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. One high school. One catch: each of these kids is part of an experiment studying the social behavior of humans faced with various stimuli, such as outcasts, in an everyday setting. To keep the data uncorrupted, each of these kids has never met any of the other participants, doesn't even know of each's true nature as part of the experiment. Their lives, challenges, triumphs, interactions, twists, and turns will be observed for one year. This is their story. Follow along with Benny, Denise, Tony, Mariah, Julian, and Cassandra as they just try to get through their senior year, and maybe learn a little something about themselves, each other, and life along the way. 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.
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.
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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.
Reggie the Raptor Makes a New Friend
Reggie loves his friends. One day, he notices a new student at school, Jordan, sitting all alone. Reggie remembers how he struggled to make friends once, as well as the various ways he tried to meet new people. Finally, advice from his mom helped him make some great friends. Reggie befriends Jordan as well.
Reggie the Raptor Goes on an Adventure
Reggie is invited to go on his first ever camping trip. But he's a little nervous about it. Along with his friends, he tries to have a good time. When he overcomes his fears, he ends up encouraging his friend Jordan to have fun too. Reggie has a great adventure.
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.
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Check it out in The Main Street Rag, Volume 22, Number 2, Spring 2017.
Coming Soon:
Evan Wiley and the Rune-Marked Realms
Evan is a thirteen-year-old boy with a predilection for getting into trouble. One day, while running from Ford Mall Security, Evan discovers something unimaginable on the other side of what should have been a storage closet in an old bookstore. He stumbles upon a portal to other realms...and his destiny as a rare realm-walker.
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The Darkness in His Mind (Darkness Within Book 3)
Still searching for Adrian Riley (aka Randy, aka the Revealer), Melissa Vega and her partner, Detective Marks, get pulled onto a new case: a serial arsonist who just claimed his first victim. Along with Jack Archer, Vega investigate the perp's latest blaze when the building unexpectedly explodes. Archer is injured, suffering from amnesia. The expert's loss of his memories strips him of more than his crime-solving abilities. Archer no longer behaves like a psychopath. But is it all an act? Or has Jack genuinely changed, even if temporarily?
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.