Michael Coughlin

Several Lives Removed Michael Coughlin

Damn Nightmares. They are composed by the decisions you make in the light. They leave their rotting fingerprints all across your life until you are exhausted, broken and filled with regrets. John Hodge spent thirty years living a nightmare that haunted his nights. In order to survive the physical and emotional toll it exacted, Hodge created an insular world in a small town, Scyluller's Harbor on the North Shore of Long Island. With each passing day and with the help of his small circle of friends, he learned to cope with the self-loathing and the grief that washed in like the night tide and filled the darkness. He realized that some nightmares follow you like a shadow and to cope with them you need the predictable, uncomplicated, safe and the secure routine of the day. Although he learned to co-exist with the consequences of two decisions he made several lifetimes ago, he gave up any hope of redemption. When the dark dreams unexpectedly return with a vengeance, Hodge's safe and secure world is shattered first by the love of a beautiful woman and then by a monster who shares some of the same nightmares. As the monster's bloodlust increases, Hodge and his new love are drawn deeper into the terror. In a race to prevent more bloodshed, events, both past and present, conspire to destroy all that Hodge holds dear with the realization that the worst nightmares are experienced with eyes wide awake.