Cradle Lake

A novella.

When Alan Hammerstun inherits a quaint ranch house from his late uncle, nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, he seizes the opportunity to take his wife Heather away from New York, where the couple had been haunted by the aftermath of two miscarriages.  The rural North Carolina town is just what the Hammerstuns need to start over and get their life back on track and hopefully cure Heather’s severe depression.

And for a while, everything seems perfect.  In fact, too perfect — the neighbors are young and handsome and healthy, and everyone is very friendly.  Even Alan’s terrible stomach ulcer has lessened since the move.  If only Heather’s depression could do the same...

But the town harbors a secret — one that seems like a gift at first, a miracle.  Yet there is a price everyone must pay to use this gift, and Alan soon learns that this miracle may in fact be a nightmare.