Ten years before, six people were involved in a secret pharmaceutical trial that left one of them murdered and five unable to remember what happened. Now the experiment is continuing, as Dr. Sebastian Briggs wants to finish his research into fear response and post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s backed by a major drug company and an ambitious U.S. Senator, but he also has a personal stake in the outcome.
Only by taking the mysterious pills can the survivors stave off the creeping phobias and madness that threaten to consume them. But the pills have an unexpected side effect—the survivors start remembering the terrible acts they perpetrated a decade ago. They are lured back to the Monkey House, the remote facility where the original trials took place, and Briggs has made special preparations for their arrival.
What will readers like about your book?
If you like a twisting psychological thriller where the characters play off one another, you might enjoy this book. It’s really cross-genre, combining elements of political and medical thrillers with mystery and romantic suspense.
Why did you self publish?
I had nine books out through corporate publishers, and it was getting increasingly more difficult and unrewarding. Since I had a pile of material, it made sense to get it all out there and meet my readers.
What is your writing process?
I run my writing like a business—writing, marketing, accounting, editing, design, product development, research. Fortunately I enjoy it all.
How long does it take you to write your first draft?
Wow, that depends, since I write everything from children’s books to adult novels, but a full-length novel should take me six months.
What inspired you to write this particular story? I’d conducted research on fear-response drugs and “helpful forgetting,” and I saw potential abuses if the drugs fell into powerful hands.
When Roland Doyle wakes up with a dead woman in his motel room, the only clue is a mysterious vial of pills bearing the label “Take one every 4 hrs or else.”
Ten years before, six people were involved in a secret pharmaceutical trial that left one of them murdered and five unable to remember what happened. Now the experiment is continuing, as Dr. Sebastian Briggs wants to finish his research into fear response and post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s backed by a major drug company and an ambitious U.S. Senator, but he also has a personal stake in the outcome.
Only by taking the mysterious pills can the survivors stave off the creeping phobias, carnal impulses, and madness that threaten to consume them. But the pills have an unexpected side effect—the survivors start remembering the terrible acts they perpetrated a decade ago. They are lured back to the Monkey House, the remote facility where the original trials took place, and Briggs has prepared it for their arrival.
Now they are trapped, they each have only one pill left, and cracks are forming in their civilized veneer.
After the pills are gone, there’s only one option. “Or else.”
Excerpt
LIQUID FEAR
CHAPTER ONE
The rain fell like dead bullets.
David Dunn blinked against the drops. Darkness slathered both sides of his eyelids and the air smelled of burnt motor oil. The silvery salvo of precipitation swept over the expanse of a lighted billboard.
“Need a lawyer?” read the emblazoned pitch, followed by an alphabet soup of advertising copy that swam in David’s vision. The sign was upside down.
No.
He was flat on his back, looking up, his clothes soaked. He couldn’t lift his head. The rain beat tiny tattoos on his face, pooling and racing down in tracks as warm as blood. The surface beneath him was hard and cold. He let his head tilt toward the right and he saw a cluster of distant lights.
Buildings. A town.
But which town?
And, the bigger question, who was he this time?
He tested his fingers. None were broken, though the knuckles were sore. Maybe he’d been in a fight. Or mugged and left to leak fluids onto the pavement.
Dunn. David Dunn.
That was his name. The one he’d been born with, not the name they’d given him. Whoever “they” were.
He focused on the billboard. It featured a bland, stern face. No doubt the attorney of record, one desperate to cash in on the misfortunes of others.
Injured in a car crash? Worker compensation claims? Product liability lawsuit? The bottom of the ad heralded a toll-free number.
David wondered if he owned a cell phone. He usually didn’t, but sometimes they gave him one, slipped it into his jacket pocket with prepaid minutes.
Prepaid minutes. That was a laugh. “Pay as you go” was the name of this game.
The rain must have pounded him for a while, because he lay in a puddle. And it was summer because he wasn’t shivering. A car horn blared, probably 50 feet away, and tires spat white noise across the wet asphalt.
They were coming for him again. They were always coming for him. Or else they already had him.
He moved his lips, mouthing the words “Need a lawyer?”
The car hissed onward, weaving in the gloom, its twin taillights like the eyes of a retreating dragon.
With a groan, he rolled onto his side, cheek chafing against crumbled tar. He wore no hat. A wristwatch adorned his left wrist and he snaked his arm near his face. The LED numerals flickered red.
11:37. Nearly noon or nearly midnight, it was all the same.
Unless it was time for the next dose.
