Blueblood (28 page)

Available on
Amazon for the Kindle
and in paperback from
CreateSpace
and
Amazon
.

one bad twelve

A group of Mafia wiseguys sweat it out as they wait to hear who's snitched on them in "Up a Rung"; a disturbed woman loses more than her mind in "Possession"; and a postman's larcenous streak gets him in a terrible mess just a few days before Christmas in "Special Delivery."

There are just a few of the thirteen tales that had to be bribed, shoved, and bullied into
one bad twelve
. Read them, buy them, or ignore them...just don't turn your back on them.

one bad twelve
is available on
Amazon
as well as other fine retailers. The stories are also available in four micro-anthologies:
Three Shorts, Three the Hard Way, Three on a Match
, and
Three of a Kind
, available on all ereaders. Please check
matthew-iden.com
for links and excerpts.

Finding Emma

No one likes Jack. His wife is gone and his neighbors avoid him. He's a recluse and a creep and that's just the way he wants it.

But when ten-year old Emma goes missing in the nearby woods, the eyes of his neighbors turn on him in fear and accusation, escalating as the days pass. The answers they--and the reader--get, however, are the last that anyone would suspect...

Finding Emma
is a novella of literary horror totaling 17,500 words or about 70 paperback pages.

Available on
Amazon
and
Kobo
; coming to all digital ereaders soon.

Sword of Kings

"...[Sword of Kings] has brought back to me the pleasure of the short story done well."

— Amanda Reznick, 5 star review

King Andreas was confident, bold, courageous...until his sword--the living symbol of his power--began to crumble in his hands.

With his brother Jon by his side, Andreas has little time to find out why the sword, passed down through a hundred generations, is failing now. The answer he finds may save his kingdom, but at a terrible price.

Sword of Kings
is a 4,100 word short story of high fantasy. Included in this volume is a Story Notes essay detailing the thought process and background behind the writing of the work. Available on
Amazon
and soon to be had at all major digital publishers.

Assassin

"... the stories and the mind behind them are first rate"

— Janis Ian, 4 star review

For almost twenty years, war has raged between the mountain kingdom of Thrace and the sea-faring land of Andal, exhausting both nations. Prince Lowan, the educated and debonair second son of the King of Thrace, has arrived to make peace with his father's enemies. But the price Andal requires for peace is high--too high--and Lowan knows there are many ways to influence a nation at war.

Assassin
is an original fantasy short story of 4,200 word, or about 17 paperback pages. It includes a Story Notes section, outlining the background and thought process behind the writing as well as an excerpt from Matthew Iden's fantasy short story
Sword of Kings
.

Assassin
is available on
Amazon
and will soon be available for all major ereaders.

Seven Into the Bleak

"...A truly terrifying short fantasy/horror adventure... of the highest quality."

— Ray, Top 1000 Amazon reviewr, 5 star review

A band of companions—each with his or her own reasons—delves deep into the heart of the Bleak, the infamous and horrifying cavern world miles beneath their own. But their dreams of a quick journey fade into black when their way home is cut off.

Seven Into the Bleak
is an original fantasy short story of 8,100 words or about 30 paperback pages. Find it on
Amazon
and on all major digital publishing sites.

About the Author

Matthew Iden writes fantasy, science fiction, horror, thrillers, crime fiction, and contemporary literary fiction with a psychological twist.

An eclectic resume—he's held jobs with the US Postal Service, international non-profit groups, a short stint with the Forest Service in Sitka, Alaska and time with the globe-spanning Semester at Sea program—has given him inspiration for short stories and novel ideas, while trips to Iceland, Patagonia, and Antarctica haven't hurt in the creative juices department, either. A post-graduate education in English Literature wasn't necessary, but it helped define what he didn't want to do with his life and let him read a great deal of good books.

Please visit him on the web at
matthew-iden.com
, Tweet
@CrimeRighter
, or find him on Facebook,
http://www.facebook.com/matthew.iden
.

Matthew lives in Alexandria, Virginia.