Dug from the twisted mind of C.M. Forest, the acclaimed author of Infested, comes a collection of 15 horror stories that will drag you into the abyss of fear and despair.
Welcome to the October 24th stop on the blog tour for The Roots Run Deep by C.M. Forest with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, more author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.
Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.
Author Guest Post
The Setting/Era of My Book
The Roots Run Deep is a collection of thirteen short stories. As such, the book has many settings and time periods. I liken it to a streaming service like Netflix (or, I guess Shudder would be much more appropriate). There are many options, so if one doesn’t work for you, the next might. Each tale presents a new world to explore. The first story in the collection takes place on a peaceful beach. Gentle waves lapping the sandy shore. Seagulls circling lazily above. The sort of place you dream about while slugging away at work. While the next finds a man scurrying through subterranean tunnels running beneath his hometown. A third is set in the future aboard a space ship, while another takes place in the wild west, and another in a fast-food restaurant play land! All the stories have an existential Sword of Damocles hanging over them, but the locations, the time periods are all over the place.
I think that is what makes reading (and writing!) short stories so fun. It’s like a smorgasbord of ideas laid out before you. I know when I was putting together the story order for The Roots Run Deep, I felt like a kid in a candy store. So many different flavours!
About the Book
The Roots Run Deep
Horror Short Story Collection
by C.M. Forest
Published 27 September 2024
Eerie River Publishing
Genre: Horror
Page Count: 214
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!
Dug from the twisted mind of C.M. Forest, the acclaimed author of Infested, comes a collection of 15 horror stories that will drag you into the abyss of fear and despair.
A fast-food playland with a nightmarish secret, a greenhouse with a bug problem, a busload of kids lost in the woods, a trip through the solar system to investigate a strange comet, and many more.
Brace yourself for an unrelenting journey through a world where evil knows no bounds, and darkness consumes all.
Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK
Excerpt
The truck door swung open with a painful groan. Gordon kept his gaze locked on the barn as he climbed out. A cool breeze wafted across the field to grab and tussle his long, unkempt hair. Ahead, the barn door swayed as if in anticipation.
In the bed of the truck were two gas cans. The fuel sloshed as he pulled the red, plastic containers free. The weight of the cans felt comforting as he approached the structure.
He caught the barn door with his foot and kicked it open enough to enter. He thought he might feel a twinge of nostalgia, or maybe even horror, at returning to the old building, but the truth was, it looked just like every other barn he had ever been in. Spinning the caps off one of the cans, he began dumping the gasoline.
A low, creaking sound pulled him away from his work. He stared around the darkened structure, trying damn hard to convince himself it was just the wind, but failing. Despite his darkest imaginings, he could not wrap his head around what could be living within the old, warped walls of the barn. What malevolent force was animating the ancient boards and struts?
When nothing materialized from the gloom, he returned to his business.
With both cans empty, Gordon stood in the door and fished around in his pocket for his lighter. As soon as it was free, he began thumbing the flint wheel. A few angry sparks jumped from the end, but the flame was stubbornly absent. Once again, he heard the creaking. This time, it seemed to come from everywhere all at once. With his lighter forgotten, Gordon stared ahead as something started moving, opening, along the floor. A spike of cold fear chilled him to the bone. He turned to run.
About the Author
C.M. Forest, also known as Christian Laforet, is the author of the novel Infested, the novella We All Fall Before the Harvest, the short story collection The Space Between Houses, as well as the co-author of the short-story collection No Light Tomorrow. His short fiction has been featured in several anthologies across multiple genres. A self-proclaimed horror movie expert, he spent an embarrassing amount of his youth watching scary movies. When not writing, he lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife, kids, three cats and a pandemic dog named Sully who has an ongoing love affair with a blanket.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Amazon | Goodreads
Giveaway Alert!
The author will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway| Oct 7 | Sandra’s Book Club | Oct 8 | Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews |
| Oct 9 | Kenyan Poet | Oct 9 | Long and Short Reviews |
| Oct 10 | Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read | Oct 11 | The Avid Reader |
| Oct 14 | Literary Gold | Oct 15 | Fabulous and Brunette |
| Oct 16 | Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books! | Oct 16 | The Pen and Muse Book Reviews |
| Oct 17 | Where Landsquid Fear to Tread | Oct 17 | Guatemala Paula Loves to Read |
| Oct 18 | Sorchia’s Universe | Oct 21 | Gina Rae Mitchell |
| Oct 22 | The Key of Love | Oct 23 | Twirling Book Princess |
| Oct 24 | Westveil Publishing | Oct 25 | Aubrey Wynne: Timeless Love |
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Thanks for hosting!
My favorite C.M. Forest book is ‘We All Fall Before the Harvest’. I loved it.
Sounds like a really good story.