Cirrus@Austlit

'Fifteen years ago the affluent gated-community of Slander Hall was the setting of the largest mass suicide in U.S. history; dozens of men and women committing the ultimate sacrifice and embracing the covenant of their leader to shed their bodies for a life in outer space. Now a modern ghost town, it boasts only the decaying and derelict phantoms of a withered populace. Cedar Jarrell, sole survivor of the holocaust that claimed so many, returns to the dark heart of Slander Hall on a final pilgrimage where not all who take the journey will survive…

'Also included in this second edition are two more tales – stories that put the reader into a disturbing world of lunacy and paranoia that could be just around the corner for any of us. In Doll Steak, an average man is trapped within a room of sinister dolls and quickly learns that staring into the abyss only amplifies his worst fears. With Terrica, Matthew Tait invites you to a small town where vehicular manslaughter is a way of life ... and highways are a preying ground for monsters.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Hidden within the Pitch Pines of Cyclone Cove forty-five years prior, Wyvern Way becomes a sinister backdrop when a young autistic child bears witness to atrocity. Rescued by an unlikely source, the two make a final pact that resonates throughout the future generations of the town.

'Though small, the municipal of Cyclone Cove sits at the very apex of cutting-edge technology, thanks to the giant computing firm: Azarcheal Systems Conglomerate. Led by Samara Reagan, the ASC maintains its stranglehold through means sometimes not of the human world …

'Elusive and equally mysterious, Norman Perks is a wealthy recluse whose house looks down upon the town like a haunted idol – and whose love of the written word propels him to chronicle the ongoing story of Cyclone Cove.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A writer is disturbed from his daily grind by blood dripping from the ceiling, which gets steadily worse. Soon, the blood becomes his own personal metaphor in a battle of denial.

'When a compulsive gambler is forced to seek out a loan shark rooted in myth, he discovers the dark savior teaches a lot more to his pupils than mere deliverance from debt.

'Trapped within a room of sinister dolls, an average man is forced to confront his very worst fears ... and quickly learns that sometimes staring into the abyss does not grant you a reprieve from them.

'Interweaving darkness into socially relevant spiritual and philosophical themes, GHOSTS IN A DESERT WORLD is the debut collection from Australian author Matthew Tait.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.