Overview

A song is a small thing. The smallest thing. Until it becomes the smallest door you'll ever walk through-and you realize something is waiting on the other side. In RyeHill, Oregon, sixteen-year-old Jacob Robinson expects nothing more from October than cold wind and thrift store hunts. But for twenty-five cents at Second Chances, he finds a blank 45 record etched with a single, cryptic warning: play it loud. Intrigued by the anonymous vinyl, Jacob drops the needle. The melody is smooth, haunting, and immediately unforgettable-crawling deep inside his head and refusing to leave. The countdown begins. It always takes seven days. As the music grows deafeningly loud behind his ribs, Jacob and his tight-knit circle of friends-Luna, Steve, and Aimie-uncover a century-old pattern of bizarre, gruesome ""accidents"" tearing through their small town. Tracing the static back through history, they unlock the dark legacy of Ezekiel Pratt, an 1860s itinerant preacher who struck a desperate bargain in a fever dream, unleashing a parasitic auditory entity known as the Hollow Man. The song doesn't care what format it rides-wax, vinyl, or shellac-it only requires a door, and human ears are always left unlocked. With the supernatural clock ticking down to Jacob's own fatal deadline, the four teenagers must track down a lead-lined iron chest and an ancient manuscript hidden by a deceased collector to stage a desperate ritual. But the entity has learned patience, and it will violently dismantle anyone who tries to turn the volume down. Perfect for fans of Stephen King and technological dread and the atmospheric cosmic horror, THE B-SIDE is a claustrophobic, cross-era nightmare that will change the way you listen to your favorite playlist forever. Once the needle drops, you can never unhear it.

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Steve Melaney is a dark fantasy and speculative horror author who writes stories at the intersection of whimsical wonder and creeping dread. Heavily influenced by the atmospheric, melancholy shadows of goth/rock and the gritty energy of late-night B-movies, his prose explores the eerie spaces where ordinary life fractures to reveal the supernatural. Steve is the creator of the expansive Puddlebrook Tales, a multi-book middle-grade and young adult crossover series that blends the rich, nostalgic magic and haunting gothic realism. His storytelling spans multiple timelines and sub-genres, from whimsical cosmic mysteries from quiet countryside villages to the claustrophobic, tech-meets-terror of his standalone manuscript, THE B-SIDE: A Tale from RyeHill, which draws deeply on classic Americana and the structural tension of slasher films. Whether he is inventing intricate magic systems rooted in human memory or tracking a parasitic, century-old entity as it hitchhikes its way from historical relics into modern streaming audio, Steve focuses on high-concept lore anchored by a fierce emotional core. Driven by a lifelong fascination with horror movies, rock, goth & punk music and graphic novels Steve can frequently be found hunting through the dust of local antique stores for forgotten treasures, or sitting sipping coffee [usually with cake), and writing the kind of stories you were never supposed to discover, but will never forget.

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