creating suspense

Richard Franklin has left his Midwestern roots behind to live on the coast of Maine with his family. But in the autumn of the year 2000, he must return to his Illinois birthplace on a sorrowful journey. His wife Michelle has been killed in New England by a hit-and-run driver who is never found, so back home he comes with her cremated remains, to fulfill a final wish and on her birthday scatter her ashes in the park along the river in Blackwater Valley—simply Blackwater Val to locals—the small town where they both grew up and fell in love. With him he brings his six-year-old daughter Katie who still grieves for her lost mother: Katie, who can sometimes guess who’s going to be on the phone before it rings. Who can stop all the clocks in the house, and break up clouds in the sky with her mind, and heal sicknesses, and who sometimes sees things that aren’t there...people who are no longer alive. All gifts she inherited from her mother. Only something isn’t quite right in the Val. Sinkholes are opening up, revealing the plague pits the sleepy hamlet was built over in the 1830s, when malaria and cholera outbreaks ran riot. Mysterious bird and fish die-offs begin to occur, and Katie can see ghosts of the dead gathering all around. But what she can’t see is the charred, centuries-old malevolence which has been waiting for her, and wants her for its very own. Or the pale Sallow Man who haunts the town’s nighttime streets...or the river witch—another Blackwater Val, of sorts—each of whom will be drawn one by one into the nightmarish bloodletting about to take place. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Alacrimia in Layman's terms is the congenital inability to produce tears. Some places in Africa have their norms and beliefs wrapped around age-old, blind superstitions. Especially the rural communities. So when a young girl comes from the city to the village, and it is discovered, through a series of unfortunate events, that she won't cry, even when induced, things take a downward spin for her, as she finds herself from Osun State to Kogi State, and then Enugu State.

She blinked her eyes and a few seconds later she blurted out in a low tone, "Baby Rathore, Can I Muaah you?" "What is Muaah?", He asked bewilderedly. but she fell asleep again, leaving him in the heat of obsession. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and lifted up her body close to him, planting a kiss on his lips with a loud noise- 'Muuuaaah' "This is Muaah", She said as she laid down again and fell asleep. He rubbed his lips, the sensation of her lips was still there, creating storm inside of him. Helplessly, he closed his eyes and held his Persephone near to his heart. ~SHIVSHAKTI Singh Rathore, An honest police officer who is ruthless, cold and darker than the HADES. He is the third prince of GADH, Rajasthan, India. ~ADRIJA Singh, who is full of herself. An arrogant, domineering and aggressive but also has a Persephone's heart with spring full life. A kick-ass heroine who loves to poke, mock, and taunt the hero. ~Different from the original mythological story of HADES and PERSEPHONE. ~This story is poles apart. Here, PERSEPHONE is three years older than HADES. ~This PERSEPHONE has a sassy personality who loves to suck the blood of Hades and irritate him to the death. ~Sweet, Salty, Sour, Steamy and Spicy ride of SHIVSHAKTI and ADRIJA who has mystery around herself and a bitter secret hidden deeply in her heart that Shiv wants to solve and unveil it. [Mature Content 18+, Agegap]. Thank you ShineeSunshine ️

In Gangnam, Seoul's district known for it's wealth and glamour, a series of mysterious disappearances and brutal murders occurs. The criminal is quickly called by public the 'Cherry Blossom Reaper' because of his choice for young, beautiful women and fact, that the day after the kidnapping, in the place of the disappearance, he leaves a small bouquet made of artificial cherry blossoms, slightly sprinkled with the victim's blood. When the daughter of the well-known fashion house CEO disappear, the case is transferred to Kim Soo Min, a female detective from Seoul's Investigation Departament. But as it turns out, the case is not easy to solve, even for such a talented detective as her. The list of suspects is getting longer and evidence does not clearly indicate any of them. [ IMPORTANT: This story is entirely fictional, just like its characters. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. ]

