You are hereby invited…

All dressed up and ready to play

I felt hollowed out. I wondered if there was any me left inside or if I was exactly like those thin, chocolate bunnies that looked so good on the outside, but just fall apart in my hand. –Excerpt from The Deadest One

She’s ready. Her hair is coiffed; her dress is pressed; and her shoes are to die for. Today is The Dead Shoe Society‘s birthingday and you are invited to join us in celebration.

I’d like to introduce you to your hosts–

Christi Craig and her story If It Wasn’t For Sylvia:

A serious case of bad luck, in the form of a powerful touch, follows Sylvia Drake and drives her into the back rooms of Peterson’s Funeral Home. Sylvia isn’t dead; though, she isn’t exactly living. Still, she considers herself lucky for once, settled, and safe, in a place where her hands can’t do any more damage to others than is already done. When Max Cooper shows up as the new hire in Bereavement Sales, though, his presence rattles Sylvia to the core, and she decides that playing it safe is no longer an option.

Lori Gordon and her story Taken:

Evil lurks in pretty places and dangerous men hide in plain sight. When a teenage girl vanishes on Chicago’s Gold Coast, Sierra Montgomery sets out to find her, never expecting to become the kidnapper’s next victim. A terrifying plot unfolds exposing Chicago’s underbelly and its dark inhabitants.

Stephen Penner and his story Lady Justice Wears Heals:

A woman is murdered, her throat slit, and it’s D.A. Dave Brunelle’s job to put the murderer away. The defendant fled barefoot, abandoning her shoes in the pool of blood under the victim. It looks like an open and shut case, but Brunelle should have known better. If he doesn’t figure out the truth–and fast–it’s his blood that might be the next to get spilled.

Jonas Saul and his story The Numbers Game:

Trevor sells vacuums door-to-door for a living. When one of his customers ends up dead, the police come looking for him, but his only crime has been the theft of the woman’s shoes, which turns him into murder suspect number one. When his lawyer discovers mistakes made by the police, Trevor is set free. Now he can get back at the people who made him the way he is, as his past still haunts him.

Mark Souza and his story Neath Lily Pond:

A nanny hurls her young charge into Hartford, Connecticut’s Lily Pond with a pair of metal boots strapped to his feet. The story winds up on the desk of newspaper reporter Jim Woodward. He has only hours to get to the bottom of it if he’s going to make deadline. If the nanny was hellbent on drowning the boy, why drive seventy miles to do it. As he searches for answers, Jim finds more than he bargained for.

Kate Cornwell and her story High-Heeled Killers:

Jason, an exhausted accountant in the middle of tax season, has had enough of his over-demanding boss, Mr. Ashlock. He decides to give the boss a little of the pain he’s been dishing out. What he doesn’t expect is for Mr. Ashlock to die. Two of Jason’s co-workers decide to help him cover up the murder. They are stopped by the police (with the body in the trunk), they are almost caught dumping the body, and just when they think they’re about to be arrested, Jason comes face-to-face with a surprising truth.

Heidi Sutherlin and her smashing cover art.

And myself with The Deadest One:

Raised under almost constant video surveillance and weaned on art, Morgan develops a spellbinding relationship with her muse Eden. The summer after her first year of college, Morgan returns home to discover the underlying machinations that have held her there and an unexpected romance lying in wait.

We ask that you bring your sense of adventure and a killer pair of dancing shoes.

Let the party begin!

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The Dead Shoe Society is currently available on Amazon and Smashwords. Look for it soon on Barnes and Noble, the Apple iBookstore and in paperback.