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Trail of Buried Evidence
In The Mourning Locket, an empath confronts the owner of a unique agency comprised of sentient heirlooms capable of remembering their owners and seeks to uncover its long-buried secrets. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
The idea started with my own family heirlooms. I grew up around old photographs, jewelry, keepsakes — things that didn’t look like much from the outside but held entire histories inside them. I always wondered what they’d “say” if they could talk.
When I started writing The Mourning Locket, it was my way of honoring those stories that get lost between generations. I wanted to capture that feeling of holding something that once meant everything to someone who isn’t here anymore. The book grew out of that love for family history and the questions we never get to ask the people we miss.
How did you go about capturing the thoughts of the heirlooms?
To write the heirlooms, I imagined them the way we imagine the stories behind things we inherit. When you hold something that belonged to someone you loved, you automatically think about what it meant to them.
That’s the energy I wrote from. Their thoughts come through impressions, not sentences — a heaviness, a chill, a warmth, a pull. The emotional tone of the object shows up long before the mystery does. It made them feel alive without ever stepping outside of realism.
Were you able to relate to your characters while writing them?
Absolutely. I related to my characters in different ways, sometimes in ways I didn’t even expect. Rowan’s determination, Piper’s anxious overthinking, Cassian’s quiet intensity — those all come from real emotions I understand. And then there’s Sable, whose sarcasm and perfectly timed humor felt like the pressure valve everyone needed.
I relate to her a lot — that instinct to lighten a tense moment, or to say the thing everyone else is only thinking. Writing her was almost like letting the honest, unfiltered side of myself onto the page.
Each character carries something human and familiar, and that connection made writing them feel less like creating fictional people and more like spending time with versions of myself and the people I love.
Can you give us a glimpse inside Book 2 of The Inheritance Bureau series? Where will it take readers?
Book 2, The Music Box from Ashford, drags the Bureau into its darkest investigation yet. What begins as a simple heirloom assessment turns into a trail of buried evidence, altered records, and a past that someone worked very hard to erase.
The music box at the center of it all isn’t just an antique — it’s a trigger. And once it resurfaces, everything the Bureau thought it understood about its own origins is shaken.
This book pulls readers deeper into the hidden corners of the Bureau: the cases that never made it into the official files, the mistakes no one was supposed to uncover, and the people who paid the price for trying. Rowan gets pulled into the heart of it, Piper and Sable uncover secrets that were never meant to see daylight, and Arden is forced to confront what leadership really costs.
The investigation reaches back more than a century, and the past refuses to stay quiet this time.
Without giving too much away — Book 2 opens a door the Bureau can’t close, and what waits on the other side changes everything heading into Book 3.
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Empathic appraiser Dr. Cassian Vale can feel a person’s final emotions through touch—an ability that makes him invaluable, and dangerous. Investigating an 1860s mourning locket, Cassian relives a woman’s death and uncovers a conspiracy linking grief, immortality, and bloodline control.
As the echoes grow louder, the team must decide whether to silence the past—or listen before it consumes them.
Servant
Servant is a supernatural fantasy novel that blends family drama, ancient mystery, and time-crossed storytelling. The book follows two threads that eventually begin to echo one another: Zach, a middle-school kid from the Keane family who vanishes from his house under eerie circumstances, and Akolo, a boy living centuries earlier whose life is marked by war, trauma, and the demands of kings. As Zach’s family searches for him in the present day, he finds himself wandering through stone hallways, oil-lit corridors, and a world that feels pulled straight from his dad’s archaeology stories. Meanwhile, Akolo faces his own captivity in a foreign palace controlled by a ruler who insists he will “need” him. Both boys are caught in places where power, fear, and destiny collide. By the time the book reaches its epilogue, the story has cracked wide open into something larger, hinting at deep magic, interwoven timelines, and a house that is far more alive than anyone wants to admit.
I found myself pulled in by the writing style. It’s simple on the surface but has this steady emotional current running underneath. The authors don’t rush. They let each moment breathe. Even the small scenes, a father making coffee, a daughter complaining about pizza for breakfast, or the house creaking in the early morning, carry a sense of “something is happening here,” even if you can’t name it yet. I liked that. It made me feel like I was sitting inside the Keanes’ home, overhearing bits of life while the bigger mystery brewed just out of sight. And then we cut to Akolo’s story, which feels raw and grounded and ancient. Those chapters landed hardest for me. His fear. His confusion. The way he clutches the jeweled stone in his pocket just to feel connected to something familiar.
