The Raven's Sepulcher by Gary Cottle

I wrote The Raven’s Sepulcher after my head surgeries in 1997. Moving around caused the blood pressure in my head to go up, which caused me pain, so I couldn’t do much of anything for about a year. I used that time to finally pursue my dream of writing a novel. I could do that while sitting still. The basic story came to me several years before when I read in WVU’s student newspaper that a mysterious room had been found in the attic of my old dormitory. I polished and worked on the story for years, and I decided this past spring that it was time to share it.

The Raven’s Sepulcher is about a teenage girl on the verge of adulthood who is sent to live with her grandmother. The grandmother lives in old colonial farmhouse in New England. There’s a spooky old cemetery behind the house and a strange chapel in the attic. Eventually, Allison learns that her family belongs to an old and secretive cult, and she has to decide if she will join as her family wants and expects or if she will reject the cult’s barbaric practices and run for her life.

It’s a thriller with elements of supernatural horror, and, as some may guess, it reflects the terror that accompanied the struggle for independence many of us experienced. Some families simply do not want their children to be who they are, and they would rather crush their hopes and dreams than allow them to be free. The Raven’s Sepulcher is a tomb for a broken spirit.

It's at Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Smashwords.