P O D

Murder and mayhem on the message boards. With the birth of the personal computer and software that allowed for instant correction and easy revision, many who said they could write a book would try their hand at it.

Publisher Tor Schacter understood this. He knew their numbers would be great. He knew there was big money to be made. Renaming his vanity house and striking the clause from the company contract that required a huge upfront fee from the author, he invited writers everywhere to submit their stories for possible publication by Quotidian Release.

Thousands of men and women complied, all burning with the hope their manuscripts would be accepted and published. All expecting their book to be promoted and sold online and in stores to readers worldwide.

But their expectations were their own. Soon the message boards, once supportive arenas for struggling writers, reeked of criticism, ridicule, and vituperation. They turned on Schacter. Later, on each other.

Then one April morning while checking the current posts, young novelist Wyatt Falkner learns that three of Schacter's most outspoken enemies were murdered. Before everything is sorted out, he and his girlfriend Patsy Lukehart, a writer herself and a first-rate researcher, find that they, too, are targets.