John L. Davis IV

 

Stories have played an important part of John L. Davis, IV’s life since his youth. He recalls reading stories such as Where the Wild Things Are and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs over and over. Then he began to read books like Dear Mr. Henshaw, Bridge to Terabithia, The Girl with the Silver Eyes, A Wrinkle in Time and so many others. These books fanned the literary flame, and he began to read more than ever before. He attributes his love of reading to his mother, who was a voracious reader and actively encouraged him to read as well.

The more he read, the more he himself wanted to tell stories. First, writing them out by hand, his mom eventually purchased an old electric typewriter for him when he was about 14 years old. On this he wrote the beginning of numerous novels, several short stories and many poems.

Though he dabbled with writing over the years he didn’t get serious with it until about 2014 and that was on a bet that he could write a better zombie story than what was wildly popular on television at the time. (He believes he succeeded but that’s entirely up to the reader.)

That novella was the beginning of the American Revenant series (now collected in Omnibus form) but it was also the beginning of becoming the storyteller he was always meant to be.

Now, with several novels, many short stories, a ream of poems and even a few short film scripts to his name, he doesn’t intend to slow down any time soon.

Influenced by authors such as Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and F. Paul Wilson, just to name a few, John writes stories he feels compelled to tell. Whether they are horror, suspense thriller, or something else entirely, he doesn’t put himself or his works into any one box. The love of story, of character and the telling of a tale is what drives him, and genre constraints only really serve to hold back what might be something special.

On this, he says, “I don't write in any one genre. I can't. There are too many stories to tell. Horror, science-fiction, action thriller, fantasy, and more. I'll write the story that needs written, no matter where it fits on the shelf.”

John currently lives in the town that served as Samuel Clemens’ boyhood home, Hannibal, Missouri, with his wife, two daughters and their dog, Pixie.

With a newly renovated garage as his library and writing space, John is now at hard work on a handful of writing projects with many more stories to come.

John L. Davis IV

Cover of "The Walk" by John Davis. A man walking through the darkness towards a light in the distance

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Jerome Andries

John L. Davis IV is a natural storyteller! He's one of the rare authors that can tell a great story and make it feel natural. These books kept me busy for quite some time and I wouldn't mind reading them a second time when I get a chance.

Shannon

From zombies and post-apocalyptic fiction to short stories, John L. Davis IV weaves some great tales. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

Verified Buyer

John L. Davis (IV) is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Searching for Stephen King – In a bleak post-apocalyptic world, one man’s obsession with the books of a once-popular author may prove to be his undoing.

The Mass – Years of blackouts and severe headaches leave Phillip Grey helpless in the middle of the road. What doctors discover inside his skull could change his very psyche.

Fat Jack - A man on a mission to exact revenge on the murderer that killed his family. With Fat Jack, vengeance carries some weight.

Mountain Nightmare - A Christmas Tale - A weary father struggles to keep his children safe, warm and entertained during Christmastime inside a tiny mountain cabin during a brutally cold winter while something other than the wind howls in the forest outside their four walls.

Tuck your feet under the covers, turn the lights up bright and prepare yourself for 19 unsettling tales of terror. Post-apocalyptic horrors, murderous demons, ravenous zombies, twisted tales of revenge and much more.

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The American Heartland is now covered with dust and littered with bones, how it happened nearly forgotten. The few who survive in this desolate wasteland do so in tiny villages, walled in and protected, as much as they can be, from thieves, murderers, marauders.

When the pump that brings them life-sustaining water begins to fail, the villagers of Payull send one of their own to retrieve a new pump from another town that is several days walk away.

Every footstep outside the confines of the village is taking a chance that death will follow. What the runner finds at the end of her journey could easily bring ruin to her village. Without the pump, her village will die. Aided by her friend and companion, who was supposed to stay behind, she has to make a choice.

Get what she came for or turn and run?

