Showing results by author "Tom Leveen" in All Categories

It's the '90s! Not everyone's heard of Nirvana yet, and audiotapes are barely outdated. The live music scene is alive and well, and bands still make things like "demo tapes" and "albums." After missing her best opportunity to attend a prestigious art school, 17-year-old Salvador Dali devotee Zero begins dating Mike, a drummer in an up-and-coming punk band. As their tentative relationship blooms, Zero confronts a ton of baggage holding her back from her art career.

Urban legends of a murderous figure called Springheel Jack date back to the 19th century. What Baylee is about to learn is that “he” is most certainly for real...and not alone. When her only living relative - her older brother - becomes one of the bloodthirsty creatures, Baylee’s sole chance to turn him back rests with the only people inclined to believe her story: Her brother’s nerdy RPG gamer friends.

Five years ago, Abby Booth's mom, co-host of a ghost-hunting reality show, went missing while filming in a "haunted" cave in Arizona. Since then, Abby's life has all but fallen to pieces, most notably because of her dad's deep depression and how they've drifted further and further apart. But now, at 16, Abby has decided that things will change. She plans to go to the same cave where her mom and the crew went missing and to find out, once and for all, what happened there. Abby was investigating a possible haunting...she never expected that there could be something worse.

Sixteen-year-old Pelly has a master plan: After years of therapy, medication, and even a stint in a mental hospital, she’s finally ready to re-enter the world of the living. Pelly has been suffering from severe panic attacks ever since her best friend, Tara, disappeared from a mall six years ago. And her plan seems to be working, until an unkempt girl accompanied by an older man walks into the coffee shop where she works. Pelly thinks she’s seen a ghost, until the girl mouths “help me” on the way out, and Pelly knows she’s just seen Tara.

Braden’s got a wonderful wife, darling three-year-old son, nominal success as a novelist—and no contact with his parents for years, with very good reason. Then a box of his books is accidentally—and mysteriously—delivered to his childhood home. Against his own best judgment, Braden swings by the old place with his son, Josiah, to pick up the box. In and out, super fast, no big deal. The house has other ideas.

In the middle of a sudden epidemic that deforms its victims and creates bloodthirsty hunters of everyday people, high school senior Laura Fitzgerald becomes trapped in a classroom with a freshman boy she's never met, and who has suffered a bite from one of the infected students.

When a grotesque assailant blinds Travis, he begs his best friend Jim protect his ex-wife and daughter. Jim is happy to try, since he loves Travis's family - his ex-wife a little too much, in fact. Another member of Travis's family is mauled, then another...only with his daughter's life potentially at risk does Travis admit he may know the attacker. As police race to protect the girl, Jim discovers it's far too late: someone's lying in wait, and what he - or they - want is the last thing Jim could ever have expected....

Three spooky short stories from Stoker-nominated author Tom Leveen, reaching back into his early writing career. Two are a little funny, the other is a little scary.

Late at night Tori receives a random phone call. It's a wrong number. But the caller seems to want to talk, so she stays on the line. He asks for a single thing - one reason not to kill himself. The request plunges her into confusion. Because if this random caller actually does what he plans, he'll be the second person connected to Tori to take his own life. And the first just might land her in jail.

Brian and his friends are not part of the cool crowd. They're the misfits and the troublemakers - the ones who jump their high school's fence to skip class regularly. So when a deadly virus breaks out, they're the only ones with a chance of surviving. The virus turns Brian's classmates and teachers into bloodthirsty attackers who don't die easily. The whole school goes on lockdown, but Brian and his best friend, Chad, are safe (and stuck) in the theater department.

It's Saturday night in Santa Barbara and it seems like everyone is headed to the same destination. The reason is simple: To celebrate the end of school. But for eleven different people the motives are bit more complicated - to be noticed, to hook up, to make friends, to numb the pain, to get over an ex, to say goodbye. As each character takes a turn and tells his/her story, the eleven individuals intersect, reconnect, and combine in ways that none of them ever saw coming.

Narrated and full-cast long- and short-form realistic and speculative fiction by award-winning YA and horror author Tom Leveen. Often set in or inspired by "the late 1900s," aka "The 90s." Looking back at the '80s and '90s to see what our generation has learned, what we're getting right and getting wrong. And above all: being part of a chosen family. Serialized fiction, author talks, and more. You are welcome here!