Needle Freak, page 23
“Have you seen him?” Grace asked. “Do they allow you to see him?”
“Of course not,” Mercy said. “Corey’s here somewhere, on another floor or in another wing, but we’re not allowed contact.”
“I’m sorry,” Grace said.
Adam returned with a Styrofoam cup of coffee. Grace thanked him when he set it down on the table, but didn’t drink it. She waited for Mercy to go on.
“So, high school,” Grace prompted.
“Yeah, high school,” Mercy said. “Thing about high school is, so many unimportant things are important. Facebook, Twitter, the brand name on your shoes, how much money your mom and dad make, your cell phone, your car, blogging, gaming, who your friends are, the music you like. These things are so important. They’re the currency of the realm. It has a way of shifting your perspective out of focus. It doesn’t always change when you leave high school either. It doesn’t shift back. These people really do go out into the world and yeah, they get everything they want. Bad things don’t happen to them. They therefore come to the erroneous conclusion that bad things don’t happen.”
“Bad things happen all the time. It’s not a secret,” Grace said. “You see it on the news every day.”
“You see it on TV. TV’s not real,” Mercy said.
Grace frowned. “Yes, but—”
“No, shut up,” Mercy said. “I’m talking about high school and you’re here to hear what I have to say, so pay attention. It’s like this…”
To purchase a copy and continue reading:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OI76FMI
About the Author
J.L. Aarne currently lives in the Northwest United States. Aarne studied English at the University of New Orleans, but like so many people these days, could not afford to finish. Someday, perhaps. J.L. Aarne currently lives in the Northwest United States. Aarne studied English at the University of New Orleans, but like so many people these days, could not afford to finish. Someday, perhaps. This book and others by J.L. Aarne are also available in paperback.
Aarne blogs from time to time at http://jlaarne.tumblr.com/
J.L. Aarne can be reached by email at jlaarne [@] outlook [dot] com
Other Books
The Man in the Long Black Coat
Dale Bruyer and James Sandover were huntsmen: monster hunting heirs to a secret legacy, self-appointed defenders of mankind, students of magic, warriors and—in James’s case—occasional chess opponent of the Devil himself. Until James died and left Dale all alone on a self-destructive path through alcoholism to an early grave.
Then one stormy night, the giant tree that had marked James’s grave uproots and Dale finds footprints walking away from the hole beneath it. A killer begins ritualistically murdering young women in the small town of Solagrove, Louisiana where he lives, and though the man in the long black coat sounds a lot like James, it can’t be James. James is dead; there is absolutely no question about it.
Dale is reluctantly dragged into the investigation by his neighbor, the mother of the first victim. He’s not so sure the killings are really his sort of thing, but there’s something very familiar about it all anyway and someone has to stop it. Though why does it have to be him?
In the midst of all this chaos, he suddenly finds himself with a house full: a werewolf in the kitchen, a god crashing on his sofa and a punk rock fallen angel riding shotgun.
To read a sample or purchase a copy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LOYM78O
***
Love Song for a Vampire
Dale Bruyer kills bad things that go bump in the night, or at least he used to. Now he owns a bar in small town Louisiana and granted, it has become a hang-out for the same creatures he used to track down, but they tip in gold and diamonds, so he can't really complain. He's retired (sort of) and out of the game until a friend starts him a blog without his permission and brings him a new case: vampires in New Orleans.
He's skeptical at first, but he discovers vampire blood making the rounds on the street as the newest cheap thrill and comes face to face with a monster from legend, and it's not so unbelievable anymore. Except things aren't always what they seem, especially in Dale's world, and it's up to him to figure out what's actually happening and ultimately decide which side he's really on.
To read a sample or purchase a copy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T100SMU
***
The Destiny Machine
In a world cured of death, Aarom is an outlaw.
The world should have ended twenty years ago. Without the invention of the Destiny Machine, it would have and in a lot of ways it’s a blessing. No one goes hungry now, murder is a thing of the past and life is beautiful and peaceful. In other ways, for some people, it’s a lie and a curse that they can’t bear to live with. They sense the wrongness of their existence, but now they inhabit a world where it’s almost impossible to die.
You can’t even kill yourself anymore.
Aarom is a prophet, a member of a rare group of people who would have survived the Armageddon that the Destiny Machine derailed. He has the power to see behind the curtain. He can give to people the deaths they have been denied. Their true destiny.
In his personal life, he's at a crossroad, torn between letting go of a past that made him and Jonathan, who he’s secretly loved for most of his life. Jonathan isn’t a prophet, he’s a happy, normal member of society, but he looks forward to the rare times when he sees Aarom and sadly waits for the day when he will stop visiting. Aarom ultimately has to make a choice to either be brave and honest with Jonathan or walk away completely. It’s a real life and death decision.
To read a sample/purchase a copy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V3ZGHZ8/
***
I Hear They Burn for Murder
“We’re playing Murder in the Dark, agent.”
Special Agent Ezekiel Herod knows the game well, but he’s never played it quite like this before.
Rainer Bryssengur is only a professor of English and Ezekiel doesn’t expect to gain any insight from him into his case, only to cross him off the list as a person of interest. Then he meets him and gets a glimpse through the carefully crafted mask Rainer wears every day to the monster he is at heart.
“Which one of us is the liar?”
Sometimes even a psychopathic serial killer gets tired of killing people and that’s where Rainer is when Ezekiel walks into his office and stirs things up. The serial killer the media has dubbed The Lamplighter has been dormant because Rainer’s heart just isn’t in it anymore. But Ezekiel presents him with a new opportunity, a challenge… a game. Rainer sees in him the perfect adversary.
They’re more alike than either of them suspect and soon Ezekiel gets pulled in deeper than he thought possible, past the point of no return.
“Which one of us isn’t? That’s the real question.”
To read a sample/purchase a copy: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BN6JXAC
J L Aarne, Needle Freak
