Scott Thomas

In the lineage of Peter Straub's Julia, Scott Thomas’ Violet is the disturbing tale of a woman haunted by her long-abandoned imaginary friend. For many children, the summer of 1988 was filled with sunshine and laughter. But for ten-year-old Kris Barlow, it was her chance to say goodbye to her dying mother. Three decades later, loss returns—her husband killed in a car accident. And so, Kris goes home to the place where she first knew pain—to that summer house overlooking the crystal waters of Lost Lake. It’s there that Kris and her eight-year-old daughter will make a stand against grief. But a shadow has fallen over the quiet lake town of Pacington, Kansas. Beneath its surface, an evil has grown—and inside that home where Kris Barlow last saw her mother, an old friend awaits her return.

Close your eyes. Picture open plains, wheat stalks swaying gently in the wind. Picture the quaint Main Street of a one-stoplight town. Picture endless summers on sunny, tranquil lakes. With four provocative novellas, Kill Creek author and Kansas native Scott Thomas takes a hatchet to the idyllic tropes of the American heartland. In The Door in the Field, Thomas follows a quarrelsome construction worker named Rayland Allen whose bad day becomes a far worse night when drinks at an off-the-books establishment deep in the woods set Ray down an unforeseeably bloody path. In The Boy in the Woods, Thomas follows young Eddie Reicher, who lingers a day too long at summer camp as unholy terror creeps in. Something evil has infected the counselors. And Eddie will have to do everything he can―even kill―if he hopes to survive the night. In One Half of a Child’s Face, Thomas follows the recently divorced Sienna Franklin. Spying on her son and ex-husband, she notices an odd painting hanging on the wall of an adjacent apartment. Over the course of the next few days, Sienna will watch with growing horror as the children in the apartment building begin to gather before the painting as if called to it. In Wear Your Secret Like a Stone, a big-box clerk discovers that her book pick for a Halloween display echoes a dark secret hidden beneath the idyllic facade of her hometown. With this collection, Thomas digs his hands into the soil of the American heartland and establishes himself as the master of Midwestern Gothic.

Today was supposed to be Eddie Reicher's last day at summer camp. But when his parents can't come to pick him up, Eddie must spend one more night at Camp Cottonwood. At first, he's thrilled. Not only does he get to hang out with the older counselors, but his secret crush is staying over until morning too. Best of all, the other campers - the ones who mercilessly made fun of Eddie's disfigured face - are long gone. But as sun sets, an unholy terror creeps in. Something evil has infected the counselors, and Eddie willhave to do everything he can - even kill - if he hopes to survive the night.

Experience the magic again with this chronicle of the young wizard who took the world by storm! From the moment that J. K. Rowling conceived the idea of Harry Potter during a train ride, until the 1997 UK publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone , The Making of the Potterverse tells the history of one of today’s most beloved sagas ― in print, on screen, and in real life as waves of Pottermania swept fans young and old. Covering the phenomenon through the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , this book covers all of the major and minor news events centering on the world of Harry Potter, interweaving quotes from the films’ cast and crew members ― among them Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint; directors Chris Columbus ( The Sorcerer’s Stone , The Chamber of Secrets ), Alfonso Cuarón ( The Prisoner of Azkaban ), and Mike Newell ( The Goblet of Fire ); producer David Heyman; and behind-the-scenes personnel who brought the magic to life.

At the end of a dark prairie road, nearly forgotten in the Kansas countryside, is the Finch House. For years it has remained empty, overgrown, abandoned. Soon the door will be opened for the first time in decades. But something is waiting, lurking in the shadows, anxious to meet its new guests… When best-selling horror author Sam McGarver is invited to spend Halloween night in one of the country’s most infamous haunted houses, he reluctantly agrees. At least he won’t be alone; joining him are three other masters of the macabre, writers who have helped shape modern horror. But what begins as a simple publicity stunt will become a fight for survival. The entity they have awakened will follow them, torment them, threatening to make them a part of the bloody legacy of Kill Creek.