Ian Kirkpatrick – författare

Ready or Not Meets Agatha Christie in this transgressive, satire-laced debut.

When Agatha Benedict plucked Kelly off the city streets to replace her dead cat Poopsie, she neglected to inform him of some very important house traditions. The history of the Benedict Estate prescribes that once the estate owner passes on, a will reading is to take place. However, the reading is more than passing on a loved one''s final wishes; it''s a figurative gunshot into the air, an alert to all in attendance that a playful game of anything goes murder has begun. The prize? The inheritance, of course. As if visiting, a storm comes in with the guests, trapping everyone on the property for the night. While Kelly plays catch-up on with house rules, once friendly family members have already sharpened their knives. Try as he might, there is no survival if he won''t play by the same rules as everyone else.

For fans of Ready or Not, this is a uniquely funny and dark murder party with big personalities. A coming-of-age story if growing up felt like being stabbed in the back by everyone you hold dear. As suspenseful as Agatha Christie''s And then There Were None, as bitterly sardonic as American Psycho, and as slapstick as Clue, Dead End Drive is a black comedy and satirical look into the world of nihilism and the rat race of life we all see, but pretend we don''t because... Let''s be honest: is there anything more valuable than having every last need met for life?

HORROR IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN EVIL OVERTAKES THE HEART.

Joey''s a Baltimore mechanic. One night, she receives a call from her best friend, asking for his car to be picked up from the infamous body dumping grounds of Baltimore: Leakin Park. When she arrives, there''s little more around than a stalled-out car and a couple of ravens, so she leaves only with the car. Back at the body shop, it doesn''t take long for the smell of rot to permeate the trunk. Inside? A corpse. The cops say her friend did it. His absence is his guilt, but Joey knows better. She will find her missing friend and she will prove his innocence.

But something isn''t right in Baltimore. It''s not just the feeling that someone is always watching from the city''s abandoned buildings... Her search for her friend reveals something much worse hiding under her city. A ghost town, a reaper, regret. Suddenly, the city''s rage and the stink rising out of the dirt make much more sense.

A haunting, magical story about intergenerational trauma and how the ghosts of the past can follow us with aesthetics like Edgar Allan Poe meets Tim Burton and the rage of Stephen King. This novel will show you around Baltimore with a little dread and a lot of spunk. Watch out for the ravens.

2022 RPLA Gold Winner for Satire!

Hello, Boomers!

​Meet Ukraine''s most popular explosives channel, JananananaXD!​

​Jan Bagan is a Ukrainian YouTuber living in the small, rural town of Nide, which leans against the Russian border. Though he stocks shelves at the only local grocery store at night, his true love is all things combustible. Explosive experiments fuel his modest YouTube channel where his only goal is to make art in the sky. Without any sort of classical training, he uses his senses to recognize and mix the chemicals to reach a satisfying ending.

Though few in his hometown understand his passion, Jan''s life changes when a couple of mysterious sponsors from abroad appear at his door. With a box of military-grade explosives and the confidence of these foreigners, Jan''s channel blows up, changing his life and his country forever.

With a nod to Animal Farm by George Orwell, this over-the-top satire brings together a naive dreamer, culture shock, and government opportunism in this crazy comedy of foreign powers fighting over the ownership of an odd Ukrainian.

Everything''s an insult when your soul is bankrupt.

Joey and Wayland may have returned to Baltimore after their deaths, but things are not the same through eyes tainted by death. The city seems darker, the graffiti louder, and a meltdown is only a hair-trigger away. Joey''s ready for everything to go back to normal, but that might not be possible when every time she''s around Wayland, he''s dripping with someone''s freshly spilled blood. Meanwhile, Jag''s losing his patience with Joey''s preference for her serial killer best friend.

Desperate to keep her life together in a somewhat recognizable way, Joey discovers that a local medium might have a way to calm the regret-fueled rage that plagues both her and Wayland, driving them both further out of control with each passing day. In hopes of a return to normal, she sets out to ask the authorities of the afterlife to grant her and Wayland a real second chance.

The ravens stalking her promise that if she doesn''t move quickly, she may lose everything she cares about. With a past and a future that can''t compromise, tragedy doesn''t spare the indecisive.

Regret is only the Beginning; Horror is the Transformation; Tragedy is the Offspring.

After seeing Wayland off to the afterlife, Joey''s left grieving over the reality that her father and best friend are gone. She can''t let it stop her though. She''s got a job to do for Charon, her regular life to return to, and the complications brought on by having Jag carry her heart. She can''t even focus on that when she discovers running from her problems doesn''t actually get rid of them.

Stalked by the ghosts of her Baltimore, Joey can''t get away from her mistakes. Meanwhile, now that the badges can see her again, she''s got a couple of things to explain, like jumping out the window at the station and why there was blood in her boyfriend''s apartment. Telling them ghosts are real isn''t enough; she has to prove it. Ralph seems like a good option as the guy who makes deals with death, but when she shows up at his bar, he''s missing too. Time is running out on her credibility and with every second that passes, she risks sinking Jag''s life for holding onto him for so long, the blood came off her hands and got all over him.