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How did I come to write Reciprocal Evil?

I am about to release my longest work to date: RECIPROCAL EVIL.

The story, in a nutshell, is told in the blurb:

There’s a serial killer on the loose. And he might be working for the Devil…

Student Chris Jones is obsessed with finding meaning in his life. Researching the historical existence of evil, he falls down the rabbit hole, becoming deeply affected by the darkness in our world. He forgets about classwork and, most of all, his relationship with his girlfriend Rachel suffers. After a gruesome murder on campus, things get even worse.

Because the night before, Chris dreamed about it.

He dreamed about the rape, the knife wounds, the agonizing cries. He experienced it vividly — from the killer’s perspective. Why is he experiencing this? Is it related to his research? The terror on campus ramps up as Rachel’s roommate goes missing… just as Chris comes face to face with a killer. The killer who died years ago.

What is the entity’s game? How does it involve Chris? And even more frightening: What does this evil being want with Rachel? Chris’s life isn’t the only thing he has to put on the line. He could risk the love of his life. He could risk his very soul…

I sometimes wonder about people writing horror. There’s some twisted stuff out there. Extreme horror graphically describes tortures and mutilations and disgusting acts in an effort to shock the reader. When it succeeds, it can be good. I’ve read a bit of it and thought maybe I could write it, but in the end, I just can’t. I pull my punches too much, I guess. I can’t describe the unspeakable acts that some of them do.

But I don’t assume that the writers of such horror are “turned on” or whatever by the sadistic and grotesque acts they write about. They just tell stories for readers who like that sort of thing.

So how did I write this story? How did I write THE INN and THE CAVE? The latter of those two was about a group of eighth graders who discover a cave and find out that it’s something – more – than a cave. THE INN was about a group of high school kids going on a band trip and staying in a creepy motel where bad things happen. THE CAVE was inspired by Richard Laymon’s novel THE TRAVELING VAMPIRE SHOW, and the THE INN was inspired by William Malmborg’s TEXT MESSAGE. There is a threat, and it involves the kids. I hope they’re scary, but I also hope that my readers connect with my characters. I made them as real as I could.

RECIPROCAL EVIL was inspired by an Edward Lee novel I read a number of years ago called CITY INFERNAL. In it Hell is a real place, called Mephistopolis or something like that, and is powered by suffering. I took that idea sort of literally in this story, too. But I made my antagonist one of the providers of that power for Hell. And I made my protagonist a college student who is studying the nature of evil, and is pursuing this study outside of his normal chemistry and physics classes. It is affecting him; how could immersing one’s self in discussions of the nature of evil not affect someone? But it’s also affecting those around him. It’s drawing something evil toward him, perhaps, and therefore it is drawing the evil into the proximity of his closest friends.

The book starts in a Chemistry lecture that is modeled on my own freshman year chem lecture (except that Chris, my main character is a junior – so it’s not THAT class). The rest of the story takes place in locations that are inspired by real locations at my own college. That’s ancient history, but the library was spooky enough to be used as a location in the original version of FLATLINERS. And some of the dorms and classroom buildings intrigued me (in a spooky way) when I was there. They don’t necessarily figure in the story, but the ambience they lent to the campus is definitely part of what I tried to incorporate.

I didn’t outline the story; I just sort of started writing about Chris Jones, and it sort of just came to me as I wrote. I knew it was going to feature a serial killer, but at first I didn’t know how it would relate to Chris, and I just sort of went with the flow. The end result is the story you can read very soon. I hope you choose to download it, and I hope you enjoy it! Thanks!

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RECIPROCAL EVIL – Prologue

Please enjoy this teaser for my upcoming novel, RECIPROCAL EVIL.

PROLOGUE

“It is magnificent, is it not?” The handsome bearded man held the younger girl’s arm as if supporting her, and guided her into the nave of the old church. She didn’t look around, nor did she answer. She wore a long cloak that looked too warm for the day’s temperature.

