Shallow Waters Vol.1

Shallow Waters—where nothing stays buried.With twenty-two dark tales diving beneath the surface of loss, love, and life.Shallow Waters is the official monthly flash fiction challenge hosted by the award-winning Crystal Lake Publishing. Every month a new challenge is posted online, with authors submitting via email. The best submissions are then posted on Crystal Lake's Patreon page, where patrons read daily entries and vote for the winner. What you'll find in these Shallow Waters anthologies include the most popular of our finalists.Stay tuned for more volumes in this series, or find Crystal Lake Publishing on Patreon to enter or vote on future challenges.Volume one includes horror, thrillers, suspense, and stories of love lost, death, 2nd chances, the monsters within, and the beauty beneath it all.Introduction by Joe MynhardtClosure on a Bed of Nails by Chad LutzkeFast Car by Tracy FaheyTears of Buddy by Patrick R. McDonoughPuzzle Pieces by Armand RosamiliaPretty Like Butterflies by Tim WaggonerS1:E7 by Robert FordPain is Your Teacher by Michael Harris CohenMemory Lane by Red LagoeThe Silence of the Sirens by Loren RhoadsIt's Me Not You by Jonathan WinnSisters of Loss by Mark Allan GunnellsTalisman by Jezzy WolfeThe Melting of Your Gods by Mercedes M. YardleyCharms by Dino ParentiNot Your Average Monster by Kenneth W. CainWhere the Children Run in Darkness by Guy MedleyTunnels by Tom Over (winner)The Truth about Dani by Joe MercerBaby Savannah by M.J. SydneyRats Scratched in the Linen Cupboard by Dani BrownRaining by John BodenThe Death Experience by L.A. StoryIn this volume…Taunted by a cactus, a man copes with grief after the loss of his wife. Alondra DeCourval visits Franz Kafka's grave to think about death.A lovestruck woman strives to connect with a man she's convinced is The One. A short meditation on the haunting nature of love and loss, and the aftermath of both.Victor's sanity has been threaded together by the memory of his daughter's voice, until now, when her laughter falls silent.An adrenaline junkie believes he can take on the ultimate challenge—coming back from the dead.In our ever-changing world, what we view as a monster is constantly evolving…but at what cost?Bright colors may be beautiful, but sometimes they can be dangerous.Sometimes the darkness we harbor within is best left behind closed doors.A surprise wedding present from daughter to father, built over a lifetime, reveals his true nature to all his guests.While coming to terms with the death of his mother a man learns that he harbours a strange ability, one that could threaten to tear his reality apart. A woman's last letter to her abusive ex-husband returns the favor of his tutelage.Lillian's search for her daughter's doll leads her on a journey through tragedy, loss, and madness. The brutal murder a man's only child leaves him burdened with a question only he can answer. Proudly brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.