I also appreciated the author’s choices around pacing and perspective. Switching between timelines can easily feel gimmicky, but here it feels purposeful. Zach’s modern confusion mirrors Akolo’s ancient disorientation, and that parallel makes the supernatural elements feel earned. I liked how the book doesn’t give its secrets away too quickly. We get hints, symbols carved into doors, fog in places fog shouldn’t be, Marshall knowing more than he says, but the authors trust the reader to sit in the unknown for a while. That kind of patience is rare, and honestly, refreshing. The emotional beats hit hardest because they’re framed by that tension: the Keane parents’ terror when Zach goes missing, Ariel’s mix of resentment and fear, Akolo’s grief for his family, Marshall’s haunted loyalty to forces he doesn’t entirely understand. All of it builds toward that late-book shake of the earth, where the house itself moves as though waking up.
Servant doesn’t wrap everything up, but it feels like a middle chapter that knows exactly what it is. I’d recommend this book to readers who love supernatural fantasy with a human heart, people who enjoy stories about families surviving strange things, or anyone who likes time-slip mysteries tied to ancient cultures. If you want something atmospheric, character-driven, and a little eerie without tipping into horror, this one will hit the spot.
Pages: 262 | ASIN : B0FQ5ZGH1R
How Identity Survives
My Twelve-Year-Old Wife follows a desperate man searching for his missing wife, who has a twelve-year-old girl with his wife’s memories show up at his door, claiming to be her. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The initial spark came from a simple, unsettling question: What if the person you love most disappears… and then returns as a child, still believing they are your wife? That idea gripped me because it collides love, memory, morality, and time in a way that instantly creates emotional and ethical tension. I wasn’t interested in explaining it with heavy science fiction rules. I wanted to explore how far love stretches, where it breaks, and how identity survives when reality bends. The premise let me push a psychological and emotional boundary in a very human way.
Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?
For the most part, yes. Dan and Celia evolved as I wrote them. They stopped being just “characters” and started behaving like people with real trauma, confusion, loyalty, and fear. What surprised me most was how much restraint I actually had to show—what they don’t say or do often carries more power than what they do. There are still layers I’m continuing to explore more deeply in Book Two, but I feel I created honest, flawed, believable people in an impossible situation.
When you first sat down to write this story, did you know where you were going, or did the twists come as you were writing?
I had a few major anchor points in mind, but the story very much revealed itself as I wrote it. Certain scenes appeared suddenly in my head, sometimes late at night, and demanded to be written. The twists weren’t plotted on a board — they came from asking myself, “What is the most emotionally honest (and disturbing) thing that could happen next?” In many ways, the story surprised me while I was writing it.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m in the middle of an intense release window and will be launching three books within the next several months. The first is My Twelve-Year-Old Wife 2: Erased Memories, which expands the timeline fracture and deepens the emotional and psychological consequences introduced in the first novel. The second is Memoirs of a Serial Killer: Book Two, continuing the disturbing and introspective descent of the series. The final release is a reimagined and expanded edition of Chloroform Wars, retitled Rhea’s Game — which was a runner-up at the Paris Book Festival — now featuring several additional chapters and a sharper focus on Rhea’s perspective within the dystopian world.
Together, the three books continue to explore identity, power, memory, and moral collapse in different but interconnected ways.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
By morning, a twelve-year-old girl stood on his porch — carrying his wife’s memories.
Finalist — 2025 American Writing Awards (Fiction, Psychological)
From Dan Uselton, author of Chloroform War — Runner-Up (Wild Card), Paris Book Festival
Updated Edition – November 2025: Revised timelines, refined pacing, and new author edits for the most immersive reading experience yet.
Dan Fox can’t explain it. The girl knows intimate details from his marriage—things no one else could possibly know. She remembers everything.
