Archive for the ‘short story’ Category

Run for your lives! Light a magic candle! Pray to the Great Old Ones to be left alone! Hannah and Other Stories releases in just one month!

As you’re probably aware, Hannah and Other Stories is my new collection of short stories which is releasing on September 23rd, 2023. This collection contains seven original tales, featuring tales of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses, among other things. My publisher, BSC Publishing Group, and I have been working on this book for two years, so we’re very excited for people to read it. Hell, I’m kind of hoping it becomes one of the most talked about books for the Halloween season this year.

At the very least, I want to get the book in paperback. Right now, it’s only available in ebook, but if it does well, it’ll get a paperback. Maybe even an audio book.

With that in mind, we’re also doing everything we can to get people interested in the book and in maybe preordering a copy. On my end, I’ve been posting YouTube videos where I read sections from the book. A couple of the videos I’ve done are below.

Not bad, right? I tried to create an atmosphere to go with the stories, and I plan to do the stories I haven’t covered before it releases.

And BSC has been doing some amazing excerpts as well, only they’ve been posting these beautiful graphics that they do in-house! I absolutely love them. Here’s some of the most recent.

Pretty awesome, right? And you can see all the excerpts BSC has made on Hannah‘s personal page on this blog.

Anyway, I’m super excited for people to read it. These stories are all beloved to me in each their own way. What Errour Awoke is a story that not only allowed me to tap into my love of cosmic horror, but helped me to deal with world events that were causing me anxiety at the time of writing. Hannah and Queen Alice were both fun to write, with the former being inspired by a ghost story that’s always fascinated me, and the latter being an interesting mashup of Alice in Wonderland with Slender Man. The Autopsy Kid and Doctor Sarah was a story where I experimented with extreme horror and splatterpunk that I hadn’t done before, while Poor, Unfortunate Souls made for a heartfelt story of acceptance and hardship in the midst of the Paris catacombs. The Red Bursts gave me an unexpected story of finding faith in dark situations, and Fuseli’s Horses allowed me to have fun with a new monster while also playing with some teenage drama.

I can’t wait to see what people think when they read them.

And if any of this has made you want to read Hannah and Other Stories, I’ll include the links to preorder it below. That’s right, “links.” As of this past weekend, Hannah and Other Stories is available to preorder from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers, including a few international ones. I’ll include links for all the shops below, and I’ll be sure to update future posts as BSC lets me more stores are carrying the book.

And if you like what you read this September, please be sure to leave a review online somewhere. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps me and other readers in the long run.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll be sure to post more updates as we get closer to the release date. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

It’s time I brought back something I haven’t done for a very, very long time. And I’m doing it for every story in Hannah.

So, for those of you unaware, for a while, it was a thing for authors to post the first line of a story that was either being written or about to be published on social media or blogs. And we called it #FirstLineFriday, hashtag included. I was a big fan, and did it regularly for a few years, though I made it only a special occasion thing around 2021.

Well, it’s now 2023 and I have a new collection of short stories out in…36 days! Wow, time flies. Anyway, with Hannah and Other Stories releasing soon, I thought it would be fun to bring back this tag and post the first line or two from each story in the collection leading up to its release. And hey, it might get some of you interested in reading the book, right?

Anyway, here are the rules of #FirstLineFriday for those who aren’t initiated:

  1. Create a post on your blog titled #FirstLineFriday, hashtag and all.
  2. Explain the rules like I’m doing now.
  3. Post the first one or two lines of a potential story, a story-in-progress, or a completed/published story.
  4. Ask your readers for feedback and try to get them to try #FirstLineFriday on their own blogs (tagging is encouraged but not necessary).

Sounds simple enough, right? And I already have the first two rules taken care of, so let’s do #3. Obviously, this set of lines comes straight from Hannah itself:

The Penton Incident, as I call it, began as many of our ghost hunts did.

But how do their ghost hunts start? How do they start?! I guess you’ll have to read Hannah and Other Stories to find out. And if you want to read Hannah, you can preorder a copy using the below button. Also, what do you think of the opening? Does it make you curious? Let me know in the comments below.

Also, you should try the #FirstLineFriday tag. Just copy and paste the rules, then follow them with a story of your own. Of course, if you prefer to be tagged, then consider yourself tagged. Now go and make a blog post.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll have the first couple of lines for Queen Alice next week. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

Did you know that we’re only a hundred days away from Halloween? It’s true. And I can’t think of any way to celebrate the opening of spooky season than preordering what will surely be one of the best horror releases of 2023.

