Victor Allen

Biography

Born in North Carolina in 1961, Victor Allen has lived a charmed, black and white, and almost disreputable life. Turned down by the military at age seventeen because of a bad heart (We would take, his recruiter told him, the women and children before we would take you), he spent a wasted year at NCSU, where he augmented his scant college funds by working part-time as a stripper (what the heck? Everybody looks good when they're eighteen), a pastime he quickly gave up one night when he discovered -to his mortification- his divorced, middle-aged mother sitting in the audience. Giving NCSU the good old college miss, he satisfied his adventurous spirit and wanderlust by moving out West in his late teens, first to Colorado and later, Wyoming, and working in the construction trades.
Uprooted from his small town upbringing and thrust into a world of real Cowboys and Indians, oil field roughnecks, biker gangs and pool sharks, he spent his youth travelling the country, following the work, settling at various times in Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Colorado, and Wyoming.
Along the way he met a myriad of interesting people including Hollywood, a young, Native American man, so called because he wore his sunglasses all the time, even at night; Cinderella K from Owensville, Missouri (the nice laundry lady who turned his shorts into pinkies); Lori P., the Colorado snake lady and her pet boa constrictor, Amanda; the pool hustler par excellence, Johnny M.; TJ, Moon, and Roundman, good folks, but bikers, all; his little blond girlfriend, Lisa; Maureen, the very funny lady from London with the very proper English accent, who he met while living outside of Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, SC, and her daughter, Marie, with her practically incomprehensible cockney twang; the ever bubbly Samantha from FLA; and all the (well, never mind). :-). Plus way too many others too numerous to list.
He has weathered gunfire, barroom brawls (I didn't get this crooked nose and all these scars on my face from kissin), a three-day mechanical breakdown in the heart of the Louisiana bayous, drunken riots- complete with car burnings and overturnings, Budweiser, bonfires and shootin' irons (it was all in good fun, though,)- ; a hundred year blizzard, floods, two direct lightning strikes, a hurricane which sent a tree crashing through his roof, and an unnerving late night encounter with a man who subsequently proved to be a murderer, surviving it all with a rather uncomprehending smile and, by his own admission, a whole lot of luck and the grace of God.
He met his wife, Leslie, a native Bostonian, in 1986. They were married in 1990. She providentially cooled his jets and settled him down into some semblance of normalcy and they remain together to this day, twenty-six years later, living in an old farmhouse in a small, North Carolina town.
But it would be a shame to let all those good times languish unforgotten and they -plus many more unnoted- are still there, in the books.

Smashwords Interview

What's with the singles?
Occasionally -less than frequently- I get the email from the puzzled reader who doesn't understand why they just spent a buck fitty for a short story when they could have had twenty of them (A-Sides) for $2.99.
So -to preface a recommendation- I must confess, it puzzles me, too.
Excluding the standalone shorts, I've tried to be upfront about the fact that the short stories are part of a book. By the time the reader buys a couple of short stories they've already spent what the book would have set them back. This is not and never has been my intention. No, I'm all about value and my own preference would be to sell you twenty short stories for $2.99 rather than one for a buck forty-nine.
I've always sort of looked at A-Sides as a record album, and the short stories as singles, my reasoning being that the reader buys one and, if they like it, they come back and get the album. A lot of times, however, it doesn't happen that way. The reader buys a short story, then another, then another, before realizing they could have spent less and got more. So if you've read the excerpts and liked them, or even bought some of the stories, I'd recommend the whole book. Costs less by the book, gives you a lot more for your reading dollar, and saves quite a lot of frustration. So try A-Sides, a little something for everyone. Stories to put a smile on your face or a shiver in your spine. Twenty stories for three bucks works out to fifteen cents a tale. C'mon! You can't beat that with a crowbar.
As a writer it's always a little mind-boggling to take an idea from thin air, craft it into words, and have someone think it worthy enough to part with some of their time and labor to read it. For that reason -short of actually giving the stuff away- I try to provide the reader with a good product at a good price. I really can't think of a better philosophy.