As Dan hunts for answers, he’s dragged into a twisting psychological nightmare where memory and identity fracture and:
A masked predator stalks them through shifting realities
Every revelation spirals into deeper deception
One impossible choice could erase the woman he loves forever
My Twelve-Year-Old Wife is a dark psychological thriller about grief, devotion, and the terrifying grip of the past. Fans of The Silent Patient, Verity, Gone Girl, and Behind Her Eyes will be hooked until the final page.
Layer of Tension
Born on Monday tells the story of two people with a shared history and whose lives are both scarred by heartbreak, who reunite under less than ideal circumstances. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
Born on Monday began as a short story called “Time Capsule,” which was published in my debut collection, 50 States. The original story was very much about how those who leave a place after high school are changed, whereas those who stay behind remain the same. Billy Stevens stays in Augusta, whereas the love of his life escapes to New York City. When I started exploring this aspect of the story —wondering whether they would ever reconcile their differences —it became increasingly clear that they would have to overcome a past mired in tragedy. More than that, they would have to face several present-day threats, including someone sinister who follows Jessica Michaud home. It was in discussing the progression of this story with a close friend that her real-life experiences and my own research into stalkers would inform much of the novel’s direction.
What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of writing a thriller?
For this thriller, it was very much a matter of who knew what and when they knew it. All the characters have different perspectives on their shared past, which not only dramatically shapes how they interact with each other but also how they perceive themselves. The same can be said for the reader, too. They inevitably know more than any one character, creating an additional layer of tension, but never know enough to predict the end. Born on Monday is very much a story with secrets within secrets, and the consequences of keeping them.
Do you have a favorite scene in this book? One that was especially satisfying to craft?
There were several, and the two that stand out for me may be among the most overlooked by readers. I very much enjoyed crafting the chapter where Billy and his current girlfriend, Autumn, reconcile their differences. It’s a tender, heartfelt moment amid the chaos surrounding them. The immediacy and intimacy of their reunion run deep. The second is Andrea’s visit to the Kennebec Journal. She meets with her boss and mentor to discuss the story she is working on, which also touches on what journalism means in a small town like Augusta. Having worked as a journalist, this chapter allowed me to rehash some old conversations with colleagues in a contemporary setting. More than that, it underscores why I was so thrilled that Andrea, who was initially meant to be a supporting character, grew to become such a strong protagonist.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
My next work in progress (WIP) can best be described as a speculative thriller, blending and bending science, metaphysics, and something akin to the supernatural. It’s a continuation of the short story “Dead Ends” from 50 States. “Dead Ends” was one of the most called-out stories from the anthology and involves a young couple who take a reckless turn off a state highway in Utah and find themselves in a nightmarish government biohazard area. I’ve been relatively consistent in releasing a new book every other year, but I’m hoping to accelerate my pace so this novel is something readers can look forward to toward the end of 2026!
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
In Augusta, Maine, a historic nor’easter unearths sins and secrets buried deep in the town’s past. Billy Stevens, a quarry worker haunted by loss, is drawn into a web of betrayal when a brutal crime pins him as a suspect. Jessica Michaud returns to care for her ailing mother, only to find herself hunted by a vengeful ex whose chilling threats awaken old wounds. And journalist Andrea Kearney digs into a local dynasty’s corruption as the storm’s fury mirrors the rising tide of violence.
With time running out, three lives collide in a desperate fight for survival, where truth becomes a casualty and redemption comes at a cost. Eleven-time award-winning author Richard R. Becker delivers a gritty literary thriller that digs into identity, perception, and the human condition.
Born on Monday
Born on Monday tells the story of Billy Stevens and Jessica Michaud, two people tethered by shared history and unfinished feelings in the small town of Augusta, Maine. It’s a story about trauma, redemption, and how the past has a way of catching up even when we think we’ve buried it. The novel opens with a reunion that feels innocent at first, a meeting in a bar between ex-lovers, but it quickly widens into something much darker. Their lives, already scarred by heartbreak and regret, begin to tangle again through loss, addiction, and violence. Becker’s writing threads together memory and immediacy with quiet dread, pulling the reader through a story that feels both intimate and cinematic.
