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Tag Archives: Shock Totem
Fangoria Reviews Shock Totem #6
John Skipp has reviewed Shock Totem #6 on Fangoria’s website.

Shhh…listen!
“[Jack] Ketchum and I are in firm agreement that Shock Totem is living proof that we’re in a golden age when it comes to the short horror story. Some of the best stories ever written are being written right now.”
To read the full review, click here. Have you picked up your copy yet?
Posted in Alumni News, Magazine Reviews, Reviews, Shock Totem News
Tagged Addison Clift, Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Fangoria, Gary McMahon, Hubert Dade, Jack Ketchum, John Boden, John Guzman, John Skipp, K. Allen Wood, Lee Thompson, Lucia Starkey, Magazine Reviews, Michael Wehunt, Mikio Murakami, New Release, P.K. Gardner, Reviews, Ryan Bridger, Shock Totem, Shock Totem #6, Shock Totem Magazine, Simon Marshall-Jones
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Goodreads Giveaway—Issue #6
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Posted in Contests, Shock Totem News
Tagged Addison Clift, Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Gary McMahon, Hubert Dade, Jack Ketchum, John Boden, John Guzman, K. Allen Wood, Lee Thompson, Lucia Starkey, Michael Wehunt, Mikio Murakami, New Release, P.K. Gardner, Ryan Bridger, Shock Totem, Shock Totem #6, Shock Totem Magazine, Simon Marshall-Jones
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Kindle Users: Free Shock Totem
This week only we’re running promos on the first five issues of Shock Totem (not including the special holiday issue). Starting today, Kindle users will be able to download issue #1 for free. Tomorrow, issue #2 will be free, Wednesday, issue #3, and so on.

Click the links below to download!
Monday/Tuesday: Shock Totem 1: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted
Tuesday/Wednesday: Shock Totem 2: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted
Wednesday/Thursday: Shock Totem 3: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted
Thursday/Friday: Shock Totem 4: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted
Friday/Saturday: Shock Totem 5: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted
We ran a similar promo a little over a year ago, and it generated 10,000 downloads. We hope to once again reach thousands of new readers. If you haven’t read all—or any—of our issues, now is the perfect time. If you have, please encourage others to give us a shot.
Thanks!
Posted in Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Amazon, E-books, Free E-books, KDP Select, Kindle, Kindle Owners' Lending Library, Shock Totem, Shock Totem #1, Shock Totem #2, Shock Totem #3, Shock Totem #4, Shock Totem #4.5, Shock Totem #5, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem Publications
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The One-Hour Flash Fiction Challenge
This Saturday, March 30, at 8 PM EST, we will once again be hosting our bi-weekly flash fiction challenge. The challenge: You have just one hour to write, edit, and post your story.
This is a “prompted” challenge, meaning your story must be based on the prompt, which will be revealed just before 8 PM. The challenge takes place here on our forum, so you’ll need an account if you want to participate.
The purpose of the challenge is to force you, the writer, to clear your mind of all distractions and write a complete 1,000-word-or-less story within the allotted time. You’ll have to not only write the story, but also edit it, and then post it by 9 PM EST.
For those interested, here are the rules:
Unlike our bi-monthly flash fiction contest, the bi-weekly one-hour flash challenge is just for fun. The challenge will be held every other Saturday, officially beginning at exactly 8 PM EST. There are no prizes! And the rules are simple.
1. All stories should be complete, written and posted within one hour, and can be anywhere from one sentence to 1,000 words in length.
2. You may choose to write your story in any genre.
3. Your story must be built around the restrictions—words, themes, photo prompts, word limits, etc.—provided by the Flashmaster at the beginning of the challenge.
4. Once the participants’ work is posted, the voting and comment session begins and continues until all votes are in. Time limit for voting will be determined on the spot, depending on how many people finish the challenge.
5. The winner becomes Flashmaster and hosts the next contest.
And that’s it. Simple and fun.
Think you can do it? Join the forum and be present this coming Saturday at 8 PM EST. More information can be found on the forum.
Posted in Shock Totem News, Writing Challenges
Tagged Flash Fiction, Flash Fiction Challenge, Forum Events, Shock Totem, The Forum, Writing Challenges
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Shock Totem #6—Now Available!
Shock Totem Publications is very happy to announce that our sixth issue is available for purchase!

Don’t listen to this guy. Tell everyone!
Shock Totem returns with its sixth issue, featuring stories that range from troubling tales of loss to chilling examinations of mankind’s dark side. In “Lighten Up,” four-time Stoker Award™-winner and Grandmaster of Horror Jack Ketchum gives us a dose of dark humor that still manages to be righteously menacing. “The River,” by rising star Lee Thompson, is a brutal tale of purgatory, wasted life, and regrets.
Soulmates connect through murder, love and revenge in P.K. Gardner’s “For Jack.” In “Orion,” a young girl who has only known darkness makes the ultimate sacrifice—in blood. “No One But Us Monsters,” by Hubert Dade, follows a man who is haunted and tormented by his own crippling fears. Mail hoarding, sin eaters, political horror, Shock Totem #6 runs the gamut.
Also included: Conversations with Lee Thompson and seven-time British Fantasy Award nominee Gary McMahon, as well as narrative nonfiction—a tale of true horror—by Ryan Bridger. An editorial about inspiration; the latest installment of “Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes,” which examines the connections between music and horror; plus reviews and much more…
Come see why Shock Totem is billed as “…one of the strongest horror fiction magazines on the market today” (Hellnotes).
Currently the print issue can be purchased via our webstore or Amazon. More online retailers will follow in the coming days and weeks. Kindle owners can order the digital copy here.
Interested in our back catalog? All past issues are still available digitally and in print and can be ordered directly from us or through Amazon and other online retailers
As always, thank you for the support!
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Addison Clift, Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Gary McMahon, Hubert Dade, Jack Ketchum, John Boden, John Guzman, K. Allen Wood, Lee Thompson, Lucia Starkey, Michael Wehunt, Mikio Murakami, New Release, P.K. Gardner, Ryan Bridger, Shock Totem, Shock Totem #6, Shock Totem Magazine, Simon Marshall-Jones
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Announcing Shock Totem #6…
Right on the heels of our fashionably-late fifth issue, we are proud to announce that our sixth issue is primed and almost ready to go. I am doing the layout this time, so I’m making sure everything is perfect. It’s close, though.
For those who have yet to see it, here is the cover artwork:

Once again the cover art was created by the brilliant Mikio Murakami, who has done all our magazine artwork since issue #3.
Here is the official Table of Contents:
* The Spectacular Inspiration Suit, by John Boden (Editorial)
* For Jack, by P.K. Gardner
* Orion, by Michael Wehunt
* The Hard Way: A Conversation with Gary McMahon, by John Boden
* Ballad of the Man with the Shark Tooth Bracelet, by Lucia Starkey
* She Disappeared, by Ryan Bridger (Narrative Nonfiction)
* Strange Goods and Other Oddities (Reviews)
* No One But Us Monsters, by Hubert Dade
* The Cocktail Party, by Addison Clift
* Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Part 4, by John Boden and Simon Marshall-Jones (Article)
* Lighten Up, by Jack Ketchum
* Magnolia’s Prayer, by John Guzman (2012 Shock Totem Flash Fiction Contest Winner)
* When We Crash Against Reality: A Conversation with Lee Thompson, by K. Allen Wood
* The River, by Lee Thompson
* Howling Through the Keyhole (Author Notes)
Yet again we feel this issue sits well apart from previous issues, though without straying too far from what readers have come to expect from us. We dig it, and we’re confident you will as well.
Look for it soon in digital format. Print will follow shortly after, and if interested you can preorder it here.
As always, thank you for your continued support!
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Addison Clift, Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Gary McMahon, Hubert Dade, Jack Ketchum, John Boden, John Guzman, K. Allen Wood, Lee Thompson, Lucia Starkey, Michael Wehunt, New Release, P.K. Gardner, Ryan Bridger, Shock Totem, Shock Totem #6, Shock Totem Magazine, Simon Marshall-Jones
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Tales from the Bookworm’s Lair Reviews Shock Totem #5
A fine fellow by the name of Bibliorex has reviewed Shock Totem #5 over at the Tales from the Bookworm’s Lair website.
“If the first four issues are anything like this one, Shock Totem is one of the strongest horror fiction magazines on the market today.”
To read the full review, click here. Have you picked up your copy yet?
Posted in Book Reviews, Reviews, Shock Totem News
Tagged Bibliorex, Book Reviews, Reviews, Shock Totem, Shock Totem #5, Tales from the Bookworm's Lair
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Shock Totem #5—Now Available!
Shock Totem Publications is very happy to announce that our long-awaited fifth issue is available for purchase!
This issue of Shock Totem is yet another eclectic mix of horror fiction and nonfiction, featuring previously unpublished stories from the likes of Ari Marmell, Darrell Schweitzer, Joe Mirabello, Mekenzie Larsen, and others. There is also a five-part illustrated microfiction serial, by Kurt Newton, which is something new for us; plus a conversation with horror legend Jack Ketchum, narrative nonfiction by Nick Contor, reviews and more.

The full table of contents is as follows:
* Taking Root: An Editorial, by Mercedes M. Yardley
* In Deepest Silence, by Ari Marmell
* Girl and the Blue Burqa, by D. Thomas Mooers
* Digging in the Dirt: A Conversation with Jack Ketchum, by John Boden
* Hide-and-Seek, by F.J. Bergmann (Poetry)
* Eyes of a Stranger: An Essay, by Nick Contor
* Postmortem, by Kurt Newton
* Jimmy Bunny, by Darrell Schweitzer
* Strange Goods and Other Oddities (Reviews)
* Little Knife Houses, by Jaelithe Ingold (2011 Shock Totem Flash Fiction Contest Winner)
* Canon, by Anaea Lay
* Bloodstains & Blue Suede Shoes, Part 3, by John Boden and Simon Marshall-Jones
* The Catch, by Joe Mirabello
* Three Strikes, by Mekenzie Larsen
* To ‘Bie or Not to ‘Bie, by Sean Eads
* Howling Through the Keyhole (Author Notes)
As of right now, you can order this issue—and past issues, which are all still available—directly from us or through Amazon, in both print ($6.99) and digital ($2.99) formats.
As always, thank you for the support!
Posted in New Releases, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem News
Tagged Anaea Lay, Ari Marmell, D. Thomas Mooers, Darrell Schweitzer, Jack Ketchum, Jaelithe Ingold, Joe Mirabello, Kurt Newton, Mekenzie Larsen, Narrative Nonfiction, Sean Eads, Shock Totem, Shock Totem #5, Shock Totem Digital, Shock Totem Magazine, Shock Totem Publications
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Halloween Sale—13% Off Entire Order!
To celebrate this special day, we are offering 13% off your entire order for anything purchased through our webstore. Today only!
Just click here and enter the code HALLOWEEN upon checkout.
Happy Halloween, folks!
Posted in Sales, Shock Totem News
Tagged Halloween, Halloween Sale, Shock Totem, Shock Totem Publications
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