Okay, terrible opening aside, it is both 100 days away from Halloween and two months till the release of Hannah and Other Stories. For those of you who don’t know (I’m sure there are a few of you out there), Hannah and Other Stories is my new collection of short stories. It’s being released on September 23rd by BSC Publishing Group and features tales of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses, among other things.

And I am so excited for people to read these stories. The seven stories are all plenty fun and strange and unique, which is what I love. The title story, “Hannah,” is about a pair of ghost hunters who get more than they bargain for when they investigate a haunted school. The one that follows it, “Queen Alice,” combines Alice in Wonderland with Slenderman, which I’m sure would intrigue many of you. The story “What Errour Awoke” combines classic English literature, cosmic horror and some of the biggest events of the past few years into an epic tale of magic and horror. “Fuseli’s Horses” contains those carnivorous horses I mentioned, and come on! Don’t you want to know how that works?

Plus, half of the stories contain LGBT characters and “What Errour Awoke” deals with a lot of the conspiracy bullshit we’ve been dealing with these past few years, so I’m sure someone’s going to try to get it banned from a library or school at some point. I’m sure more people will want to read it just for that.

But back on track. I’m so excited for people to read these stories, and I’m doing all I can to get people interested in preordering copies. It hasn’t been easy (see my recent post on marketing), but I feel I’m making headway. For example, I’ve posted some videos on my YouTube channel, and they’ve gotten some attention. Below are some of the ones I think really help with the sell.

If you watched all those videos, or even just one, thank you. That helps immensely.

I’m also releasing tons of excerpts, some of which are below. And I’m appearing on podcasts soon. Plus, with the eARC almost ready, that will mean I can do a lot that will surely heighten Hannah‘s profile, not the least of which will be the eARC readers, some of whom are very well known in horror, may help spread the good word about it.

Hopefully by September 23rd, there will be plenty of buzz for Hannah.

In the meantime, I’ll leave a button down below. If you click it, you’ll be taken to the preorder page for Hannah. I hope you do and you decide to preorder a copy. Every copy helps immensely. And I know it’s only going to be in ebook at first, but if Hannah does well, a paperback version isn’t out of the question. Maybe even an audio book.

So if you’re at all interested, preorder a copy. And be sure to talk about Hannah on your social media. The more people talking about Hannah, the likelier it is to be ordered and read and reviewed. All that will help this book be as successful as possible.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I look forward to Hannah‘s release and what you think of it. Until next time, good night, pleasant nightmares, and–look out! There’s a carnivorous horse behind you!

EXCERPTS FROM HANNAH AND OTHER STORIES

Pop the champagne! Eat the little hors d’oeuvres! Let loose the death wolves and dragon bats and other monstrosities! As of today, The Quiet Game: Five Tales to Chill Your Bones is ten years old! My very first book, my very first self-published book, and my very first collection of short stories is a decade old.

I still have memories of being a young college student, writing the stories in-between classes and homework and designing the cover. I was looking forward to experimenting with self-publishing, as well as seeing what the reaction to my work would be.

If I could, I might go back and teach myself some important things so I could avoid some mistakes. Not the least of which was the double letter “F” in the subtitle. I mean, I’m fond of that now, but it’s still a mistake that if I could, I’d correct it. Sadly, due to some technical issues, I can’t.

But despite all those little imperfections, The Quiet Game has gotten some positive reception. Perhaps because it’s so short and it’s made of short stories, it’s one of my most popular books. Especially at conventions. And I think people responded to all the weirdness of my style that was evident even in my earlier stories. I mean, death wolves, nurses as ogresses, ghosts and dybbuks, and wacky cures for sex addiction. I think people were surprised by that and enjoyed it.

At least, that’s what the reviews seem to indicate. Check out what they had to say:

A collection of five varied stories that get stronger as the collection builds, with the final being my favorite. Though I fancy myself able to “solve” the stories before the reveals, there were several surprises here, especially the reveal in the Quiet Game and I’m Going to be the Next James Bond. I also liked that Rami pulled no punches with his characters. In one instance, an anti-semite for instances uses words that would be hard for any author to write -though are necessary to his character. There are other examples sprinkled throughout the stories that show Rami’s commitment to telling the story in the way it needs to be told. A good collection for a stormy night!

Joleene Naylor, author of the Amaranthine book series

This is the first time I’ve read any of Rami’s stories. I was very impressed with the wide variety of stories and the way he wove the paranormal into each piece. Paranormal is not something I usually read and I enjoyed this collection very much. The collection reminded me of the Twlight Zone. The descriptions were especially well developed. Keep on writing Rami!