I couldn’t help but feel pulled under by Becker’s prose. It’s sharp but unpretentious. The way he writes about small towns feels dead-on, that claustrophobic mix of nostalgia and rot. His characters are flawed, all cracked open in ways that feel real, not performative. Billy’s grief feels worn and honest, and Jessica’s shame and self-doubt are haunting. I liked how Becker avoids grand speeches or easy answers. Every conversation carries an undercurrent, like everyone is speaking through layers of history. The pacing is deliberate, but it gives space for emotion to breathe. I found myself pausing often, not because the plot slowed, but because I needed to sit with the weight of what had just happened.
There’s something raw about the ideas Becker plays with, survival, masculinity, and cycles of trauma. Some scenes hit harder than I expected. The quiet domestic pain, the strange kindness between people who are barely holding on, the way memories echo through time. Becker writes people who keep trying, even when they shouldn’t. The story feels true in a way that most “redemption arcs” don’t.
By the end, I wasn’t sure if I felt heartbroken or hopeful. Maybe both. Born on Monday isn’t for readers who want neat resolutions or tidy morals. It’s for those who don’t mind sitting in the mess, who understand that healing isn’t about closure, it’s about survival. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes character-driven fiction that deals with real scars, not storybook wounds. Fans of small-town dramas like Sharp Objects or Winter’s Bone will find something familiar here, but Becker’s voice is his own.
Pages: 352 | ASIN : B0FSSN8XXZ
Guilt and Solitude
Where Despair Comes To Play follows a man consumed by the voices in his head who is convicted of murder and sentenced to prison, where the isolation drives him deep into paranoia, delusion, and dissociation. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for Where Despair Comes to Play came from a fascination with the fragile boundary between the mind and reality—how isolation, guilt, and fear can twist perception until the world itself becomes an echo of one’s thoughts. I wanted to explore what happens when a person is left alone with their own darkness, with no distractions, no noise—only the voices that feed on doubt and memory.
The prison setting became a metaphor for internal confinement. I wasn’t as interested in the crime itself as in what happens afterward—how a mind begins to fracture when trapped in silence and shame. Each of Malcolm’s voices—Paranoia, Delusion, and Dissociation—represents a piece of his psyche trying to survive the unbearable weight of guilt and solitude.
I always start my books with a well-refined thesis statement, similar to what I did for my doctoral dissertation. In many ways, the story was inspired by the question: If you can’t trust your own mind, where can you hide?
Malcolm is a fascinating character who draws readers into his mind and the horrors that reside within it. What scene was the most interesting to write for that character?
The most intriguing scene to write for Malcolm was the one where he finally stops resisting the voices—when Paranoia, Delusion, and Dissociation stop feeling like intruders and start feeling like his only companions. It’s the moment where his isolation becomes complete, and instead of fighting for sanity, he begins to negotiate with his madness.
Writing that scene felt like walking a tightrope between horror and heartbreak. I wanted readers to feel both fear and empathy—to see that Malcolm isn’t a monster but a man slowly breaking under the weight of his own thoughts. Capturing the moment when his inner voices start making more sense to him than reality itself.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
My key theme was the personification of mental illness—turning Paranoia, Delusion, and Dissociation into living entities. It allowed me to explore how mental struggles can feel external and invasive, like something whispering just behind your thoughts. My ultimate goal for the book was to explore what happens when the mind becomes the battleground—and whether redemption is possible when your worst enemy is yourself.
What is the next book that you are writing, and when will that be published?
My next book is actually a love story, Framed in Love, that is steeped in fantasy and explores the psychological condition of “How far will you go, and what are you willing to do to keep that love alive?” In a world where love can be bound by spell and sacrifice, a devoted lover discovers that devotion has no bottom, and is preserving love worth losing everything that makes a person human?
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
As Malcolm struggles to separate reality from nightmare, every letter etched on the wall draws him closer to a final word he may not survive. The line between guilt and madness blurs, and the only question left is chilling: is he haunted by his own mind—or by something far worse that feeds on silence itself?
Morally Compromised Characters
Street Brotherhood follows a teenage boy in 1970s New York, as his search for loyalty and belonging pulls him into a dangerous brotherhood where survival blurs the line between family and gang. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The story is about building a family of choice when your family of origin has betrayed you. It’s about brotherhood forged in the face of adversity, boys who are thrust into bleak and dangerous situations due to familial and systemic neglect. But it also shows how these kids don’t just endure and accept their fate. They strive to exploit it. Street Brotherhood is the second book in the Street series, picking up where the first book left off, but each of them works perfectly as a standalone.
