Dark Walker Series by Shelly Campbell - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Dark Walker Series

Books 1 & 2

by Shelly Campbell

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GENRE:   Speculative Fiction / Horror / Dark Sci-Fi

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BOOK SERIES BLURB:

When we were children, they told us monsters weren't real. They were dead wrong.

It’s just a closet door with a skeleton key, but when David opens it, he unlocks a gateway to a sinister world that’s bent on destroying everything and everyone he loves. Some doors are better left closed.

Embark on a thrilling journey with the Dark Walker Series, and be transported into an interdimensional tale of monsters, lies and self-discovery. Where the terror of darkness is real and the line between ally and enemy is as thin as a blade.

"Equal parts coming of age story and otherworldly horror, Gulf probes the depths of loneliness, loss of identity and childhood trauma. It is a true treat for fans of the genre and had me clutched in its razor-clawed hands from the first word to the last.”

~ C.M. Forest author of Infested

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BOOK BLURB - GULF - BOOK ONE:

Seventeen-year-old David is fading from his world, like a Polaroid picture in reverse. He longs to feel connected to something bigger.

When his brothers discover the new extension at the rental cottage comes with a locked door, David finds the key first. Expecting to claim a bedroom, he opens a dimensional gateway instead, exploring abandoned versions of his world in different timelines, 1960s muscle cars alternating with crumbling cottages.

Except now the dimensional bridge won’t close, and something hungry claws the door at night. David scours for clues to break the bridge, but each trip to the other side makes him fade more on his. Even if he succeeds, he risks severing his connection to his own world, and dying on the wrong side, forgotten.

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BOOK BLURB - BREACH - BOOK TWO:

There are doors that open to other worlds, but it’s no fairytale on the other side.

I thought otherworldly monsters bent on devouring my whole world starting with my family trumped everything. Turns out, I was wrong. My world's only one of thousands facing annihilation from the maneaters that tried to eat me alive. Charlie saved me, rolled into my life on a motorcycle, and rescued me.

Problem is, I’m the Embassy’s property now. They’re the interdimensional agency tasked with stemming the flow of ravenous aliens into our universe, but they seem more interested in studying me. I crashed a gateway in a way they’ve never seen. The Embassy wants to replicate that. I think they want to use me as a war weapon.

If I don’t convince Charlie to help me escape, I’ll be an Embassy science experiment for the rest of my short life, or worse, eternally trapped in the dark hell that fills the spaces between worlds.

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EXCERPT TWO:

From Gulf - Book One:

“James?” I try again. “Wake up, James. It’s back.” 

I need someone else to feel it, to experience the icy breath of air from under the door and see if it’s as foreboding to them as it is to me, or if they can sense it at all.

Maybe it’s just messed up circuitry in my mind.

James doesn’t wake up, just shuffles around in the loft like a slow-motion pinball. Eventually, I climb the ladder and pull the beanbag across the gap in the railing. He’ll break his neck one of these nights. When my feet hit the main floor, the draft washes over them and makes me flinch. I lick my lips and ignore the soft rattle of the five-panel door in its frame.

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GUEST POST:

Breach from Concept to Complete Cover

Ally, thank you so much for having me as a guest. I’m excited to share my Dark Walker series with new readers. When I noticed that one of your guest topic choices involved describing my cover design, I knew exactly what I wanted to share with everyone because I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to design my own cover art for the series, and I’d love to take you through the process with me!

Breach is book 2 in the Dark Walker series. Book 1 (Gulf) originally had its cover designed by the great Keelan Patrick Burke who is not only a supremely talented horror author, he also designs insanely incredible book covers. Words cannot express how much I fangirled when I saw the cover he created for my debut horror book. It was—and is—stunning.

But sometimes publishing is a bumpy road, and, shortly after my debut horror launched into the world, Gulf’s original publisher closed its doors. In an extremely generous offer, Keelan gave all us orphaned authors rights to our covers, and I was lucky enough to find an incredible home that was willing to take Gulf in and get it back out into the world, Eerie River Publishing.

I’d always pictured Gulf as part one of a series and Michelle, Eerie River’s owner, was excited to expand the story too, so I dove into writing book 2, Breach. When Michelle asked me if I wanted to take a crack at designing cover art for the second book, I might have danced like an idiot around my office. Of course, I said yes! I’m an artist, but not a cover designer, so we agreed that I’d tackle the art, and Michelle would take on the formatting, text, and other cover design aspects. Since Gulf already had a cover I loved, the first concept art I sent her was meant to match Gulf’s original cover design:

Michelle liked it but suggested that perhaps if we were launching book 2 (and in 2025 book 3), we could redesign the cover for Gulf when we released Breach—a fresh relaunch for the whole series with new matching covers. The vibe we were going for would go for would be the bold and blocky colours 1980’s horror movie posters did so well. Gulf, after all, has a lot of 80’s references.

I redesigned the cover art for Gulf, and took a first crack at a horror movie style cover art for Breach with our heroes David and Charlie standing near an old Toyota Corolla—I swear that’ll make sense once you read the book 😊

In the next few iterations, I add in the monster in the reflection (and the crew trying to restrain it) as well as some streetlights and a city scape background. I play with background colours a bit too.

Michelle said she pictured David and Charlie facing away from the viewer, so I added in different character silhouettes here, and we eventually put them on either side of the car to balance them out.

Here, we changed the colour of the mirror dimension and started trying out fonts for text.

And finally, Michelle worked her magic and designed the final cover. Suddenly, it looked like an honest-to-goodness book.

There is something magical about seeing that final cover image. I’m not sure if other writers feel the same way, but as soon as I see a final cover, it just feels real to me. It reminds me that I’ve got an actual book coming out into the world. I get excited all over again. Thanks for letting me gush about it all over again with you folks. Really appreciate it. Keep feeding your imaginations!

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AUTHOR BIO:

At a young age, Shelly Campbell wanted to be an air show pilot or a pirate, possibly a dragon and definitely a writer and artist. She’s piloted a Cessna 172 through spins and stalls, and sailed up the east coast on a tall ship barque—mostly without projectile vomiting. In the end, Shelly found writing and drawing dragons to be so much easier on the stomach. Shelly writes speculative fiction ranging from grimdark fantasy, to sci-fi and horror. She’d love to hear from you.

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CONNECT WITH SHELLY:

Website:

http://www.shellycampbellauthorandart.com

X:

https://twitter.com/ShellyCFineArt

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/shellycampbellfineart

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/shellycampbellauthorandart

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@shellycampbellauthor

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Shelly will be awarding a $15 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner's Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway