The Everett Exorcism by Lincoln Cole (New Release, Occult Thriller/Urban Fantasy, Guest Post)

Something strange is happening in the city of Everett, Washington and Father Niccolo Paladina is tasked with investigating possible demonic activity. Nothing is as it seems, however, and things quickly begin spiraling out of his control. 

When his path crosses with that of an old rival, they discover that things are worse in Everett than either of them could ever have imagined. As his world collapses around him, Niccolo will be left with one terrible question: what is my faith worth?

Find out where to pick up your copy

 

Watch the trailer! 

~~~

Guest post by Lincoln Cole

I love anti-heroes. I love reading about someone who struggles against their own internal demons to try and become a better person. I enjoy watching television shows like Supernatural, and my favorite movie is "The Thirteenth Warrior". A lot happens in that movie to bring the main character up to speed with the world he's been thrust into, and it is handled with clarity and simplicity. I enjoy watching the journey that characters go through to become wholly different people. It's fascinating to watch them make mistakes and then learn from them to become better (or worse) characters as their journey progresses.

Many newer movies, sadly, focus more on the effects and visualizations of the movie rather than the substance. In many cases, this will leave them looking pretty but having no heart. One of the most recent movies that came out that focused more on the story than on the visuals was the adaption of Stephen King's "IT". King's books have always focused on characters more than plot (for example, the newest Netflix release, "Gerald's Game", takes place almost exclusively in a single bedroom and focuses solely on the emotion and history of the female protagonist). There is something lacking in big visual movies when the characters are secondary to the experience.

I want to read about Byronic heroes and people who struggle against their own inner demons. This has influenced my story telling, as well, because it also means I enjoy writing about characters who have a lot of problems and can't seem to find their way in life. It reflects real people, too, because no one is all good, and no one is all bad either. There is a central question that my newest book series sort of revolves around, and that is: 'is anyone really beyond redemption?'

The Everett Exorcism is about an anti-hero trying to find a new path in his life that gives him the redemption he so desperately wants. He's lost everything that matters to him and made some rash decisions because of it, but now he's resolved to turn himself into a better person. The question is, though, where does one even begin such a journey? I think this is something we all face in our everyday lives, though not normally with demon possession or occult activity looming!

When I wrote my first horror novel, Raven's Peak, part of it included an introduction to a character known as the Reverend who has detached himself from the world and locked himself in a prison. He knows that he's a danger to everyone around him, so his exile and imprisonment was self-inflicted. That story sort of uses his struggle as a launchpad into something completely different, which was fine for that series, but after I was finished I felt like there was a lot more to this man's story than just what we see in Raven's Peak. So, if you're interested in horror and thriller mashups about heroes with a sordid past trying to figure out who they want to be, you should check out my newest novel, The Everett Exorcism!

Lincoln Cole is a Columbus-based author who enjoys traveling and has visited many different parts of the world, including Australia and Cambodia, but always returns home to his pugamonster and wife. His love for writing was kindled at an early age through the works of Isaac Asimov and Stephen King and he enjoys telling stories to anyone who will listen.

If you would like to sign up for his newsletter and receive news and special offers, then please visit his website.

Twitter | Google Plus | Facebook | Pinterest

New Releases, Pre-Orders, and New Covers

Did you notice the new covers? When I started publishing in 2013, people remarked that my covers 1) were gorgeous (Keri at Alchemy Book Covers is very talented!) and 2) stood out from the crowd. In the last four years, however, that started to turn into a liability: not only are most books in the New Adult Romance category almost all based on photos, they're also a lot racier.

I didn't feel like I could justify selling something with scantily clad models, but I could make the covers fit the current market better. Erin Cawood jumped on the chance to remake my covers and streamline the look of the series. I'm chuffed, and readers who come to my site now will immediately get a sense of what my series is about.

Speaking of which: My short story, The Ghosts of Alex Sheldon, was released last week. Please grab a copy if you haven't already! And the finale (!!!) Justice, Mercy and Other Myths is coming out October 9th and is available now for pre-orders.

I hope you like them!

~~~

Someone tried to take everything away from Alex Sheldon, but they didn't take enough. Someone thought they'd closed all the doors to opportunity, but they didn't see the ones that opened into people's worst impulses. Alex was used to power, and he was done with regret. He opened those doors with his eyes wide open and started to replace what he'd lost. He became the man everyone thought he was capable of being, and he was going to make sure nothing compromised him again.

You can't have a conscience when you casually plan a murder and calculate the profit of another human being's suffering. So why are all of his ghosts visiting him as he makes his way home to put his plan of revenge into motion? Someone might almost say that he's haunted.

Even a man like Alex needs to be wary: sooner or later, we all start to look like the company we keep.

Only one person was ever able to fight Alex Sheldon head on. Is that the same person who finally stopped him?

A man like Alex always has a long list of enemies: Lucy Bartolome, the wealthy socialite he blackmailed for decades; Michael Abbot, Miranda Harel, and Richard Hendrickson, all of whom lost parents because of him; David Hwang, the squeaky clean politician who found himself caught in a deal with the devil; Hilary Sayles, the inept madame Alex kept under his thumb; and Mariela, the young woman who almost died when she was trapped in his web. Detective Robert Teague knows the players all too well, but his gut is telling him that Hannah Bruges, the young woman who's been taking the law into her own hands for a decade, is keeping him from putting it all together. If only she wasn't the most exciting thing to happen to him in years, he might still be able to solve this thing.

Hannah has a piece of information that's not only going to change the course of the murder investigation, it's also going to make him and everyone else question a case he thought he'd closed years ago, one that almost cost him his job. What Robert really needs to see is how he fits in, because as soon as he does, everything else will fall into place.

Everyone needs to be careful what they wish for, because solving the murder is nothing compared to living with the answer.