ISSUE 5 PREVIEW

It may be our birthday, but the presents are all for you, our readers.
 
It’s time to celebrate!  Not just our first birthday but also the arrival of our latest issue.  THE DARK SIRE is proud to present Issue 5, the Halloween-aversary issue.  This may be the beginning of a new year for us but it is the continuation of our goal to present to you the finest in Gothic, Horror, Fantasy, and Psychological Realism.  The stories and poems that you will read in Issue 5 will make you shudder, make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and thrill you to no end.  Some of these works will so enthrall you that you will want to read them again just to see if you got it right the first time.  Yes, our authors are that good.
 
Issue 5 is a treasure trove of Horror featuring Unnoticed by V. Willows; The Deal by June Trop; Becoming by J. Pinaire; and Newton’s Law by Craig Crawford.  V. Willows is a student at Ashford University and this is her first published story -- an impressive beginning to what could be a long and storied literary career.  June Trop is an award-winning middle school science teacher and an active member of the Mystery Writers of America.  She is the author of The Miriam bat Isaac mystery series.  J. Pinaire lives in England and writes on death as a vehicle to explain the nature of reality.  Craig Crawford is a prolific horror story writer.  His imagination is sure to make you look over your shoulder.
 
Interspersed throughout the magazine, you will see the chilling art of Shaun Power and Kailey Reid.  Their works are the perfect counterpoint in our harmony of horror and fantasy.
 
Not to be outdone,  our poets have contributed their brand of horror to our banquet of creativity.  I Feel Your Pain by Michael Baldwin will oblige you in your pursuit of fear.  Mr. Baldwin is an award-winning poet and multi-genre fiction writer.  Blue Lips by Reagan Phelps teases you with a triptych of love, hate and sanity.  Ms. Phelps is another young writer beginning her career, another young writer to keep on your radar.  Self-Destruction by Dee Espinoza explores the pain behind the mask we all wear.  Ms. Espinoza is an eclectic artist whose photographs were featured in earlier issues of TDS.  Endlessly Callow, Gravely Shallow by Adam Garnett explores the trampling of hopes and dreams.  Mr. Garnett is another first time discovery to grace our pages.  Finally there is Unknown Fate by Gary Ford in which he explores the letting go of reality.  Mr. Ford is another prolific writer with a book of poetry and a Scifi novel under his belt.
 
For those of you following our serializations, we have continued with The Last Summer by Frances Tate and Kyuuketsuki by S. M. Cook.  If you are enthralled with these two stories and want to read what went before, then you will have to buy the back issues of TDS or wait until we publish them as chapbooks.
 
And finally, we offer you a taste of Camelot’s Reckoning by Caleb Kelly.  Camelot’s Reckoning is the first book of the Primis Vipris Saga, available for pre-order now on Amazon. It's official release date is Nov. 20, 2020. (Look for Caleb's interview on the Nov. 16 Creative Nook.)  We hope you enjoy Chapter 1.
 
So welcome to year two of THE DARK SIRE.  We have some great things planned for the future.  There will be more Creative Nook interviews, a dedicated podcast, and more of the great fiction that you have come to expect.  Enjoy Issue 5 and expect more.  Tell your friends.

Remember: TDS is no longer free. ​Don’t miss any of our hair-raising issues.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

FREE PREVIEW of Issue 5

Open publication - Free publishing