So, as always, thanks so much for your time and patronage. It means a lot more to me than my feeble powers of expression can say.
Happy reading!
What have you done for me lately?
Thanks for dropping in. Always the brightest part of my day!
Pricing is a tricky thing. Books aren't like the cheap, Chinese flat screen TV you bought at Wally World. If it doesn't work, you take it back and get a refund (maybe). You can't typically do that with writing. Once you've bought it, it's yours (kind of like the old motel saw "You stay, you pay"). To that end I try to write good stories and give the prospective purchaser enough to go on so that they know what they're walking into and aren't disappointed. It's not just good customer service. I don't won't my readers to be disappointed because, firstly, it makes me feel bad and, secondly, I want them to come back and buy something else, maybe even recommend me to their friends. So what's that worth? Not so much that I think I'm P.G. Wodehouse, and not so little that I'm on the street corner wearing sackcloth and rattling a tin cup. So, like about 50% of everything here, I hit on the $2.99 for a full length novel, which is still a pretty great buy.
As a writer I love all my stories equally (to a point). That's not to say I don't have my own favorites which I think are the brightest stars in the class, or some that I think might need a little time in special ed, and others that are just nice kids who are enjoyable to have around for a while. So come on in, have a look around, and see what you fancy. I promise you, it's less harrowing than the Great White Shark Petting nursery.
So grab a few stories, or a book full of them. I hope you'll like 'em well enough to part with some of your hard-earned cash for one of the other books. What a steal and what a deal! Cheap at twice the price! If you love 'em, great. It's the best coin you've spent today. If you hate 'em, you're out the price of a cup of coffee and whatever time you spent reading and you can sniff righteously and roll your eyes.
So here's what's on the menu:
Katerina Cheplik is $2.99. Seductive, evil, non-sparkling vampires having a really bad hair day. If you like trashy romance novels with some old school bloodsuckers thrown in, this one's for you. And so cheap, what's not to like?
The Lost Village, $2.99. Nobody gets out of The Lost Village alive. Or do they?
Xeno Sapiens, $2.99. Crooked preachers, man-made monsters, and virgin mothers.
Wandil Land, $2.99. Pagans, wood and stone idols, and decidedly non-PC. A really good book and one which puzzles me in that it doesn't just leap out ahead of the pack. I guess there are millions of readers out there who don't know what they're missing ;-).
Essex, $2.99. A gory romp with ghosts, cannibals, and haunted houses, quite a departure (the gore part) from what I usually write.
A-Sides (Full Tinfoil Jacket) is $2.99. Twenty shorts featuring Ghosts, Weird Sisters, Aliens, Past lives, Lost Loves, Forbidden Archaeology, Spontaneous Human Combustion, Zombies, Conspiracies, and more.
We Are the Dead, $2.99. Plotting wives, murderers, and zombies.
So sit back, avoid the Edward Bernays-ian herds at the big box stores, and buy something for yourself or a friend from the comfort and (relative) safety of your computer. As always, my great thanks for your time and consideration, and a special thanks for all those who have downloaded, bought, and reviewed my work. And if you enjoyed the stories don't be shy about telling your compadres or leaving reviews! Thanks for stopping by.
Read more of this interview.

Books

The Crone House
Price: Free! Words: 39,680. Language: English. Published: December 2, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General, Fiction » Horror » Weird fiction
(3.00 from 1 review)
We all have our gifts of Providence and sisters are more than happy to flaunt those that God gave them to their siblings. Some gifts can open doors to unspeakable things; some can lock them away. But no gift is without cost. Pretty baubles can turn to raging beasts and the benign can turn deadly. The Crone House, one of twenty stories in A-Sides.
Goodbye
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 7,090. Language: English. Published: February 7, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Ghost, Fiction » Anthologies » Horror
It was to be an idyllic weekend getaway for Richard and Elizabeth, but wicked fate has separated them forever. Or has it? Love may be eternal, but sometimes the very things that bind you to someone can conspire to keep you apart. A simple little, traditional ghost story, one of twenty shorts in A-Sides. Enjoy!
