Lure

THE SEA MONSTER measures forty-six hands across. Its bones hang on the wall in our church, spanning the length of the chancel. According to legend, it is over nine hundred years old. The tail is enormous, like that of some titanic serpent, but the fore end is a hodgepodge of mismatched anatomy. The skull is human, as are the ribs and arms, but there is also the dried baleen of a whale and the bill of a swordfish incorporated into its frame. It is ghastly looking, but impressive.It’s also very dusty. “When was the last time this relic was cleaned, do you suppose?” my father says. It is his church now. He is the Reverend Uriah Lensman, pastor here for the last five years. Father cranes his long neck to look up at the garish relic suspended on the stone wall, a good three fathoms above the floor, blackened with soot from a thousand years of burning candles. It hovers above the icon of our holy creator, the One True God. As far as I know, ours is the only church in the realm to shelter the bones of a monster. About Lure: In the chapel of a forsaken fishing village on another world's shore, the seawashed bones of old gods hang from the rafters. When a new god drifts into the bay, the menfolk fear nothing as they reach for their spears; but capturing Her may be their last act of reckless bravado. Her very presence brings dissent and madness. Her voice threatens to tear the starving, angry community apart. Setting a siege of relentless horror against the backdrop of brine and blood, Lure blurs the line between natural disaster and self-destruction. About the Author: Tim McGregor is the author of Hearts Strange and Dreadful, the Spookshow series, and a handful of other titles. Taboo in Four Colors comes out in November. Tim lives in Toronto with his wife, two kids, and one spiteful ghost. He can be reached at timmcgregorauthor.com Accolades: "Immersive and utterly compelling, Tim McGregor's Lure will stab you in the heart with a hook and plunge you deep into the blackest depths where sunlight cannot follow. A monstrously inventive seaside fable of tradition, adolescence, and loss." Eric LaRocca , author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke " Lure : an appropriate title for a novella that gripped me hook, line and sinker. Evocative of the sea, with the feel of a folktale, Tim McGregor's talent for subtlety is bewitching; but when it berths, the horror is visceral." Catherine McCarthy , author of Immortelle "Tightly told, with great tension and pacing; an eerie tale with great social commentary. It's fantastic and stands apart from the crowd." Laurel Hightower , author of Crossroads and Below "Beware the call of the sea in this thrilling, shocking and bloody mermaid tale. Lure is a fresh and horrifying addition to sea creature Horror. I loved it." Sonora Taylor , author of Seeing Things and Someone to Share My Nightmares: Stories Shirley Jackson Award Nominee for Best Novella, 2022! In the chapel of a forsaken fishing village on another world's shore, the seawashed bones of old gods hang from the rafters. When a new god drifts into the bay, the menfolk fear nothing as they reach for their spears; but capturing Her may be their last act of reckless bravado. Her very presence brings dissent and madness. Her voice threatens to tear the starving, angry community apart. Setting a siege of relentless horror against the backdrop of brine and blood, Lure blurs the line between natural disaster and self-destruction. Interior illustrations by Kelly Williams; cover art by Matt Blairstone.