All Hallow’s Read 2013 (Day 21) – Johnny Gruesome

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Meli Yoroshiku

I have an excellent, must-have, can’t miss FREEBIE! for you Dreadites today. It’s the perfect tale for heavy metal zombie heads in varying stages of decomposition, Gregory Lamberson’s Johnny Gruesome. We have quite a bit of virtual space reserved for Lamberson here at Dreadful Tales and I think the majority of his work has been reviewed here, including Johnny Gruesome a couple years back which you can read in full here. But the reason I’m resurrecting this “headbanger from hell” today is, as I mentioned above, the eBook version for both Kindle and Nook is available for a limited time for FREE! FREE! FREE! Sorry, I don’t mean to “yell,” but this is worth getting excited for.

Johnny Gruesome is a leather jacket wearing bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks, returned from the dead to give his enemies the what for in often creative and always nasty ways. This is the ghoul I envisioned when I heard the old 60’s cut “My Boyfriend’s Back” by The Angels. The biggest difference is there is some kinda sweetness to “My Boyfriend’s Back.” He’s coming back to save his lady from what we can only assume is a stalker. Did I interpret that wrong? Anyway, there is no sweetheart tale in Johnny Gruesome, as much as I love a romantic story; this is a rebel yell revenge tale.

I go into quite a bit of detail regarding the basic plot (sans spoilers) and characters in my review (again, you can check that out here), so I won’t rehash all the gory specifics again, but here a couple highlights of note: Johnny Gruesome is a back-from-the-dead revenge slasher story as opposed to the survivors vs. zombies ilk. Lamberson puts his filmmaking skills to work with his cinematic prose so the imagery comes easily keeping the pacing steady. Johnny Gruesome reads more like a comic book than a novel, without the pictures of course. There are some excellent illustrations by Zach McCain included in the hardcover edition from Bad Moon Books which you can try to track down here, but it will be for a pretty penny. I have my own copy and think it’s worth every cent, but if that’s not in your budget, you can pick up the free version. Just follow the links below and hurry because it’ll only be free for a limited time!

Kindle users can pick up their free copy here. Nook users go here for your free copy.

Check out the trailer for Johnny Gruesome here. And for more about the author visit his website at slimeguy.com.

-Meli

Bloody Bytes: Digital Deals & Steals

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Meli Yoroshiku

I hope you’ve all recovered from your New Years Eve debaucheries. Me, I stayed home with the husband and made surf ‘n turf. Well, he made, I ate! I also hope you were able to take advantage of some of the great end-of-the-year deals. One of our favorite small presses here at Dreadful Tales, Dark Regions Press, offered a 25% off coupon, Scott Nicholson gave away free Kindle copies of his Mystery Dance: Three Novels, and there was plenty of other generosity to take advantage of on New Years Day. Even though the hangovers are gone and it is officially 2012, there are still plenty of digital deals for cheap and even free that you don’t want to miss.

Dreadful Tales had an exclusive sneak peek of Monica S. Kuebler’s (Owner/Editor of Burning Effigy Press, Rue Morgue Magazine’s Managing Editor) YA vampire novel Bleeder in early December and as scheduled the first chapter finally went live yesterday, January 1^st! You can check back every Sunday for the latest chapter and watch this dark tale unfold via http://www.bleederbook.com. The stunning cover art and synopsis are certain to steal your cold, black hearts.

What if everything you knew about your life was a lie?
What if the truth was much, much worse?

Mildred “Mills” Millhatten’s life changed forever the day she found out it wasn’t hers at all.

Forfeited as retribution for the alleged crimes of a father she’s never met, she’s cast into a strange, vicious world that she didn’t know existed and has little hope of understanding.

As a Bleeder – one whose lifeblood feeds the Nosferatu – her continued survival hangs ever in the balance. The creatures are keeping her alive because they believe her blood has mystical properties. Mills fears what will happen when they realize they are wrong – or are they?

If she hopes to survive and discover who she truly is, she needs an ally. She needs to befriend a bloodthirsty monster. Because she lives in their world now, and if she doesn’t do something fast, she’s going to die in it too.

Click beyond the break for more Bloody Bytes!

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Bloody Bytes: Digital Deals & Steals

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Meli Yoroshiku

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Satan’s sleigh bells are ringing and all his minions are singing “Bring us good beer!” Wait, did I get that right? Well, I think I got part of it. Anyway, with Christmas upon us it’s time to start hunting down the best deals for the loved ones in your life. It’s also a good time to snag a lil’ something for yourself because everything is on sale! For this week’s Bloody Bytes, we’ve got cheap reads perfect for getting you fiends in the holiday spirit, a grab bag, a coupon, and a beautiful gift you can enjoy everyday this month for free! Check it out beyond the break.

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Bloody Bytes: Black Friday Edition

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Meli Yoroshiku

It’s been quite a while since the last Bloody Bytes, but on the eve of the biggest shopping day in the US, we definitely need it! I’ve searched high and low, near and far, for Black Friday digital deals & steals. While I didn’t come across many legit Black Friday sales, I still have some great digital reads for cheap that you can enjoy this extended holiday weekend and a couple miscellaneous goodies as well. So, if you’re gearing up for the door buster events and training for tomorrow’s Black Friday chaos, here are some digital treats for yourself at a low price that won’t make you feel guilty.

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Bloody Bytes: Digital Deals & Steals

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Meli Yoroshiku

On this week’s edition of Bloody Bytes we have the scoop on free samples, a couple cool websites, and a few good deals to celebrate this extended labor day weekend (well, for some of you in the U.S.A.) Check ’em out beyond the break!

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