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The American Revenant Boxed Set - This specially-priced bundle collects the entire American Revenant series together in one volume.Hometown ExodusSettlers and SorrowThe Monster in ManDead SouthThe Unknown RoadFamily – A ShortAbout American Revenant : Rural America watched as the cities burned, hoping that the plague would stay away from the smaller communities. Their hope gave way to fear as the bodies piled up, followed by air-burst nuclear weapons. Soon after, the dead rose, and no where on earth was safe from the hordes of living dead. Not even America’s Hometown, the boyhood home of Mark Twain, Hannibal, Missouri. In Hannibal, a group had formed, people who had spent years preparing for an impending disaster. Despite all their preparations, they weren’t ready for zombies. No one was. Their only hope of survival was to get away from their small town, to someplace less populated, safer, easier to defend.To find a new home they would have to navigate a town full of people that wanted to kill them, both the living and the living dead.Read the entire thrilling American Revenant saga in one complete volume! Read the entire thrilling American Revenant saga in one complete volume!

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When Paul Kane loses his last surviving family member he feels alone. His two closest friends are the only thing tethering him to the world – until they’re murdered in their beds.

Legal technicalities allow two of the three murderers to go free - Paul takes justice into his own hands.

Detective Andrea Reese-Muller is tasked with bringing Paul in. As she works to take yet another criminal off the streets, she’s forced to face her own dark secret, one that gives her special insight into the mind of a vigilante.

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The zombies are constantly mutating. The dry and crackling Huskers, the putrid Funkers with the flesh sagging from their bodies, the Sprinters with their snapping teeth, or the plain-old shambling dead.

Then you have the Sores. They’re human, but just barely. They live to kill, eat, and mate. Little more than animals on two legs, though some seem to have retained the basic skills to create fire or use tools. They’re dangerous, but predictable.

There are even rumors of creatures far worse than the Sores or zombies; monstrosities so distorted and unreal they can only be myth. Scavengers and travelers never know what they’ll face.

Though it’s little more than a collection of burned out cars and rickety buildings surrounded by a sturdy makeshift wall, Junction is a safe haven in the land of the dead.

At least, that’s what everyone believed until they’re betrayed by one of their own.

Tales of Junction is unlike any zombie story you’ve ever read. Get it today!

Melinda Rae, Editor/Former English Teacher – “I'm loving it! I wasn't sure, but the story sucked me in. I never read or watch anything like this.”

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Thousands of young girls are taken and sold into slavery every year. When Joe Pruitt witnesses a kidnapping, his first reaction is to do something to stop it. Now he’s caught in the middle of a living nightmare and help isn’t just a phone call away. Tough city cop, hardened soldier, martial-arts master, Joe Pruitt is none of those things, and he knows it. Joe must prove to the kidnappers, the kidnapped girls, and to himself that he can be far more than just an average guy, because, if he can’t, his own daughter is next on the list. Read this taught, intense thriller that challenges the idea of what it means to be a hero.

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In a bleak post-apocalyptic world, one man’s obsession with the books of a once-popular author may prove to be his undoing.

Searching for Stephen King was originally collected in the book Searching for Stephen King and Other Stories, which was later renamed Dark Doors. This story can still be found within that collection.

With the addition of 5 hand-drawn pieces of art from notable Scottish artist, Kaylee Paterson, this story has been given a chance to stand on its own. Combined, the story and art create an even more impactful tale of one man’s literary obsession and the horrors he must face in search of it.

Included in this special Artist’s Edition are a forward by photographer and artist Paul Michael Kane, a new introduction from the author and exclusive interviews with John Davis and Kaylee Paterson

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Poetry, in its varied forms, has been around for nearly as long as humans have attempted to communicate. From the “Epic of Gilgamesh” to Brown’s “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” long-form poetry delivers weighty narrative in gentle rhythms. Alternately, Ezra Pound’s, “In a Station of the Metro” and Emily Dickinson’s, ‘That it will never come again’, convey their emotion in brevity at only 2 lines each. Long or short, poetry is an integral part of the human discourse.
Though some poetry has well-defined rules, there are just as many ways a poem can break those rules and become its own being. You won’t find much in the way of structured verse in this volume. Although, you will find many pieces that do just exactly what poetry is meant to do: make you feel. However fleeting that feeling may be, poetry can often elicit deeply moving experiences within just a few stanzas. Passion. Pain. Joy. Terror. Laughter. Misery. Love. It’s here, within these pages. Do you feel it, too?
Featuring 11 pieces of art, drawn by 11 phenomenal artists to coincide with a poem they were given.

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