Anna, a well-known assassin, was reborn into the knight family outcast after a near-death experience. Anna, who was given a new chance at life, had promised to live on as her and help her avenge her death. She seeks revenge against those who wronged her with the help of Benjamin, her fiancé before her rebirth and CEO of Oscar Groups. Would she be able to achieve her goals as secrets unrevealed and discover the entangled relationship she shared with Sonia, whose body she was inhabiting? Extract from the story Anna sat at the spa as she underwent a transformation process. The previous occupant had her hair dyed pink, which she found odd and weird. After her makeover session, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, the corner of her mouth quivering into a devilish grin. “ANNA IS DEAD AND I WILL LIVE ON AS SONIA.” she said to herself as she had only one thought in mind, ‘REVENGE.’

England, 1876. Twenty-year-old Maraina Blackwood has always struggled to adhere to the restrictive standards of Victorian society, denying the courage and desire that burn within her soul. But after a terrifying supernatural encounter, Maraina's instincts compel her to action. Maraina soon discovers a plot to unleash a new world—one of demonic aristocrats, bloody rituals, and nightmarish monsters. Putting her upbringing aside, Maraina vows to fight the dark forces assuming control of England. But as her world transforms, Maraina finds that she too must transform...and what she becomes will bring out all that she once buried. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

In the quiet of the forest, the darkest fears are born. The people of Dunballan, harbour a dark secret. A secret more terrible than the Beast that stalks the dense forests of Dunballan. A secret that holds David McCavendish, last in a long line of Lairds, in its unbreakable grip. It’s down to Sally, David’s lover, to free David from the sinister clutches of the Beast. But, with the whole town against her, she must ally herself with an ancient woodland force and trace Dunballan’s secret back to its bitter origins. Those origins lie within the McCavendish family history, and a blasphemous heresy that stretches back to the beginning of time. Some truths are too terrible to face, and the darkest of these lie waiting for Sally, in the Quiet Places. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

This is Book #2 of Shiver, please read the first one before going into this book, it would help you to experience it better. Thank you. Charlene Ludlow had always wanted to leave the small town of Bluebridge for a big city. She finally had the courage to visit Goldstone for the summer of 1998. What was supposed to be a summer vacation turned into an altering long term plan which will change the course of her life. Tommy's dream to try his luck in the film industry had brought the couple to enter a lifestyle they knew nothing of. Young and inexperienced, they were caught in the web of deceit of the most influential people in the industry. As their relationship suffered the strain of the Neon Dreams, they found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place and fighting their way to get out.

There are monsters in this world. And they used to be us. Now it's time to euthanize to survive in a hospice where Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. Post-infection Chicago. Christmas. Inside The Hospice, Emily and her fellow nurses do their rounds. Here, men and women live out their final days in comfort, segregated from society, and are then humanely terminated before fate turns them into marrow-craving monsters known as ‘Smilers.’ Outside these imposing walls, rabid protesters swarm with signs, caught up in the heat of their hatred. Emily, a woman haunted by her past, only wants to do her job and be the best mother possible. But in a world where mortality means nothing, where guns are drawn in fear and nobody seems safe anymore – at what cost will this pursuit come? And through it all, the soon to be dead remain silent, ever smiling. Such is their curse. It won't be long before that snow-speckled ground will be salted by blood. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

History student Alex Palmer is thrilled when his girlfriend, Claire Ryan, buys an apartment in Belle Vue Manor, formerly a Victorian lunatic asylum. But as Alex begins to discover the dark truth about the asylum’s past, he, Claire, and their friend Marianne find themselves on a nightmarish journey. Each will face the deadly consequences of the evil that began with the construction of the first Belle Vue Manor by an aristocratic French émigré in 1789, as well as the cruelty and satanic practices that continued when it became an asylum for the insane. As the two strands—past and present—unfold, Alex uncovers a supernatural mystery where revenge is paramount and innocence irrelevant—without being aware of the price he, and those around him, will pay. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing