Newly Available from Crystal Lake Publishing
Soundtrack to the End of the World
A suicidal nudist strolls into traffic. An eccentric Buddhist claims he can occupy other people’s bodies. All the while, whispers of a new form of entertainment blow through town. Prompted by these strange occurrences, Marty Raft, a not-so-gentle giant, investigates and discovers underground clubs peddling music that induces an out-of-body experience. Marty and a wannabe comedian, Corey, set out to prove these special frequencies are nothing more than a hoax, or at worst, a mass-drugging. Instead, they uncover a secret with world-ending possibilities. If you can hear the music, it’s already too late.
Recent News
The End of the World Never Sounded So Good
I’m sitting here in my writing space, glancing out the nearby window between typed words, enjoying how the bare tree branches seem to crack the gray sky into fragments. I like these quiet days when Mother Nature is still trying to decide between winter and spring. The nights are blustery and cold, while the afternoons
Mail is Magic
Do you remember back when postal mail was magic? The mailperson was a blue-collar Santa, and my mailbox was Santa’s bag. On any given day, opening the miniature doorway might reveal a package or envelope of mystery. It didn’t even have to be December, and there I was, tearing into a present with perhaps only
Horror on Main Convention – This Weekend
Hey, gang. I’ll be at the Horror on Main convention this weekend, Friday June 28th until Sunday June 30th. I’m sharing a table with the incomparable Amanda Headlee and will have books, sculptures, and more for sale. Online ticket sales (with a discount) ends today! https://horroronmain.com/tickets/ My live reading will be on Saturday at 3pm,
Available Now!
Tommy and the Order of Cosmic Champions
Sometimes our greatest moments of enlightenment come from our worst mistakes.
When life supplies eleven-year-old Tommy Grant with some unfavorable circumstances intruding on his otherwise tranquil life in rural 1980's Ohio, he retreats into the spell-binding Order of Cosmic Champions. When he discovers that the largely successful animated program and toy line is holding a nationwide ''Create-A-Character'' contest where applicants submit their action figure designs, Tommy knows he has to enter as surely as he knows his own name.
But when Tommy's character design fails to win the contest, he finds his world crumbling from all sides. And there is only one way he knows to fix it.
What follows is a whirlwind coming-of-age adventure of righting wrongs, overcoming perilous obstacles, confronting our inner demons, and challenging the limits of reality. In this waxing nostalgic and imaginative fantasy, readers will discover what excitement lies waiting when you take risks and conquer your fears. Only one question remains: In the final hour when you heed the call, the courage to give your all, will you stand or fall?
About Me
Anthony J. Rapino
Author of Horror and Dark Fiction
Anthony J. Rapino is the author of such horror novels as Soundtrack to the End of the World, Greetings from Moon Hill, and upcoming The Precipice of Nowhere. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies including On Spec, Acapella Zoo, Black Ink Horror, Madhouse, and One of Us: A Tribute to Frank Michaels Errington.
Available Now!
Liminal Spaces: An Anthology of Dark Speculative Fiction
Liminal Spaces is a quiet horror anthology from Cemetery Gates Media featuring stories from well-known dark fiction writers such as: Joanna Koch, Jessica McHugh, Mark Allan Gunnells, Anthony J. Rapino, Gwendolyn Kiste, and many more.
“The word ‘liminal’ comes from the Latin root limen. It means ‘threshold.’ A liminal space is a ‘crossing over’ space–a space where you have left something behind, yet you are not fully in something else. It’s a transition space. “This is my favorite kind of horror and speculative fiction. Fiction which takes place in that ‘crossing over’ space. Stories about characters who have–wittingly or unwittingly–crossed a threshold. Those who have left something behind, yet are not quite somewhere or something else. They are in-between, and are neither one thing, nor another.” -Kevin Lucia, Editor
Anthony J. Rapino, The Artist
For the Horror and Halloween lover in all of us, Anthony also creates sculptures that are based on horror movies, novels, his imagination, and Halloween. His artwork comes in the form of gruesome figures, magnets, busts, toys, pins, and more.
Available Now!
One of Us: A Tribute to Frank Michaels Errington.
Frank was a beloved reviewer and source of support, advice, and friendship to the small press/indie horror community. All proceeds of this charity anthology are going to the American Transplant Foundation. Anthony’s contribution is entitled “River Bugs.”
