The Blacksmith

My name is Ainsley. I live among the dead.

Meet Ainsley.  Ainsley lives alone, and she likes it that way. Ainsley has some secrets. Dark secrets.

Sometimes, Ainsley feels like the Blacksmith is the only one who will ever understand her. The Blacksmith resides in the graveyard in her garden.  You see, Ainsley’s heart was broken long ago, and now it’s dead. As dead as the Blacksmith’s. They belong together.

Then there’s Sam: sweet, loving Sam. Ainsley was abandoned by anyone she ever loved, but Sam has always been there. If her heart weren’t already dead, Ainsley might even say she loved him.

Not even Sam knows the depth’s of Ainsley’s darkness…and lately, she’s come very, very close to revealing it to him.

But the Blacksmith says no. And what the Blacksmith says, goes.

Contains content that may be graphic to some readers. Mature audiences only.


Praise for The Blacksmith:

“The Blacksmith by Susan Shultz is like Dexter with a feminine twist gone dark. Ainsley feeds her dead heart by killing men and eating theirs. Who run the world? Girls. And their apparently insatiable desire for man-flesh. A fun holiday read!” — Nerdist.com

“It wasn’t until I read The Blacksmith by Susan Shultz that I thought about a different type of ‘scary story.’…It relies on legitimate fears of loss and the flaws in human nature to make you feel uncomfortable. Don’t misunderstand—if you like blood, ghosts and sociopaths, The Blacksmith has that for you.” — Volumes of Words

“The new book…explodes with images and themes that test the limits of our understanding of love, death, pain and friendship. Shultz channels masterful storytellers such as Shirley Jackson and Stephen King to weave a surreal yet familiar world, as she delves into the psychology of a killer who is torn between her love of Sam and her passion for the Blacksmith.” — Darien Times