Today’s feature is The Great Dick: And the Dysfunctional Demon by Barry Maher, a supernatural thriller that’s wickedly funny, deeply unsettling, and impossible to put down. If you’re looking for a story that fuses dark comedy with bone-chilling suspense, this one belongs on your list.

It’s 1982, and Steve Witowski is running from his past and the law when he saves a woman named Victoria from a brutal assault. Victoria has just bought a crumbling church with a dark history, and Steve’s single act of heroism entangles him in her world of grave robbing, occult rituals, and secrets that demand blood. Steve refuses to believe in the supernatural, but as visions torment him and the demon’s grip tightens, he learns denial can be fatal. The Great Dick: And the Dysfunctional Demon is a thrilling descent into horror and humor, where reality and nightmare blur until neither can be trusted.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Barry Maher may be the only horror novelist who’s ever appeared in the pages of Funeral Service Insider. In his misspent youth, his articles were featured in perhaps a hundred different publications and, in order to eat, he held nearly that many different jobs. Sometimes he lived on the beach. Not in a house on the beach. On the beach. With the sand and the seagulls.

After a sentence with a Fortune 100 company, he started speaking professionally. He told stories to audiences across the country and around the world: his client-list a Who’s Who of multi-national corporations and large associations.

Awhile back, Barry lost the ability to tell time, courtesy of a baseball-size, cancerous, brain tumor. He awoke from having his skull cut open without the tumor, but with the story that became “The Great Dick: And the Dysfunctional Demon,” a darkly funny, supernatural thriller set in California in 1982. Early praise calls the book “wholly fresh and original,” “witty, literate, scary, sexy,” and “an absolute blast.”

On the downside, Maher’s actually been incarcerated twice. Once for not making a left hand turn out of a left hand turn lane, and once for aiding and abetting a loiterer. He’s deeply repentant.

Barry Maher has lived many lives — poet, journalist, syndicated columnist, and international speaker. Known for his dark humor and sharp perspective, he’s been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and appeared on The Today Show, CNN, and CNBC. His work, whether on the page or on stage, always surprises and captivates. Learn more on his website or connect with him on Facebook.