Outside Room 8

Oswald Haggardy is a man who, for the past forty-five years, has never left his place of business: the Dime-A-Dozen Motel. The very idea of stepping foot outside puts him in a dizzying downward spiral. Mocked by coworkers and falling asleep to the sound of cartoons, he struggles every day with boredom and fear as a faceless enemy stalks the dark corners of his room.

But when a mysterious guest arrives and takes refuge in Room 8, turning his already stressful life into an unplanned, chaotic, aggravating nightmare, Oswald's safety net begins to fray. Or, at least, that's how he sees it.

More people arrive at the derelict motel, seemingly out of nowhere, and Oswald does his best to cater to them as he struggles with his own repressed feelings. And those dark thoughts of the past multiply as his hours sleeping and hours awake are plagued by tortures seen only to him.

About the Author

Olivia Ranz is a family-oriented woman with a lean towards the science-fiction/thriller side of the world. She owes everything to her parents, Edward and Peggy, as well as her two older brothers, David and Tommy. They've supported her through every endeavor and were with her every step of the way through the journey her first published book has made.

Chapter 5 was actually inspired by real life events of Olivia Ranz attending her second comic convention where she met some of her favorite sci-fi actors. Though the aftermath the character went through was very exaggerated in comparison with how Ranz reacted (which was only slight embarrassment and a shrug of the shoulders), the experience did legitimately happen.