3 Chords and a Lie • Book Three

Devil to Pay

Every demon keeps a ledger that must be balanced.

Caleb is now a star, carrying Appalachian New Grass on bigger stages. Shelby serves as mayor of White Oak Hollow. Danny keeps showing up where he can, fighting himself more than the world.

Devil to Pay cover

Working cover - Devil to Pay

Content advisory: this story includes addiction, self-harm, and themes of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, consider contacting 988 in the United States.

Overview

Danny Wallace’s path has never been straight, and it’s never been gentle. Now, as the final book of the trilogy keeps him rooted in Kentucky, the music is louder, the stakes sharper, and the ghosts far less patient. 

Seeking quiet in the wake of Caleb's rising fame, Danny retreats to Lake Cumberland, losing himself in the slow, careful craft of building wooden boats. It’s honest work — the kind that settles a man’s hands even when his mind won’t sit still. But the lake has a way of holding secrets, and the workshop’s silence has grown heavy enough to feel intentional. 

One night, an old adversary slips inside, expecting a confrontation years overdue. What he finds instead is a moment suspended in stillness… a rowboat waiting… and a truth no one will speak above a whisper. 

Devil to Pay closes the 3 Chords and a Lie trilogy with quiet tension and haunting beauty — a story where the hardest battles are fought alone, and the heaviest answers are the ones we never hear out loud.

3 Chords and a Lie

A trilogy of dreamers, ghosts, and grace

Devil to Pay closes the arc, where the dream is now someone else's and the books have to be balanced. Each book carries its own melody, but they belong to the same song. That song has 3 Chords and a Lie.

1

Appalachian High - A Dreamer's Tale

The dreamer leaves the mine and steps onto the stage. A story of leaving, chasing, and learning that the road is never as simple as the songs make it sound.

2

The Broken Compass

The dream has a body count now. The middle book carries the weight of consequence, repentance, and the perils of following a broken compass.

3

Devil to Pay

The closing chapter of 3 Chords and a Lie will answer the questions that The Broken Compass leaves hanging in the fog, like the last note that still has not resolved.

Stay in the loop as the story unfolds

If Appalachian High - A Dreamer's Tail and The Broken Compass kept you up at night, Devil to Pay is the volume you do not want to miss. If the old man got in, only you can let him out. Join the list and get updates on release dates, a sample chapter, and more as they are ready.

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