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Childhood. A time of endless discoveries and extraordinary dreams. Not all discoveries are pleasant, however, and some dreams prowl as wild-eyed nightmares. We who survived our youth did so by journeying through carrion wilderness, with life preying upon our innocence and wonder. Monsters ever hunted us, for monsters prefer the taste of children.

Sticks and Stones is a collection of dark, fantastical stories about those most vulnerable years. First heartaches. First goodbyes. First encounters with death and depravity.

Revisit childhood and learn why we’re never supposed to tell lies.

Why we don’t talk to strangers.

And why we never, ever wander into the woods alone.

“I closed the final page on this collection and stared into my fireplace in complete contemplation. C.W. Briar’s collection drug me screaming back to my childhood. Every selection seems purposeful and geared towards full-tilt emotional impact. Poignant and chill-inducing. Read if you dare.”

–Justin Holley, Author of BRUISED, TETHERED TO DARKNESS and BLOOD FROM THE STARS

“If stories are the currency people share, C.W. Briar has created a cursed treasure chest out of his collection Sticks and Stones. There is something intimate and dark here that will leave you feeling smaller than before.”

–Jessica Ann York, Author

“Sticks and Stones may break your bones, but this collection of childhood-themed horror stories will haunt you. This book contains a variety of tales that will satisfy a range of horror fans, from chilling, classic ghost stories to out-of-this-world cosmic horror delights. This is an excellent sampling of the talent and range of CW Briar’s horror, and will leave you hungry for more—just one story is simply not enough.”

–Erin Kelly, Author of the TAINTED MOONLIGHT SERIES