Debbie Christiana
  • DEBBIE CHRISTIANA
  • BOOKS
  • DARK FICTION - ANTHOLOGIES
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT/CONTACT
Picture


Dark Short Fiction
Dark Romantic Fiction
Horror
Ghosts
The Supernatural

And the occasional bottle of wine...

THIRTEEN STEPS

10/11/2016

12 Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to the 2016 October Frights Blog Hop - Day 2

Today I thought I'd share an excerpt from one of my dark short fiction stories.
I've complied six tales together in an anthology aptly named
CURIOUSLY DARK TALES.​

​Here's one of my biggest fans reading it to hold him over until Halloween.
Picture
This excerpt is from Thirteen Steps, a grim tale about a reporter who's invited to cover a small upstate New York town's unusual celebration honoring their patron Strega (Italian witch) Enjoy!
Bart lay fully dressed on top of the bed, his attempt at some shut-eye, useless.

Ten.…Eleven.…Twelve.…Thirteen. A brief reprieve and it began again. The incessant pacing in the room above had gone on for hours. Thirteen steps across to the left. Silence. Thirteen steps back to the right.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed, reached over the half-eaten burger and fries on the nightstand and grabbed the bottle of Jack. The town had rolled up its sidewalks, shutting down in anticipation for the strange midnight revelry.  He was lucky to get the deep fried heart attack in a bag before they locked the door on him.

“Mr. Sanz.” The motel manager banged on the door. “It’s eleven-thirty. Mayor DiPone wanted me to make sure you were awake. He’ll be here shortly to pick you up.”

Bart meandered to the door and opened it. “Thanks, but I’m awake. Who can sleep with the racket upstairs?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean.” He steered a disapproving eye to the bottle of whiskey. “The room over you is empty.”


Bart pushed past the old man, stepping into the cool night air. Except for his car and two others at the far end of the motel, the parking lot was deserted.

He crooked his neck at an angle, visually following the line up the two-story building. On the balcony, brown, dried leaves had blown into pile against the slider door. A dead plant wilted in its potted grave, a victim of upstate New York’s early frost. With the drapes shut tight, the dark room showed no signs of life.

Shit!

They were messing with him. Get the city slicker in the country and try to freak him out. The Mayor and the manager probably had a bet going who could frighten him the most. The joke would be on them. He didn’t scare that easy.

“Are you alright, Mr. Sanz?”  The manager asked.

​“I’m just fine,” he said curtly.

Two tunnels of bright light approached as the mayor’s SUV pulled up next to his Lexus. “Ready, Mr. Sanz? We don’t want to be late.”
Picture
I'm doing small daily giveaways but will enter everyone who commented on any post to win the Grand Prize- a $20 Amazon Gift Card. 

My giveaway today is an ebook of CURIOUSLY DARK TALES. If you'd like to enter to win, leave a comment about where you think the thirteen steps may lead to...Or leave any comment, I'm easy. 

**Don't forget to include your email in your comment.**
​
And if you don't win, no worries, CURIOUSLY DARK TALES is only 99 cents on Amazon.

I'll pick the winners for each contest on Saturday at the end of the hop.

Good luck!

Don't forget to check out the other awesome authors in the blog hop!
An InLinkz Link-up
12 Comments
Christine Verstraete link
10/11/2016 07:00:36 am

The 13 steps go... to that place no one wants to go.... The place the monsters and spiders are hiding in.... heh heh - Stopping by for the October Frights!

Reply
Debbie link
10/11/2016 07:21:02 am

LOL, Christine - you're exactly right - they don't to anywhere good, that's for sure.

Thanks for stopping by.

Reply
Deb
10/11/2016 07:20:32 am

The thirteen steps lead to thirteen rooms, each with thirteen ghosts.

Reply
Debbie link
10/11/2016 07:34:17 am

That's a great prompt for a dark Halloween short!! Thanks for stopping by, Deb.

Reply
Dave Burnham link
10/11/2016 07:37:07 am

The 13 steps lead to a doorway that opens a portal for demonic entities to manifest themselves as participants in the midnight revelry. The person walking is torn between leaving the door closed and opening it.

Reply
Debbie link
10/11/2016 07:53:56 am

Wow, Dave, that's a great idea! I think you're all putting me to shame, LOL.

Thanks for stopping by.

Reply
Wendy Howard link
10/11/2016 10:12:26 am

Considering three are 13 steps, it can only lead to something unlucky.

Love your fan!

Reply
Debbie link
10/11/2016 01:46:43 pm

Very unlucky, Wendy, LOL

Isn't my fan adorable? I have so many great Halloween decorations, I use them in my book promotion pictures. I have plenty more where he came from :)

Thanks for stopping by.

Reply
Naching link
10/11/2016 02:53:09 pm

The ghost of La Strega's last victim is pacing the floor. Awesome opening! :)

Reply
Debbie link
10/11/2016 05:22:08 pm

Oooh, Naching, you're close!

I have to say, everyone's had really great guesses.

Reply
bn100
10/11/2016 08:12:22 pm

somewhere haunted

bn100candg at hotmail dot com

Reply
Debbie link
10/12/2016 04:43:34 am

Yes, somewhere haunted and deadly....

Thanks for stopping by :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Debbie Christiana
    Author of Paranormal Romance, Dark Romantic Fiction & Short Dark Fiction. Lover of Halloween, Horror, Yoga and Wine

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture




    Archives

    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    January 2015

    Tweets by @DebChristiana

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    #Wednesday
    ​Wine:

    My husband and
    I review wines
    we've bought
    solely on the
    uniqueness of
    the label.

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • DEBBIE CHRISTIANA
  • BOOKS
  • DARK FICTION - ANTHOLOGIES
  • BLOG
  • ABOUT/CONTACT