For over a decade, Bentley Little has made significant contributions to horror literature. Born in Arizona, his stories are mostly centered there. He received a Masters from California State University in Fullerton, where he would go on to publish his thesis novel, "The Revelation," which earned him the esteemed 1990 Bram Stoker award. "The Resort" (Penguin 2004), one of Little’s newest releases, centers around the Reata, a high-end Arizona Spa in which the guests start disappearing in the midst of the resort’s reawakened dark secrets. Other books by Little and include "The Town," "The House," "The Ignored," and "The Summoning." Themes include the displaced family or individual in a largely unfamiliar setting (family moves from Southern California to live in some isolated town in the Arizona desert that Dad grew up in as a kid), destructive betrayal (Loving Dad goes mad, kills daughter and tries to kill the rest of the family), and a dormant evil waiting to be unleashed.

Taken from the cover of "The Town" (Signet, 2000)
“Almost immediately after they unwittingly move into an old farmhouse where a deranged man once murdered his family and committed suicide, the Tomasovs are transformed. The two younger children become obsessed with the shadows inside the home's bathhouse, shadows that eat dead animals, torment children and kill mercilessly. As the deaths mount and small-town life becomes more dangerous and freakish, residents begin to blame the Tomasovs, whom they believe carry some kind of curse. Not until the terrifying finale, which takes place during a sandstorm and blackout, does everyone realize the evil's roots.”

Taken from the cover of "The Summoning" (Kensington, 1993)
“Like the desert that surrounded the dusty Arizona town of Rio verde–population ten thousand–the first dead body was found completely dry, purged of all blood. The sheriff, the state police, even the FBI thought it was the work of a serial killer; a case that could be solved by routine investigation. No one in Rio Verde wanted to believe in monsters..”.

Taken from the cover of "The Revelation" ( Signet, 1999)
“Strange things are happening in the quiet town of Randall, Arizona. The local minister vanishes, his church defiled by blasphemous obscenities scrawled in blood...A crazed old woman in her eighties becomes pregnant...Herds of animals are discovered butchered in a field...And one by one, the good folks in town are falling to the same unspeakable fate...”

Readers tend to appreciate Little’s quirky style and original twists on old horror favorites. If you haven’t already, check him out. If nothing else, you’ll see the state of Arizona in a whole new light.