Bestseller: A Short Story

John Reddington always wanted to write a bestselling novel... He had no idea it would be so painful.

With the house empty, as his wife and daughter are away at her mother's house in California, John dives straight into a mystery novel he has been working on.

As he writes--or thinks, rather--thin, red streaks run down the computer monitor, and lightning flashes and fills the room with blinding light. Then a stranger, wearing a porcelain mask, appears behind him.

He offers John something every writer--hell, person--wants: fame and fortune. When John shakes the man's hand, everything changes.

What would you do to write a bestseller?