Curated by my friend Allyson Longuiera. This Darker Realms Storybundle contains several WordFire Press books, and a SNEAK PREVIEW of my Selected Stories: Horror and Dark Fantasy, which won’t be otherwise available to the public until next month!

Here’s what Allyson has to say:

I vividly remember one of my first forays into a darker realm. It was a short story by Stephen King called “The Eyes of the Dragon.” I remember it in part because I was so surprised it was a King story. I knew King as a horror writer. And, to be honest, I hated horror—or so I thought.

Ironically, it was another of King’s short stories, “The Colorado Kid,” that opened my eyes to what horror could be. Darkness comes in many forms—and many expressions.

The Darker Realms Fantasy StoryBundle explores just that: the darkness at the heart of the unknown.

Four of these books are new releases just in time for this StoryBundle. New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch gives us a dark fantasy set on the Oregon Coast called FantasyLife and Other Stories (Author Preferred Edition). New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson’s Selected Stories: Horror and Dark Fantasy features 29 dark tales (including stories co-written with Grammy Award-winning singer Janis Ian and Rush’s Neil Peart). Award-winning author Annie Reed’s Iris & Ivy provides a heart-wrenching twist on the classic ghost story. And Stefon Mears Hunting Monsters gives us an old-school vampire in an urban setting.

Also included in the bundle is Fiction River Presents: Darker Realms. This short fiction anthology, which I edited, is the inspiration for the whole bundle and includes the prequels to two groundbreaking fantasy series: Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Fey series and David Farland’s Runelords.

Rounding out the bundle, we mix humor with darkness in The Free Meal: A Ghost of a Chance Novel by USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith and A Canadian Werewolf in New York by Mark Leslie. Then we turn decidedly more frightening with Residue by Hugo Award-nominated author Steve Diamond and Elements of Mind by Walter H. Hunt. And finally, D.J. Butler has given us not only Devil Sent the Rain, the fourth installment of his pulp fiction serial Rock Bands Fight Evil, but also the Rock Band Fights Evil Omnibus, too, for those readers who missed the first three installments.

As always, at StoryBundle, you name your own price—whatever you feel the books are worth, and a portion of the proceeds goes to charity—in this case, AbleGamers.

The Darker Realms Fantasy Bundle runs for three weeks only. So, you’ll want to act fast.

– Allyson Longueira

For StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you feel generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of four books in any ebook format worldwide:

• Hunting Monsters by Stefon Mears
• Fiction River Presents: Darker Realms by Allyson Longueira
• Iris & Ivy by Annie Reed
• Selected Stories – Horror and Dark Fantasy by Kevin J. Anderson

If you pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all four of the regular books, plus SIX more!

• Rock Band Fights Evil 1-4 by D.J. Butler
• A Canadian Werewolf in New York by Mark Leslie
• FantasyLife and Other Stories by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• The Free Meal by Dean Wesley Smith
• Residue by Steve Diamond
• Elements of Mind by Walter H. Hunt

This bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub and .mobi) for all books!

It’s also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.

Why StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.

• Get quality reads: We’ve chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
• Pay what you want (minimum $5): You decide how much these fantastic books are worth. If you can only spare a little, that’s fine! You’ll still get access to a batch of exceptional titles.
• Support authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there’s nothing wrong with ditching DRM.
• Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to AbleGamers!
• Receive extra books: If you beat the bonus price, you’ll get the bonus books!

StoryBundle was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work, and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.