when they were snowed in. That was it! From there her love grew; Contemporary Romance, Paranormal, YA and Dystopian are her preferred reads.

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