Links:
Read about it at Haunted Computer or view it at Amazon US, Amazon UK, BN.com, Author Direct, or Smashwords
If you like a twisting psychological thriller where the characters play off one another, you might enjoy this book. It’s really cross-genre, combining elements of political and medical thrillers with mystery and romantic suspense.
Why did you self publish?
I had nine books out through corporate publishers, and it was getting increasingly more difficult and unrewarding. Since I had a pile of material, it made sense to get it all out there and meet my readers.
What is your writing process?
I run my writing like a business—writing, marketing, accounting, editing, design, product development, research. Fortunately I enjoy it all.
How long does it take you to write your first draft?
Wow, that depends, since I write everything from children’s books to adult novels, but a full-length novel should take me six months.
What inspired you to write this particular story? I’d conducted research on fear-response drugs and “helpful forgetting,” and I saw potential abuses if the drugs fell into powerful hands.
Excerpt
When Roland Doyle wakes up with a dead woman in his motel room, the only clue is a mysterious vial of pills bearing the label “Take one every 4 hrs or else.”
Ten years before, six people were involved in a secret pharmaceutical trial that left one of them murdered and five unable to remember what happened. Now the experiment is continuing, as Dr. Sebastian Briggs wants to finish his research into fear response and post-traumatic stress disorder. He’s backed by a major drug company and an ambitious U.S. Senator, but he also has a personal stake in the outcome.
Only by taking the mysterious pills can the survivors stave off the creeping phobias, carnal impulses, and madness that threaten to consume them. But the pills have an unexpected side effect—the survivors start remembering the terrible acts they perpetrated a decade ago. They are lured back to the Monkey House, the remote facility where the original trials took place, and Briggs has prepared it for their arrival.
Now they are trapped, they each have only one pill left, and cracks are forming in their civilized veneer.
After the pills are gone, there’s only one option. “Or else.”
Excerpt
LIQUID FEAR
CHAPTER ONE
The rain fell like dead bullets.
David Dunn blinked against the drops. Darkness slathered both sides of his eyelids and the air smelled of burnt motor oil. The silvery salvo of precipitation swept over the expanse of a lighted billboard.
“Need a lawyer?” read the emblazoned pitch, followed by an alphabet soup of advertising copy that swam in David’s vision. The sign was upside down.
No.
He was flat on his back, looking up, his clothes soaked. He couldn’t lift his head. The rain beat tiny tattoos on his face, pooling and racing down in tracks as warm as blood. The surface beneath him was hard and cold. He let his head tilt toward the right and he saw a cluster of distant lights.
Buildings. A town.
But which town?
And, the bigger question, who was he this time?
He tested his fingers. None were broken, though the knuckles were sore. Maybe he’d been in a fight. Or mugged and left to leak fluids onto the pavement.
Dunn. David Dunn.
That was his name. The one he’d been born with, not the name they’d given him. Whoever “they” were.
He focused on the billboard. It featured a bland, stern face. No doubt the attorney of record, one desperate to cash in on the misfortunes of others.
Injured in a car crash? Worker compensation claims? Product liability lawsuit? The bottom of the ad heralded a toll-free number.
David wondered if he owned a cell phone. He usually didn’t, but sometimes they gave him one, slipped it into his jacket pocket with prepaid minutes.
Prepaid minutes. That was a laugh. “Pay as you go” was the name of this game.
The rain must have pounded him for a while, because he lay in a puddle. And it was summer because he wasn’t shivering. A car horn blared, probably 50 feet away, and tires spat white noise across the wet asphalt.
They were coming for him again. They were always coming for him. Or else they already had him.
He moved his lips, mouthing the words “Need a lawyer?”
The car hissed onward, weaving in the gloom, its twin taillights like the eyes of a retreating dragon.
With a groan, he rolled onto his side, cheek chafing against crumbled tar. He wore no hat. A wristwatch adorned his left wrist and he snaked his arm near his face. The LED numerals flickered red.
11:37. Nearly noon or nearly midnight, it was all the same.
Unless it was time for the next dose.
Links:
Read about it at Haunted Computer or view it at Amazon US, Amazon UK, BN.com, Author Direct, or Smashwords
thanks for hosting me, Nadine!
ReplyDeleteScott
I highly recommend anything by Scott. Right now I'm reading Speed Dating with the Dead and Liquid Fear is downloaded.
ReplyDelete--thanks for hosting me, Nadine!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Scott, thanks for being a part of Indie eBooks :)
Scott, your book synopsis sounds intriging, especially the part about the PTSD research. My novel touches on my protagonist's delayed stress response following her tour in Vietnam as a nurse. I look forward to reading how you dealt with the subject in your novel.
ReplyDelete