A lonely widow is romanced by a “brilliantly portrayed” pathological killer in this novel by the National Book Award–winning author of them (The New York Times)*. Dorothea Deverell is a New England art historian working for a Boston museum, resigned to entering middle age alone—until she’s swept off her feet by the flattery of a charming younger man who calls her his soul mate. Colin Asch is swept away too. He admires Dorothea’s gentle nature, innate goodness, decency, and acceptance of others without judgment. She’s nothing at all like the people Colin has met before—and murdered. A self-appointed “Angel of Death,” Colin is determined to keep Dorothea happy—by eliminating anyone who gets in the way of his plan. They’ll be clever kills, untraceable and fast as a knife-slash to the throat. Each one will bring him closer to the woman he loves. And by the time Dorothea discovers what horrors passion has wrought, she’ll be in so deep, so dark, that giving in might be her only chance of survival. This novel, called “a hair-raiser” by Elmore Leonard, comes from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of We Were the Mulvaneys, a four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and recipient of the O. Henry Award, the National Book Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. In Soul/Mate, “it is clear from the start that we are in Joyce Carol Oates territory, for the book is stamped with her hallmarks—her complex, detailed prose; her fascination with violence; her obsessive concern with rendering not so much action as the way action haunts the hidden consciousness of her characters” (The New York Times).*

After going to a reading of a will, John inherits a mansion, land and treasure, But the treasure has a curse! Find out what happens in this short story.I was asked to be a guest speaker at an elementary school and this idea came form the kids from Mr. Barnhurst's 5th grade class.John is a farmer but after a distant relative died he was asked to attend the reading of the will. He was bequeathed a house, land and treasure! But there's a catch. Gypsys want the treasure and there will be consequences if they don't get it. Read what happens in this short story.

A young boy named Francis finds himself in his room one night after years of reading high thrilling and chilling novels, and isn’t sure what to make of a certain experience that follows only minutes after hearing three knocks on his bedroom door.When the human mind begins to experience a certain level of media, fiction, or other forms of prevarication, they slowly lose their ability to reason and sort through the information correctly. Such events will take place throughout a person's life where they won’t be able to tell if something is real or not; this is thanks to our desire to consume and experience things that remove us from our everyday lives. The unworldly is an addiction, and like every addict, people build up a tolerance to said addiction, and soon, they might not be able to separate a fantasy from reality. In a rather twisted way, this story takes a look into exactly what this could mean when a young boy named Francis finds himself in his room one night after years of reading high thrilling and chilling novels, and isn’t sure what to make of a certain experience that follows only minutes after hearing three knocks on his bedroom door.

In Washington, D.C., Former LAPD rogue detective Nicholas Marten has come out of hiding to hunt down the killers of his childhood sweetheart.  The wife of a controversial United States congressman, she and her husband and son were mysteriously murdered soon after the congressman discovered a massive clandestine bioweapons program. In Europe to meet with distinguished heads of state prior to a crucial NATO summit in Warsaw, US President John Henry Harris may well face the same deadly fate.  A secret cabal within his own administration orders Harris to have the president of France and the chancellor of Germany assassinated. Refusal, he knows, will mean his death. Afraid to trust anyone, even his Secret Service protectors, the President flees for his life. Pursued by the Secret Service, the CIA, and Spanish Intelligence who believe he is the victim of foul play, Harris joins forces with Nicholas Marten and the beautiful but enigmatic French photo-journalist, Demi Picard. Together the three uncover one of the most secretive and brutally powerful groups the world has ever known, a brotherhood of blood that will stop at nothing to realize their own depraved ambitions. The assassination of world leaders, a genocidal attack on a major civilian populace with of weapons of mass destruction -- nothing is beyond them.  The origin of their evil reaches back to the Renaissance when the dying political thinker Niccolo Machiavelli fashioned a sinister addendum to his most infamous work, The Prince. Titled simply The Covenant, it is a terrifying blueprint for the gaining and keeping of true political power. For five hundred years this despotic order of thesupremely rich and powerful has kept Machiavelli's original manuscript hidden away under heavy guard, the document itself worshiped like some divine artifact. Bonded by complicity in ritual murder and dedicated to a singular vision of global domination, over the centuries they have prospered far beyond any dreams of power and avarice. Outmanned, outnumbered, outgunned, three people now stand alone against it: Nicholas Marten, Demi Picard and John Henry Harris, President of the United States.

Resisting those who would use a revolutionary new technology for unethical purposes, doctor David Tennant and psychiatrist Rachel Weiss run for their lives from ruthless NSA agents and turn to David's unusual dreams for guidance.

In Reborn (6/90), Jim discovered the ancient evil that lurked within his past. Now Jonah, his only son, is the bearer of the horror. Jonah is biding his time, keeping his true identity a secret and waiting for the time when he can carry out the mission he was born for: to bring about the end of the world.

It's the dead of night.A man wakes up on a speeding train only to find his carriage empty. As his commute home continues, he grows suspicious of the apparent nothingness outside his window. After his gut tells him something's not quite right, he wonders if his carriage is the only one void of life and embarks on a personal journey through a bleak and desolate train.Where will the ride end?There's a fine line between love and hate...~*~Meet Eleanor Fyer, a 16 year old girl. Rich. Snobby. And failing her classes. Now meet Samuel Rose, a 16-year-old boy. Fourth-smartest student in the school, a nerd with a capital N. Thrown together in a completely disastrous start, Eleanor knows for sure that their relationship is bound to become chaotic. Having Samuel Rose as her personal tutor is definitely a mistake.Throw in an obsessive friend, a quirky transfer student, finding assistance in the least likely people, and some awkward situations, who knows how it will end? As new bonds are created, secrets shared, and barriers taken down, maybe their relationship can blossom into something more.

