Christopher Courtley

Dark Tales of Vampires, Witches & Werewolves: (And Other Things That Go Bump in the Night) Christopher Courtley

Publisher Marketing: From the author of Troll Stew: A Strange Brew of Dark Fairy Tales and Poems for Adults comes this second collection from the even darker side of Faerie: Gothic stories and poems of romance and suspense; of love and death, and undeath; of lust and envy, betrayal and revenge; tales of nature and supernature red in fang and claw. Macabre, visceral, morbidly erotic, at times grimly humorous and often deeply disturbing, these blood-soaked yarns are certain to haunt your darkest dreams. In "The Witches' Ball," a twisted Gothic version of Cinderella, young Ella is no more than a mortal slave to her wicked stepmother and three stepsisters, who are bloodthirsty vampires in addition to being witches. Denied attendance to the Samhain masquerade known as the Witches' Ball, Ella will be damned if she's going to miss it! "The Devil's Heart" is a loose retelling of "The Ogre's (or Devil's) Heart in the Egg." In this heart-wrenching tale of love and self-sacrifice, a young woman who has been turned into the undead by a sadistic vampire must discover where he has magically hidden his heart in order to destroy him so that she and her lesbian lover might be released from their eternal slavery. "Ruined Rapunzel" is a darkly humorous retelling of the Grimm fairy tale that couldn't get much stranger... though some might think that the tale itself has been ruined in this Gothic version, the title actually refers to the inadvertent destruction of a powerful witch's magical youth-bestowing plant (the rapunzel), for which she exacts a terrible revenge. "Wolflust" is a short and sharp original tale about a young man's unvoiced desires for a woman belonging to another man, and what he resolves to do once he realizes that his lust for her gives him the ability to transform himself into a creature that is part man and part wolf. In "The Wolf in Elanor," a woman who has never been lucky in love goes to a Goth club for the first time, where she meets the man of her dreams... who claims to be, of all things, a vegan werewolf. For excerpts from these tales and more, visit www.christophercourtley.com/darktales.html These are just a few of the stories contained in this remarkable collection, which also features a number of Gothic poems, many of which are themselves tales told in rhyming verse, such as the author's most darkly romantic poetic work, "The Kiss," a six-part narrative poem telling the sordid tale of one vampire couple's fiery, dysfunctional relationship. Also included is Courtley's best-loved poem, "To Be A Bat," which playfully celebrates the uniqueness of this often feared and misunderstood animal. BAT LOVERS NOTE: A tithe (ten percent) of all proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to help save the bats of North America which are being threatened by White-nose syndrome. For more information on this mysterious disease currently decimating North American bats, please visit: http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_nose_syndrome Contributor Bio:  Courtley, Christopher Christopher Courtley has been spinning tales for nearly four decades. He wrote his first poem when he was around eight, but it wasn't until his late teens that he became a prolific poet. Born and raised in the slums of New York City, he has come to appreciate the finer things in life, such as cutlery, napkins, music made with real instruments, sophisticated women, and good manners. When he is not languishing in an absinthe-soaked torpor, or wandering between the worlds, or being irritatingly distracted by the vicissitudes of earthly life, he spends his nights writing furiously, occasionally remembering to shave, bathe, and eat.