V. Castro – författare

Collected together for the first time, this omnibus brings new authors to the Alien universe. Across three epic novels, discover the origins of fan-favorite character PFC Jenette Vasquez and her family, fight extinction at the hands of Xenomorphs, and find the researchers of Pala Station courting disaster of... the Xenomorph kind.INFILTRATOR:The official prequel to Aliens: Fire Team Elite from Cold Iron Studios.Dr. Timothy Hoenikker arrives on Pala Station, a Weyland-Yutani facility. Lured there by the promise of alien artifacts, instead he finds a warped bureaucracy and staff of misfits testing the effects of Xenomorph bio-materials on living creatures. Unbeknownst to the personnel, however, there is an infiltrator among them whose actions could spell disaster.Also on staff is Victor Rawlings, a former marine who gathers together other veterans to prepare for the worst. As Pala Station receives a delivery of alien eggs, the experiments spin out of control, and only the former Colonial Marines stand between the humans and certain death.PHALANX:Ataegina was an isolated world of medieval castles and rich cultures-vibrant until the demons rose and slaughtered ninety percent of the planet's population. Swarms of lethal creatures with black husks, murderous claws, barbed tails and dreaded "tooth-tongues" rage across the land. Terrified survivors hide in ruined mountain keeps, where they eke out a meager existence. Skilled runners travel the treacherous paths between keeps, maintaining trade and sharing information. If caught, they die screaming.Ahiliyah of Lemeth Hold is an exceptional runner, constantly risking her life for her people. When she and her closest companions discover a new weapon, it may offer the one last chance to end the demon plague. But to save humanity, the trio must fight their way to the tunnels of Black Smoke Mountain-the lair of the mythical Demon Mother.VASQUEZ:Even before the doomed mission to Hadley's Hope, Jenette Vasquez had to fight to survive. Born to an immigrant family with a long military tradition she looked up to the stars, but life pulled her back down to Earth-first into a street gang, then prison. The Colonial Marines proved to be Vasquez's way out-a way that forced her to give up her twin children.Raised by Jenette's sister Roseanna, those children-Leticia and Ramon-have been forced to discover their own ways to survive. Leticia by following her mother's path into the military, Ramon by embracing the corporate hierarchy of Weyland-Yutani. Their paths converge on an unnamed world, which some see as a potential utopia, while others would use it for highly secretive research.Regardless of what humans might have planned for it, however, Xenomorphs will turn the planet into a living hell. Sarcastic, sexy, and action-packed, Vasquez brings generational heritage into the Alien universe in an explosive way.

An ancient Aztec vampire roams the modern world in search of vengeance and love in this seductive dark fantasy from the author of The Haunting of Alejandra.“Hauntingly rendered and decadently written, Immortal Pleasures is a surprising and fantastical portrait of one of history’s most fascinating (and perhaps most misunderstood) figures.”—Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last SpokeHundreds of years ago, she was known as La Malinche: a Nahua woman who translated for the conquistador Cortés. In the centuries since, her name has gone down in infamy as a traitor. But no one ever found out what happened to La Malinche after Cortés destroyed her people. In the ashes of the empire, she was reborn as Malinalli, an immortal vampire. And she has become an avenger of conquered peoples, traveling the world to reclaim their stolen artifacts and return them to their homelands. But she has also been in search of something more, for this ancient vampire still has deeply human longings for pleasure and for love. When she arrives in Dublin in search of a pair of Aztec skulls—artifacts intimately connected to her own dark history—she finds something else: two men who satisfy her cravings in very different ways. For the first time she meets a mortal man—a horror novelist—who is not repelled by her strange condition but attracted by it. But there is also another man, an immortal like herself, who shares the darkness in her heart. Now Malinalli is on the most perilous adventure of all: a journey into her own desires.