“These Europeans knew how to build churches. Without doubt. A perfect place for such a momentous ceremony. Are you not excited, my dear?”

Again, no answer came. The girl stumbled as he released his grip on her. He placed his arm around her waist again, holding her up.

“Be careful! We wouldn’t want you to fall and suffer pain.” The man chuckled. “Plenty of time for suffering later.” He looked toward the altar. “Hello!” he called. “Anyone here?”

The church was empty, as he knew it would be. His lords and masters would make certain that no one would be present to interfere with the ceremony.

“It is a long walk to the altar. I wish I had thought to bring along a wheelchair to help you, my dear. As it is, however, you’ll have to walk. Never fear. I will help you.” He looked at his young companion. She looked lovely, even clad in the cloak. Her reddish-blond hair was full and long, and her greenish eyes were deep pools of beauty, even if they were unfocused due to the drugs he had administered.

Too unfocused? Perhaps I gave her a bit too much of the compliance drug?

No matter. She had already agreed to her participation in the ceremony. The hour was almost upon them, and he had only a few more preparations to make, mostly involving her placement on the altar.

He looked at her fondly. If he was capable of love, he may have loved this exquisite creature. As it was, he enjoyed her. And now she would be given to others to enjoy in manners that he could only imagine. And he would be rewarded for presenting her to them…

“You always wanted to walk down the aisle, my dear. Even though we say we are married, you have never made this walk. I wish you were more…aware. You might savor the moment.” He chuckled again, and they made their way to the front of the church, where he helped her up the steps and guided her to the front of the altar. He reached to her neck where the cloak was buttoned, and he unhooked the clasp. The dark garment fell to the ground, revealing a short white diaphanous gown.

“Perfect!” he smiled as he stepped back, taking her beauty in. “Lovely!” The gown hugged her figure in all of the right places, billowing around her hips and thighs.

He ran his hands over the young woman’s body, then, grasping her waist, lifted her onto the altar. “Lie down, my dear.”

The girl followed his instructions, stretching out on her back and placing her arms at her sides. The man smoothed her gown around her body and lifted her arms onto her stomach, crossing them there. He opened the bag which hung from his shoulder and withdrew two lengths of soft black rope. He used the first to bind her wrists and the second to tie her ankles.

“Comfortable?” he asked her. “Not too tight?”

She did not respond.

He nodded as if she had, removed a large black leather-bound book from the bag and placed it at her hip. Opening it, he extended his arms over her and chanted words that sounded much like a prayer. Just like the masses that are usually said in this place, he thought as he finished the first part of the ritual. He knew that if anyone was to come in and see him, they would assume he was a priest performing a service in private.

He waited, and so did his lovely faux-bride.

When he sensed that the time was right, he injected her with a counter-agent to reverse the effects of the drug he had administered earlier in her drink. She had not been aware that he had drugged her; she had simply become more and more compliant until the drug hit its full potential.

Oh, the things she would do while under the influence of that miracle drug…

But none of that mattered now. What mattered was that she was conscious and aware as he finished the ceremony. He watched as her eyes focused, looked at him and then at her surroundings and realized her predicament.

“What…?” she began, but he shushed her.

It’s time, my love,” he said. “This is the culmination of all that we’ve gone through. The time is right, the location is right, and you are right…”

He placed a hand on her forehead, holding her down against the altar as he intoned the words he had memorized so well. As he finished, he looked down at her and saw the fear in her eyes. He smiled.

There’s nothing to be afraid of here, my dear,” he reassured her. “But soon, your fear will do you no good.”

A shimmering on the left of the altar drew his attention, and he almost laughed. “It worked! I knew it would! Let us go, my dear, and hope that it is not a cell in Romania!”

He lifted her easily from her resting place. She didn’t resist as he carried her to the shimmering air, and both handsome man and beautiful young woman disappeared into thin air as he stepped into the shimmer…

If that sounds interesting, sign up for the mailing list to know when RECIPROCAL EVIL is released at special limited time pricing. Or just watch this page or like my page on Facebook, where information will also be posted.

