Steven Ramirez

Short Stories

November 2021 Highlights and Free Fiction

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2021 US Thanksgiving

Greetings. So, here’s a fun fact to amaze your friends and colleagues on your next Zoom call. Apparently, spiders can suffer from arachnophobia, too. Researchers did a study using jumping spiders and found they had an innate ability to avoid other predator spiders—even if they’ve never encountered them before. The original Spidey-Sense, I guess.

How do you deal with spiders? I trap them and escort them outside. So far, I haven’t run into anything like this.

Big-Ass Spider
Courtesy of Epic Pictures Group

Free Fiction

In honor of Thanksgiving here in the US, I thought I’d share with you a food-related short story. If you’re thinking there’s some horror angle, forget it. There is, however, some sweet revenge. Enjoy.

THE FINAL SOUP

The Final Soup

Marta Gutiérrez de Alma had been cooking soup for days. She told her friend Teresa that this was going to be the best soup she ever made. What she didn’t say is that it would be her last.

To be honest, she hadn’t been right since her husband Cinto went off with “that woman.†Making soup, people felt, was her way of keeping herself occupied. And they had approved at first.

Marta’s mother Juanita became alarmed when she discovered that the children hadn’t been bathed in days. The house was filthy, and there was no food in the kitchen—except for the damned soup ingredients.

Something needed to be done.

So Juanita moved in with Marta, explaining to her own husband that it was the only way to save her grandchildren from turning into criminals. They were five and seven.

Juanita cleaned the house, bathed the children, and did the dishes while Marta went out shopping for only the freshest ingredients to make her amazing soup.

Marta bought ranch-fresh chickens and slaughtered them for their necks and gizzards. She chopped, diced, peeled, minced, and sautéed until her hands were swollen and bloody. The town felt that, even if Marta was well on her way to the loony bin, she would leave behind a soup never to be forgotten.

Finally, after seven days Marta said, “Está lista, mamá.â€

With tears in her eyes, Juanita watched her poor daughter go off to the bathroom to have a bath. As soon as she heard the sound of water running and Marta singing a lively canción, she found a spoon and tasted the soup. It was magnificent.

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Books to Enjoy

Twisted Mysteries & Fast-Paced Thrillers

Ready for some new mysteries and thrillers? Check out the Twisted Mysteries & Fast-Paced Thrillers promotion going on until November 21, 2021.

Fall/Winter Thriller Freebies

And don’t forget to try these Fall/Winter Thriller Freebies, available until November 23, 2021.

Recommended Viewing

Exorcist The Beginning Poster

If you’re an Amazon Prime member and need a horror fix, check out Exorcist: The Beginning, starring the talented Stellan Skarsgård and directed by Renny Harlin. This is Father Merrin’s origin story—and wow.

Logline. Years before Father Lankester Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil’s soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa. This is the tale of Father Merrin’s initial battle with Pazuzu and the rediscovery of his faith.

Okay, I’m outta here. See you next month when I see how much Christmas candy I can stuff into my gob. Peace and love.

Book Review—Sticky Fingers

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Sticky Fingers Cover

Every once in a while, you come across a collection of short stories that are, well, magical. And I had the good fortune to experience a great deal of magic in Sticky Fingers by JT Lawrence. First of all, let me just say, I never knew South Africans could be so damn funny. Come to think of it, I’ve only ever met one South African, and she was sweet. And, okay, kind of funny. Moving on.

These stories range from the macabre to the flat-out hilarious. My favorite was “Off the Hinge.†I never realized it was so difficult to secure a pint of milk for your tea. Maybe that’s why I always take mine black. On the other hand, considering the narrator’s predicament, perhaps milk is the least of her worries.

If you like stories that disturb rather than horrify, then get this collection. Each one reminded me of a modern, well-made Twilight Zone episode featuring great actors. And if you’ve ever had a chance to catch the original television episodes, you’ll know I’m setting a high bar.

You can find this review at Goodreads.

