After: The Echo (AFTER post-apocalyptic series, Book 2) (24 page)

Learn more about the supernatural stories
in
Ashes
or
view it at Amazon
or
Amazon UK

THE FIRST

By Scott Nicholson

A collection of dark fantasy and futuristic stories from award-winning author Scott Nicholson. Dystopia, cyberpunk, and science fiction imbue these stories that visit undiscovered countries and distant times. Includes two bonus essays and Nicholson's first-ever published story, in addition to the four-story Aeropagan cycle.

Learn more about the fantasy and science fiction stories
in
The First
or
view it at Amazon
or
Amazon UK

ZOMBIE BITS

By Scott Nicholson

A collection of zombie stories, from the zombie point-of-view to the shoot-‘em-up survival brand of apocalyptic horror. Proof that even zombies have a heart…Based on the comic book currently in development by Scott Nicholson and Derlis Santacruz. With a bonus story by Jack Kilborn, a comic script, and Jonathan Maberry’s "Zombie Apocalypse Survival Scorecard."

Learn more about
Zombie Bits
and see zombie art or
view it at Amazon
or
Amazon UK

CURTAINS

By Scott Nicholson

A collection of crime and mystery tales from the vaults of Scott Nicholson. Includes "How to Build Your Own Coffin" and Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror selection "Dog Person," as well as the psychological thrillers "Letters and Lies," "Sewing Circle," and more stories that appeared in magazines such as
Crimewave, Cemetery Dance
, and
Blue Murder
. Includes and afterword and a bonus story from bestselling authors J.A. Konrath and Simon Wood.

Learn more about
Curtains: Mystery Stories
or view it for
Kindle at Amazon
or
Amazon UK

GATEWAY DRUG

By Scott Nicholson

After the first hit, there's no turning back. Ten tales of horror and suspense from a bestselling author. A man learns fast cars and fast women don't mix, even when they're dead. A young boy discovers the terrible power of love. A rock musician will do anything for stardom. Bonus contributions from Tim Lebbon and Shane Jiraiya Cummings, as well as the afterword "One Sick Puppy."

Learn about
Gateway Drug
or view it at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK

HEAD CASES

By Scott Nicholson

Nine stories of psychological suspense and paranoid horror, featuring the first-ever appearance of "Fear Goggles." Collected from the pages of
Crimewave, The Psycho Ward, Cemetery Dance
, and more, find out what happens when a writer thinks Stephen King is stealing his ideas. Bonus stories by William Meikle and John Everson.

Learn more about
Head Cases
for
Kindle at Amazon
or
Amazon UK

MISSING PIECES

By Scott Nicholson

Ten stories of suspense, fantasy, and the supernatural, including “The Beaulahville Gospel; Jubilee,” “Floating Cathedral Song,” and “Constitution,” as well as three stories making their original appearance. View it for Kindle at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK
.

THESE THINGS HAPPENED

By Scott Nicholson

It's been a strange life. It's been my life. Features stories, poems, and essays on relationships, romance, writing, and taking oneself far too seriously. Plus some humor. You may laugh, you may cry, you may decide you want to be a writer, too. You may hate me after if it's over. That's okay. You wouldn't be the first. Learn about
These Things Happened
. Or view it for Kindle at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK

IF I WERE YOUR MONSTER

Children's book by Scott Nicholson, art by Lee Davis

Creatures of the night teach a lesson of bravery in this full-color, illustrated bedtime story for all ages. Let vampires, ghosts, scarecrows, and mummies protect your little one from the bullies and mean people of the world. 24 screens or pages. View it at
Haunted Computer
or at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK

TOO MANY WITCHES

Children’s book by Scott Nicholson, art by Lee Davis

When Moanica Moonsweep plans a Halloween party, she needs the perfect potion of stinky stew. But when she asks her friends for advice, she ends up with one big mess and lots of hurt feelings. 28 full-color screens or pages. See it at Haunted Computer or for Kindle at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK

DUNCAN THE PUNKIN

Children's book by Scott Nicholson, art by Sergio Castro

A momma pumpkin must teach her young pumpkin all about the dangers of Halloween, while a mysterious creature known as Skeerdy-Cat-Crow watches over the pumpkin patch. 30 full-color pages or screens. See it at
Haunted Computer
or view it for Kindle at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK

IDA CLAIRE

By Scott Nicholson, art by Lee Davis

Little Ida is a handful of feisty fun for her harried dad, bursting with imagination and play while Dad tries to keep up. Features 32 full-color screens. View it for Kindle at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK
.

SOLOM (UK)

By Scott Nicholson

When Katy Logan and her teen daughter Jett move to the remote Southern Appalachian community of Solom, they make fun of the local stories about a horseback preacher who haunts the hills.

But the residents of Solom know all about the man in the black hat. The Reverend Harmon Smith has come back more than century after his last missionary trip, and he has unfinished business. But first Katy and Jett must be brought into the Smith family, and the farm must be prepared to welcome him home. Author's preferred edition of the 2006 U.S. paperback
The Farm
.

Learn more about the supernatural thriller
Solom
or view it at
Amazon UK

THE GORGE (UK)

By Scott Nicholson

An experimental rafting expedition, an FBI manhunt for a delusional killer, and the worst storm in decades collide in the remote mountain wilderness...and then
THEY
come out.

Learn more about
The Gorge
or view it at
Amazon UK
or view the original screenplay adaptation at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK
.

