Inner Demons: Four Novellas

Somewhere past the edge of morality is the gray area of life. It’s a place where the shadows seem darker. It’s where people whisper about things hidden from the light of day, and it’s where the underbelly of society converge .It’s best if you don’t walk there alone.

Inner Demons collects four novellas written by Robert Ford—fiction from the wrong side of town. A man driven by revenge and lost love. Legends come to life in a backwoods town. A family vacation becomes a nightmare at a highway tourist attraction. A mid-level gangster knows things he can’t possibly know, but at a very high cost.With story notes from the author, these four novellas will make you question what takes place behind the veil of the world you know.

The Last Firefly of Summer
What would you do for love? The man simply known as “Just” is in a bloody line of work. He chooses marks that mean something to him, but this time, it’s personal. It’s been years since he has set food in the town where he met his first andonly love, and his patience is about to pay off.

Ring of Fire
Murph’s morning started off by discovering his girlfriend is having an affair with a local good ol’ boy. The day that follows is a hellish journey through the town of Bakersfield, Kentucky, where Murph comes face to face with the backwoods residents, including a nightmare he thought was only a childhood legend.

Bordertown
It was a family vacation for David, Molly, and Kirsten. The trip was going well until they hit a traffic jam and decided to rest for the night at Bordertown—a tourist attraction along the highway. What awaits them will test their belief in what exists and their very will to survive.

Big Stakes Jackie
Big Stakes Jackie is a mountain of a man organizing his crew for heists. He knows things, somehow, to make the scores go just the way they’re supposed to. But there’s something people don’t know about Jackie, a secret that’s slowly but surely taking its toll on him.

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Rattlesnake Kisses, with John Boden

Dallas is a man seasoned by both time and circumstance—a fellow you hire to get certain things done. The kind of man you definitely don’t want to cross.

The Kid is his protégé—his younger shadow with more quirks than Dewey’s System has decimals. He’s loyal as a hound and just as likely to bite.

After being hired for a seemingly easy job, Dallas and the Kid find themselves on a wild ride. Every stop they make introduces lies, violence and memories best left buried. When the control Dallas holds so near and dear starts to squirm free, things get ugly. The routine becomes anything but, and revenge is a bloody dish best served with a .45 pistol.

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Cattywampus, with John Boden

There had been a plan. It wasn’t a good one, and it was rough around the edges, but it was a plan.

Then things went off the rails and into places where no one was comfortable. Violent places. Unspeakable places. Places stained with blood and other things. A nesting doll of crimes and sordid deeds. Darlene and Sheila were up to no good, but the mess they find themselves in makes their original plans seem like a Sunday school picnic.

And it started the way you’d expect a bad day to begin: A robbery. A death. A bucket full of teeth.

Welcome to Steelwater, PA. We’re glad to have you.

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The Compound by Robert Ford
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Tartarus Federal Penitentiary is home to the worst violent criminals society has cultivated. It’s also a revolutionary modern day fortress, powered by solar panels and built to be a self-sustaining environment, complete with dairy barns and greenhouses. It’s the perfect place to be when an experimental virus hits the American public, making the dead walk the Earth once again.

Two brothers become entwined in a deadly struggle for power among the crowd of prisoners that have overtaken the guards.

Divorced parents fight for survival, trying to find each other and keep their daughter safe from the growing number of zombies.

An old biker is a man on a mission, trying to fulfill a promise to his dead wife—apocalypse be damned. His determination and his supply of ammunition will be tested.

As the survivors on the outside fight for their lives, their lines of fate converge, leading them through the crowds of zombies and forcing them into hell to save one of their own from The Compound.

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Bordertown by Robert Ford

They decided to call it a night, rest up and hit the highway again in the morning. But they ended up in Bordertown, a tourist attraction-its own little community-kept in line by Sheriff Warden. What awaits them during the night will test their perserverance. Their belief in what exists. Their will to survive. They must overcome, fight, and do whatever they need to do, to escape Bordertown.

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The God Beneath My Garden by Robert Ford
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From the mind of Robert Ford comes 15 pieces of short fiction to keep you awake at night. A grieving man discovering what his true purpose in life has become. A small town with a lake harboring something few men have seen and lived. A fateful Halloween night and the tragedy and complete terror it sets in motion. Long time pen pals… and the confession one desperate woman makes to her best friend. The God Beneath My Garden collects rare, difficult-to-find short fiction and previously unpublished work, along with story notes.

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Ring of Fire by Robert Ford
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Murph Wildasin is having a very bad day. It started with the realization his girlfriend, Elise, is having an affair with a local good ol’ boy named Haddon. What follows is a hellish run through the godforsaken town of Bakersfield, Kentucky. Murph comes face to face with a lot of the local residents, including something he’s only heard of in childhood legend. It’s a nightmare of a day Murph will never forget… if he can make it out in one piece.

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Samson and Denial by Robert Ford
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Samson Gallows is an average guy. He loves his wife, loses more than he wins, and lives his days in the gray zone between right and wrong.

After a junkie walks into his pawn shop with a mummified head, Samson is thrown into a downward spiral through the streets of Philadelphia, getting more blood on his hands wherever he goes.Â

In 24 hours, Samson learns how deep betrayal can run, how strong the bonds of love are, and that winning can sometimes require sacrificing everything–including himself.

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The Last Firefly of Summer by Robert Ford
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From the author of The Compound, and Samson and Denial, comes a tale of love and revenge.

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO FOR THE ONE YOU LOVE?

In his line of work, he’s simply known as “Just”. His projects are bloody, and he chooses the ones that mean something to him.It’s been years since Just has been back to the town where he met his first and only love. His patience is about to pay off. After all, revenge is best served cold.

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No Lipstick in Avalon by Robert Ford
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SARA’S LAW #227: If you write the fairy tale in your head, sometimes that’s exactly where it will remain.

Life sure has its share of shit storms, doesn’t it?

Believe me, I know. But if you grab a good umbrella and brace yourself, you can weather damn near anything. My umbrella of choice—after I finally decided to pull up my big girl panties—was my friends, tequila, and some creative inspiration, though not necessarily in that order.

So grab a drink and pull up a barstool. Come closer because there’s a lot I want to tell you. Some lessons learned from the school of hard knocks and ways to hang onto hope. Some of it’s bad and a lot of it’s good. But I promise you this, love… one way or another, it all works out. Somehow… it always works out.

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