The Loneliest [Paperback]

Stacey Cochran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2011

One year after the heartbreaking loss of his wife, novelist Jason Roberts discovers a cabin hidden far away from the world in North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains. Jackie, his wife, was far too young to die. 

Now Jason must come to terms with grief and loneliness.

Under pressure to deliver a new novel, Jason's mind begins to shatter. He hears voices in the woods, begins seeing children playing in the forest, and starts to lose his hold on reality... as the characters from his latest novel begin appearing in the real world around him.

Jason slips into the delusion that he can materialize the very things he's writing in his book. But the cruelest trick of all comes when he writes Jackie into his story... and is visited by her beautiful, ghostly presence in a cavernous underground lake.

For Jason, he must make a decision to join her in the afterlife by taking his own life, or by holding on to the tattered remains of life without his one true love. 

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Beautifully written." -R.J. Keller, author of Waiting for Spring

"A dark, intricately woven journey into the mind of a troubled writer." -Imogen Rose, author of the Portal Chronicles 

"A blisteringly fast read that blurs the line between supernatural and heart-wrenching reality." -Scott Sigler, author of Ancestor

"The multiple twists and turns in reality keep the reader guessing." -Willow Polson, author of Triune

"Stacey Cochran skillfully blends genres with The Loneliest - an evocative, haunting story about coming to terms with our ghosts, both real and imagined. Powerful." -Scott Nicholson, author of The Red Church

"The Loneliest is, at heart, a haunting-the kind that keeps a writer up at night, sweating. Cochran nails that feeling in a chilling novel that dares us to separate fact from fiction and our dreams from reality. This is some smart pulp." -Anthony Neil Smith, author of All the Young Warriors

From the Back Cover

"The Loneliest has a lot of heart and plenty of shivers. This is new ground for Stacey Cochran, but he knows the lay of the land. He'll lead you into some dark, secluded nooks if you're not careful." -Sean Doolittle, author of Safer

"The Loneliest is a harrowing mine-car ride down into a cavern of terror, obsession, and madness. Stacey Cochran knows just how to get under your skin, and he's not shy about pushing the 'scary' button." -J.D. Rhoades, author of Breaking Cover

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 174 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (September 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1463784309
• ISBN-13: 978-1463784300
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,208,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stacey Cochran is the bestselling author of In Love with Eleanor Rigby, The Colorado Sequence, and CLAWS. One of the first authors to advocate for free and 99-cent pricing, Stacey made it onto numerous bestseller lists in 2009, with his collection The Kiribati Test eventually reaching #6 overall in the Kindle store in January 2010. An excerpt from his current novel-in-progress Eddie & Sunny was selected as a finalist for the James Hurst Prize for Fiction by PEN/Faulkner Finalist Ron Rash in November 2011.

Stacey was born in the Carolinas where his family traces its roots to the mid 1800s. In 1998 he was selected as a finalist for the Dell Magazines Award for undergraduate fiction writing, and he made his first professional short story sale three years later. In 2004, he was selected as a finalist in the St. Martin's Press/PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Contest, and he began teaching at North Carolina State University in 2006. He lives in Raleigh with his wife Susan, son Sam, and daughter Harper Jane. His published books include CLAWS, CLAWS 2, The Colorado Sequence, Amber Page, Born on the Bayou, In Love with Eleanor Rigby, Chromosome 4, The Loneliest, and the short story collection The Kiribati Test.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A page turner, December 4, 2011

By 

Marek - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loneliest (Paperback)

I do not normally read this genre of fiction, but was pleasantly surprised by Stacey Cochran's writing. I literally read the book in one sitting and was not able to put the book down. The story reminded me of one of those terrifying campfire stories when I was a kid. I was freaked out that I was so easily pulled into this haunting story.

I found the main character Jason Robert's sorrow at the loss of his wife so vivid. My hat is off to Stacey Cochran for creating such a powerful story.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of The Loneliest, February 1, 2012

By 

Alison Hill - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loneliest (Paperback)

The Loneliest is one of the best thriller/horror novels I've read in a long time. I was captivated and could not put this book down. The themes of mental anguish and blurred reality are intriguing, and they are skillfully explored through the protagonist's point of view. Despite his problems, the reader can identify with the character Jason Roberts, which makes his predicament all the more tragic. This book is deliciously disturbing and dark, yet at the same time fast paced and enjoyable to read, something very few writers in this genre can achieve. As a true horror fan and writer, I can't wait to read more of Stacey Cochran's work. Watch out Stephen King and Dean Koontz!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Loneliest, January 20, 2012

By 

Will - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Loneliest (Kindle Edition)

Jason Roberts, a writer, works on his newest novel after the death of his wife. With the pressure of the sales world compressing the suicidal whispers in his head, he retreats to a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. And as events in what he perceives to be his real life begin to collide and mesh with his writing, the already hazy line of sanity becomes that much harder to trace.
Names are jumbled, faces are blurred and even pathways and roads are prey to the mind of a long-term schizophrenic like Jason. And everyone's lives--including the reader!--is subject to fall under his spell.
But as the final pages are being written, and he believes he has the power to influence the world around him, Jason's story takes an abrupt and violent turn. And as he tries to write his wife back to the land of the living he, like any loyal husband, must ask himself, "What am I willing to do to get her back?"

Stacey Cochran's volatile blend of suspense and disorder suits this fast-paced story like a tightly-latched straightjacket. Every time you're allowed to creep further into Jason Roberts' mind--and permitted to walk back out--you find yourself having to ask the same questions over and over. Which part of this story is real, and which is from a sliding mind?
THE LONELIEST is a quick read and a powerful one, with an ending that doesn't shy away from the consequences of the decisions we make in life, nor the rewards we may reap for listening to that tiny (albeit sometimes crazy) little voice in our head.
And though it is felt that some scenes were lacking in the story, this is a must-read for any suspense or horror fan. It will have you jumping at that shadow in your periphery, even during the "safe" scenes. Well done, Cochran!