OMNIBUS EDITIONS

You can also save with the omnibus editions

Ethereal Messenger
at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK
(contains
The Red  Church, Drummer Boy
, and
Speed Dating With The Dead
)

Mystery Dance
(contains
Disintegration, Crime Beat
, and
The Skull Ring
, and bonus stories and essays) at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK

Horror Movies: Three Screenplays
(
The Gorge, Creative Spirit
, and
The Skull Ring
screenplays) at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK

Ghost Box
:
Six Supernatural Thrillers
(contains
The Red Church, Drummer Boy
,
The Dead Love Longer, Burial to Follow, Creative Spirit,
and
Speed Dating With The Dead
) at
Amazon US
or
Amazon UK

Mad Stacks: Short Stories Box Set
(Contains
Gateway Drug, Head Cases
,
and
Missing Pieces
)

Bad Stacks: Short Stories Box Set
(Contains
Ashes
,
American Horror
, and
Curtains
)

Odd Stacks: Short Stories Box Set
(Contains
The First, Flowers
, and
Zombie Bits
)

Scott Nicholson Library, Vol. 1

Scott Nicholson Library, Vol. 2

Scott Nicholson Library, Vol. 3

Scott Nicholson Library, Vol. 4

Are you a writer?
Please check out
The Indie Journey: Secrets to Writing Success

BONUS CHAPTER TO THE PREQUEL (MAY 2013)

AFTER: FIRST LIGHT

The sun looked like a cheese pizza that had been broiled in hell’s hottest oven.

Dr. Daniel Chien frowned at the monitor, concerned less with the rippling cheese than the rising bubbles of red sauce. Each bubble erupted with a force equaling 100 billion megatons of TNT, spewing electromagnetic radiation across the solar system. Chien was intellectually aware that the pizza was really a massive star around which Earth and the other planets revolved, but technology had reduced it to little more than a commercial-free reality-TV show.

Sir Isaac Newton nearly blinded himself staring at the sun, and I can do it from the comfort of my air-conditioned cubicle.

The images recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory were a marvel of modern technology. Not only was the space-launched observatory performing a continuous, real-time monitoring of solar activity, it used an array of solar panels as its energy source. In turn, the data allowed Chien and other researchers to study the sun’s electromagnetic fluctuations, solar wind, sunspot activity, and particle radiation.

The sublime beauty of the system had lured Chien from a faculty position at Johns Hopkins. Even as a boy in Vietnam, he’d been fascinated by the sun as the giver of life. The Earth’s precarious position at just the right orbital distance counted as something miraculous, although Chien was careful to avoid debates over science and faith. To him, wonder was wonder and did not require further complications. Let the glory hounds like Newton clog the pages of scientific history while Chien and his fellow grunt workers added to the pool of knowledge bit by bit.

But his role as a researcher didn’t diminish his appreciation of solar myth. After all, there was hardly a more apt metaphor for human hubris than Icarus flying too close to the sun and having his wings melt.

The sun, as he liked to tell his friends, was cool.

Chien still found childlike delight in the real-time images of the sun captured in a variety of spectra, available to the public via the NASA website. The array of sophisticated instruments measured multiple wavelengths and offered multiple ways to observe and measure solar phenomena. The main image was the one now commanding his attention, and although he was fully aware of the sun’s petulant temperament, he didn’t like the erratic pulsations appearing on its surface.

Somebody’s burning the pizza.

“Katherine?” he said, calling to the other on-duty researcher at the SDO’s offices in the Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Katherine Swain was several years his senior, a 20-year veteran of NASA, and a woman who held no romantic notions of the sun at all.

“Yes?” she said, in an annoyed tone, looking up from her laptop. She’d confided to Daniel that she was having “family problems,” and Daniel had projected a polite pretense of concern without pressing for details. Which meant avoiding her unless something important was happening.

“It looks like some irregular plasma activity.”

“We’re in an irregular phase,” she said, not clicking away from whatever she was working on. “The moon’s having its period.”

Much like a woman, or the moon, or any other natural object, the sun went through nearly predictable cycles of behavior. Solar cycles lasted about 11 years, and the study of radionuclides in Arctic ice had allowed researchers to map an accurate history of the sun. Although the cycles followed identifiable patterns, the general agreement was that the current cycle was among the most active on record.

“It’s not just
regularly
irregular,” he said. “It’s crazy.”

“Ah, here comes the big one, huh?” Katherine teased. “Guess they should have listened to you, huh?”

As a member of a commission asked to assess the nation’s vulnerability to electromagnetic pulse attack, Chien had testified before an Armed Services subcommittee. He’d warned of the impact of massive solar flares, but his cataclysmic scenarios were pushed aside for what were considered the more-relevant dangers of low-flying nuclear missiles. The military couldn’t fight the sun, and neither could it procure billions of tax dollars by provoking the administration’s fear of the sun. Besides, terrorist threats were far sexier than probability modeling.

Last year, Chien had co-authored a report that painted a grim picture of infrastructure failure on the heels of a massive solar storm, calling it “the greatest environmental disaster in human history.” Since then, Katherine and the other SDO researchers had wryly called Chien “Dr. Doom.”

Chien had stood firm in his quiet way. Besides, it really wasn’t a matter of “if.” It was a matter of “when.”

But even Chien didn’t really expect “when” to be
now
.

“Look at AR1654,” Chien said.

Katherine’s keys clacked as she brought up an image on her laptop screen. “It’s only an M-1,” she said. “At worst, we could get a few radio blackouts in the polar regions. No biggie.”

“But AR1654 is aligning with the Earth. That means we will be right in the path of the plasma stream if a flare erupts.”