The clouds hang low and hold sway over the narrow streets and piss-coated sidewalks of Pioneer Square. Defying them and pushing through the quiet, an unmarked box truck pulls in adjacent to the alley-side entrance of the Hope Tree Shelter and Commissary. Ben, a forbidding and harsh man in his mid-50s, leaves the lights on […]
Killed a guy once. My buddies said he deserved it, but I wasn’t sure. When it happened, I wasn’t sad, not really. I was pissed. Pissed that he’d done what he did to provoke me. Had a temper back then. Still do. But I’ve learned to manage it, for the most part. I parked in […]
“Delivery for Veronica Belcher.” The courier pocketed the tip. Ronnie slid her finger under the flap of the envelope from the law office of Gardner & Valiente. The paper smelled like old leather as she scanned the text. pleased to inform you… all charges dismissed… A smile curled one corner of her mouth. Sweet freedom. […]
It rained for five days straight. Dead things got deader. Creek folk hunkered inside their houses, peering out from pale faces. Pierson stood by his window watching water wreak havoc with the land. He’d been living in the holler for fifteen years, had arrived out of nowhere and bought the old Rash place. He lived […]
I know Joe Bob Bailey killed my cousin because her body was buried in his backyard. Lena’s purse, which contained her keys, fifteen dollars, her driver’s permit, a half-empty box of wintergreen mints, and a tube of Glam Girl glossy lipstick in Pearlescent Pink, was found under the driver’s seat of his pickup truck. He’d […]
As a publisher with roots in West Virginia and Kentucky, it has been a pleasure to release titles set in those states that not only express the beauty of those rural areas, but to also reveal the travesty of communities left behind as mills and mines evaporate from the region. The debut TURKEYFOOT by Rick […]
Most people don’t understand the brutal hierarchy of an orchestra. Sure, they know there are different sections, different chairs. They joke about ‘playing second fiddle’ with no appreciation for the weight those words carry. Back when I told people I was second chair violin in the National Orchestra, their cattle eyes would bloom with damp, […]
Mickey Finn tried to forget the ache in his bones as he stood in line at the Standard Trust on Main Street with a neatly written note clutched in his liver-spotted hand. When had he started to feel his skeleton? Bones were supposed to be the silent scaffolding of the body. Maybe it was his […]
It’s what I told myself in rhythm with each blow I served to Pittman’s abdomen, a symphony of screams sabotaging my serenity as I flexed Flutte’s index finger backwards to kiss the skin of his wrist on my last job. I have a family, a dream to get them out of here, to give them […]
Shotgun Honey it excited to share with our reading community the debut novel and series starter LOVE YOU TILL TUESDAY by M.E. Proctor. We hope you enjoy the first Declan Shaw mystery. What to Expect inside… The death of April Easton makes no sense. She was a jazz singer working the clubs. Maybe the recording […]
You go up the elevator, down a corridor, into an office. The man behind the desk is grinning. He’s fat and wearing a suit that doesn’t fit but why in hell should you care if he’s kidding himself? You’re kidding yourself, always have been. He tells you to sit and you do. He asks if […]