You ever thought about applying for a job you see in the paper. Ever wonder what psycho might be lurking behind the innocent words. A bloody thrill ride into a world of murder and madness. Leave sanity at the door. You've just walked into something you won't survive.It’s Volume 4 of TIW shorts! The fourth collection and possibly the last of totally pointless exactly 500 Challenge and exactly 200 Weekend Quickie flash fiction stories/scenes word nonsense (plus a few specials, relays, newsflashes from the TIW blog and collaborations) to entertain you while doing whatever you do when reading. For myself, it was a long and tricky half year in The Iron Writer. Through troubles and difficulties, there was always the TIW Challenge waiting for me.I hope you enjoy these short snippets just as much as I enjoyed writing them, and thanks again to Brian and all the other Iron Writers for allowing me into their community…I wouldn’t.

The destiny of a person is in most cases well planned and executed but for Leonard his life and destiny was twisted by abuse and the inner fight between the light of good and the darkness of the curse of his father’s sin. Leonard’s choices in life are guided by his passion to right the wrongs of his father’s life. The question then is will his destiny end up destroying him?Leonard a little boy was born in so much hate and pain. His father was the rapist of his mother and his mother the abuser of this little boy. He grow-up in a house where his Grandma was his only guiding light and Jillian, his adopted mother, loved him with all their hart. Leonard battled the darkness in his life and worked hard to change his life to overcome the curse and legacy of his father. Leonard became the change he wanted to see in the world with his destiny becoming twisted and intertwined with deceit and death. Would he be able to change the circle of abuse and death or would everything be in vain. This story is written to give hope and show people that by becoming the change you want to see in the world that your legacy my just save that one person that will change the world.

Jamie just wants to buy a little dope, make some money before his dad finds out. Unfortunately, that means he has to deal with freaks like Lyle...A "coming-of-age" story, with a twist (more like a sheepshank).Jamie is about to enter the murky world of drug-dealing, which means he has to associate with crazies like Lyle.One night in the life of a young man about to step over the line...and has no idea what awaits him.A cautionary tale...that also happens to be funny as hell.

It is the week before Christmas and Dr Kay Scarpetta has offered her services pro bono to New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. But in no time at all, her increased visibility seems to precipitate a string of dramatic and unsettling events. She is asked live on the air about the sensational case of Hannah Starr, who has vanished and is presumed dead. Moments later during the same broadcast, she receives a startling call-in from a former psychiatric patient of Benton Wesley’s. When she returns after the show to the apartment where she and Benton live, she finds a suspicious package - possibly a bomb - waiting for her at the front desk. Soon the apparent threat on Scarpetta’s life finds her embroiled in a deadly plot that includes a famous actor accused of an unthinkable sex crime and the disappearance of a beautiful millionairess with whom Scarpetta's niece Lucy seems to have shared a secret past….

A smart, tight, provocative techno-thriller straight out of the very near future—by an iconic visionary writer Some people call it "abyss gaze." Gaze into the abyss all day and the abyss will gaze into you. There are two types of people who think professionally about the future: foresight strategists are civil futurists who think about geo-engineering and smart cities and ways to evade Our Coming Doom; strategic forecasters are spook futurists, who think about geopolitical upheaval and drone warfare and ways to prepare clients for Our Coming Doom. The former are paid by nonprofits and charities, the latter by global security groups and corporate think tanks. For both types, if you're good at it, and you spend your days and nights doing it, then it's something you can't do for long. Depression sets in. Mental illness festers. And if the "abyss gaze" takes hold there's only one place to recover: Normal Head, in the wilds of Oregon, within the secure perimeter of an experimental forest. When Adam Dearden, a foresight strategist, arrives at Normal Head, he is desperate to unplug and be immersed in sylvan silence. But then a patient goes missing from his locked bedroom, leaving nothing but a pile of insects in his wake. A staff investigation ensues; surveillance becomes total. As the mystery of the disappeared man unravels in Warren Ellis's Normal, Dearden uncovers a conspiracy that calls into question the core principles of how and why we think about the future—and the past, and the now.

A Man picks up the phone and dials 911. The Operator picks up, and the game begins.After her mother's passing, Isabella took comfort in dance, her father, and the company of her new mother and step-sisters. Unfortunately, a corset took it all away from her.

A vampire story with a twist. A woman involved in a tragic accident wakes to find herself in a life she no longer remembers. She is suddenly thrown into a world she never knew existed. A world of ghosts, angels, demons, vampires and a Love reaching out from beyond. She must rely on her faith to find the life she left behind.A vampire story with a twist.Andrea’s life was forever changed by a run in with a ghostly apparition on a dark mountain road. When she awakens she finds herself in a hospital room surrounded by strangers. The tragic accident that almost took her life succeeded in taking her memory, and as she struggles to rediscover the she no longer remembers she finds herself with more questions than answers. Her handsome and mysterious husband seems to be hiding something as the memories begin to return to her; disembodied voices call out to her and she is plagued by visions of a man in white. Add to that a loyal dog who no longer knows her, a compelling stranger with a cryptic warning and a husband that she’s beginning to worry might not be completely human; she finds herself questioning her choices, her faith and her own sanity. Suddenly, she is thrown into a world she never believed existed: a world populated by ghosts, vampires, angels, demons and a Love that is reaching out from the other side. Is Andrea’s imagination getting the better of her as her husband claims or does he have otherworldly secrets to hide? In order to find herself Andrea must push forward trusting in her faith regardless of her husband’s wishes to discover the life she left behind that night before it is too late. Her life or perhaps her soul may hang in the balance…