Catrina’s Caravan is a horror anthology series featuring stories by the best Latinx writers of horror as told by Catrina, a suspicious harbinger of darkness on the run from a violent priest. Leading a caravan of misfits and marginalized folks, Catrina goes from town to town, one step ahead of her rival, giving the local residents gruesome lessons they will never forget through the mechanism of immersive storytelling. The frame of each story reveals a little more about the past and twisted mission of this mysterious, gaunt and seemingly unaging figure.In three harrowing tales by Latine authors, we peer into the dark corners of the modern world and witness a horrifying, winged retribution for those who abuse refugees at the border. We join an overwhelmed mother on a Chicago subway just in time to see her lucha-libre-obsessed child be tempted by a demon, and we watch as an ancient yet beautiful predator in southern Mexico sates her hunger with the flesh of crude tourists. While crafted in the tradition of great horror anthology comics, this spine-tingling new series taps into the particular darkness of Latino cultures, drawing forth a rich fount of horror with textures and nuance that will reward readers in the know and make fans of those who don’t.

Dive into a dark, empowering world where folktales, horror and feminist magic collide. This collection features 26 modern retellings of legends and folktales about fierce female deities and spirits from around the world. Perfect for women who own their power.Dark goddess energy is powerful and transformative, embodying the sensual, the hunter, the warrior, the mother, and even the grotesque and horrific. These 26 tales of powerful female goddesses and spirits will entrance those daring enough to explore the shadows of the human psyche, offering lessons from our ancient origins and help us understand ourselves in today's world. Embrace your own inner darkness alongside these fierce deities and spirits, such as: The fierce Indian goddess Kali, who teaches not to fear endings but instead use our creativity to remove obstacles and carve out our own path. The mighty Yoruba orisha Yemaya, who birthed the waters of the whole planet, and teaches of the need to nurture and love oneself. The ravenous Egyptian goddess Sekhmet, who is the very definition of "I am woman, hear me roar!" The occult Greek goddess Hecate, beloved of modern witches, who offers a stunning portrayal of femininity manifesting in magic. And many more! The retold legends are accompanied by information about the goddess's history, symbols and core energy. This stunning volume is perfect for those who love fantasy and horror and all who wish to learn about the powerful female archetypes in cultures around the world.

NOMINATED FOR A BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL2018 - Belinda Alvarez has returned to Texas for the wedding of her best friend Veronica. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas. In 1950s south Texas a farmworker- Milagros from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is murdered. Her death is ignored by the town, but not the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. The goddess hears the dying cries of Milagros and creates a plan for both to be physically reborn by feeding on vengeance and worship. Belinda and the new owner of the farmhouse - Hector, find themselves immersed in the legend and realize it is part of their fate as well.FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

NOMINATED FOR A BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL2018 - Belinda Alvarez has returned to Texas for the wedding of her best friend Veronica. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas. In 1950s south Texas a farmworker- Milagros from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is murdered. Her death is ignored by the town, but not the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. The goddess hears the dying cries of Milagros and creates a plan for both to be physically reborn by feeding on vengeance and worship. Belinda and the new owner of the farmhouse - Hector, find themselves immersed in the legend and realize it is part of their fate as well.FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

From the lauded author of The Queen of the Cicadas (which picked up starred reviews from PW, Kirkus and Booklist who called her "a dynamic and innovative voice") comes a short story collection of nightmares, dreams, desire and visions focused on the Chicana experience. V.Castro weaves urban legend, folklore, life experience and heartache in this personal journey beginning in south Texas: a bar where a devil dances the night away; a street fight in a neighborhood that may not have been a fight after all; a vengeful chola at the beginning of the apocalypse; mind swapping in the not so far future; satan who falls and finds herself in a brothel in Amsterdam; the keys to Mictlan given to a woman after she dies during a pandemic. The collection finishes with two longer tales: The Final Porn Star is a twist on the final girl trope and slasher, with a creature from Mexican folklore; and Truck Stop is an erotic horror romance with two hearts: a video store and a truck stop.FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

From the lauded author of The Queen of the Cicadas (which picked up starred reviews from PW, Kirkus and Booklist who called her "a dynamic and innovative voice") comes a short story collection of nightmares, dreams, desire and visions focused on the Chicana experience. V.Castro weaves urban legend, folklore, life experience and heartache in this personal journey beginning in south Texas: a bar where a devil dances the night away; a street fight in a neighborhood that may not have been a fight after all; a vengeful chola at the beginning of the apocalypse; mind swapping in the not so far future; satan who falls and finds herself in a brothel in Amsterdam; the keys to Mictlan given to a woman after she dies during a pandemic. The collection finishes with two longer tales: The Final Porn Star is a twist on the final girl trope and slasher, with a creature from Mexican folklore; and Truck Stop is an erotic horror romance with two hearts: a video store and a truck stop.FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

