I just finished reading a novel called The Wide Game by Michael West. Michael lives near me and I was able to meet up with him at our local Krogers to buy a signed copy from him. The novel is good and he is exceptional at creating memorable characters that you can identify with. The story takes place in Harmony, Indiana (Harmony is a fictional town) and is about a group of high svhool students who take their senior skip day to participate in something called The Wide Game. It involves a race through a vast cornfeild to a rock quary for swimming and partying. On the way, an ancient evil is awakened and begins to stalk the students. The story is set in the 1980's, which is fun for those of us who grew up in that time period.
Michael West has sold several short stories to various markets and has some big projects on the horizon, so I'm sure we'll all be hearing more from him soon. His short story God Like Me was voted #7 of the top short horror stories of 2007 by the Preditors and Editors poll. He's a very nice guy as well.
If you are interested in checking out The Wide Game, you can order it at the following link: