I was first acquainted with Troy's work with his short story "Little Bernie's Map" which I picked up because of the cool cover and the story synopsis. Well, I really enjoyed the story and the wallop it packed (You can read it and all my reviews here)
And while I, like you, am kept in suspense until the release date, here is a sneak peak of the cover and a little teaser for us to salivate over. I have a feeling that Do I Bother You at Night? will keep me frightfully awake until the wee hours of the morning.
They say nothing ever happens in Kansas. Sylvester Petersen used to think so too. That is, until a mysterious new neighbor moves in next door, seemingly out of nowhere. His handful of friends – people who tried to help him cope with the sudden death of his wife – think that it might be an opportunity for him to get reacquainted with the world outside his farmhouse and to build a new relationship with his neighbor. But that idea is soon snuffed out as strange events begin to happen around him. None of them wrong. Just strange: driving in the middle of the night, the sulfur-like odor coming off of him, the fact he doesn’t talk to anyone in the area.
And what about that dog?
Sylvester chooses the logical explanation and ignores the peculiar behavior. But when other oddities start to happen – the kind that affects Sylvester directly – he begins to worry. His reasoning dwindles and his growing fear points to his neighbor.
Where is that stray dog going?
After enough time, Sylvester starts to see and hear what the people of the area have been muttering about: Unexplainable blue light, corn crops moving on their own…the slaughtered cattle entirely too close to home.
And that stray dog that keeps getting fatter and fatter…
At the peak of summer, and with the walls closing in, Sylvester experiences something that will take him to the brink and haunt you forever.
Bathed in loss, terror, and human spirit, Do I Bother You at Night? will be a story you won’t forget and one that will keep you up at night.
Love thy neighbor.
You can find Troy online:
Website: http://www.troyaaronratliff.com/
Twitter: @TARatliff