Psychasthenia (A Novel)

Copyright © 2011 of James Pettis, III

OK... it's official, I have no idea what I want to do with Psychasthenia. I think I'm going to make it a novel (but then the next thing I do will probably be to make a blog for Psychasthenia and post all of the various plot changes it has gone through).

Anyway, Psychasthenia is a story that I have obviously been developing for a long time (4 years to be exact). They plot is similar to the plot I originally posted Here, but it is slightly different as far as the main focus of the story.

Eighteen year old Ethan Pachsyis is an outgoing, exuberant, and caring young man about to graduate from his high school and is going to the University of California to study Social Sciences. Ethan is also borderline bipolar, with a tendency to have frequent mood swings and hallucinations. Despite all this, Ethan is determined to make something of himself. That is until his father is murdered brutally in their 10,000 square foot Cape Cod Style home in Los Angeles. After this tragic event, Ethan is no longer outgoing, exuberant, and caring, but somber and callous as his father was. As more lives are lost, Ethan becomes more insensitive than before, leading detectives on the case to believe he is the murderer. But all the while in the shadows, Ethan has a secret admirer who is obsessed with him and is dying to get his attention… even if he has to be killed.

This will most likely become a novel (and may be my first to publish, to prevent anymore plot changes). Stay posted for more info about Psychasthenia.

Salem

Copyright © 2011 of James Pettis, III

Salem is a new story I have come up with and it is loosely based on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. It is about a middle aged lady coercing a young man into using black magic.

In Salem Village 1692, there is discourse that witches are living among the villagers. This doesn't stop twenty-year-old Isaac Ackworth from living a jubilant life in this abysmal town. Isaac is very close with his next door neighbors Isabel Horthall and Nathanial "Nathan" Horthall, III (her son), but unfortunately Nathanial Horthall, Jr. (Isabel's husband and Nathanial's father) has strong loathing of Isaac and could care less about him. Isabel, on the other hand, is fascinated by Isaac and is always trying to spend time with him. At the time of his twenty-first birthday, Isabel takes Isaac away and reveals a dark secret... she's a witch. She uses threats and blackmail to coerce Isaac to cooperate with her and join her Wicca coven. But when word gets around of the use of black magic in Salem, Isaac is forced to choose a side, or die.

I think this idea will be fun to write. It is a dark fantasy and psychological thriller, which will deal with a lot of different topics and plots. Stay tuned for more ideas about Salem.

Random Character Quotes of the Day

"I'm coming to pay my respects... and don't be mad at me 'cause you know your father was a selfish, self-absorbed freak... he deserved what he got."

- Peter Jones

(from Psychasthenia)

Random Character Quotes of the Day

"Hmm... you shouldn't have said that... now you'll rue the day that thought came to your mind..."

- Ethan Pachsyis

 (from Psychasthenia)

Psychasthenia

Copyright © 2010 of James Pettis, III

Psychasthenia was my first psychological thriller that I had come up with, it is now the second (due to the creation of Shattered Psyche, and me not really planning on writing this story). Psychasthenia is about a serial killer who is killing people in Los Angeles, California for unexplained reasons with several suspects being involved. To help you all understand what Psychasthenia is about, here is it's dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 10th Edition:

Psychasthenia - a neurotic state characterized esp. by phobias, obsessions, or compulsions that one knows are irrational.

The Pachsyis Family is one of the wealthiest families in Los Angeles. They own a company called Anderson Corp. (a stock market company) that is run by Daniel Pachsyis and his older brother Andrew Pachsyis. Daniel has a son named Ethan Pachsyis, whom Daniel is wanting to take over the company once he is older. But Andrew also has a son named Justin Pachsyis II (named after their father), whom he wants to run the company when he is older. The brothers have constant conflicts during stock exchanges, causing it to be slightly difficult for the company (though they are still successful). Soon when strange serial killings erupt in the city of Los Angeles, Detective Marcus Rhodes (one of Los Angeles' best detectives) is put on the case, only to find himself twisted up in several scams and killings that somehow link to the famous Pachsyis Family.

This wasn't exactly the original plot for Psychasthenia, but it's storyline will be similar to the original version I was writing. Stay tuned for more info about Psychasthenia.

Random Character Quotes of the Day

"Sometimes I wonder how I got in the situation I'm in... I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't tried to stop the Doctor. Would it have made a difference in the outcome of the situation? But if I hadn't stopped him, the patients would still have to deal with what they had been going through... I don't think I could live with all that on my conscience."

- Ryan Parker

(from Shattered Psyche)

Shattered Psyche

Copyright © 2010 of James Pettis, III

Shattered Psyche is about a young man that works a psychiatric ward in his town. Then he finds out that some crooked things are going on in the psych ward.

Ryan Parker is a twenty two year old and he works at the local psychiatric ward in his town. Ryan works under Dr. Nicholas Rodgers; one of the best Doctors in the town and he has very good remorse with the patients. One of the patients seems to favorite Ryan the more, his name is Kyle Jefferson. Kyle is just twenty one and has been in the psychiatric ward since he was twenty. Ryan visits Kyle everyday to make sure he is doing all right. One night Kyle tells Ryan he used to work at the ward; Ryan looks slightly puzzled, causing Kyle to think Ryan thinks he's "crazy". Ryan disagrees, saying he's not crazy. Unsure of what to do with the info received, Ryan confides in Dr. Rodgers. Dr. Rodgers denies Kyle ever working there, and stating, "you can't listen to patients, 'cause they're crazy." Ryan then researches this finding Kyle's old employee records stating he was fired for "unexplained reasons". After this, things become stranger and stranger as dark secrets come to the light in this psychological thriller.

This is my most recent idea that I have, it was in the back of my mind for at least two years though. I was trying to figure out what it was going to be about, then it just came to me. This is officially my first psychological thriller (I had another idea I came up with in '08 called Psychasthenia, which I'm bringing back), so I'm very excited. Please stay posted for more info about Shattered Psyche.