Celebrate Women in Horror Month with… Surreal Escapes

 

Hi everyone!

Valentine’s Day is over, and if you’ve had your fill of love and romance for a while, why not curl up with a horror story—or several horror stories?

To celebrate Women in Horror month, I’m sharing a look at my short story anthology, Surreal Escapes. The stories in this collection don’t fall into one set category and range from a bit spooky, to humorous, to… just about anything I can imagine.

In this collection of seven speculative stories, ordinary people start off having an average, normal day… until they encounter the world of the surreal. They’ve entered another realm where anything can—and does—happen.

My horror stories have always been a bit different from the norm. They’re more psychologically scary than gory. And some of my “horror” stories aren’t intended to scare at all—they just happen to have main characters who are a little bit… dead.

When I decided to put this collection together, I wanted to feature a broad spectrum of stories that would appeal to a variety of readers. (I also liked the idea of having several of my short stories available to readers all in one place.) They’re not all ghost stories (although several stories feature ghosts in some way) and they’re not all about Halloween. (But of course some are—after all, it is my favorite holiday!)

Authors are always asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” so I decided to share a peek at my writing process. I’ve included a brief note at the end of each story (as I did in my sci-fi anthology, Extraterrestrial Encounters), explaining what inspired me to write it, where I got the idea, or general comments about the plot or the characters.

I hope you enjoy these stories. Some are humorous, some will make you think, and others might unnerve you a bit, but they will all take you on a journey into the surreal for a little while.

Here’s the book summary and links:

Surreal Escapes - 7 Speculative Stories

Are you ready to take a journey into the unexpected?

In these 7 speculative stories, ordinary people start off having an average, normal day… until they encounter the world of the surreal. They quickly realize they’re in another realm where anything can—and does—happen.

Some of these tales include:

“Holiday Havoc” – The night shift in a retail store hosts the ultimate Halloween vs. Christmas showdown

“Little Boy Lost” – After several strange incidents, Beverly suspects her son’s imaginary friend isn’t so imaginary

“The Man in Apt. 3-A” – What do you do when you discover your neighbor is a vampire?

“Whispers from the Past” – Not all ghosts are scary… or strangers

This collection of short fiction will unnerve you, spark your imagination, and make you wonder what else is possible in the world of the surreal.

Order your copy here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DBWRLCB3

Other Platforms: https://books2read.com/u/b5ge7O

If you love horror and are celebrating all things scary this month, visit the Horror, Mystery & More page on my site: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/horror to read about all of my spooky stories!

Until next time…

Happy Reading!

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9 mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first time in The Route 9 Killer.

Kelli’s 24th romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in 2025.

In 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list, social media links, and more.

Celebrate Women in Horror Month with The Route 9 Stalker - A New Release!

 Hi everyone!

February is “Women in Horror” month, and to celebrate, I’m sharing a look at my new release, The Route 9 Stalker. It’s technically a mystery/thriller, but it has a strong horror element built into the plot. And how could a story about a serial killer not be scary?

The Route 9 Stalker is a follow-up (of sorts) to The Route 9 Killer and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Although the books share two main characters, each stands alone as an individual read, and you can read them in any order.

Here are the book summary and links:  

The Route 9 Stalker

(A Mystery/Thriller)

It started with a body in the woods — and turned into a hunt for a deranged stalker.

Late one evening, Megan Graystone enters a police station and reports that she witnessed a man dumping a woman’s body in the woods.

But with no concrete proof and no sign of foul play, Detective Jim Rourke dismisses her story — until a woman’s mutilated body is found close by. As Rourke investigates the victim’s past, he learns that she was being stalked by a mysterious stranger — and so were several other murdered women.

Rourke discovers that the elusive stalker is playing a twisted game; changing identities and vanishing after each murder. With no other option, Rourke enlists Megan Graystone’s help to trap the stalker — although it means putting her in grave danger.

Can Rourke stop the stalker before he kills and disappears again?

