Twine

by Jon Herrera

Twine is a psychological horror novelette.

John suffers from crippling anxiety. His life consists of working at a print shop and avoiding social interaction as much as possible by locking himself up in a basement apartment. Everything changes when he meets Jillian, a beautiful girl who walks into his life and flips it upside down, making him into someone confident.

But at the same time another woman enters his life. A dark shadow that haunts his dreams when he sleeps. Soon, John finds himself in the middle of a deadly game of tug-of-war between Jillian and the shadow of his nightmares.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller

27 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2013

About the author

Born in El Salvador during the civil war, Jon Herrera immigrated with his family to Ontario, Canada at the age of eleven. Settling in the Niagara Region, Jon attended university, graduating with a degree in Physics and Mathematics. He has always had a keen interest in creativity in its many forms. His writing is the result of a love for fantasy and science fiction. A long time sufferer of anxiety and depression, Jon uses his perspective and experiences to ground his work. He now lives in Western Ontario with his partner and two loving cats.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book just grabbed me right into the story of John, a man who suffered from such terrible anxiety he basically only had work as his life. That is until the day he meets Jillian, who changes him into a man with self confidence. Of course, this is a horror story and not a fairy tale so you will have to read and find out if John gets to have a lived happily ever after life!

Since this is a short story I was able to read it at one sitting. I enjoyed this well written story and plan to read more from this author.

[Charlie Ika-Heimonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a most engaging short-story about a man who suffers with terrible anxieties. I read it all in one sitting. In fact, I may re-read it to fully understand the layers of this character.

I feel like Herrera gave me a bit of an inside track on what it feels like to live with anxiety, and how crippling it can make life.

There are many mysteries surrounding this story and I haven't figured them all out yet. - I like that feeling. The feeling that leaves you contemplating what truth is. Haven't felt this way since Life of Pi.

Was it all metaphorical, imagined, or real? And if one of the first two options, who was Lauren? What really happened to her? And the older Jon? How did that happen? Is it a real futuristic glimpse? - These are a few of the fantastically puzzling questions Herrera lets circle in the mind in this psychological novella.

[J. Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way this short story started off, I thought it was headed in a completely different direction than it did. That confused me at first. Once I got more into the story, I decided to forget about the technology introduction because it didn't really go with the actual meat of the story.

I would have loved to have the relationship between John and his two women (check the blurb) fleshed out a little more. Other aspects (one mentioned above) could have been removed to allow the story to remain at its current length.

It doesn't take long to read this story and I did enjoy it. There was a nice twist at the end.

[Marguerite Czajka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but the overly effusive reviews leave me a little puzzled about what they see that I don't. I might have given it another star if my expectations hadn't been set so high by the Goodreads and Amazon reviews.

[Kathy Floyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unusual, but good.

I enjoyed this story, even though it was a little different from what I usually read. it has a nice surprise at the end.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good premise, could have been expanded a bit..