Jeff Schanz, Author



Merrick,
The Drifter



Series



Lycaon's Fire



Book 1





A small town hides a savage mystery someone is killing to protect.

A mild-mannered drifter carries a deadly secret that leaves slaughter in his wake.

They clash at a remote bus stop on the way to nowhere, with time to kill.

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The legend of the flesh-eating wolf-people that live in the mountains has preyed upon a remote Montana town for years. People go missing, presumed dead, suspected eaten alive. Though the myth is considered silly superstition to most residents, someone or something is killing to protect the truth.


A mild-mannered drifter named Merrick, a haunted man with his own brutal, deadly secret, passes through the town, accidentally setting in motion a chain of events that will bring the town’s bizarre mysteries to light. When a fearless and feisty young waitress named Kat offers her help, she and Merrick fall into the murderous crosshairs of entities who eliminate anyone that threatens their agenda.


On a forested mountain, far from anyone who can hear them scream, Merrick, Kat, and their allies are hunted in an unholy ritual, where the game is survival and the prize is life. But not all who are hunted are easy prey. Something else that no one counted on, something powerful and savage that can kill with the swipe of its clawed hand, also stalks the mountain.

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In the light of the sacrificial fire, the bloodthirsty hunters will face an unfathomable killing machine in a showdown that pits monster against monstrosity.



Cavern Of The Awakened



Book 2





They stalk the uncharted caverns, hunting terrified residents of a tiny Texas town. Powerful, lethal, and bloodthirsty. No human can oppose them.

But something else can.

* * * *


Merrick Hull scours the American countryside, chasing obscure and bizarre leads, desperate to discover anything that can either rid him of the beast within or the murderous agents that hunt him. Only then can he and his beloved Kat safely be together. Rumors of abductions and murders by cavern-dwelling monsters draw him to a small town in Texas. Where there’s monsters, there might be answers. However, he finds much more there than he bargained for.


Merely asking questions invites an attempt on his life by the nightmarish beings that call themselves The Awakened. Not only do the demonic creatures plague the nearly abandoned town, but agents have inexplicably arrived!


The agents and The Awakened appear to be working together, both answering to a man whose resources seem limitless and his reach immeasurable.


To solve both the town’s troubles and his own, with only a motley handful of friends to aid him, Merrick sets out on a reckless mission to confront the powerful man. But The Awakened and their master have a chilling agenda and Merrick’s plans soon turn into a life or death rescue operation.


Vastly outnumbered by an enemy stronger than anything Merrick has ever faced, the deadly entity known as The Other One is the last chance to save his friends and himself. Yet, the beast’s only purpose is to destroy. If Merrick can survive, will anyone he cares about be left alive when the killing is through?



I Am Ruin



Book 3





The answers to Merrick's mysteries are within his grasp. They will also tear him apart. What happens when the monster inside is freed?

* * * *

Merrick and Kat hike across the U.S., searching for a solution to the monstrous entity (aka The Other One) that dwells inside Merrick. When the pursuit of their latest clue, “Everbright,” runs aground in a tiny Arkansas town, the couple stick around to dig further, unaware of the insidious net closing around them.


Like Merrick, other desperate hybrid souls have gravitated to the little town, chasing similar clues and rumors. When two beautiful siblings reveal themselves as fellow hybrids, a deadly trap is triggered, threatening Merrick and Kat’s lives, and their relationship.


Lies, misdirection, and deceptive agendas muddy the distinction between allies and enemies. Merrick becomes a pawn in a secret war between shadowy warlords coveting The Other One as a weapon at any cost. Looking to cash in, an enterprising doctor hunts Merrick with one objective: tear The Other One from Merrick’s body and sell it to the highest bidder.


The Other One is an uncontrollable, uncontainable beast bent on destruction and death, defiant of any “master.” Yet, it’s not the only monster to fear. Another creature of unfathomable power and violence is unleashed to capture Merrick and The Other One, sparking a cataclysm that could destroy the town and everyone in it.


With help from “Everbright,” Merrick must reconcile his two halves to avert catastrophe in an endgame of deception, treachery, and murder. It will take a monster to destroy a monster.

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[Merrick series, unnamed book]



Book 4





(No release date available at this time}

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