Order your copy here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GGTTNPXG

Other Platforms: https://books2read.com/u/bxll2P

Want more? Meet Detective Jim Rourke for the first time in The Route 9 Killer. Read the book summary and reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/the-route-9-killer

***

When I wrote The Route 9 Killer, I didn’t know I would eventually write another book featuring Detective Rourke. But one day I was looking through my folder of ideas for stories I might write “someday” and came across a simple premise: A woman sees a man dumping a body in the woods, and the killer comes after her. I thought about it for a while and began to toy with ways to expand the idea.

I started wondering: What if this wasn’t this guy’s first kill? Who are the women he has killed? Why is he killing them? How does he find his victims? I started piecing the story together in my head and thought of ways I could bring Detective Rourke onto the case.

Three years after the events that took place in The Route 9 Killer, Detective Jim Rourke has finally put the unwanted publicity from that case behind him, and he never wants to hear about serial killers again.

However, fate has delivered him a woman’s mutilated body—the same body Megan claimed to have seen in the woods. When Rourke’s fellow Detective Ed Dolenz uncovers similar cold cases, Rourke finds himself hunting another serial killer. He learns that a man is stalking and viciously murdering women he meets on dating sites. Rourke and Dolenz are able to link the killings to a mysterious man who switches identities and vanishes after each murder.

Is the man Megan saw in the woods connected to the murders? Rourke thinks he might be, and he needs Megan’s help catching him. But Dolenz theorizes that there might be more than one killer…

When I plotted the book, I decided Megan would be a focal point of the story, and she plays a central role in helping Rourke catch the killer. Right from the start, readers see that Megan isn’t a big fan of the police, and she’s cautious when dealing with strangers. Although she knows she’s potentially the target of a serial killer, she isn’t frightened off. Why? Because she’s a lifelong horror movie fan and she follows “the rules” of staying alive and defending herself against predators.

I intentionally played up the theme of “protecting yourself” in the book. As a single woman living alone, Megan fits the profile of the killer’s victims, but she’s smart and has a no-nonsense attitude when it comes to her personal safety and boundaries. Some of that comes from mocking horror movie heroines who make bad choices, but a lot of it comes from her relationship with her best friend, Lori.

Throughout the book, whenever something disturbing or strange happens, Megan talks to her friend Lori. This gives readers a break from Rourke’s investigation, and readers can see what seemingly innocent interactions Megan has with people turn out to be vital to the case.

Lori acts as a sounding board for Megan’s concerns (or lack thereof) and Lori cautions her to be careful since “Rourke is using her as bait for a serial killer.” Megan keeps reassuring everyone that she’ll be okay and she can handle things. But can she?

Everyone isn’t who (or what) they seem in this story, and without giving away any plot details or spoilers, I can say that Rourke, Megan, and the killer come together in the end, and the story packs a great twist ending.

I loved writing this book, and I incorporated a bit of myself into the plot. As a lifelong horror movie fan (and someone who loves Halloween), I decided to have the entire story take place the week before Halloween. It added an element of surprise to the ending and helped build suspense. (And yes, my best friend is named Lori. She thought the book was great, by the way!)

I hope you will add both Route 9 books to your 2026 reading list. Readers have asked me if I’m going to give Detective Rourke one more case to solve and complete a trilogy. I’ve been considering it… What do you think?

If you love horror and are celebrating all things scary this month, visit the Horror, Mystery & More page on my site: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/horror to read about all of my spooky stories!

Until next time…

Happy Reading!

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9 mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first time in The Route 9 Killer.

Kelli’s 24th romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in 2025.

In 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list, social media links, and more.

Celebrate Women in Horror Month with The Route 9 Killer

 

Hi everyone!

February is “Women in Horror” month, and horror is one of my favorite genres. I love scaring (or at least unnerving) readers with my horror fiction. But sometimes horror stories don’t feature “traditional monsters” like vampires or werewolves… sometimes human beings are capable of terrifying us more than any ghost ever could.

The Route 9 Killer is one of those stories. It’s a bit dark… but then again, how could a story about a serial killer not be?

Years ago, I had an idea for a serial killer/mystery/thriller story that was sparked by something simple: I was driving somewhere and saw a woman’s shoe lying in the road.

