Cold Stairs

By Mark Petersen

Winner of an Honorable Mention Virginia Tech Literary Award, this story takes place in Eastern Kentucky and is based on what might have been a true ghost story. I consider this to be my best finished piece, and I look forward to your feedback. Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Petersen
• Release date: Apr 29, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458068514

Mark Petersen

Addictions counselor by day. Crime fiction addict and author by night. Any resemblance to the quirky criminals in my book is, um, mostly coincidental. Previously employed as an archaeologist, truck driver, logger, and bike-tour guide in Paris. I attended law school for one day. That was enough. Crime is way more interesting.

Book preview

Cold Stairs

Mark Petersen

Published by Mark Petersen at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Mark Petersen

Cover designed by Kyle Stevens

Special thanks to my friends and family, specifically Bill Whalen and Jeff Stanford.

Also, much thanks to Jeff Mann and the Virginia Tech English Department for recognizing me with an award.

Thank you for downloading this free ebook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support.

This story is dedicated to those brave men and women who provide our country with coal and energy.

It is also dedicated to the people of Eastern Kentucky, thank you for a great summer.

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Harlan County, Kentucky is a land steeped in tradition, legend, and lore. It is a land where men are tough and death is brutal. Daily, men risk their lives in the sulfurous, black bowels of the earth to produce coal, the lifeblood of the region. Black and brittle, the coal is drawn out of the ground on