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    Intercepts

    A Horror Novel

    Author T. J. Payne
    Hardcover
    $29.99 US
    Crown
    6.37"W x 9.55"H x 1.03"D   | 16 oz | 12 per carton
    On sale May 05, 2026 | 304 Pages | 9798217090662
    FOC Apr 6, 2026 | Catalog March 2026
    Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

    The word-of-mouth BookTok hit about a supervisor at a top-secret government facility running experiments on human beings. He’s always been able to tell himself it’s for the greater good—until the day his work follows him home.

    This hardcover edition includes a special, never-before-published short story!

    “Inventive, scary, wholly entertaining, and deeply thought-provoking . . . T. J. Payne is the real deal.”—Jose Molina, writer/producer on The Vampire Diaries, Sleepy Hollow, and Firefly

    Joe works for an organization known only as “The Company.” He cannot speak about what he does in public. He and his employees live in a constant state of paranoia that The Company is listening to their phones and watching their search histories. Why? Because on the bottom floor of the facility, rows of padded cells keep a group of humans in a constant state of extreme sensory deprivation. With their minds awake but their senses unable to ground themselves, they have gone insane, oscillating between vegetative states and fits of violent rage.

    These experiments have a purpose, though—when the minds of these inmates transcend their physical selves, they’re able to “intercept” the sights and senses of anyone in the world. The process, however, is painful. Torturous.

    Joe likes to think that his work, helping the government track down bad guys, makes the world a better place. He has no regrets. Until the day when his ex-wife dies by suicide. He learns that a woman who looks very much like one of Joe’s inmates had been haunting her. After his ex-wife’s death, Joe’s daughter Riley comes to live with him. And then she begins to have visions of the woman too...

    Has Joe somehow played a role in turning the government’s most sinister weapon against his own daughter? And, most important of all: how far will he go to save her?
    © Patrick Ottinger
    T.J. Payne is the author of Intercepts, The Venue, and In My Father's Basement. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he moved to Hollywood with plans to write romantic comedies, but as he worked on his craft, he found his stories drifting toward more sinister themes. Eventually, he discovered the natural outlet for his voice—horror. Now, he explores the depths of human cruelty, hoping that his characters can find small wins in a dark world. He lives in Los Angeles with his high-school-sweetheart-now-wife. View titles by T. J. Payne
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    “If you’re the slightest bit freaked out by conspiracy theories or even just the kind of person who keeps a little sticker over the webcam on your laptop, you should read Intercepts.”—Cosmopolitan

    “Intercepts is the best kind of genre novel—inventive, scary, wholly entertaining, and deeply thought provoking. T.J. Payne is the real deal.”—Jose Molina, writer and producer on The Vampire Diaries, Sleepy Hollow, and Firefly

    “This one reads like sprinting down a dark hallway barefoot, waiting for the broken glass.”—BookTrib

    “This is contemporary horror at its finest, with a concept that feels terrifyingly real. Payne balances horror and sci-fi with a mastery of both genres. Intercepts is proof that hidden government facilities can be far more terrifying than any haunted house.”—A.M. Shine, author of The Watchers

    “Intercepts is a five-star for me. I loved this book. I loved the protagonist. I loved the twists and turns it took.”—Nick Roberts, author of The Exorcist’s House

    “This book really messed with my head and genuinely freaked me out. It will make you question everything.”—Brandon Baker, atbaker.reads on TikTok

    About

    The word-of-mouth BookTok hit about a supervisor at a top-secret government facility running experiments on human beings. He’s always been able to tell himself it’s for the greater good—until the day his work follows him home.

    This hardcover edition includes a special, never-before-published short story!

    “Inventive, scary, wholly entertaining, and deeply thought-provoking . . . T. J. Payne is the real deal.”—Jose Molina, writer/producer on The Vampire Diaries, Sleepy Hollow, and Firefly

    Joe works for an organization known only as “The Company.” He cannot speak about what he does in public. He and his employees live in a constant state of paranoia that The Company is listening to their phones and watching their search histories. Why? Because on the bottom floor of the facility, rows of padded cells keep a group of humans in a constant state of extreme sensory deprivation. With their minds awake but their senses unable to ground themselves, they have gone insane, oscillating between vegetative states and fits of violent rage.

    These experiments have a purpose, though—when the minds of these inmates transcend their physical selves, they’re able to “intercept” the sights and senses of anyone in the world. The process, however, is painful. Torturous.

    Joe likes to think that his work, helping the government track down bad guys, makes the world a better place. He has no regrets. Until the day when his ex-wife dies by suicide. He learns that a woman who looks very much like one of Joe’s inmates had been haunting her. After his ex-wife’s death, Joe’s daughter Riley comes to live with him. And then she begins to have visions of the woman too...

    Has Joe somehow played a role in turning the government’s most sinister weapon against his own daughter? And, most important of all: how far will he go to save her?

    Creators

    © Patrick Ottinger
    T.J. Payne is the author of Intercepts, The Venue, and In My Father's Basement. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he moved to Hollywood with plans to write romantic comedies, but as he worked on his craft, he found his stories drifting toward more sinister themes. Eventually, he discovered the natural outlet for his voice—horror. Now, he explores the depths of human cruelty, hoping that his characters can find small wins in a dark world. He lives in Los Angeles with his high-school-sweetheart-now-wife. View titles by T. J. Payne

    Praise

    “If you’re the slightest bit freaked out by conspiracy theories or even just the kind of person who keeps a little sticker over the webcam on your laptop, you should read Intercepts.”—Cosmopolitan

    “Intercepts is the best kind of genre novel—inventive, scary, wholly entertaining, and deeply thought provoking. T.J. Payne is the real deal.”—Jose Molina, writer and producer on The Vampire Diaries, Sleepy Hollow, and Firefly

    “This one reads like sprinting down a dark hallway barefoot, waiting for the broken glass.”—BookTrib

    “This is contemporary horror at its finest, with a concept that feels terrifyingly real. Payne balances horror and sci-fi with a mastery of both genres. Intercepts is proof that hidden government facilities can be far more terrifying than any haunted house.”—A.M. Shine, author of The Watchers

    “Intercepts is a five-star for me. I loved this book. I loved the protagonist. I loved the twists and turns it took.”—Nick Roberts, author of The Exorcist’s House

    “This book really messed with my head and genuinely freaked me out. It will make you question everything.”—Brandon Baker, atbaker.reads on TikTok

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