First review for Shadow Faces

I just received a review for Shadow Faces. It came from Kirkus Discoveries ...

"A paranormal killer, Lazarus Douleur, leaves a swath of death across Northern Virginia’s corporate beltway. Matt Curtis, an executive at a high-powered consulting firm, is struggling to keep his head above water when, one by one, the women he has dated in the past are brutally killed. As the murders pile up, Detective Brooks Barrington feels powerless to stop Lazarus, but knows no one in the police department will believe him if he seeks help. An intriguing projection of how our phobias can undo each of us."

Our new addition

Well, we finally did it. We got at new puppy - a seven week old golden retriever named Gracie. The breeder is Church Mountain Kennels in Broadway, Virginia, which is owned and operated by Camie Shifflett. I was extremely impressed with Camie. Her dogs are very high quality retrievers with great dispositions and Camie's documentation of bloodlines and vet checkups is meticulous.

After just a day in her new home, Gracie runs the place. We can almost see her growing. Oh boy. Gotta go take her outside. See ya.

I am a Hokie

I tried to stay strong on April 16. But, at times, waves of overwhelming emotion caused me to burst into tears. The pain was almost more than I could bear. I am a Hokie.

I was lucky to get into Virginia Tech in 1979. Quite honestly, I was even luckier to graduate in 1984. Some of the greatest days of my life were spent on that pastoral campus, surrounded by castles made of Hokie stone. In the fall, the leaves change to create a panorama of orange and maroon, just in time for football season. In the winter, the campus looks like picture on a holiday card. Spring signals a time to get outside and play Frisbee on the Prairie or take a walk through Slusher beach. Although this spring was different, we passed through those dark days, and we've come back even stronger.

The term “Hokie Nation” is not just a marketing phrase that was designed to support our football team. We are a powerful community and we will always be a tight-knit society. We share the same memories; the cold wind in your face as you walk across the Drillfield on your way to class, visions of Eddie Royal racing down the sideline, a juicy cheeseburger at Mike’s, and a laugh with your friends at Top of the Stairs.

For the rest of our lives, we will raise our voices and proclaim with boundless pride, “I AM A HOKIE!”

Welcome to my world

On this site, I'll keep you updated as I move through the process of writing and publishing my horror novels. My first novel, Shadow Faces, is now available online and in stores. Here's a description of the book ...

Most people have rather benign, run-of-the-mill phobias such as a fear of spiders, heights, or public speaking. But what happens when fear becomes so consuming that it seizes control of a person's life?

Matt Curtis, a senior manager with a consulting company, is overwhelmed with self-doubt. His personal life is falling apart, and his job is like quicksand, threatening to swallow him at any moment. His ultimate fear, however, is being alone. And that fear has come to call on Curtis as a supernatural creature in the shape of a tall, slender man wearing an expensive black suit and answering to the name Lazarus Douleur. On a mission to terrorize Curtis, Douleur removes one woman after another from Curtis's life through a series of bizarre and brutal murders that leave police baffled and Curtis filled with grief, stricken with terror, and looking suspect.

Curtis must decide whether he will stand idly by and let Douleur systematically dismantle his life-and kill innocent women in the process-or muster the courage to wrestle his fear and use it to his advantage.