Author Mary Maddox said she disliked herself on an occasion when she had thoughts like her fictional murderous character Rad Sanders during Bob’s Bookstore’s “scary” novel reading Wednesday afternoon.

Authors Maddox and Letitia Moffitt made their way to the bookstore to read excerpts from their books “Talion” and “Trace.”

In Moffitt’s “Trace,” main character Nola is a tracist, or someone who can sense particles of energy that are released from the body once someone is dead.

Nola uses her skill to help the Redford Police Department work on missing persons cases, one of which involved the richest man in town.

“In the first book Nola is the main character but other books have subsequent characters at the center,” Moffitt said.

Carol Stevens, a Charleston resident, said she read both authors’ works and was looking forward to coming to the reading.

“The characters really get you and it’s very well plotted. Nola reveals herself in some very interesting ways,” Stevens said. “Absolutely nothing happens in the way you might expect it to happen.”

In Maddox’s “Talion,” a murderous man, Rad Sanders, finds his newest interest in 15-year-old Lisa Duncan who seems vulnerable enough to let him into her world. Maddox read from the novel the capture and assault of Lisa.

Many of those listening had already read “Talion” and commented after how suspenseful those pages had been upon reading them for the first time.

“I’ve read ‘Talion’ and it’s terrifying,” Stevens said.

After Maddox had done the reading, she said in retrospect she hated having to write the Rad Sanders parts of the novel.

Maddox recalled a time at the gym where another women was sitting on the machine she wanted, flirting with a man.

Maddox said she had gotten so angry that she had similar thoughts as one of the characters in her novel.

Maddox is a horror and dark fantasy writer while Moffitt writes paranormal mysteries.

Both authors are former English professors here at Eastern.

Moffitt now teaches at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Maddox has now retired from teaching.

Maddox’s very own publishing press publishes the authors’ books.

Maddox also has published anthologies of memoir pieces by the Past/Forward Memoir Group, which she said began at Eastern.

The press is now working to publish Moffitt’s third book in the “Trace” series. Moffitt said they are hoping to have it out by the end of January-middle of February.

Moffitt said she also has an idea stirring for a fourth one. She is unsure how many books the series will end up with.

Maddox is also working on her next piece. She said it would be pure suspense about an art curator who is looking for his friend who has recently gone missing.

The novel will not have any supernatural, different from her usual writing.

Maddox said she also plans to write book number three in the “Talion” series that will follow “Daemon Seers”. The third book will be called “Daemon Blood”. Maddox plans to write one more following that to end the four book series.

“If anyone is interested in writing my advice to you is to write and read, a lot,” Maddox said.

Autographed copies of Moffitt and Maddox’s books are on sale at Bob’s Bookstore.

Bob’s Bookstore is located on 601 Monroe St. in downtown Charleston. Every Friday the owners host an open mic night and every Monday a chess night.

Thursday the store will host a Medicine Cabinet Makeover Class at 7 p.m. that anyone is welcome to come to.

Cheyenne Fitzgerald can be reached at 581-2812 or cmfitzgerald@eiu.edu