"Look, man. I only need to know one thing: where they are."PFC Jenette Vasquez on LV-426Even before the doomed mission to Hadley's Hope, Jenette Vasquez had to fight to survive. Born to an immigrant family with a long military tradition she looked up to the stars, but life pulled her back down to Earth-first into a street gang, then prison. The Colonial Marines proved to be Vasquez's way out-a way that forced her to give up her twin children.Raised by Jenette's sister Roseanna, those children-Leticia and Ramon-have been forced to discover their own ways to survive. Leticia by following her mother's path into the military, Ramon by embracing the corporate hierarchy of Weyland-Yutani. Their paths converge on an unnamed world, which some see as a potential utopia, while others would use it for highly secretive research.Regardless of what humans might have planned for it, however, Xenomorphs will turn the planet into a living hell. Sarcastic, sexy, and action-packed, Vasquez brings generational heritage into the Alien universe in an explosive way.

The story of a woman haunted by the Mexican folk demon La Llorona as she unravels the dark secrets of her family history in this ravishing and provocative horror novel from the author of Goddess of Filth.Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. But Alejandra is struggling and times of despair, a ghostly vision appears to her, a crying woman in a ragged white gown. When Alejandra begins exploring her family's history, she learns that tragedy is not the only thing she shares with her ancestors. Because the crying woman was with them, too...

The story of a woman haunted by the Mexican folk demon La Llorona as she unravels the dark secrets of her family history in this ravishing and provocative horror novel from the author of Goddess of Filth.Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. But Alejandra is struggling and times of despair, a ghostly vision appears to her, a crying woman in a ragged white gown. When Alejandra begins exploring her family''s history, she learns that tragedy is not the only thing she shares with her ancestors. Because the crying woman was with them, too…

Newly-turned Mexican vampire, Maria, is not just out for blood, she wants answers.From the twice Bram Stoker-nominated author of The Haunting of Alejandra and Immortal Pleasures, a gripping tale of empowerment, desire and belonging, perfect for readers of A Dowry of Blood and Certain Dark Things.Maria is a wanted woman. She’s wanted by an Aztec trafficker, a cartel boss, the people she fights for, and now the devil she can’t resist. A would-be immigrant turned vampire, Maria is forced to leave her home and family and embark on a journey across Mexico. She learns to fight, becoming an unlikely bad-ass enforcer of justice. Then an encounter with a violent, ruthless vampire boss leads her to find her creator. Drawn into a world of ancient vampires, deadly conspiracies and a dangerously seductive devil, Maria must find a way to fight for herself and all humankind.A fierce and seductive horror thriller, pulsing with rage, fear and desire, that explores a vampire woman’s determination to find her place in the world.

When a peaceful settlement on a moon in the furthest reaches of the universe finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, a mysterious stranger named Kora becomes their best hope for survival.From Zack Snyder, the filmmaker behind 300, Man of Steel, and Army of the Dead, comes REBEL MOON, an epic science-fantasy event decades in the making.When a peaceful settlement on a moon in the furthest reaches of the universe finds itself threatened by the armies of the tyrannical Regent Balisarius, Kora (Sofia Boutella), a mysterious stranger living among the villagers, becomes their best hope for survival. Tasked with finding trained fighters who will unite with her in making an impossible stand against the Mother World, Kora assembles a small band of warriors—outsiders, insurgents, peasants and orphans of war from different worlds who share a common need for redemption and revenge. As the shadow of an entire Realm bears down on the unlikeliest of moons, a new army of heroes is formed.Novelized by V. Castro, two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author. Experience Rebel Moon on the page in this pulse-pounding novelization.

Embark on an interstellar adventure like no other in V. Castro’s thrilling official novelization of Part Two of Zack Snyder’s epic new universe.From the mind of Zack Snyder, the filmmaker behind 300, Man of Steel, and Army of the Dead, comes REBEL MOON, an epic science-fantasy event decades in the making. Get ready to return to Veldt with the sequel to Rebel Moon Part One – A Child of Fire.Rebel Moon Part Two — The Scargiver continues the epic saga of Kora and the surviving warriors as they prepare to sacrifice everything, fighting alongside the brave people of Veldt, to defend a once peaceful village, a newfound homeland for those who have lost their own in the fight against the Motherworld. On the eve of their battle, the warriors must face the truths of their own pasts, each revealing why they fight. As the full force of the Realm bears down on the burgeoning rebellion, unbreakable bonds are forged, heroes emerge, and legends are made.Novelized by V. Castro, two-time Bram Stoker Award®-nominated author. Experience Rebel Moon on the page in this pulse-pounding novelization.

