<i>CHANNING WHITAKER</i>
<i>CHANNING WHITAKER</i>
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    © 2024 Channing Whitaker 0

CHANNING WHITAKER

Stunning, Thought-Provoking
Sci-fi, Horror & Mystery

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BOOKS

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Bio
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Channing Whitaker writes science fiction, horror, and mystery, examining the intersection of humanity and technology. He believes that writing about the fantastic is the best way to examine what it means to be human. Regardless of genre, complex characters in difficult circumstances are signatures of his work. Originally hailing from rural Iowa, Channing has made his way west through Oklahoma, Texas, Alaska, and now to California, where he currently resides with his wife, two children, and two energetic huskies. He is a sports lover who dabbles in cooking, gardening, and woodworking, and he is a real-life space exploration enthusiast.

Other Works

Feature Screenplay

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Short Story

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Newsletter

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Contact Me

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Eighty years ago, a wealthy family returned home from a magic show, after which neither they nor the magician, Malvern Kamrar, were ever heard from again. When several bystanders died in their mansion, the house was sealed. After nearly a century of rumors and haunted stories, the mansion will be opened for a live TV event, allowing five contestants to spend one night and win their share of a million dollars.

The contestants: a psychic, a high-tech ghost hunter, a Hollywood scream queen, a local woman, and a paranormal skeptic named Harlan Holt fuel excitement as each tries to solve the mystery. Upon entering the journal of the family patriarch, Vinton Drake is discovered, illuminating the puzzle, rooted all the way back to Vinton’s service as a medic in WWI when he first met the magician.

Departing from the familiar haunted house tale, this story explores the very nature of belief in the supernatural with consequences more frightening than any ghost story. Intensity soars when the contestants discover their lives, and thousands more, are in genuine peril. Is the mansion haunted? What fate befell Malvern and the Drake family? And will the contestants uncover the truth in time to save themselves…

One Night in Drake Mansion is the first book in Whitaker's Skeptic Detective Series.
Paperback (Amazon)
kindle
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In the wilderness of rural Alaska, people tell the legend of an elusive water predator called the Hana K’ilo. It’s said to hunt from beneath the surface of rivers only to spring out, clutch, and drown its victims, including humans.

Harlan Holt is a scientist, a university professor, a skeptic of everything paranormal or fantastic, and the last person to put stock in a cryptid tale like that of Hana K’ilo. However, after a family of campers, a fisherman, and finally, a colleague of Harlan’s each mysteriously disappear, he, along with his girlfriend Genevieve, travel to a beautiful destination lodge near the territory associated with the mythical creature.

As the pair investigates, they find themselves surrounded by a small group of staff and guests who all seem to have something to hide. They’re isolated in an inhospitable environment in the dead of winter, and every answer they uncover seems to lead to more questions. Does the Hana K’ilo cryptid actually exist? Have any of the missing survived? And can Harlan and Genevieve uncover the truth before they too join the growing list of victims…

Trail of the Hana K’ilo is the second book in Whitaker’s Skeptic Detective Series.
Paperback (Amazon)
kindle
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In this suspense-filled, neo-monster, horror novelette, a writer named Gene Winfield discovers an ominous, handwritten book among the belongings of his late, adventurer aunt. As Gene reads, he becomes captivated with the volume’s account of a savage, unearthly creature.

In spite of the book’s warning, with his writing career failing, Gene can’t resist the inspiration. Near the roaring fire in his aunt’s otherwise cold, empty manor, Gene begins a story of his own, but will he unleash more than his imagination…

The Remnant is the first book in Whitaker's Black Band Shorts anthology series of dark novelettes.
Paperback (Amazon)
kindle
Audible
Audio Book (Amz)
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Existence Augmented is a dystopian, sci-fi novelette and psychological thriller. The world outside is cold, hostile, and virtually lifeless. Human existence depends on sophisticated, technological living compounds. The people who don’t have them, once driven to theft and murder, are believed to be long since dead.

Alden, a genius of physical and computer engineering, spends his time tending his hydroponics garden, maintaining and improving the complex systems critical to survival, and, in turn, continually refining the pleasant life he’s created with his wife, Laurel. On a day like any other, everything is following Alden’s plans until the power begins to fail…

Existence Augmented is the second book in Whitaker's Black Band Shorts anthology series of dark novelettes.
Paperback (Amazon)
Kindle
Audible
Audio Book (Amz)
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When Andrew bought a carved figure from The Peddler, he thought he was doing the old man a favor. When three violent criminals came to give his shop a shakedown, he realized it was the other way around.  

In this fantasy, horror novelette, a luscious, green park stands as a beacon of thriving life in the midst of a fledgling city where criminals run rampant. The police are either helpless, ignorant, or criminals themselves.  

Between the park and the city sits The Peddler, a blind hermit who whittles remarkably lifelike figurines of history’s bravest warriors—miniature statues that seem to find their way to the victims of the city’s injustices. Does fate favor the innocent? Or is there more to The Peddler and his carvings…

The Peddler is the third book in Whitaker's Black Band Shorts anthology series of dark novelettes.
Paperback (Amazon)
kindle
Audible
Audio Book (Amz)
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In a world where automation runs society, Marion Sato spends her days as a judgment aid, tasked with making the manual choices deemed too difficult or complicated for computer algorithms. It seems like a dream come true – until things go horribly wrong. 

When a freak accident leaves a young child in mortal danger, Marion knows she has to act fast to save his life. But the automated world surrounding her seems to stand in her way at every turn.

As time begins to run out and the weaknesses of a tech-reliant civilization become clear, will Marion be able to overcome the endless hurdles of a rigid autonomous society? Or will technology fail her as a child’s life hangs in the balance…

Sentient Judgment is the fourth book in Whitaker's Black Band Shorts anthology series of dark novelettes.
Paperback (Amazon)
kindle
Free Short Story
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Bringing Someone Back from the Dead Should Not be Taken Lightly.
 
If you had the power to bring someone dead back to life, would you? In Life Debt, a suspenseful, horror and science-fiction short story, Dr. Olivia Veil attempts to do just that.

As an accomplished research physician, Olivia faced many challenges, but none as substantial or as personal as Milo’s impending death. Once his fate was clear, Olivia dedicated herself to finding, testing, and refining fringe theories of human resurrection.

Now that Milo has passed, Olivia will test her science, her skill, and her resolve, but can she really bring Milo back? And will he be the same man as before…