Arthur Siegal, Amazon reviewer

I thought these stories would be scarier than they were, but it was a great read and a good effort from the first time author. These stories were more in the genre of creepy rather than scary, but what I really liked was that it made you think of them long after the book ended. The themes of addiction, of sweet innocence gone bad, and of the sins of the fathers being visited on their descendants were very well dealt with, and caused the reader to think of them even after finishing the book. I’m looking forward to more from this new author!

Anonymous, Amazon reviewer

And these are just a fraction of the reviews, the majority of which are positive. I think twenty-year-old me would be happy to know that. To know that people like and enjoy this book and are continuing to read and review it.

And hopefully, as the years go by, more people will find The Quiet Game, enjoy it, and leave their thoughts about it where I can see it.

Speaking of which, if you would like to check out The Quiet Game, I’ll leave links below. And if you do end up reading it, no matter your thoughts, please write a review somewhere so I know what you thought. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback. And it not only helps me, but other readers as well.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I plan on celebrating tonight with some pizza, some sweets, and a cocktail. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

Now Available on AmazonCreatespaceBarnes & NobleiBooksSmashwords, and Kobo

I found a way to make the ten-year anniversary special!

So, as you probably know, my first book and my first collection of short stories, The Quiet Game: Five Tales to Chill Your Bones, was published nearly ten years ago on July 17, 2013. And I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. The question is, what?

And then I remembered that it’s been ten years between the release of collections, what with Hannah and Other Stories releasing in September. And an idea formed.

So, allow me to announce the Ten Year Anniversary Giveaway! If you preorder a copy of Hannah and Other Stories, and send me the proof between now and July 14th, you’ll be entered for a chance for a free, signed copy of The Quiet Game: Five Tales to Chill Your Bones. This could be a screenshot or a PDF of your receipt from the sale. It just has to prove that you ordered a copy.

On July 17th, the actual day of the anniversary, I’ll announce who won a copy and then reach out to that person to get their contact information. I’ll then send it out to them as soon as possible.

To enter, please email me at ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com.

I hope that gets you excited to read some short stories. Both books are excellent. One contains early work of mine and features ogresses, death wolves, and deadly games. The other contains seven original tales of ghosts, budding serial killers and carnivorous horses, among other things. And who wouldn’t want to read one and win the other?

Anyway, I’ll include links for both Hannah and The Quiet Game down below. I hope you’ll take part in the giveaway. And even if you don’t win, I hope you’ll keep your preorder of Hannah. It’s a great book and I think you’ll enjoy reading it.

And if you read either book, I hope you’ll leave a review online somewhere. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and it helps other readers know whether or not to check out the book.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I hope you’re having a good weekend and that it continues to be good. Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

To preorder a copy of Hannah, click here.

The Quiet Game: Available on Amazon, Createspace, Barnes & Noble, iBooksSmashwords, and Kobo

So a few weeks back, I posted some excerpts for Hannah and Other Stories that my publisher and I had created. These excerpts each had beautiful backgrounds and graphics to match each story, and I was really proud of each and every one of them (even though I only made three). And at the end of that post, I promised to post the other graphics as soon as they were available.

I should have said as soon as there were more of them and I had the time, which is what happened. But oh well. All the excerpts are out on my other social media, so let’s post them all here.

For a refresher, here are the ones from the last post. These first two are from BSC Publishing Group and are from “The Autopsy Kid and Doctor Sarah” and “Fuseli’s Horses.”

Then we had one from “Queen Alice,” which I made. If you can’t tell, Alice in Wonderland is a big influence on this particular story.

And now for the new stuff. Here’s two more from me. One is another from “Fuseli’s Horses,” while the other is from “Hannah.”

Pretty neat, right? I wanted to use some atmospheric quotes and combine them with matching images. I’m happy to say, I think I succeeded.

Now, check out these excerpts from BSC Publishing Group. I swear, Peyton, my editor, went all out on these and they’re amazing. First, we have “The Red Bursts,” with the most scenic background.

Then we have the inciting incident, “What Errour Awoke,” which combines classic English poetry with cosmic horror and contemporary events.

I wonder what he’s screaming about? Well, I know, but I’ll never tell. Next, we have another from “Hannah” which introduces the main characters, Dominic Holmes and Diesel Berkowitz. They’re ghost hunters with their own ghost hunting show. Maybe you’ll want to check it out?

After that, we have an excerpt from “Poor, Unfortunate Souls,” which takes place in the Paris catacombs. Finally get to publish a story with that beautiful and terrifying location as the setting.

Did that make you feel claustrophobic? I’m hoping it did.

Finally, we have another one from “Queen Alice,” which BSC dropped yesterday. Don’t be fooled by the sweet prose or unassuming background, however. This tale is as dark as a pool of water on a moonless night.

So there you have it. Ten excerpts, seven by BSC Publishing Group and three by me. And who knows? Maybe more excerpts will drop between now and September 23rd. Maybe even other types of content. I already put a video about “Queen Alice” on my YouTube channel (you can check it out here), and I will probably add more videos (so subscribe there as well). Whatever there is, I’ll be share it with you, no matter the platform.

And, of course, you can preorder Hannah and Other Stories here if these excerpts have intrigued you at all. Right now, it’s only available as an ebook, but if it does well in preorders, sales and reviews, we may see a paperback and even an audio book version in the near future. That’s even more incentive to preorder a copy, if you ask me.

And if you want one more excerpt, you can click here for that. It’s a digital copy of the chapbook I’ve been giving away at events. It’s quite popular.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll be back soon. Until then, good night and pleasant nightmares. I’m off to do some reading before bed.

So, some of you may have seen on my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that BSC Publishing Group and I have been releasing excerpts with cool images or backgrounds as part of our marketing campaign for Hannah. And because not everyone here is on my other social media, I thought I would post those images here as well.

So, without further ado, here are the excerpts of Hannah and Other Stories.

These first two are from BSC Publishing Group. My editor Peyton created them. Aren’t they awesome?

Of course, I got in the fun, too. Here’s an excerpt from Queen Alice that I released yesterday.

Not bad, right? It gives readers a good idea of what to expect with this story. And I think it would make a good movie, too. If it is made into a movie, I hope John Noble plays the protagonist Blumfield.

Anyway, those are the ones that have been released already. More are coming from BSC and from myself in the near future. I’ll post more here as they release, but if you’d like to see them first, you can follow my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, which are listed on the side of this blog if you’re on your computer and below the comments if you’re on your phone or tablet.

Also, if you haven’t yet, you can preorder Hannah and Other Stories by clicking on the link here. Or you can read a longer excerpt here.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. This will likely be my last post before Stokercon,* but I’ll hopefully have more to post afterwards. I want to talk about the new marketing strategy I’m using, as well as the upcoming first anniversary of moving into my condo.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares.

*Speaking of which, if you’re going to Stokercon, be sure to stop by the Brighton I Room at the hotel on Friday at 11:00 AM to hear me, Barbara Cottrell, Jeremiah Cook, and Gabino Iglesias read from our upcoming works, followed by a mass author signing at 5:00 PM. Definitely not to be missed.

It’s alive! It’s ALIVE!

Specifically, the link to preorder Hannah and Other Stories is live now. As you know, Hannah and Other Stories is my new collection of short stories, and it’s releasing September 23rd, 2023. The collection contains stories of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses. And as of this morning, you can preorder it using the link below.

At the moment, you can only preorder it as an ebook. However, if preorders, sales and reviews are good, we may be able to expand into paperbacks and maybe even an audiobook! So please, if you’re at all interested, click on the link below and order a copy ahead of time! And in the meantime, I’ll do my best to make you want to read the book!

PREORDER LINK FOR HANNAH AND OTHER STORIES

Speaking of doing my best, check this out: BSC Publishing Group, the publisher releasing Hannah, came up with all these marketing materials to help promote the book at events. You can see some photos of them below:

A chapbook containing excerpts from the stories “Hannah” and “Queen Alice.”
Pretty sweet bookmark.
Bookplates! You can paste them to the inside cover of your books, making them collectible (especially if I sign them).
Stickers and little photo cutouts of the cover!
A big poster with a description of the book! Now that’s something to catch the eye.

Pretty sweet, right? I never had this sort of support from a publisher before, so it’s a nice change of pace. And BSC does this for all their writers, so that’s pretty awesome for us. My favorites are the chapbooks and the poster. Not only are they well made, but I think they’ll especially draw the readers in. And now that the link is live, we can slap a QR code somewhere on that poster so people can preorder with their phones.

Anyway, I hope you didn’t mind me showing off the cool marketing materials and trying to entice you to preorder a copy of Hannah and Other Stories. Still, I hope you’ll check out the book and even consider preordering a copy. And if you do order a copy and read it, I hope you’ll review it after the release. Positive or negative, I love reader feedback, and reviews help other readers as well.

