I’m excited to announce that my second novel, The Fovea Experiments, is out now from Wicked House Publishing.
So, what’s it all about?
An experiment gone wrong. A survivor under suspicion. A teen searching for the truth.
Ostracized by her friends, Nala finds solace creating true crime content for her YouTube channel. When she breaks into her mother’s private investigator files and finds evidence of multiple teen deaths during a sleep experiment in the 2000s, she’s shocked to see the sole survivor is her schoolteacher. She creates a sensationalist video, outing him as a suspect.
Josh is tormented by what happened during The Fovea Experiments. He gets through the days by throwing himself into his job as a teacher, and survives the nights with a little liquid courage. Nala’s video puts him under suspicion once more, and the trauma he experienced as a teen takes him to breaking point. As he fights to clear his name, he discovers his worst nightmare is unfolding.
Because The Fovea Experiments are happening again. And, this time, the people behind it are determined to see it through to the end. Some say the eyes are the window to the soul. Or are they a doorway to something far worse?
The Fovea Experiments. You’ll never sleep again.
Praise for The Fovea Experiments:
“This book ruined my ability to fall asleep, in the best possible way. Mars has created a story that crawls in through your eyes and lurks in your periphery for days. The Fovea Experiments is visceral, haunting, and sharp as a knife. It was a disturbing, shocking exploration into the place where science and the occult collide.” Jon Cohn – author of Kill Beth and Slashtag
“The Fovea Experiments is loaded with conspiracies, tension, and tremendous horror, but it’s grounded by dynamic characters all dealing with various forms of “down on their luck,” and MJ takes great care to merge these varying features into a book that will both haunt you, and place you squarely in the middle of it. You’ll attach yourself to these people, feel their torment. With crackling prose and whip-smart dialogue, this is MJ at her finest. Just don’t close your eyes.” Gage Greenwood – author of Bunker Dogs
“The Fovea Experiments is exactly what I have come to expect of MJ Mars stories: original, unflinching, and brimming with bold ingenuity. She is truly a visionary. What begins as a quiet unraveling of the past soon spirals into a fast-paced descent into the surreal and terrifying. The story grips you with grounded, emotionally complex characters before plunging headfirst into nightmarish territory. Mars has a talent for horror that doesn’t just shock you in the moment, but haunts you far beyond the closure of the book. You may find yourself racing through these pages, but when it’s time to sleep, good luck finding the courage to close your eyes.” Megan Stockton – author of Lovely, Dark and Deep, Pink Neon, and Bluejay.
