Download or read book Shooting Creek and Other Stories written by Scott Loring Sanders and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2017-03-27 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dark, gritty, disturbing. Those are the types of characters you’ll encounter in the award winning stories within this collection. Tough people in a tough world. But also real people, struggling with difficult decisions when faced with unthinkable circumstances. What happens when you discover a dead body but can’t go to the police because of your own dark past? Or your father’s dark past? What might a woman resort to when her husband doesn’t hold up his end of a bargain? What frightening surprises lie buried beneath the beaches of North Carolina? Or in the desolate hills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains? Or in the swamps of the New Jersey Pine Barrens? These are stories that are as dark, gritty, and disturbing as the characters who inhabit them, yet there is a pervasive humanness which forces us to empathize. That asks us to understand why people sometimes do what they do. Perhaps that’s the reason these stories have been chosen for the Best American Mystery series, honored by The Atlantic Monthly’s Student Writing Contest, not to mention various other awards and honors. Perhaps that’s why these stories will stick with you well after the reading has commenced. Always gnawing at you, unrelenting, asking, “What would you have done in that situation? Would you have behaved any differently?” Praise for SHOOTING CREEK AND OTHER STORIES... “This excellent collection transcends any genre label. Ultimately, these stories are mysteries of the human heart's darkest regions. Scott Sanders is the real deal and deserves a wide and appreciative readership.” —Ron Rash, The New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. “Each story is a gem in this dark, atmospheric, treasure box of a collection. Scott Loring Sanders digs deep and peers unflinching into the frail, twisted human heart, revealing its many facets and glittering truths. A stellar collection!” —Lisa Unger, The New York Times bestselling author of The Red Hunter. “In Shooting Creek and Other Stories, you’ll find ne’er-do-well husbands, drunken fathers, tough-as-nails women and mothers, and murderously unfaithful wives in a rogue’s gallery of dangerous characters in bad situations. These are stories that will keep you up late reading and thinking, stories that mute the concerns of the everyday world while turning up the volume on thrills and excitement. This is a collection that will fire the imagination while raising moral and ethical issues, which is the true heart of Scott Sanders's fiction. If you’re looking for something good to read, this is the book you want.” —Ed Falco, author of The New York Times bestselling The Family Corleone. “Scott Loring Sanders’s stories are always rich in atmosphere, and his characters are often presented with difficult moral dilemmas. He’s an author who prefers a degree of ambiguity to an easy resolution, and that makes his work thought-provoking, as well as unpredictable. Readers in search of well-written, complex suspense tales won’t go wrong with a Sanders collection!” —Janet Hutchings, Editor-in-Chief, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.
Download or read book Shooting the Boh written by Tracy Johnston and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1992-09 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tracy Johnston's account of her rafting expedition down Borneo's Boh River.
Download or read book Polo s Long Shot written by Jerry Kennealy and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2017-07-17 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nick Polo is back in his eleventh adventure, once again helped along by his sidekick, the indomitable octogenarian self-described witch, Mrs. Damonte… Billionaire vintner Paul Bernier sets San Francisco ex-cop, ex-con, private eye Nick Polo off on a hunt to find a kukri, a priceless golden jewel-encrusted 14th century dagger, designed by the Emperor of India. The dagger has a long, bloody history, passing between war lords throughout the ages, including Saddam Hussain. The search has Polo bumping heads with Bernier’s vindictive stepdaughter, his eccentric household staff, a Miami con man, a crooked private investigator, a drug dealing nightclub owner, a New York Mafia Don, and two viscous murderers. When all seems lost, Polo gets help from Mrs. Damonte, a self-described Strega, a witch, who believes that a day without a wake is like a day without sunshine. Praise for POLO’S LONG SHOT: “Nick Polo is the Saul Goodman of private investigators. He’s charming, persuasive, immune to adversity, and just dirty enough to get the job done. He never ceases to amaze and, just when you think he’s been bested, always produces an ace in the hole. Not since James Crumley’s C.W. Sughrue have I so avidly rooted for a fictional character.” —Jonathan Ashley, author of South of Cincinnati Praise for the Nick Polo mysteries: “A California PI himself, Kennealy captures some of the classic Hammett/Ross spirit in the Nick Polo series.” —Publishers Weekly “Briskly written, and because Kennealy himself was a working private eye, most persuasive.” —Philadelphia Inquirer “The Polo series all have a strong tradition of tight plotting, crisp dialogue, and self-deprecating humor.” —Booklist “Kennealy writes crisply, brings alive the streets of San Francisco, and plots clearly and interestingly.” —Washington Post “The writing is simple and direct, the action nonstop.” —The New York Times
Download or read book The Best American Mystery Stories 2018 written by Otto Penzler and published by Mariner Books. This book was released on 2018 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An anthology of the best mystery short stories published in 2017 selected by best-selling author Louise Penny.