Book Description
Diverse, dark-humoured, and deliciously bite-sized, this compelling collection of 12 short stories by JT Lawrence include:

ESCAPE

A suicidal baby knows he was born into the wrong life. He has to get creative to correct the mistake, much to his mother’s horror.

THE ITCH

An intense, uncontrollable, unexplainable itch lands the protagonist in a mental institution.

BRIDGE GATE

In this poignant and charming short story, a daughter yearns to connect with her absent father through the letters they exchange. She’s not put off by his pedantic corrections of her writing, despite the slow reveal that he is less than perfect himself.

THE UNSUSPECTING GOLD-DIGGER

A woman gradually poisons her husband so that she doesn’t have to break his heart.

***

“Each story is masterfully constructed … Humorous, touching, creepy, but most of all entertaining, this collection is superb.†— Tracy (Amazon review)

***

If you’re a fan of Roald Dahl or Gillian Flynn you’ll love these unsettling stories with a twist in the tale.

Where to Buy
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA
Amazon AU
Amazon IN

More Reviews
Did you enjoy this review? Check out my other reviews here.

Come As You Are—Girl Who Reads Review

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Wow! Take a look at this review of my new collection Come As You Are, which is available in eBook and print at Amazon. Oh, and don’t forget about the Goodreads book giveaway, which ends on September 20, 2017. Details here.

And finally, for those of you who haven’t taken the opportunity, you can download a free copy of Book One of my horror thriller trilogy, Tell Me When I’m Dead. Just visit my homepage for details.

[Come As You Are Cover]

 

A Collection of Macabre Stories: Come As You Are by Steven Ramirez
by MK French

“Come As You Are†is the title novella in this collection of macabre stories. Ivan Stein and his best friend Ollie are bullied in school and often run off the skate park by older kids. When Ivan finds a notebook in an abandoned locker that seems to be the key to power, he takes it despite his misgivings. Unfortunately, the power is demonic in nature and doesn’t discriminate who falls in its path. It’s understandable that Ivan would grab hold of any hope to get past the bullies and survive seventh grade, even if it’s otherworldly. Knowing others’ secrets at first seems rather innocent, but completing the list in the notebook takes on a more dangerous turn, and Ivan’s soul hangs in the balance. The end of the story was a bit of a stretch, and not one I would have predicted when starting the novella, but definitely was vividly done.

To read the rest of this review, please visit Girl Who Reads.

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Book Review—The Angel Maker

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[The Angel Maker Cover]For me, a short story is like a stranger on a bus you happen to sit next to. The trip is short, but in that interval, you see that she’s crying—you don’t know why. She may take an urgent call, and you overhear snippets of conversation about a broken relationship, missing money, or a nightmare she once had. Then at the next stop, she gets off and is gone forever.

I enjoyed the stories in this collection because they remind me that suffering is all around us—most of our own making. Bad choices, a desire to be forgiven, a sudden awareness that our world is being torn apart by unknown forces. It’s all here. My favorite was “The War.†I sincerely hope the author will use this as the first chapter in an as-yet-to-be-written kick-ass novel.

If you enjoy the creepy, then grab this book. And be glad you made better choices in your life.

You can find this review at Amazon US.

Book Description
A drunk driver tries to get home. A college coed takes a devastating turn in her life. A lawsuit against the devil? A young woman comes face-to-face with her father’s past. And an invading army. These are the situations that are explored in these spine-tingling stories. Reminiscent of the old Twilight Zone episodes, these stories take ordinary situations and turn them into extraordinary experiences that will leave you unsettled and looking over your shoulder. You might not want to read these in the dark.

Where to Buy
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA

More Reviews
Did you enjoy this review? Check out my other Amazon reviews here.

Come As You Are—Horror Palace Review

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I am so excited to share this with you. Here is a review of my new collection Come As You Are, which is available for preorder at Amazon. Enjoy!

And for those of you who haven’t taken the opportunity, you can download a free copy of Book One of my horror thriller trilogy, Tell Me When I’m Dead. Just visit my homepage for details.