In this seductive dark fantasy from the author of The Haunting of Alejandra, an ancient Aztec vampire roams the modern world in search of vengeance and love.Hundreds of years ago, she was known as La Malinche: a Nahua woman who translated for the conquistador Cortes. In the centuries since, her name has gone down in infamy as a traitor. But no one ever found out what happened to La Malinche after Cortes destroyed her people.In the ashes of the empire, she was reborn as Malinalli, an immortal vampire. And she has become an avenger of conquered peoples, traveling the world to reclaim their stolen artifacts and return them to their homelands.But she has also been in search of something more, for this ancient vampire still has deeply human longings for pleasure and for love.When she arrives in Dublin in search of a pair of Aztec skulls-artifacts intimately connected to her own dark history-she finds something else: two men who satisfy her cravings in very different ways.For the first time she meets a mortal man-a horror novelist-who is not repelled by her strange condition but attracted by it. But there is also another man, an immortal like herself, who shares the darkness in her heart.Now Malinalli is on the most perilous adventure of all: a journey into her own desires.

This vibrant anthology presents a selection of speculative stories and fascinating essays highlighting the many voices, mythologies, folklore and storytelling prowess of authors from Latin American countries or writing in the traditions of the Latin American diaspora. Edited by the wonderful V. Castro, Mexican-American speculative, horror and sci-fi writer extraordinaire and author of Mestiza Blood and The Queen of the Cicadas, the authors featured are: Hector Acosta, Alyssa Alessi, Gustavo Bondoni, David Bowles, Arasibo Campeche and Carra Flowers, Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut, Angel Luis Colón, Rios de la Luz, Ivette N. Diaz, Laura Diaz de Arce, J.F. Gonzalez, L.P. Hernandez, Pedro Iniguez, Ruth Joffre, S. Alessandro Martinez, Juliana Spink Mills, Vanessa Molina, Mo Moshaty, Richie Narvaez, Wi-Moto Nyoka, Daniel A. Olivas, Monique Quintana, A.E. Santana and Richard Z. Santos. These are complemented by new stories selected from open submissions.Spanning the many cultures of the region, stories range from those that explore heritage and the importance of ancestors to ones that imagine new worlds and futures, but at their core they all celebrate and give agency to oft-underrepresented Latin American characters and concerns, while the book will help counter the lack of contemporary Latin American literature. The Flame Tree Beyond and Within short story collections bring together tales of myth and imagination by modern and contemporary writers, carefully selected by anthologists, and sometimes featuring short stories from a single author. Overall, the series presents a wide range of diverse and inclusive voices with myth, folkloric-inflected short fiction, and an emphasis on the supernatural, science fiction, the mysterious and the speculative. The books themselves are gorgeous, with foiled covers, printed edges and published only in hardcover editions, offering a lifetime of reading pleasure.

Two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author, V. Castro dims the lights in a collection where you might devour your next lover or meet your next meal.Readers are invited to The Pink Agave Motel,where brutality and intimacy ooze across the pages, exploring the depths of the unhinged imagination and how human desire unlocks the impulse to bite. Castro’s voice, influenced by Mexican folklore and a feminist perspective, illuminates a deeper view of how unrequited love affects every type of being alike.The titular story focuses on Valentina, the proclaimed leader of a creature cohort, who manages hotel guests, until she is enlightened to a carnivorous death on the property. To avoid exposure that threatens her existence, she partners with (the hauntingly handsome) grieving friend of the dearly departed to solve the murder. Further within these tales, discover a woman who is a fish out of water drinking at a seaside honky tonk, the trapped guests who undergo sexual liberation, and aliens who find the sexiest of disguises.These short stories evoke an alluring voice, sure to make the reader shiver in arousal and horror, never quite knowing what could happen next. Castro pushes past the limits of gothic terror and fantasy to carve a dangerous path of lust and violence, all throughout the reader’s charming stay at The Pink Agave Motel.