That’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m happy to report that while I’m not at one-hundred percent yet, I’m feeling much better than I have been. I might even do some writing this weekend. Maybe it’s all the self-care I’ve been doing lately. It makes such a big difference.

Anyway, until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

Are you guys tired of hearing about Hannah and Other Stories yet? You’re not? Good, because this isn’t the last time I’ll be talking about it.

Anyway, as you probably know, Hannah and Other Stories is my upcoming collection of short stories. Within the book will be tales of ghosts, budding serial killers, and carnivorous horses, among other things. And as of now, we have a specific release date, rather than just the vague “Fall 2023.”

So, are you reading to find out the date of release? Are you ready? Well, let me tell you. The release date is…

You know what, I think I’ll just keep it under wraps for a little while longer.

Kidding! Just kidding! No need to panic or sound off in the comments.

In all seriousness, here we go: the release date of Hannah and Other Stories will be Saturday, September 23rd, 2023!

So, there you have it. The release date will be September 23rd, right before the Halloween season really ramps up. Hopefully it makes one hell of an impression on readers.

Now, you’re probably wondering where and when it’ll be available for preorder. I’ll have the links for preorders as soon as they’re available, and then I’ll make sure to pass them on to you. Should you wish to preorder, you can do so then.

I’m really hoping Hannah does well, and maybe even gets plenty of preorders. For now, the book will only be available as an ebook, but if it does well, it’ll be released as a paperback and even as an audiobook! I would love for that to happen. It would not only mean that more people could read the book in their preferred format, it would mean people really liked Hannah and want to support it.

And speaking of support, thank you all for your support with this book, as well as your patience. I know it’s been a year and a half since Hannah was first accepted for publication, but I swear that it is on its way and all the waiting and clamoring and excitement will be worth it.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’ll be at the Canal Town Book Festival tomorrow. Please come out if you’re in the Dover, Ohio area. And if you’re not, you can show your support by heading to my Books page and getting one of the books listed there from the retailer of your choice. It’ll make great reading until Hannah releases.

Until next time, good night and pleasant nightmares!

So, these past few weeks, I’ve been editing the hell out of the stories in my upcoming collection, Hannah and Other Stories. This collection contains stories featuring ghosts, budding collections, and even carnivorous horses, and it looks like we’ll be releasing it some time this fall.

And as of early this morning, I’ve finished editing the third draft of the manuscript.

I’m not going to lie, this has been the most exhausting editing process I’ve ever gone through. Way more than Rose ever was (and I had to rewrite two-thirds of that novel at one point). Some of the stories, such as What Errour Awoke and Fuseli’s Horses, required extensive editing and rewrites. Autopsy Kid, which at this time is the last story in the collection, had a ton of content cut from the story and a lot of changes made so that it could stay part of the collection. As a result, I actually missed the deadline to get this story turned in!

Yeah, I’m not happy about that. It was due on Friday night at 11:59 PM, but even though I adjusted my schedule to maximize editing time despite being at ParaPsyCon, I still couldn’t finish it by then. I actually had to grab some shut-eye, then wake up at 5:30 in the morning and finish the edits!

Still, I’m not happy that I was late. Yeah, there were factors that contributed to the lateness, such as having a day job and needing to sleep. But it was still a failure on my part, if a minor one. I’m glad I wasn’t like one of those writers in the movies and books, who are one to six months past deadline. Or that one writer whose next book is…nine years overdue?! Good Lord, we are never going to get that series finished, are we?

Anyway, now that the third draft and all the major edits and rewrites are done, all that’s left is for the fourth draft. This draft will mainly be editing the stories to be grammatically correct. Any new content will likely just to make an unwieldy sentence read better, or to flesh out something that’s more telling than showing. And after that, provided there’s nothing more to do, we can move forward with getting this book released in the fall.

I’ve actually already done three stories in the fourth draft, and it only took me an hour to get through them, rather than the hours or days for each story in the third draft. Hopefully the next four stories go the same way.

That being said, right now, I’m exhausted. Work has been crazy, so balancing work and the writer life, as well as my personal life and getting sleep, has been insane. And I didn’t get enough last sleep last night. So, although I want to party with wine, cake, and some horror movies or anime, I’m just going to get into bed. Tomorrow, on the way back from ParaPsyCon, I’ll try to pick up some of the good stuff and have a good time when I get home.

Anyway, that’s all for now, my Followers of Fear. I’m hoping to be blogging a bit more now that the third draft is done. Until then, good night and pleasant nightmares. I know I plan to have a few.