Sand Creek
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 8,510. Language: English. Published: December 19, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General, Fiction » Fantasy » Dark
Isabel Warren yearned to escape her gilded prison. The bars were gold and her every creature comfort was provided, but she wanted more: she dreamed of Sand Creek, where she could fly, breathe the cold air, and die free. But the monsters -human and inhuman- wouldn't let her go. They liked her right where she was and would stick at nothing -including murder- to keep her in her safe, metal ring.
Entangled
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 5,850. Language: American English. Published: November 7, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Crime, Fiction » Horror » Occult
Monsters exist in many forms. Kidnappers, killers, parents and even -sometimes- those only trying to do good. The universe plays no favorites, mixing and mashing together sinners and saints, and enmeshing devils and angels in inextricable… entanglements.
"Tell Me A Scarecrow Story."
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 6,320. Language: American English. Published: October 26, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Holiday » Halloween, Fiction » Horror » Undead
(3.00 from 1 review)
What is Halloween without a Killer Scarecrow story? Dillon's little town of Crabtree has a strange foible: Scarecrows everywhere. Some towns have acorns, some have peaches, Crabtree has scarecrows. And a weird little Halloween custom. Come along for the fun.
(I Want to Thank) All the Little People
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 4,590. Language: English. Published: October 18, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Crime, Fiction » Fantasy » Contemporary
All the best people have gathered in Rainbowburg to celebrate their accomplishments. They're better, brighter, more beautiful and informed than you and I. There are giants among them, built up bigger than life by their adoring fans. And that is as it should be. They know better what is best for you and woe to any who dare disagree...
Share the Fire
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 6,880. Language: American English. Published: October 12, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General, Fiction » Literary collections » American / General
There are ancient impossibilities shaped by human hands that defy rationality. Cassandra Roberts has been summoned to the storied lands of Turkey to explore the myth become fact called Kirinjiru, an ancient underground city. But mysteries buried for millennia beckon and as the ruins grudgingly give up their secrets, the biggest secret of all is revealed. One of twenty stories in A-Sides.
Heebie
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 14,020. Language: American English. Published: October 11, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Occult, Fiction » Literary collections » American / General
Andy Warhol once said everybody in America would have their fifteen minutes of fame. But what would you do and who would you use to get it? Heebie is a simple cemetery caretaker with a strange gift. A gift that will trap him in the nightmare of one deranged teen's twisted dream of fame and glory... Heebie. One of twenty stories in A-Sides.
Skyquake
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 8,890. Language: English. Published: September 6, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General, Fiction » Adventure » Travel
(5.00 from 2 reviews)
Some call them Seneca Guns, others call them Skyquakes, those unexplained booms from the sky. Daniel Knight heard it on November 17th. That, coupled with the mysterious black triangle and a military base where one shouldn't be would send Daniel Knight on an adventure that few humans will ever know. Skyquake, an old fashioned Space Opera. Get it now.
Killers on the Black Block
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 5,130. Language: English. Published: August 6, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » General, Fiction » Horror » Weird fiction
Eddie Roberts was a man with a mission: to kill as many people as he could. No remorse, no conscience, and the perfect hunting grounds: the masked masses of Black Bloc protesters. It seems the perfect plan until he is found out, and others have different designs for him...
Black-Eyed Allen
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 6,300. Language: English. Published: August 3, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Occult
We all have them. Bullies. And we'd all like to get back at them. So what would you be willing to barter for one moment's satisfaction against these incurable joy killers? Black-Eyed Allen has the remedy. He can fix it up to a fair ye well. Still, as they say, be careful what you wish for... One of twenty shorts stories in A-Sides.
Zombies
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 5,440. Language: English. Published: May 3, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Undead, Fiction » Fantasy » Short stories
Loretta Jones hated everyone and was more than happy when the zombie apocalypse descended on the planet. As the old joke went "When the zombie apocalypse starts, Loretta doesn't worry about surviving. The zombies do." She was ready to ride it out and emerge victorious. But the ZA ain't what it seems, and not even Loretta is safe. One of twenty short stories in A-Sides.