[Come As You Are Feature Image]

Come As You Are: A Short Novel and Nine Stories is a collection, featuring a short novel and several short stories. Steven Ramirez is the capable voice behind the supernatural gloom and thrills, and you will quickly learn that this author has a very subtle skill. His target audience for the short novel and I assume the anchor for the collection, is clearly young adults, although Ramirez does not shy away from the graphic details. He is clearly experienced in conjuring up a wonderful story, even if they are all drenched with innocent blood.

The collection starts with Come As You Are, the short novel based on a kid called Ivan. He is in the seventh grade and faces a daily routine of getting bullied with his best friend, Ollie. That is until Ivan comes across an old locker at school, and it holds a strange list. When Ivan starts reading from the list, the seats of power take a dramatic change. All of a sudden the bullies are taken down a step, with fatal consequences. Unfortunately, Ivan does not realize what he unleashed until it is too late.

The stories that follow are a blend of different horror/thriller themes, which I can not really connect other than by being within the horror genre. For example, Nailed It sees a writer waiting for his flight to take off, then gets bothered by a kid sitting next to him. The writer notices the kid is very organized and neat, so he tells him the story of a guy he knew with the same neurotic habit. The guy eventually went over the edge and did things I can not reveal without divulging any spoilers. Then there is A Bone in the Throat, which is based on a scam artist becoming the victim of a crazy surgeon.

All-in-all, the collection features ten powerful and very different stories.

To read the rest of this review, please visit Horror Palace.

Preorder Come As You Are Now!

Book Review—Dark Screams: Volume Six

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[Dark Screams Volume Six Cover]When I pick up a new collection of short fiction, I am ever hopeful that I will find at least one gem. Dark Screams: Volume Six is such a collection. Happily, though, in addition to the jewel in the crown I discovered in “The Corpse King†by Tim Curran, I also found two other stories I liked very much: “The Manicure†by Nell Quinn-Gibney and “The Comforting Voice†by Norman Prentiss.

But it’s “The Corpse King†I want to talk about. I tried researching to see if it had been made into a movie but was unable to find anything. Pity. The writing is so visual! I could actually see the two boozy, foul-mouthed resurrectionists Clow and Kierney as they moved through the dank, rat-infested cemeteries of Glasgow, retrieving bodies for the insatiable anatomists who paid them.

If you like horror set in a time when brutality and death were the norms, then grab this collection. Oh, and try not to think about what happens to the human body once it’s in the ground. Yeah.

You can find this review at Amazon US.

Book Description
Stephen King, Lisa Morton, Nell Quinn-Gibney, Norman Prentiss, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tim Curran plunge readers into the dark side in this deeply unsettling short-story collection curated by legendary horror editors Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar.

THE OLD DUDE’S TICKER by Stephen King
Richard Drogan has been spooked ever since he came back from Nam, but he’s no head case, dig? He just knows the old dude needs to die.

THE RICH ARE DIFFERENT by Lisa Morton
Even though she made her name revealing the private lives of the rich and famous, Sara Peck has no idea how deep their secrets really go . . . or the price they’ll pay to get what they desire.

THE MANICURE by Nell Quinn-Gibney
A trip to the nail salon is supposed to be relaxing. But as the demons of the past creep closer with every clip, even the most serene day of pampering can become a nightmare.

THE COMFORTING VOICE by Norman Prentiss
It’s a little strange how baby Lydia can only be soothed by her grandfather’s unnatural voice, ravaged by throat cancer. The weirdest part? What he’s saying is more disturbing than how he says it.

THE SITUATIONS by Joyce Carol Oates
There are certain lessons children must learn, rules they must follow, scars they must bear. No lesson is more important than this: Never question Daddy. Or else.

THE CORPSE KING by Tim Curran
Grave robbers Kierney and Clow keep one step ahead of the law as they ply their ghoulish trade, but there’s no outrunning a far more frightening enemy that hungers for the dead.

Where to Buy
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon CA

More Reviews
Did you enjoy this review? Check out my other Amazon reviews here.

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