The Harvest

Julia Stone's past comes creeping back when she discovers a strange silver ring, and three men want to help her--but choosing the wrong one could cost not only her heart but her soul.

THE SKULL RING

Dr. Pamela Forrest is determined to bring Julia's memories to the surface, hoping to heal Julia's panic disorder. The therapist keeps returning Julia to a night twenty-three years ago when Julia was four. A night of hooded figures, strange chants, pain, and blood. The night her father disappeared from the face of the earth.

But the line between the past and the present begins to blur when Julia finds a silver skull ring that bears the name "Judas Stone." Someone is leaving strange messages inside her house, even though the door is locked. The handyman, who has a key, spends a lot of time in the woods behind her house. Her boyfriend Mitchell becomes distant and violent. And the cop who investigated her father's disappearance has followed her to the small Appalachian town of Elkwood.

Now she has a head full of memories, but she doesn't know which are real and which are the creations of Dr. Forrest. The shadows of Julia's panic are growing larger and darker. But succumbing to madness seems safer than heeding the whispers that claim ownership of her body and soul.

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DRM-free. A psychological thriller from the bestselling author of LIQUID FEAR, DISINTEGRATION, CRIME BEAT, THE RED CHURCH, SPEED DATING WITH THE DEAD, and more. Visit Scott Nicholson at www.hauntedcomputer.com.

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"A wonderful storyteller."-Sharyn McCrumb, author of The Ballad novels

"Always surprises and always entertains."--Jonathan Maberry, The Dragon Factory

"The Skull Ring creates unforgettable settings and characters. Nicholson weaves together fear and hope, cloaking his readers in palpable suspense."--Eric Wilson, NY Times best-selling novelist

"Scott Nicholson is a terrific writer. Like Stephen King, he has an eye and ear for the rhythms of rural America, and like King he knows how to summon serious scares. My advice? Buy everything he writes. This guy's the real deal.."--Bentley Little, His Father's Son

"Keep both hands on your pants, because Nicholson is about to scare them off."--J.A. Konrath, author of Shaken

"A chilling, suspense-filled psychological thriller." --Vicki Tyley, Thin Blood

A forgotten chamber secreted beneath a river. An ancient evil that lies slumbering in the dark. A guardian determined to fulfill his duty to his last, dying breath.

As something dark and deadly takes to the skies over Harrington Falls, Jake Caruso and his friends, Sam Travers and Katelynn Riley, find themselves drawn into a primeval conflict set in motion centuries before. When fresh blood is spilled and the death toll mounts, these three friends will find themselves faced with a terror beyond imagination, one that will require every vestige of their strength, faith, and determination to confront.


PRAISE FOR RIVERWATCH
Nominated for the International Horror Guild Award for Outstanding Achievement in a First Novel

Nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel

"A modern gothic thriller...scary...remarkable." - Denver Rocky Mountain News

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joseph Nassise is the author of more than a dozen novels, including the internationally bestselling TEMPLAR CHRONICLES series, the JEREMIAH HUNT trilogy, and the GREAT UNDEAD WAR series. He has also written several books in the popular Rogue Angel action-adventure series.

He is a multiple Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award nominee and his work has been translated into half a dozen languages to date. He has written for both the comic and role-playing game industries and also served two terms as president of the Horror Writers Association, the world's largest organization of professional horror and dark fantasy writers.

For more information about Joe's work, visit him on the web at josephnassise.com.

At Mile 81 on the Maine turnpike is a boarded up rest stop, a place where high school kids drink and get into the kind of trouble high school kids have always gotten into. It’s the place where Pete Simmons goes when his older brother, who’s supposed to be looking out for him, heads off to the gravel pit to play “paratroopers over the side.” Pete, armed only with the magnifying glass he got for his tenth birthday, finds a discarded bottle of vodka in the boarded up burger shack and drinks enough to pass out.

Not much later, a mud-covered station wagon (which is strange because there hadn’t been any rain in New England for over a week) veers into the Mile 81 rest area, ignoring the sign that says “closed, no services.” The driver’s door opens but nobody gets out.

Doug Clayton, an insurance man from Bangor, is driving his Prius to a conference in Portland. On the backseat are his briefcase and suitcase and in the passenger bucket is a King James Bible, what Doug calls “the ultimate insurance manual,” but it isn’t going to save Doug when he decides to be the Good Samaritan and help the guy in the broken down wagon. He pulls up behind it, puts on his four-ways, and then notices that the wagon has no plates.

When they stop for the afternoon in sleepy Lone Cone (Pop. 317), theyre charmed by the quaint tourist town which is filled with B&Bs, candy stores, and gift shops.

But the folksy hospitality will vanish as the sun drops behind the mountains. A winter storm is approaching, and the Stahls couldnt have picked a worse night of the year to get snowed into this perfect little town with a dark, dark secret.

From the author of Desert Places, Abandon, and Serial Uncut comes this 12,000-word horror novella, which also contains an interview with Blake, excerpts from his novels, and a bonus excerpt of Serial Uncut.

Deep in the mountain caves of Blair Long lurks a band of monsters - half-human creatures hideously mutated after generations of inbreeding. This is the dark secret of a remote Highland village - a secret kept safe until a local fisherman builds some holiday chalets to attract tourists. Then the shameful conspiracy of silence is shattered at last - as the horrendous creatures shamble from their lair to mutilate and kill the unsuspecting visitors.

"Olsen will have you on the edge of your seat." --Lee Child

The first time was easy. No one ever suspected the victim had been murdered. The crime long buried, the dark passions guiding the killer's hand are still alive. But the need for revenge cannot be denied. Only one person can stop the killing. Only one person can identify the killer. Only one person knows the face of death--is as close as the face in the mirror. . .

"Wickedly clever! Twisted."--Lisa Gardner

"Olsen writes rapid-fire page-turners." --Seattle Times