The Chocolate Werewolf
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 4,790. Language: English. Published: April 1, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General, Fiction » Anthologies » Short stories - single author
(4.00 from 1 review)
For husbands and wives, dying for love is the easiest thing. But would you kill for love? Would you smash your bonds and free the beast to right every wrong done no matter what the danger? Killing for love may not be the easiest thing, but sometimes the choice isn't yours. One of twenty shorts stories in A-Sides.
Death on the Tombigbee
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 5,980. Language: English. Published: March 25, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Occult, Fiction » Anthologies » Short stories - single author
What would you do when hard times came a knockin'? Would you lie? Sell you soul? Even murder? What evil, and greed, and cruelty would you stoop to to put bread in the mouths of your children? The Tombigbee River has seen it all: dark ritual and bloodletting, cruelty beyond imagining. Take a trip into the shadowed woods brooding on its banks. You may not make it back. One of 20 shorts in A-Sides.
Faith
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 5,250. Language: English. Published: March 18, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Religious, Fiction » Horror » Occult
(5.00 from 1 review)
In the backwoods of America there are those who believe in tent revivals, snake handlers and healers. Others don't, and will not stick at tearing down these fixtures of Southern Americana. But what if it's real? Would you really want to piss off a power that can create universes, destroy armies, and create life? Maybe -sometimes- it's best to have a little...Faith. One of twenty shorts in A-Sides.
Dot Gov
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 6,600. Language: English. Published: March 14, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Themes & motifs » Political, Fiction » Anthologies » Short stories - single author
Sandra Lamb thought J.B. was one of the good guys. He was fighting terrorism, wasn't he, bringing the full arsenal of the government's surveillance apparatus to bear on those who would do us harm. But knives have two edges,and they can turn on the attacker as well as the victim. So see what Big Brother is up to in .Gov. One of twenty shorts from A-Sides.
The Laughing Lady
Price: $0.99 USD. Words: 5,220. Language: English. Published: March 13, 2017 . Categories: Fiction » Romance » Paranormal » General, Fiction » Fantasy » Short stories
The simple things are the ones that stick: a flash of the eyes, the tilt of a head, a laugh. They endure through time, space, even death. Past lives intersect, intertwine and all debts come due and payable in this life or the next. Love is beautiful, and sweet, and cruel, and deadly. It is not mocked. Find out why in The Laughing Lady. One of 20 shorts from A-Sides.
A-Sides
Price: $1.49 USD. Words: 134,610. Language: English. Published: October 15, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Weird fiction, Fiction » Literary collections » American / General
You asked for it, you got it -A-Sides, now fortified with zombies! From Lost loves to Buckets O'Gore, "A-Sides" has it all. Twenty stories, fair and true, featuring Ghosts, paranormal children, Spontaneous Human Combustion, lawyers, werewolves, aliens, conspiracy theories, pagan idols, romance, evil bankers, weird sisters, forbidden archaeology, and more!
Wandil Land
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 161,080. Language: English. Published: June 25, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Weird fiction, Fiction » Cultural & ethnic themes » Cultural interest, general
David Moore had already thought it to himself on his way to Vister: Some things are best left to vanish in the mists of time. Some things are best forgotten. As he becomes ever more ensnared in the twin webs of the bewitching Wilma, and the fundamentalist Whisper Storm and the ladies of the Crystal Sphere League, he must choose a dangerous path to save not only himself, but the town.
We Are the Dead
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 128,820. Language: English. Published: June 9, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Undead, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Supernatural
George Walburn has found no comfort beneath fate's umbrella. His life has been one of being gut-kicked and back-stabbed, and the only thing that he anticipates with any eagerness is death. But whatever gods there are will not be denied their fun. The voodoo man, Unk Maum, had told him so. Not even in the supposed serenity of the grave can George find solace. Find out why in ... We Are the Dead.
