Branching Plot Books

01/29/2026

The latest release from Branching Plot Books, The Legend of Mara Flores, is now available.

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At 5:28 a.m., Mara Flores swipes her access badge, and the Tower lets her in.

For twenty years, Mara has worked as a barista inside a major corporate headquarters. She opens the café before dawn, keeps the building running, and remains invisible to the people who depend on her.

When a sudden rent increase leaves her homeless, Mara keeps showing up to work as if nothing has changed. Same uniform. Same routine. No one asks where she slept. No one notices.

Then, during a quiet moment inside the Tower, Mara finds a misplaced access badge. It opens doors she was never meant to enter.

As rumors of a Phantom inside the building begin to circulate, a security operations center deep below the lobby starts tracking an anomaly. They aren't searching for a person. They're searching for a pattern.

The Legend of Mara Flores is a slow-burn corporate thriller about surveillance, survival, and the danger of being noticed too late.

Available now.

Paperback: Coming soon
eBook: https://amzn.to/45RunAo
audiobook: Coming soon

08/10/2025

Where the Candle Face story began.

In 2010, KVUE News aired my first public account of Candle Face and the haunting that inspired The Empty Lot Next Door. That interview marked the beginning of everything that would follow in the Candle Face Chronicles.

Watch the segment here: https://youtu.be/X9kDw7QITLc

https://www.branchingplotbooks.com/blogs/the-authors-desk/2010-kvue-interview-the-empty-lot-next-door-candle-face

Regardless of your stance on the supernatural, the real-life account of Arthur Mills is compelling and warrants attention. Discover the identity of Candle Fa...

08/10/2025

Isabel: The Forgotten Daughter of La Llorona, now in paperback.

Book Three of the Candle Face Chronicles is now available on Amazon for $19.99. Like the premium spiral edition, it contains all eleven books with eight flipable lines per page, but this version comes uncut. You’ll make the slits yourself using the dotted guides, stepping directly into Isabel’s story as you prepare the book.

Order here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736339281

https://www.branchingplotbooks.com/blogs/the-authors-desk/isabel-new-candle-face-chronicles-paperback-edition

Explore the interactive paperback of Candle Face Chronicles: Isabel, a 220-page 8.5x11 book where readers cut each page to unlock shifting storylines.

08/10/2025

The Empty Lot Next Door is now an audiobook.

The Second Edition of The Empty Lot Next Door is officially available in audio, narrated by Adharsh McCabe. This is where the Candle Face Chronicles begins, and now you can listen to the story that started it all.

The Empty Lot Next Door audiobook is now available! Narrated by Adharsh McCabe, this true story sets the stage for the Candle Face Chronicles.

08/10/2025

The Empty Lot Next Door is coming to audio.

My memoir, The Empty Lot Next Door, is becoming an audiobook, narrated by the talented Adharsh McCabe, and will be released in January 2025.

I'm excited to announce that The Empty Lot Next Door—Second Edition is becoming an audiobook, narrated by Adharsh McCabe. It will be available in January 2025!

08/10/2025

Closing the Candle Face Chronicles Podcast.

After six episodes, I’ve made the difficult decision to end the podcast. While my mission to help Candle Face’s victims continues, I'll no longer share their names or name suspected killers. This change comes out of respect for grieving families and to avoid harming the living while seeking peace for the lost souls. My focus now shifts to uncovering Candle Face’s origins and methods with the help of investigators, historians, and spiritual leaders.

The Candle Face Chronicles podcast ends after six episodes. The mission continues, but with a new focus on helping lost souls without causing harm.

08/10/2025

Is Candle Face a manifestation of my childhood trauma or a real supernatural entity? Join me as I share my personal experiences on my podcast.

Join the discussion and make up your own mind.

Is Candle Face a manifestation of my childhood trauma or a genuine supernatural entity? In this deeply personal episode, I confront the question that has hau...

08/10/2025

Is Candle Face a real ghost?

In part two of this series, I examine the evidence that Candle Face wasn't just in my head but a genuine supernatural presence seen, felt, and feared by more than just me.

Is Candle Face real or a product of my imagination? This journal entry explores the possibility that Candle Face is a genuine supernatural entity.

08/10/2025

Is Candle Face real? Or just in my mind?

In this first part of a two-entry series, I examine the possibility that Candle Face was never an external ghost, but a creation of my own mind, born from childhood fears, trauma, and imagination. In the next entry, I’ll explore the opposite view: that she’s a real entity.

Exploring whether Candle Face is a real entity or a psychological creation from childhood trauma. Is she a ghost, or just a product of my own mind's turmoil?

08/10/2025

The Candle Face Chronicles Podcast launches June 20.

Every Thursday at 8 pm CST, our Advisory Board, paranormal investigators, psychics, mediums, criminal investigators, and everyday volunteers, will work with listeners to identify Candle Face’s victims, locate their remains, and identify their killers. Your analysis could help free these lost souls.

Join the Candle Face Chronicles Podcast every Thursday at 8:00 pm CST, where experts and listeners collaborate to help Candle Face’s victims find peace.

08/10/2025

Two brothers, two approaches to bullying.

In The Empty Lot Next Door, Ricky chose non-violence, even when it left him vulnerable. My path was different. I learned that sometimes self-defense is necessary. In this spoiler-filled journal entry, I reflect on how those choices shaped our lives and what they say about the way we deal with violence.

Exploring the clash between non-violence and self-defense in facing relentless bullying. When turning the other cheek isn't enough, what's the right approach?

08/10/2025

Ray’s journey in The Empty Lot Next Door.

My story is one of fear, family conflict, and the search for identity. In this spoiler-filled journal entry, I share how Candle Face, my brothers, and my determination shaped me, from a scared boy into someone ready to confront my past and face the truth.

Explore Ray's journey from fear to resilience in The Empty Lot Next Door. Discover how his encounters with Candle Face and family conflicts shape his character.