Book Title: The Truth of a Kaleidoscope Mind
Author: Patrick Bryce Wright
Publisher: Wicked Ink Publishing, Ltd.
Release Date: October 29, 2024
Pairing: MMF
Tense/POV: third person, past tense, single POV
Genres: Paranormal horror, psychological horror
Tropes: Haunted house, dark family secret, damaged guy finds love, childhood friends to lovers
Themes: Healing from trauma, found family
Heat Rating: 3 flames
Length: 82 000 words/ 300 pages
It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.
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When cleaning his dead mother’s cellar, Fredrick discovers his family’s dark secrets, unleashing angry spirits in the house that threaten both him and his new love.
Shorter blurb
When Fredrick Anderson’s mother dies, he cleans her house and discovers his diary in the cellar. To his shock, it reveals what his mind hid from him: his parents abused him. The family secrets provoke the ghosts haunting the house. As the spirits threaten his life, Fredrick must uncover the truth of his family’s traumas and tragedies both to survive and find love.
Longer Blurb
In a 1950s Craftsman house steeped in the weight of the departed, Fredrick Michael Anderson faces a daunting task: preparing his late mother’s home for auction. Battling memories of a turbulent childhood marred by gender conflicts, Fredrick delves into the cellar alongside his faithful friend. Amidst unearthed relics, Fredrick stumbles upon his locked diary, triggering a chilling revelation.
Within its pages lie secrets of his father’s sinister past, fracturing Fredrick’s fragile psyche. Unleashed by the diary’s opening are dormant spirits—some benevolent, others malevolent. As Fredrick grapples with Dissociative Identity Disorder, his mind splinters into distinct personalities. Amidst this psychological turmoil, a battle of good and evil ensues within the haunted confines of his home.
Confronting his family’s dark truths, Fredrick must navigate the volatile terrain of his own mind. Cryptic messages from a flapper ghost serve as a guide, unraveling his family’s sinister history. To survive the malevolent forces unleashed by the diary, Fredrick must confront his inner demons, embracing painful truths and finding strength within. In this supernatural horror tale, the boundary between the paranormal and the psychological blurs, leaving Fredrick to confront the ghosts of his past—and possibly find love along the way.
Reaching the front door, Fredrick opened it. A man in his mid-forties stood on the porch, smiling. He had curly blond-brown hair that hung an inch below his jaw, blue eyes, and full lips. Stainless steel body jewelry decorated his face and ears: a nose ring, a stud in his right forward helix, and a ring through his left ear in his daith. He wore jeans and a faded green t-shirt with the Celtic Tree of Life on the front.
He’s handsome. Gorgeous, even. Fredrick opened the screen door as well. “Hey.”
Chalsey swooped up behind Fredrick. “Hey! Fredrick, meet Anthony Stevenson. Toni, meet Fredrick.”
“Nice to meet you. Call me Toni.”
Fredrick shook Toni’s hand. “Nice to meet you.” He stepped aside so Toni could enter. A faint whiff of patchouli incense accompanied him.
“God! The energy in here.” Toni scanned the living room with a frown and a furrowed brow.
“This is what I was talking about,” Chalsey said. “I anointed all the doors and windows, but the spiritual muck is terrible.”
Fredrick closed the door, locked it, and stared at Toni and Chalsey. Toni is like a male Chalsey: a beautiful, earthy kind of person.
Toni stood in front of the bookcase that had lost two angels. He picked up the pink female kissing angel and examined it. Then he whirled around, looking toward the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen. “There’s a malevolent spirit in here right now.” He pointed. “It looks like a green blob in my spirit vision.”
“Green again, huh?” Chalsey drew a pentacle in the air with her finger. “By the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone, and by fire, water, earth, and air, I banish you from this house.”
Toni set down the angel, a frown tugging his lips again. “It’s gone for now, but I’m worried it’ll come back—or one just like it. It’d be best if we set up an altar.”
“No!” Fredrick startled himself with his shout. “No altars in this house!” He hadn’t even known he was going to speak.
Toni flinched and paled. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend you. And of course, I would never set up an altar in someone’s house without their permission.”
“And no sacrifices!” Fredrick realized his voice sounded high-pitched. What am I saying?
Chalsey held up both hands as if warding off an attack and turned toward Toni. “Fredrick actually knows Wiccans don’t sacrifice black cats or whatever.”
“Ah, right.” Toni’s brow furrowed again as he studied Fredrick. “Your energy just totally shifted.”
Fredrick pressed his hands to both sides of his head as if he could hold his brains in by sheer physical force—and more to the point, that he needed to. “I have no idea why I said that. The words just popped out of me from out of nowhere.” I’m gonna die of embarrassment here. I meet a beautiful man and then accuse him of animal sacrifice? Jesus Christ, I totally just lost it!
I’m a quirky English professor with tattoos, piercings, and an addiction to supernatural thriller, horror, fantasy, and science fiction. I’m proudly neurodivergent, third gender, and a trauma survivor, all things often reflected in my novels. I have degrees in both English and psychology, both of which inform my writing. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, off-road biking, and pyrography.
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one of five ebook copies of Patrick’s “sweet love” MM short story, Dancing at the Edge
