The Bridge Between Worlds by Stephen M. DeBock

All he wants to do is fly away, literally, from the clutches of a love-sick teenager, but Alden Walker—sport pilot and skydiver—learns to be careful what you wish for when he and his light airplane are mysteriously transported into an alien world: a parallel Earth peopled by exotic-looking humans as well as a host of fearsome creatures—creatures which have evolved into human-like form with human-like powers of thought, but which have retained their feral natures and their fierce appetites for flesh and blood.

Especially human flesh and blood.

Accompanied by a beautiful indigenous woman with a score of her own to settle, Walker must set out upon a covert mission to retrieve a vital element from the creatures who have stolen it, employing his piloting and parachuting skills in combination with her superb swordsmanship. On their quest they will encounter anthropomorphic spiders, endure capture by a tribe of cannibalistic rat-things, and narrowly escape other predators, until they finally reach their goal: a mountain fortress occupied by a coldly calculating race of humanoid vampire bats.

And upon the success or failure of their mission hangs the fate of both their worlds.

THE BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and GypsyShadow.com.

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As a boy, Stephen M. DeBock used to entertain (and frighten) the neighborhood children by telling them stories from his favorite horror comics. As a middle school teacher, he continued the tradition, starting the year by reading them a story from a horror anthology. Upon retirement from his public school and later college careers, he has had time to create his own thrillers: from a children’s vampire spoof in Spider magazine to paranormal-themed short stories and novelettes, and his first full-length horror novel, The Pentacle Pendant, published in October 2011.

DeBock’s writing on consumer education won an award from the State of New Jersey, which led to his serving as consultant to Zillions (Consumers Union’s children’s magazine) and to his contributions to essays in Time magazine, ABC’s World News Tonight, and CNBC. Before leaving New Jersey, he was a member of the Rutgers University Media Literacy Project.

His writing on various topics has appeared in American Heritage, AOPA Pilot, and Living Aboard magazines. He’s written newsletters for various organizations, compiled a book of reminiscences from and for members of his U.S. Marine Presidential Honor Guard Association, and wrote the text for The Art of H. Hargrove, a coffee-table book on the life and works of one of America’s most-collected living artists.

He and his wife Joy live in Hershey, Pennsylvania.