What drew you to set Johnny’s story in 1970s New York, and how did that time and place shape the characters’ lives?
The city plays a huge role in this book. New York in the 1970s was on the brink of financial collapse. Municipalities were struggling under massive layoffs, landlords were selling–or torching–buildings to get out from the debt, and crime was skyrocketing. Johnny’s story reflects all of that. He is cunning enough to see the cracks in the system and is able to use them to his advantage. The story could not have been told in any other place or decade without being inauthentic because the conditions changed. Many of the scenarios are tied to my own experiences, since I came of age at the same time, hanging out in those same streets.
Johnny is both sympathetic and frustrating. How did you balance writing him as flawed yet compelling?
From a writing perspective, the flawed and morally compromised characters are the most fun for me. I love pushing those boundaries for the reader: How bad can a character act while still commanding sympathy? Johnny is a street-smart gang leader, with lofty aspirations, living in a very adult world. But he’s still a teenager. Sometimes his youth is an asset, but other times it’s a liability. That becomes apparent in some of the choices he makes. His gang can also be loyal to a fault, by letting his decisions play out. Peppering in the scenes from Johnny’s childhood helped me make him more sympathetic, while also explaining some of his defects.
The violence feels necessary rather than gratuitous. How did you approach writing those scenes to maintain authenticity without sensationalism?
Great Question. Violence in movies and on TV is so pervasive we become numb to it. On the page, however, it translates differently. My early drafts were dripping with brutal details, but thanks to my beta readers, I toned a lot of it down. I learned that what’s not said can be even more ominous. In Street Brotherhood, the violence is necessary in order for the story to be realistic. But violence is also action, and too many details will slow down the pacing, so I tried to maintain a balance.
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Johnny becomes involved with Marco, a tempestuous drug supplier who inspires admiration, but also rueful reminiscence of Johnny’s father. His demands challenge Johnny’s morals, but the payout is hard to ignore. As is Johnny’s aptitude for carrying out his lethal tasks.
Amid his nefarious entanglements, Johnny falls for Jessica. She is witty and self-assured, opening him to normalcy and tenderness for the first time. But as his worlds spin ever closer, will he escape the brutality of his past or be forced to embrace it?
Hard-Won Epiphanies
Secret Seeds follows a young girl and her mother who are trapped in an abusive home as they break free and wind up in an uncertain world of strangers in a cult-like community. Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?
My five novels center on redemption through courage and perseverance, which bring hard-won epiphanies. In Secret Seeds, I was satisfied with the character development, which also brought me personal insights on the plight of the undocumented.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
When I began the novel, the headlines were filled with stories of aliens – both human and otherwise. Illegal immigration is an emotional topic, and I wanted to craft a heartfelt portrayal to cast the issue in human terms. We also took a trip to Alaska, and the lifecycle of sockeye salmon and how they fight to make the journey home to spawn resonated with me. Only a small percentage make it home, but none get lost due to their perseverance, and I incorporated this theme in the story.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
I am currently working on a medical thriller and hope to have it scheduled for release in the next year or so.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Gabrielle Ruiz, an undocumented migrant farm worker, follows the harvest until she and Luis leave the fields to give their unborn child a better life. But after tragedy strikes, Gabrielle finds herself alone and renounced by her father. Adrift, she meets Dale, a beacon of hope who offers her and her infant daughter, Olivia, a chance at a new beginning. After following him to Maine, they welcome a son. But over the years, Dale’s abuse traps Gabrielle and Olivia. Salvation appears in the enigmatic Rezi, who proposes a daring escape — a plan shrouded in secrecy, promising sanctuary for Olivia within a hidden community. As Gabrielle places her trust in Rezi, she ignites a tempest with Dale and has Olivia questioning whether her protectors are from a twisted cult or messengers from another realm.
In a world where freedom is fragile, Gabrielle’s tenacity and her children’s coming-of-age journeys lead them to question what truly defines “home.”
LITERARY TITAN 