The Roots Run Deep

 

 

THE ROOTS RUN DEEP

C.M. Forest

GENRE:  Horror Short Story Collection

 

 

 

BLURB:

Dug from the twisted mind of C.M. Forest, the acclaimed author of Infested, comes a collection of 15 horror stories that will drag you into the abyss of fear and despair.

A fast-food playland with a nightmarish secret, a greenhouse with a bug problem, a busload of kids lost in the woods, a trip through the solar system to investigate a strange comet, and many more.

Brace yourself for an unrelenting journey through a world where evil knows no bounds, and darkness consumes all.

Enjoy an Excerpt:

“Lily! Your mom is not going to be happy with Daddy if I don’t get you home, honey.” 

Robert drummed his fingers on the lip of the plastic rim entrance to the playland. He leaned into the opening and listened for any sound at all. 

“Lily?”

A terrible thought came to him. What if someone’s taken her? 

He shook his head to dislodge the idea from his brain. But a growing level of unease, like some dank fungus flourishing in the darkest of places, kept the horrible possibility present in his mind. 

“Lily, this isn’t funny, baby.” Robert stuck his head farther into the hole, and his voice immediately echoed back at him, a dozen clones parroting his words.

Panic, the likes of which Robert wouldn’t have thought possible—certainly not so quickly anyway—arced through his body. He yelled again into the structure. 

Nothing. 

Not even the smallest knock or scratch to indicate there was anything alive in the playland at all.

About the Author:

C.M. Forest, also known as Christian Laforet, is the author of the novel Infested, the novella We All Fall Before the Harvest, the short story collection The Space Between Houses, as well as the co-author of the short-story collection No Light Tomorrow. His short fiction has been featured in several anthologies across multiple genres. A self-proclaimed horror movie expert, he spent an embarrassing amount of his youth watching scary movies. When not writing, he lives in Ontario, Canada with his wife, kids, three cats and a pandemic dog named Sully who has an ongoing love affair with a blanket.

Q&A With the Author:

What is something unique/quirky about you?

I am an avid collector (movies, comics, books, games). I have this need to own stuff. Honestly, it’s getting out of hand. I have stacks of books and movies that I will literally never read or watch. The worst thing is, my obsession has been passed on to my oldest daughter. She’s only thirteen, but already has piles of CDs, movies, and books in here room. I’ve created a monster!

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

Being a short story collection, one comprised of stories written over a five-year period, The Roots Run Deep has many different sources of inspiration. Most of the stories came from everyday life. Small observations that grew like mold in my mind until some twisted bit of fiction was produced. As a whole, the book was a result of my love of short stories. I’ve been working on novels for the last few years, so I was hit with a need to work on something different.

How did you come up with the name of this book?

I knew I wanted the book to be named after one of the stories, but I wasn’t at all sure which one. Ultimately, I chose The Roots Run Deep (which is the last story in the collection) as it felt the most appropriate.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Weirdly enough, my favorite part of the book was putting it together. There was a high level of satisfaction in deciding the order the stories would go. Do I put them in chronological order of when they were written? Do I place them in order by theme? By quality? There were so many possibilities. I enjoyed the puzzle-like aspect of putting it together into a picture that best reflected what I wanted people to see when reading.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Video games! Hands down, the greatest barrier to my writing is my PlayStation. It’s gotten so bad that I have to set a timer on my phone while playing. If not, I will waste hours playing.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?

I am working a couple projects, the closest to completion is a novel set in Detroit. It takes me a long time to write a novel (unfortunately), so who knows when it will actually be finished. 

What Are Your Top 10 Favorite books/authors?

It will be hard to narrow down to ten books, but I’ll do my best! 

Last Days – Adam Nevill

The Acolyte – Nick Cutter

The Terror – Dan Simmons

It – Stephen King

Nod – Adrian Barnes

Ghoul – Michael Slade

NOS 4A2 – Joe Hill

Phantoms – Dean Koontz

Ghost Story – Peter Straub

Expeirmental Film – Gemma Files

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

If you’re ever in Southern Ontario, send me a message. We can grab a coffee at the nearest Tim Horton’s and talk spooky books!

Website: http://www.ChristianLaforet.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorchristianlaforet

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christianlaforet/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/c_laforet

TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@christian_writes_horror

GIVEAWAY

The author will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Please visit the other tour participants for more opportunities to win.

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