KATELYNN LAIRD
|Author|
Read Book and Story Descriptions Here
Current Books:
The Social Scenarios Experiment
Six teenagers, all outcasts. A criminal, an expectant mother, a genius, a schizophrenic , a blind visionary, and a cancer patient. Each is participating in a social experiment to analyze the behavior and interactions of social outcasts in an everyday setting, high school. Over the course of a year, each of their struggles and triumphs will be followed. This is their story.
The Darkness Behind the Face (Book 1 of the Darkness Within series)
Melissa Vega is a junior homicide detective working for the Chicago Police Department. Jack Archer is an expert in criminal psychology and serial offenders. A series of gruesome murders brings them together, along with Vega's partner and mentor, Head Detective Jonah Marks. From jump street, the case is strange, centered around a woman whose entire face has been removed. When more bodies drop, the CPD brings in Archer to consult. There's just one catch. He isn't just an expert in psychopathy. He is a clinical psychopath himself. Hospitalized since age eight, Archer is allowed to consult as part of his treatment. He brings unique insight into the killer's profile, and a major headache for the gruff Detective Marks, who doesn't get along with Archer. But Vega is intrigued. Already deeply invested in her work, she finds she can't stop thinking about Archer, which worries her partner. Archer grows more involved in the case, through leads and dead ends, stakeouts and injuries. Finally, Vega gets close to the killer, before he can take another woman's face. But will she catch him in time? And can she trust Archer not to stab her in the back? Literally.
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The Littlest Raptor
Reggie the Raptor is the littlest raptor living on The Ranch. Each member of his community has an amazing talent - all except Reggie. So, Reggie and his friends embark on a quest to find Reggie's thing - a skill or hobby he can call his own. Will Reggie find his own thing? And what will he learn along the way? This book is intended for younger audiences, filled with a diverse cast of human, animal, and dino characters, complete with vibrant illustrations.
Short Stories:
"The Acting Class"
Ariel didn't want to take the acting class, but it was the best of a crop of bad elective options - moving schools a month into the year came with so many perks. To make matters worse, the teacher was an eccentric method actor and on the very first day she partners Ariel with her crush, Matt. The activity: stand as close to each other as possible without chickening out, supposedly to build community, comfort, and confidence between students. Ariel saw spontaneous combustion the more likely outcome but she didn't want to wimp out in front of Matt, a dedicated actor. The class was sure to be interesting, to say the least.
Check it out in The Main Street Rag, Volume 22, Number 2, Spring 2017.
Coming Soon:
The Darkness in the Eyes (Book 2 of the Darkness Within series)
Sequel to the novella The Darkness Behind the Face, Detective Melissa Vega is back and on the case of another elusive serial killer. The unsub has been active across the Midwest for several years, bodies and cold cases piling up. But when a new victim reminds Vega of a file she looked over the year previous during the Face Stealer case, one in which a note was found behind the victim's eye, she is determined to find this killer. Alongside her partner, Head Detective Jonah Marks, they get to work. The department, of course, also brings in resident expert (and psychopath) Jack Archer, but Marks throws a wrench into their dynamic when he suggests the department also ask for aid from one of the country's best know private profilers, Adrian Riley. Archer and Riley soon butt heads, with Vega stuck in the middle. And it wouldn't be a Vega-Archer adventure without a few twists in the works as well.
The Caged Bird
Mayra Lennick was once the Queen of the Underworld, Fell's most notorious gang lord, scourge of the city and the King, the infamous Bird. Then a clever guardian finally arrested her. But, after a year in an inescapable prison, where any sanity Lennick arrived with may or may not have further deteriorated, a royal soldier brings her before the King with a proposition. He fears for his life and his throne and needs Mayra's skills, criminal connections, and utter ruthlessness to save him. However, on this mission along side the unfathomable guardian who brought her down and the soldier with whom she shares mutual loathing, nothing is as it seems