The Shadows Behind

In the shadows, monsters lurk. In this disturbing new collection from award-winning short story author Kristi Petersen Schoonover, a hungry volcano demands more and a talking piranha predicts the future. A plastic Easter bunny taunts a struggling husband, ancient Egyptian jars tempt a former convict, and a man-eating tree mocks a bereft mother. Kudzu devours a sleeping town, and seagull bones whisper long-buried secrets. These monsters are simply stand-ins for those we face every day: shape-shifting grief and overwhelming terror; soul-consuming love and all-possessing fear. We can rail against them or embrace them, but they are always there. Waiting, and unconquerable. "Kristi Petersen Schoonover does it again with this original collection of observant and haunting stories that will leave readers turning pages long into the night as they tell themselves: Just one more story . . . just one more . . ." ~ Lauren Baratz-Logsted, author of Zombie Abbey "Deliciously scary." ~ Stacy Horn, author of Damnation Island and Imperfect Harmony "The Shadows Behind explores the uncanny, strange, and underlying darkness behind white picket fences. The stories . . . are curated as perfectly as a rose garden, only one will need to watch out for the thorns.” —John Palisano, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Ghost Heart

About the Author

Kristi Petersen Schoonover has recently made peace with her most frightening shadows, although she still sleeps with the lights on. She is the author of the collection Skeletons in the Swimmin' Hole: Tales from Haunted Disney World, the novel Bad Apple, the novelette This Poisoned Ground, and the novella "Splendid Chyna," which appears in The Terror Project's Three on a Match. She curated the Ink Stains anthology Volume 7, served as co-editor for Read Short Fiction, and was the recipient of three Norman Mailer Writers Colony winter residencies. She studied under Daniel Pearlman at the University of Rhode Island and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She serves as co-host of the Dark Discussions podcast, and lives in the Connecticut woods with her housemate, Charles, her husband, Nathan, and two cats. Follow her adventures at kristipetersenschoonover.com.

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