The Trailhead #10
It’s been both gratifying and unsettling to watch THE LOST DIARY OF GIL STANFORDbegin to find its readers.
What started life as cut material—a true darling I hesitated to let go of—has quietly charted its own course, slipping into readers’ hands and minds and refusing to stay there peacefully. The diary deepens the lore first hinted at in THE TOWPATH, peeling back layers that were deliberately left lidded to preserve momentum and mystery. That restraint remains, but the lens has shifted. Experiencing the Valley through the fractured, obsessive mind of Gil Stanford makes the story feel more intimate… and far more disturbing. The mystery doesn’t dissolve—it sharpens.
The Trailhead #09
The cover for THE LOST DIARY OF GIL STANFORD came together faster than I expected—starting with a bone-chilling (literally) late-November hike to Mary Campbell Cave. The goal was simple: photograph a composition notebook that exactly matches what’s described in THE TOWPATH, placed in a location that matters to the story. As it happens, Mary Campbell Cave in the Summit County Gorge Metro Park isn’t just featured in THE TOWPATH—it plays a central role in THE LOST DIARY OF GIL STANFORD as well.
The trailhead #08
Launch Announcement: a surprise companion novella for The Towpath drops. The Lost Diary of Gil Stanford is not a sequel, but a recovered artifact—an unsettling companion to The Towpath that plunges readers inside the mind of its most disturbing character. Framed as a discovered notebook pulled from the shadows of the Sand Run caves, the novella explores obsession, self-justification, and psychological collapse with unnerving intimacy. Recently announced via EIN Presswire, the release signals a darker turn for the Towpath universe. Available now on Kindle, with a paperback edition forthcoming, The Lost Diary of Gil Stanford invites readers to decide whether Gil’s words are a warning… or something far more dangerous.
Purchase THE TOWPATH
Jon’s debut novel is Available in paperback and ebook. find it now in your favorite online bookstore.
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