Broken Branch, Alabama, serves as a refuge for the God-fearing, a shelter from the evils of the outside world. But who will protect them from the evil within? Trudy first met Otto and James after World War I, two traveling ministers, preaching the good word to anyone who’d take the time to listen. Together, they founded Broken Branch, a hideaway in Alabama where the faithful would be able to isolate themselves from the impurity of the rest of the world and live blessed lives in the eyes of God. But then the storms came, tearing apart their small compound, God’s punishment for hidden wickedness in their hearts. And when an old man wanders into Broken Branch, ranting about a secret hideaway and uncovers an old storm cellar that’s been hidden for years, Trudy begins to wonder what other secrets lie under the surface of their safe haven… Includes a preview of *The Year of the Storm* Review"The community of Broken Branch in John Mantooth's fine novella enacts the familiar American quest to found a religiously-pure settlement whose members might escape the evils and ills of the larger world--in this case, Depression-era America.  A descendant of Hawthorne's Blithedale Farm, not to mention, Puritan Plymouth, its inhabitants come the same discovery as their forebearers, namely, that they themselves contain more than sufficient darkness to undo their enterprise.  Through a tight focus on the woman whose largesse has made Broken Branch possible, Mantooth portrays the movement from willful ignorance to painful wisdom.  In these pages, tornadoes churn, stars fall burning from the sky, and a strange storm shelter offers a glimpse of another world full of awful beauty.  Broken Branch offers compelling evidence of John Mantooth's ambitions and abilities as a writer." John Langan, author of The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies "John Mantooth's Broken Branch is filled with claustrophobic, creeping dread. It's a story of lies and belief, fear and deception, and it will stay with you long after you've finished the last page." Damien Walters Grintalis, author of Ink

In this haunting, suspenseful debut novel, John Mantooth takes readers to a town in rural Alabama where secrets are buried deep, reality is relative, and salvation requires a desperate act of faith.When Danny was fourteen, his mother and sister disappeared during a violent storm. The police were baffled. There were no clues, and most people figured they were dead.  Only Danny still holds out hope that they'll return.Months later, a disheveled Vietnam vet named Walter Pike shows up at Danny's front door, claiming to know their whereabouts. The story he tells is so incredible that Danny knows he shouldn't believe him. Others warn him about Walter Pike's dark past, his shameful flight from town years ago, and the suspicious timing of his return.But he's Danny's last hope, and Danny needs to believe…

Two friends try to pull off a small-time heist, but recruit the wrong person to drive the getaway van. From Shoebox Train Wreck, this short story is one in a collection of sixteen genre-bending tales set against a backdrop of sudden violence and profound regret, and populated by characters whose circumstances and longings drive them to the point of no return . . . and sometimes even further.ChiZine Publications (CZP) curates the best of the bizarre, bringing you the most excitingly weird, subtle, dark, and disturbing literary fiction. Look for more titles in the ChiZine short stories collection to build your digital library.

“The living haunt the dead . . .”These fifteen genre-bending stories are set against a backdrop of sudden violence and profound regret, populated by characters whose circumstances and longings drive them to the point of no return . . . and sometimes even further. A young girl takes a journey to see what is really hidden within the belly of an ancient water tower. A high school senior learns about defiance on a school bus and witnesses a tragedy that he won’t soon forget. Six survivors in an underground bunker discuss the possibility of Armageddon being an elaborate hoax. A man stumbles from bed to drive a bus down lonely roads, collecting passengers who’ve lost their way in the night-shrouded heartland of America. And in the title story, a former train conductor must confront the ghosts of his past while learning that it’s not the dead who haunt the living, but the other way around.Traversing the back roads of the south and beyond, these stories probe the boundaries of imagination, taking the reader to the fringes of a society where the world looks different, and once you visit, you won’t ever be the same.

Six survivors in an underground bunker discuss the possibility of Armageddon being an elaborate hoax. From Shoebox Train Wreck, this short story is one in a collection of sixteen genre-bending tales set against a backdrop of sudden violence and profound regret, and populated by characters whose circumstances and longings drive them to the point of no return . . . and sometimes even further.ChiZine Publications (CZP) curates the best of the bizarre, bringing you the most excitingly weird, subtle, dark, and disturbing literary fiction. Look for more titles in the ChiZine short stories collection to build your digital library.

“The living haunt the dead . . .” These fifteen genre-bending stories are set against a backdrop of sudden violence and profound regret, populated by characters whose circumstances and longings drive them to the point of no return . . . and sometimes even further. A young girl takes a journey to see what is really hidden within the belly of an ancient water tower. A high school senior learns about defiance on a school bus and witnesses a tragedy that he won’t soon forget. Six survivors in an underground bunker discuss the possibility of Armageddon being an elaborate hoax. A man stumbles from bed to drive a bus down lonely roads, collecting passengers who’ve lost their way in the night-shrouded heartland of America. And in the title story, a former train conductor must confront the ghosts of his past while learning that it’s not the dead who haunt the living, but the other way around. Traversing the back roads of the south and beyond, these stories probe the boundaries of imagination, taking the reader to the fringes of a society where the world looks different, and once you visit, you won’t ever be the same.