Simon451

While "The X-Files" may be long over, that doesn't mean actress Gillian Anderson is finished exploring the unknown. Gillian and author Jeff Rovin have co-written the first book -- "A Vision of Fire" -- in their

"A Vision of Fire" tells the story of child psychiatrist Caitlin O'Hara, a single mom trying to juggle her job and her family life when her world is turned upside down when a young girl named Maanik starts having disturbing and violent visions. Teens -- and even animals -- around the globe are hurting themselves and acting irrationally, forcing Caitlin to think there's more to these creepy coincidences. Caitlin races the clock to decipher clues that could save Maanik and possibly the world.

As the co-writer of the new book series, Anderson told Entertainment Weekly, she "wanted a very strong female character, around my age. I would want to read something like that and I think other women would like to read."

"A Vision of Fire" will be published in October by Simon & Schuster's new imprint Simon451 -- a nod to the sci-fi classic "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury. (Editor's note: Simon & Schuster is owned by CBS. CNET is published by CBS Interactive, a unit of CBS.)

Eager fans can read an excerpt from "A Vision of Fire" now via the Simon451 Fall 2014 Preview Sampler -- which is available for the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, Apple iBookstore, and the Google Play store. The sampler also includes excerpts from Nicholas Sansbury Smith's bestselling "Orbs" series, as well as excerpts from several upcoming science fiction and fantasy titles from Simon451.