Happy reading!

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RECIPROCAL EVIL Cover Reveal!

My novel, RECIPROCAL EVIL, will be released either Friday, November 9th, or Monday, November 12th. I’m excited; it’s the first new release I’ve had in a couple of years. It’s my longest work to date, clocking in at over 50K words. What’s it about, you ask?

There’s a serial killer on the loose. And he might be working for the Devil…

Student Chris Jones is obsessed with finding meaning in his life. Researching the historical existence of evil, he falls down the rabbit hole, becoming deeply affected by the darkness in our world. He forgets about classwork and, most of all, his relationship with his girlfriend Rachel suffers. After a gruesome murder on campus, things get even worse.

Because the night before, Chris dreamed about it.

He dreamed about the rape, the knife wounds, the agonizing cries. He experienced it vividly — from the killer’s perspective. Why is he experiencing this? Is it related to his research? The terror on campus ramps up as Rachel’s roommate goes missing… just as Chris comes face to face with a killer. The killer who died years ago.

What is the entity’s game? How does it involve Chris? And even more frightening: What does this evil being want with Rachel? Chris’s life isn’t the only thing he has to put on the line. He could risk the love of his life. He could risk his very soul…

Doesn’t that sound good? I hope so!

So: Onto the cover!

Ready?

Here it is…

Watch for special release pricing of RECIPROCAL EVIL! Coming very soon!

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DIE 6 is no longer free…but you can still buy it for $0.99!

So I gave away 54 copies of DIE 6, a book that hasn’t really sold much, no matter how proud I am of the stories in it. One of my favorites, titled “Blood Ties,” was a fun and fast write. I dreamed the premise. I remember the dream vaguely now, just that it was about someone asking a ghost about where some buried loot was or something like that. When I woke up, I made a mental note of the idea, and later started writing it.

The story is that this psychic is in trouble with a loan shark and stumbles across a magazine article that talks about a bank robbery from the 1920’s. After a little investigation, he finds that the suspect (who was never jailed for it) is dead, killed in a hit and run accident (an unusual event back when cars were new, I’d guess, but pedestrians definitely got killed in accidents back then). So he starts to research it, and visits the guy’s grave, where he meets a beautiful young lady who turns out to be the robber’s great-granddaughter. From there, it was pure fun. I tried to write my main character with more than a little snark in his attitude, but with a good heart. My loan shark bad guy is a caricature, for sure. But he was fun to write as well.

I also included one about the Tooth Fairy being caught by an adolescent who is late losing his baby teeth. That one’s short (about 2500 words) but it was fun to imagine the world of the Dentata (the tooth fairy race). I read something like it on Reddit not too long ago, but I thought mine was still better!

Three of them were written for a contest back in the Delphi days. Ancient history, perhaps. Two of them were sort of SF, one with transferring one’s being to the computer, and the other with time travel. The computer-y one was very dated and took a lot of rewriting, almost to the point where it was a new story. The time travel one worked for the most part as it was. So did the horror story, THE GHOST TRAIN, set in Addison Falls, our shared setting back in the Horror Discussion Group (Custom Forum #235) days of Delphi. Of course, all of these were edited for style, grammar, and length (most became longer).

Anyway, I always felt that DIE 6 deserved at least a few readers. Now it has at least 54 potential new readers, presuming that most of them read something they downloaded for free.

Thanks if you downloaded it, and please, sign up for the mailing list.

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I’m giving away another one!

Starting tomorrow, October 30, my short story collection DIE 6 will be free for two days and two days only!