Immediately, my writer brain started asking questions: Whose shoe was it? What happened to the woman? Where was the other shoe? Why was this shoe in the road? Strange? Yes. But writers think that way. Anything that catches our attention can spark a flurry of questions and develop into a story idea.

I started wondering about the shoe and then an idea hit me. It was a simple “What if…” premise: What if a woman was abducted and the only evidence left behind was her shoe in the road? I bounced this idea off of a few people, and they scoffed. “Who cares about a shoe? Why would anything think someone was abducted based on a shoe?” But, when I explained my story idea, they were intrigued.

I wrote an outline for the story and filed it in my “someday I’ll write this” folder and moved on to other projects. (At the time, I was writing romances and not focusing on horror/mysteries.) Then “someday” arrived and I wrote the story.

As the title implies, the book is a mystery/thriller involving a serial killer. The hero, Detective Jim Rourke, thinks he’s discovered a serial killer operating in Central New Jersey. The only problem is, nobody believes him. The women are abducted from different towns in the same county and their bodies are dumped in different towns in another county. This makes it hard for the police to connect the crimes or even see a pattern. To them, the killings are random.

Detective Rourke is also investigating the disappearance of a woman named Allison Kendrick. When the book opens, her boyfriend is at the police station, reporting her missing. Are the two cases related? Rourke thinks they might be.

The book then switches to the point-of-view of a young woman who wakes up in a strange place, handcuffed to a bed. When I wrote her character, I knew didn’t want to make her a helpless victim. Yes, she’s hurting, scared, and in a really, really bad situation, but she’s smart and a fighter—and determined to escape. She knows she’s responsible for her own fate. Nobody is coming to rescue her.

No thriller would be complete without a peek into the life (and mind) of the antagonist. Our not-so-nice killer has a few scenes of his own where we get inside his mind, see what makes him lose control, and gives a hint at why he does what he does.

Without giving away any plot details or spoilers, I can say that our three main characters come together in the end, and the story packs a great twist ending. (If you’ve read the book and loved it, please post a positive review online (no spoilers, please!).

But then… there’s the Epilogue, where we get a little more info on Rourke’s case—and another shocker.

Although the story has a very serious/dark subject matter, I stayed away from overt sexual violence toward our heroine. I didn’t want to write anything too dark, too graphic, and nothing along the lines of “torture porn” or an unsettling episode of Criminal Minds. I concentrated on Rourke and his investigation. The other characters are there to pull the reader into the story through their points-of-view and increase the drama and tension. I think it worked. (Readers and reviewers seem to agree, too!)

And just in time for Women in Horror Month, I released a new mystery/thriller featuring Detective Jim Rourke, The Route 9 Stalker. (I’ll be blogging more about that book soon, but you can read about it here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/horror/the-route-9-stalker)

Here’s the book summary and order links for:

The Route 9 Killer

(A Mystery/Thriller)

It started with a search for a missing woman — and turned into a hunt for a serial killer.

Early one morning, a distraught young man enters a police station and reports that his girlfriend disappeared on a deserted stretch of road the night before.

With no witnesses and no leads, it falls to Detective Jim Rourke to find out the truth — and Rourke’s investigation leads him to believe that Allison Kendrick might have fallen into the clutches of a serial killer.

Several other missing women have turned up dead — tortured and dumped along secluded sections of Route 9. Rourke is alone on a manhunt, and time is running out.

Can Rourke catch the killer and rescue the next victim before it’s too late?

Order your copy here:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Route-Killer-Mystery-Thriller-ebook/dp/B0C63NHC51

All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/m2qd16

Read reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/the-route-9-killer

Want more? Join Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case, The Route 9 Stalker: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/horror/the-route-9-stalker

If you love horror and are celebrating all things scary this month, visit the Horror, Mystery & More page on my site: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/horror to read about all of my spooky stories!

Until next time…

Happy Reading!

Kelli A. Wilkins

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9 mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.

Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first time in The Route 9 Killer.

Kelli's 24th romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy romantic adventure, was published in 2025.

In 2024, she released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7 speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.

Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins 

and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com for a full title list, social media links, and more.