Thorns

About the Book

Mason Asylum is not to be taken lightly. Everyone in town knows that one would have to be heinous, ruthless and detached to get in. And that person would have to be even more clever, cunning and conniving to get out. “The hill” upon which it rests stands as a daunting shadow over the city, often interpreted by citizens as both a reminder of heroic services rendered and a symbol of tyrannical power over the populace, holding a proverbial atomic bomb of the criminally insane. Thorns, the first book in the “Mason Cases” series, is a detailed account of the only escaped convicted patient from Mason Asylum. Its validity has never been confirmed…nor denied. Follow him as he quests for the woman he loves—outside the walls of the hospital/prison. Armed with a pen, a notebook, and an endless arsenal of mental resources, and fueled by an undying dedication to the girl for whom he longs, his journey takes him along a twisted road that he himself creates. “This series is a very twisted and mysterious story…[trailing] a lover unfolding countless disorders and dysfunctions, not only of himself, but of the many characters that he meets, while on a mission to reunite with his lover. He´ll stop at nothing to find her and prove both his love and his stability.” (Aleigha, MD)

About the Author

Dakota Priest was born in Baltimore, MD. At age 4, he began writing poems, and his mother knew this would become one of his many interests. He attended elementary school in Huntsville, AL, where he was introduced to such poets as Edgar Allen Poe. A published poet at age 11, Dakota was determined to continue honing this skill. When he began writing out of anger one night at age 19, he didn’t plan to create a series. But he found that stories in verse were a niche for him. He attended Coppin State University as a psychology major—this didn’t begin his affinity for psychological thrillers, but certainly enhanced it. Major influences on his work now include Robert Frost and Edgar Poe, and movies like “Silence of the Lambs” and “Saw”. “The human mind is the most intricate puzzle—bends and twists aren’t complex. And dissembling the pieces is oftentimes more fun than putting them together,” says Priest.