Madness of My Dreams

Ink and Malice

Successful fantasy author Charles Inkwell has spent a decade building the world of A Demon’s Quest, a land of sprawling forests, ancient warriors, and dark magic. But after a near-fatal car accident leaves him in a six-week coma, his creation becomes his cage.

Charles wakes to a waking nightmare: he is confined to the high-security psychiatric ward of Chud Institution, accused of violent outbursts he doesn't remember. While his doctors see a man lost to hallucinations, Charles is actually living a double life. Every time he closes his eyes, he is pulled back into the "Here and Now"—the very world he wrote into existence.

But his characters are no longer under his control. From the legendary bodyguard Yang to the terrifying entity known as The Presence, the beings Charles birthed now recognize their creator—and some want revenge. Looming over it all is Golvath, a demon whose malice has infected the story itself, reaching out from the pages to claim a debt that can only be paid in blood.

With the help of a sympathetic nurse who begins to suspect the impossible truth, Charles must navigate a perilous path between two worlds. Armed with a mysterious silver dime and a glimmering quill, he has one chance to rewrite the ending before the demon erases his legacy—and his life—for good.

In a world where imagination is the ultimate weapon, the story you write might be the one that kills you.