Standalone Novel
When a Nazi raid threatens everything he holds dear, one man will do the impossible to protect not only his entire town, but also the woman he loves.
“Would you like to go for a simple ride?” Aleksander offered. “Nothing crazy. Just a slow walking speed.”
“YES!” Liliana cheered.
Kasper was saddled, and Aleksander walked Liliana through some basics of mounting on the horse.
Liliana took the reins in her hands. “Okay, I’m ready for the next step.”
Aleksander walked up beside Kasper and quickly took the reins from Liliana’s hands. “No. You’re inexperienced.”
Then, with the reins in his hand, Aleksander began leading Kasper along while Liliana sat on top.
Liliana furrowed her brow. That was it? Being led around on a horse like a child at a fair? Sure, it was exciting to be up close to a horse and even be able to be on that horse. However, the initial excitement had almost altogether faded after just a few seconds of being led around by Aleksander. What good was it to be able to ride a horse if Liliana wasn’t able to really ride? Just trudging along at an unbearably slow walk?
There was no thrill to that.
So, Liliana conceived a mischievous plan as she threw off her hat.
“Aleksander.” She called. Aleksander turned to look at her.
“The wind blew my hat off.” She pointed off towards the hat. Luckily enough for her, the wind actually did pick up a bit, and the hat was carried a few yards off.
“Would you please mind fetching it for me?” Liliana asked, giving Aleksander her signature doe eyes.
Aleksander paused as he watched the hat gently fall to the ground. Then, his eyes turned back to Liliana. Liliana got the sense that Aleksander was cautious to let go of the horse’s reins with her being a brand-new rider.
“Don’t worry!” She laughed innocently. “I’ll be fine! It’ll just be a second!”
Aleksander hesitated a second more before nodding and jogging off to get the hat. Liliana’s innocence melted away as she snatched the loose reins and gripped them tightly. She snapped the reins.
Kasper did nothing.
“What?” She huffed, confused. “I’m sure that’s what you’re supposed to do…Oh, wait!”
She took both of her heels and dug them sharply into Kasper’s side.
That was it. The horse instantly lunged forward.
“Liliana!” Aleksander shouted as the girl sped off on the horse.
Liliana was instantly in a panic. It was a miracle that she had not flipped off the back of the horse. The only thing that saved her at that moment was grabbing hold of the horse’s mane. Needless to say, she had not expected this. The horse had gone from a simple walk to the speed of a bullet. The initial whiplash she suffered instantly brought pain to her back, waist, and neck. Furthermore, everything she had thought of horse galloping was wrong. She thought it would be like riding a motorcycle. Fast, absolutely, but also a sense of smoothness and at least a tiny sense of security. The horse was not smooth like a motorcycle. The horse had legs, not wheels. With each gallop, Liliana was jerked and jolted around terribly. She imagined it wasn’t unlike being in a devastating earthquake. Only this earthquake was also flying.
When it came to security, the only sense of security Liliana had was simply holding onto the horse for dear life. There was no safety harness. There was no seatbelt. There was nothing but her own hands to hold on to the horse’s mane, and her own legs to hold onto the horse.
It was absolutely terrifying.
“This was a mistake!” Liliana screamed as she hoped that she would not fly off the horse. “A very horrible mistake!”
She knew that the chances of Aleksander or Albin catching up to her were slim to none. And though Liliana believed in God (and was frantically praying to Him in that moment), she knew that God was not always eager to save fools from their own stupidity.
It was up to her to save herself.
Passage from The Polish Ghost, pages 25-28
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Fun Facts!
This is my first book that is not a part of a series. Simply a one-book story.
This book was originally written by me as a ghostwriter for another author. However, complications arose for that author and she graciously gifted the story back to me.
This is my first book that is written from a third person, "omniscient narrator" point of view.
The aesthetic formatting of the text was done by fellow author, C. H. Gordon.
This book was the fastest story I had ever written. The story idea was fashioned in August 2024 and writing was completed in November 2024. Four months.
Publishing Information
Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing and IngramSpark
Publish Date: August 15, 2025
ISBN-13: 979-8-9993932-1-0 (paperback)
Available Rights: Nicholas M. Krohn
Book Dimensions: 6 x 0.56 x 9 inches
Pages: 222 (KDP paperback)
Language: English
Selling Territory: Worldwide