The short story collection contains:

AN ARTIFICIAL YEARNING – a young man meets the girl of his dreams online, and yearns to take the next step – meeting in person. But the love of his life is not what he expected…

BLOOD TIES – a psychic who is in debt to the wrong people sees a way out if he can talk to the ghost of a bank robber and find the money that was stolen. Of course, it’s never as easy as it sounds…

THE TOOTH FAIRY – Perion, queen of the Dentata, is captured by a boy whose tooth she has come to collect, and tries to make a deal for her freedom, the cost of which is extremely high…

THE FUN HOUSE – Natalie is stuck taking her little brother to the carnival, but when they enter the Fun House, they experience the thrills and chills of their young lives…this Fun House is a little too real…

TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS – When a woman shows up at Joseph’s door with an unbelievable story, he is left with no other choice but to accept it when agents from the future attack both of them in his time. His only escape – to travel to the future himself and attempt to set things right…

THE GHOST TRAIN – Three high school students in Addison Falls try to solve the mystery of both the strange dreams they are having and the reappearance of a “Ghost Train” passing directly through their mall. The answers are found in the past…

These are three older and three newer stories, and I’m proud of them They range in length from about 2500 words to almost 11,000 words. They’re not all horror – two are more science fiction and two straddle the lines between genres, I think – but they’re all pretty fun. Grab them tomorrow!

6 short stories, 123 pages

DIE 6, free from Tuesday October 30 to Wednesday October 31!

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The Cave free promotion is over!

Thank you for downloading my novella, THE CAVE. All in all, I gave away 152 copies. Not great, but not terrible by my standards. If you grabbed one, and you aren’t already on my mailing list, please sign up! I will give you either THE STRIKER FILES or 14 DARK WINDOWS for free for signing up. (DIE 6 is going to be my next free promotion, so I won’t give you that one, and I’m assuming you just downloaded THE CAVE.)

Upcoming books include RECIPROCAL EVIL, a short novel featuring a supernatural serial killer, ODD MAN OUT, a novella-length expansion of the short story, and THE NEVER ENDING NIGHT, also a novella about evil in the neighborhood.

FYI, THE CAVE costs $1.49 if you buy it, so it isn’t like getting it for free will save you a fortune. And I’m still including it as a giveaway for signing up for my mailing list, if you missed the free promotion!

Take care and thank you all!

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Today’s the day! THE CAVE is free!

THE CAVE is free from today, 10/19/18 to Sunday, 10/21/18.

Grab it! Don’t forget to sign up for the mailing list, either from this blog, or from the link in the book if you like what you read. Thank you!

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THE CAVE free 10/19/18 to 10/21/18

THE CAVE will be free from Friday, October 19, 2018 to Sunday, October 21, 2018.

Here’s the description:

WHEN IS A CAVE NOT A CAVE?

While exploring the woods near their bike trails, four soon-to-be eighth grade boys make an exciting discovery: a real cave! Of course they decide to explore it, and they make a pact to keep it as their very own secret.

But Steve breaks the pact in order to win the attention of the neighborhood girl that they all dream about: Gina Lawson. To their surprise, Gina wants in on their adventure. As the five of them explore further and deeper, they begin to realize that their cave is not simply a cave – but does the strange pocket of darkness merely pose serious danger, or does true evil lurk within?

A 25,000 word horror novella mixing teenage exuberance with a touch of the macabre. (Contains adult themes and some adult language.)

Grab your copy then, and don’t forget to sign up for my mailing list to get another free book! Choose from between 14 DARK WINDOWS, DIE 6, and THE STRIKER FILES.

I hope you enjoy it!

THE CAVE

The Cave has been reissued!

Maybe that’s a bit too grand — it really hasn’t been reissued, it’s just been cleaned up and given a new cover.

It’s still a bargain at $1.49. It tells the story of four neighborhood boys who like to ride bikes and on their adventures, they discover a cave. But it’s not exactly a cave — it’s something more sinister. And it’s looking for something from them. Something guaranteed to give them nightmares.

Here’s the new cover:

THE CAVE

You can buy this 25 thousand word novella at Amazon at this link: THE CAVE

Thanks for checking it out!

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