Showing results by author "Roberto Scarlato" in All Categories

Just when you thought it was safe to take the train.... It was supposed to be an uneventful trip. A three-day visit to Chicago to attend a funeral. But Eugene Pharrell has just stumbled into a maddeningly treacherous journey back home. One that has pitfalls, phantoms, lost worlds and, possibly, no way out.

Welcome to the new and improved Joliet Prison. It has cleaner restrooms, better food and a better way of life for all it's inmates. Of course, Lyle Seigel is not impressed. He's doing a stretch for grand larceny. All he has now is time with the other degenerates that inhabit the prison. But when he gets roped into a cleanup crew, the prison starts to change in odd ways. Now Lyle must find a way to protect himself in a world he hardly recognizes.

It is said that there is a universe close by adjacent to our own. A place where anything is possible. Where illusions become reality and the delicate fabric of time becomes torn to reveal the weird, strange or unexplainable. This is The Phantasmagoria.

It was supposed to be just another quiet evening. But some things just cannot be laid to rest. Retired detective Michael Jakes is taking a much-needed vacation in a hotel he always wanted to visit. But when a body turns up and startles the guests, he wants no part of it. That is until a woman sits next to him and lures him in.

Strange things are happening when the lights go down in the shady setting of the Roseville Hospital. There are unexplained sightings of a man resembling a doctor walking the hallways in search of patients he has yet to help. His name was Derek R. Schillar, M.D. He was a complicated man with a desire to help people, but felt that he didn't do enough. Now, his friend has betrayed him, his wife thinks he's dead, a mysterious detective is on his trail, and the medical staff is perplexed at the growing number of inexplicable miraculous phenomena occurring within the hospital walls.

In a small town called Burrow Creek Falls, something feels off. The townsfolk are friendly, the streets are clean and the land is plentiful. All thanks to the town's founder. But when a man named Gerald Forger takes the wrong bus into town, odd things begin to happen. But something runs deeper, something that will change one man's beliefs and put him on a path that may lead to madness.

Cal Cronin wanted more. Writing for more than 20 years, he’s ready to hit it big. But when a new writer comes to the market in 2011, during the biggest ebook boom, Cal is not one to be eclipsed so easily. He wants to know who this mysterious writer is and how he is able to capture the human condition. Along with his lackey, Cronin will discover that the most terrifying thing about creativity is the loss of self that comes with it.

A diary of a prominent scientist has been found, and it harnesses dark revelations to our future.

In an alternate 1948, Preston Tucker, idyllic dreamer, and Howard Hughes, billionaire eccentric, begin a venture of epic proportions. Little is known of their work as they gather familiar faces to make the true car of tomorrow. But shadowy figures threaten to derail their efforts. Can they find out who would try to sabotage the advancement of a new era, or will they be considered harbingers of a dark future?

On a cold night in 1999, the notorious Donnie Torr went down in a hail of gunfire. The threat to the town was supposedly eliminated. Now, in 2002, local writer James Dorrell has just purchased a leather jacket at the thrift store. He knows its getting colder, bleaker as the weather grows gray. But what he doesn't know is that the killer lived on, connected to the very vessel of the jacket that James now owns.

In 2009, people were introduced to stories of hit men, specters, crooks, playful spirits, and empowered heroes. Now, a new batch of stories have come alive. Come to a place where mice gain the ability to speak, where super humans work middle-class jobs, where a mythical man grants chances to feeble victims, and where science has created murder rooms or genetically mutated monsters. Discover worm holes, the supernatural, and a bit of lunacy. Encounter the unexpected.

Scott Meachum is having a rough night full of bad luck. But nothing could prepare him for the life-altering decision he has to make.

One night, Benjamin Lomond found a painting hidden behind a wall. At first glance, it seems odd. But looks can be deceiving, and the painting has a power waiting for the right time to be unleashed.

Carl has discovered something disturbing about himself. Something that makes him unlike any other human on the planet. A rare disorder which has dangerous consequences with each passing degree. Now he has to reach out to his best friend to help him with one last request.

There is a bar on the far side of Olde Country where patrons come to get inspired. While drowning their sorrows in The Blue Lagoon, they witness a performer pull off a feat they had not thought possible.

Frankie had it good. A place of his own. A girlfriend with a penchant for puzzles. And a pretty good nest egg from grifting wallets. But when somebody steals his money that he worked so hard to take, things get serious. Forced to confront his past, Frankie must be led down a path that will take him deeper into the criminal underworld.

Found inside the hidden compartment of a Studebaker, Henry Ward has just stumbled across a very interesting manuscript. Consumed by the daily grind of life, he hopes to find some inspiration. But what he finds instead will lead him into pure madness.

Brian Wright thought he had it all figured out. That is until his literary agent dropped a bombshell on him. Now he must contend with the deadline of a lifetime in order to tackle his third novel. In the writing session of his life, Brian will find a flurry of accidents and antics that are sure to slow him down.

Ever get laid off while wearing a costume? Forced to get over a fear in less than 10 hours? Hey, we've all been there, right? These are just a few of the weird woes that writer and blogger Roberto Scarlato has to face. A collection of six humorous essays of true events that happened in his life. It tackles subjects like apartment hunting, traveling, acting, Halloween contests, and scammers.

There is a place just beyond the dream world where writers come to play. It is a mythical place located next to the Field of Gathered Imaginations. In the land of Olde Country there resides a shoppe filled with ideas for the masses. But what happens when the ideas run out?