Xeno Sapiens
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 121,170. Language: English. Published: June 4, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » General, Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Supernatural
Geneticist Ingrid Milner can read between the lines. She is wanted to fabricate a genetic werewolf. She works in secret, but she is not unknown. Set against her is the enigmatic Josh Hall, a fire-breathing minister with a sordid past. As the forces build against each other, a new player emerges, one that will set hubris and insanity against one another.
The Lost Village of Craven County
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 106,570. Language: English. Published: June 3, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Weird fiction, Fiction » Fantasy » Paranormal
Mark Wright knows what it is like to lose himself in his art, to go too deep, to cut to the bone and all the way to the cancerous growth of an artist's obsession. Nothing and everything is real: some things too false, some things, like an ex with an ax to grind, too murderously tangible in this fantasy world. The reach of the Lost Village is long, its appetite mean. Nobody gets out alive.
Essex
Price: $1.99 USD. Words: 119,330. Language: English. Published: May 30, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Horror » Undead, Fiction » Horror » General
The abandoned mining camp of Essex doesn't lie nestled in its valley; it is laid to rest there, out of sight and mind of decent people who would never want to know the unspeakable things that happened there; Atrocities so appalling that the mind would break just to contemplate them. Come and take a tour down a dark memory lane as we learn what poison flows through the black heart of Essex..
Katerina Cheplik
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 164,430. Language: English. Published: May 30, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Young adult or teen » Horror, Fiction » Horror » Undead
Sharon Hurley has been marked from earliest childhood, she knows not why. After a troubled adolescence, life has smoothed out. But all good things come to an end and Sharon must risk her life -and be willing to give it- to save her husband's soul and the town of Red River from the dark and seductive temptress, Katerina Cheplik.

Victor Allen's tag cloud

adventure    aliens    ancient aliens    ancient curses    ancient religions    angels    big brother    black bloc    black magic    blackeyedchildren    blackeyedkids    cannibals    collections    corporate evil    crime fiction    cults    curses    curses hexes zombies    dark fairy tales    dark religion    dark romance    demons    doomed romance    doppelgangers    dystopia    dystopian fiction    dystopian short story    entanglement    eschaton    esp    evil government agencies    explicit gore    fae    fairies    faith healing    female protagonist    forbidden archaeology    forbidden history    frankenstein    free    free horror    free horror short story    free short story    free stories    freehorrorshortstory    freeshortstory    genetic recombination    ghost short story    ghost stories    ghosts    ghosts and hauntings    ghouls    government conspiracies    government conspiracy    government coverup    government overreach    greed and evil    halloween    haunted houses    haunted places    haunted woods    heroine horror    hollywood    horror    horror action thriller    horror and humor    horror author    horror dark fantasy vampires werewolves    horror female protagonist    horror fiction    horror gothic    horror noir    horror novels    horror romance    horror short stories    horror short story    horror stories    horror tropes    horror vampire    horrorshortstory    humorhorror    infanticide    jul    kidnappers    killer scarecrows    killers    lost loves    loves dark side    lycanthropy    mad doctor    mars adventure    matricide    may day    moloch    monster hunt    moore county nc    mortal sin    murder    murder by government    murder for hire    murderous exes    murderous moms    naturerunamok    nonsparkling vampires    nsa spying    nwo    occult    occult horror    occult revenge    pagan rituals    pagans    paranormal love stories    paranormal romance    parody    past lives    patricide    politically incorrect    psychic phenomena    psychics    psychothriller    remote viewing    retribution    revenge    revenge horror    revenge romance    ritual    ritual murder    rituals gone wrong    romance horror    sacrifice    samhain    satire    scarecrows    scary novels    science horror    shapeshifters    short stories    short story    short story collections    space opera    spontaneous human combustion    story collections    story of love    supernatural    surveillance state    technohorror    time travel romance    tin foil hat    traditional ghost story    tragic werewolves    undead    vampires    voodoo    weird sisters    wendigo    werewolves    young adult ghost story    zombie apocalypse    zombies