EBOOK
About
In the snowy woods of 1977 rural Ohio, twelve-year-old Jacob Harlan Ballard stalks more than just game.Raised on a remote family farm, Jacob has always been the hunter-learning early the brutal lessons of life and death from his grandfather. But when his uncle returns from Vietnam haunted by unseen demons, and his mother begins disappearing into secretive "Bible studies," Jacob's world starts to fracture.Suspicion takes root. As he pieces together whispers, late-night absences, and a chance encounter that shatters everything he thought he knew about his family, Jacob is forced to confront secrets that cut deeper than any knife. The line between boy and man, innocence and darkness, blurs in the cold shadow of Bishop's Ridge.Raw, unflinching, and steeped in the quiet menace of small-town secrets, The Hunter Within is a psychological coming-of-age tale that explores trauma, family betrayal, and the inescapable pull of bloodlines. Some hunts end not with a clean kill-but with a scream that never fades.Content Warning: This story contains themes of psychological trauma, family dysfunction, implied violence, animal harm (in flashback), and mental health struggles. Mature audiences 17+. Lamar D. Vine is a not a storyteller but a teller of things. He was a former civil servant who received an unexpected early retirement in 2025. He relocated to Southeast Asia and now writes full-time while dividing his time between Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.He is the author of seven published novelettes, including his debut Sanctuary Row, Echoes of Nothing, Eagle 12, The Writer, Flashes of You, SHE, and You Can Never Go Back, Echoes of Nothing, and Eagle 12. His stories are known for their raw, gritty, and unflinching look at coming of age, family trauma, rebellion, lost love, and personal reinvention.Lamar has adapted several of his works into screenplays. His screenplay for The Writer was selected as an Official Nominee at the Venice Shorts Festival, and his screenplay for Echoes of Nothing is an Official Selection at the Beyond Hollywood International Film Festival 2026. Four of his screenplays - The Writer, Flashes of You, Sanctuary Row, and You Can Never Go Back - have also advanced to Quarter-Finalist in the Wiki Screenplay Contest at international film festivals.