Showing results by author "Matt Shaw" in All Categories

For Craig, the trip to the cabin was supposed to be a quiet retreat from his hectic city life where he could concentrate on writing his latest novel. For his wife, Susan, and his two kids, Jamie and Ava, it was supposed to be a weekend vacation. For all of them, it became a nightmare.

Let me take you on a journey - a journey where you can hear my pain. Learn about all the techniques I've tried when dealing with my bouts of depression and self-hatred. Some techniques are actively encouraged by professionals across the world; other techniques (prostitutes, drugs, self-harm) are pretty much frowned upon. The spoilsports. What worked for me and what most certainly didn't! Told with the blackest of humor to keep things fun!

Have you ever been cut up by another road user? Have you have been stuck behind some idiot driving well below the speed limit? Have you ever had to swerve to avoid someone who hasn't used their indicators? Have you ever been served by rude staff members who clearly don't want to be working? Have you ever listened to just how rude old people can be? Ever got frustrated listening to the excessive open-mouthed chewing of someone sitting near you? Have you ever been cheated on by a partner? Paul James has and...he's had enough.

"I want a dog!" Who hasn't heard that screamed from a child or partner? They want a dog, but you don't want one because you know it will be your responsibility to look after it when they grow bored. Well, this book isn't necessarily for you. This book is for those who want a dog but have no idea what they're really letting themselves in for.

The world is overpopulated. Resources are running out. In an effort to balance things out, the government has stepped in with a radical new lottery system. All names are put into a computer, with 200 names being drawn at random. Of those people, 100 will get one color (red) token and 100 will get another color token (white). Whatever color they received, they had to go to the government-run club for the night. Of those who received the white token, they would be going home the following day. For those who received the red tokens? They would be leaving in a body bag.

Something is wrong with Crista's children. Her partner, Matt House, tells her it's nothing to worry about. He says they're probably acting up because they didn't want to move into this new house. But Crista knows her children. She has seen them play up before at various times and this isn't like them. What they're saying, what they're doing...It's not like her children at all....

Life, Death, and the In-between: A heartbreaking supernatural horror dealing with themes of suicide, grief and the after-life. I guess I wanted to write this given my own personal struggles with thoughts of suicide. Every day I deal with some degree of pain where some days are better than others. When the pain is at its worst, my thoughts often drift to ending my own life.

Warning: This is an extreme horror novel. There is gore. There is bad language. There are scenes of a sexual nature. But hidden underneath it all is also a chilling story. Please do not purchase....

T-Rex isn't the violent, blood-thirsty dinosaur people believe it to be. He's just grumpy and you would be too if you were sexually frustrated. With arms so small he can't take care of his own business and with other dinosaurs running from him he is left to roam the land with a bad case of blue balls. Gark isn't a dinosaur though. He's one of the two-legged hairless apes who are new on the scene. And he knows just what Rex needs to mellow him out.

A collection of Matt Shaw's heartbreaking dramas. Matt Shaw does not just write horror. In fact, when asked what his favorite books are, he often names the tales collected within this set. Stories of heartbreak, loss, and grief - all with an element of hope...a hope we often forget when dealing with grief.

The women wake to find themselves locked in a small basement. There are no windows and only one—locked—door. Just when they start to think they have been left to rot in there, the lock clicks and the door opens to reveal him standing there. Simon. Simon doesn’t know his victims. To him they aren’t real people but, rather, play-things instead; snatched from their lives so as to play a simple game of “Simon Says” with him.

Jeremy Jumper isn’t like normal people. Jeremy has a medical condition which causes a large mass to grow on the end of his nose. It starts as a red mark and, over the following days, balloons to ridiculous size. Strangers stop and stare while others dive for cover, worried it’s about to explode.

Sometimes people do not have much time in their lives. Deadlines are looming at work, kids are playing up, dinners need to be prepared, errands need to be run. That is where short stories fit so nicely into their lives. A quick little escape to another world whilst battling with the stress of everyday life. A quick listen here, a quick listen there.

Robert Nash is unlucky in love. He is so unlucky in love, in fact, that he has never been with another living person. And that's not about to change any time soon when his latest date is far from living.

Ed Boothe was convicted of killing more than half a dozen girls. It is believed he killed many, many more. His methods were brutal and documented here, along with his fascination of collecting body parts. Up until his execution, he showed no remorse for his acts.

Martin and Sonia's child, Stevie, needs a liver transplant. But in this cruel world, unless you're rich enough to go private, the only way they're going to get one is if Stevie enters The Arena with other sickly children and steps out victorious.

Jen's life came crashing down around her when she found out her husband had been seeing another woman behind her back. She knew they had issues in their relationship but not enough to make him seek intimacy elsewhere and, yet, that was exactly what he had done. But why? The reason why he would throw everything away, instead of just talking to her, was the one question that was continually burning in the back of her mind and she knew there was only one way to get the answer.

People laughed at him when he said he wanted to be a movie star, and yet here he was - the biggest night of his life - collecting his Oscar for "Best Actor". Grinning like an idiot, he couldn't even recall the speech he gave to the camera...The camera and a room full of actors, directors, and producers - people who used to look down their nose at him whenever he had a new film coming out (usually an over the top action film with huge explosions and slow-mo gun battles). They're not looking down their nose at him now though.

If I am to be damned with slim chance to yet redeem myself than for why spend the rest of my waking days in trying to make amends when I can but face my demons early and enjoy the warmth offered from the free flames of Hell? You say that this is the fate that awaits unless I change my ways and wants and yet the man you’ve shown is the one whom I am and am proud to be. The what-if is all but weak, the kind of man seen staggering down a street with not a penny in his pocket and yet still taken for a fool by those passing by.

The follow-up to Matt Shaw's Bite-Size: A Collection of Short Stories. Hear five more previously unpublished short stories from one of Britain's most warped imaginations.