Travis Smith, a pre-med student at University of New England in Biddeford, has recently released his psychological thriller, The Garbage Men (2011, Maine Authors Publishing). He will be at the Maine Authors Publishing February Blues Book Bash in Brunswick on Saturday, Feb. 25 where he will sign and sell his book.

In a secluded subdivision in fictional Thriftson County, Alabama stands an inconspicuous house surrounded by forces of evil as compelling as they are mysterious. David Slate, an unremarkable high-school student, has just settled into the new home with his parents when he finds his already unstable life swiftly turned upside down.

While David tries to make friends and survive in a new school, his family life begins to come completely unhinged as he learns the history of his house—and the curse that surrounds it and affects everyone within. Then there are the neighborhood garbage men, usually those friendly fixtures of the suburbs. When their behavior goes from merely unsettling to outright threatening and worse, David struggles to maintain his own sanity while he uncovers the secret of the curse and its connection to the garbage men.

Full of suspense and detailed, plot-driven action, this psychological thriller with its undertones of the paranormal explores the dangers hidden away in the human mind, the tragic consequences of pushing limits, and the struggles of an unremarkable teenage boy with no one by his side.

Travis Smith grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He moved to Maine in 2008 to study pre-med at University of New England in Biddeford. He will graduate in May 2012 He is applying to medical school where he will study neurology. The Garbage Men is his first novel.

The book is available at Bull Moose in Scarborough, Longfellow Books in Portland, Nonesuch Books in Biddeford and South Portland, and at the UNE bookstore. It can be purchased online on Amazon and MaineAuthorsPublishing.com. E-books are available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Travis also maintains an active author Facebook page at www.facebook.com/garbagemen8.

The Maine Authors Publishing February Blues Book Bash will be held Saturday, Feb. 25 in the Morrell Meeting Room at The Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, Maine, from 12-4 pm. Travis and other authors will be reading, signing, and selling their books and answering questions about self-publishing.