Download or read book Unloaded Volume 2 written by E.A. Aymar and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-07-16 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Anthony-nominated collection of crime stories without guns—the collection we didn't want to be necessary—is back for Volume 2. Two dozen more crime writers have come together to raise their voices and take pen in hand to call for a sensible and reasoned debate about guns in America. As the mass shootings continue, the avoidable accidents, the suicides, the gun violence that consumes our country rolls on unabated and unaddressed by our leadership other than to say, “Now is not the time to discuss it,” these crime writers have chosen to start the dialogue. In stories of crime, mystery and suspense these authors have left the guns out to show for a short while that we can do without them and the plot doesn’t fall apart. Maybe, in a small way, we can show that the American way of life doesn’t cease to be, either. Not anti-gun, Unloaded Vol. 2 is pro-reason. These authors comprise gun owners and non-owners, voters on both sides of the political aisle. The cause that unites us all is the desire to see the senseless killing stop and to be able to have the discussion without the divisive language, vitriol and name calling that too often accompanies this debate. The top priority in these stories is to entertain with thrilling action and suspense that readers know and love about a crime story. To do so without guns leads to some creative leaps from writers who spin tales of simians on the loose, androids with buried secrets, punk rock shows and tattoo shops. Bestselling authors like Chris Holm, Lori Rader-Day, Bill Crider, Laura McHugh, James Ziskin and John Rector along with many more join together to call for an end to the needless violence and a start to a reasoned debate. With a forward by legendary Sara Paretsky, Unloaded Vol. 2 is a book we wish wasn’t needed. But staying silent is no longer an option. Proceeds go to the non-profit States United To Prevent Gun Violence. Praise for UNLOADED VOLUME 2: “[A collection of] entertaining and often thought-provoking stories.” —Publishers Weekly
Download or read book Meat City on Fire and Other Assorted Debacles written by Angel Luis Colón and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2017-12-04 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Angel Luis Colón invites you on a short tour of the world as a literary mix tape to that strange goth girl with the lazy eye who still wants nothing to do with you; no matter how good that fedora looks on your head. So what’s in store for your brain? Follow three major moments in the life of gambling addict and mafia muscle, Sean Clarke as he goes from softhearted kid to full blown bastard to broken old man. Thrill at the short-lived and incredibly violent courtship, marriage, and honeymoon of Hank and Annie. The set of the country’s most popular trash TV talk show is appropriately trashier than what makes the air. Beards make absolutely terrible trophies. Sometimes you’ll crawl through the fire and smoke for a chance at a semi-decent score and a way out of working in a place called “Meat City”. All that along with even more violence, revenge, Lee Van Cleef, light sex crimes, and cannibals than you can shake a stick at!
Download or read book Life During Wartime Stories written by Thomas Pluck and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-01-29 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A blackjack 21 of stories of people caught up in crime, facing bleak horrors, or spun in the whirlpool of human absurdity, this collects the best stories of Thomas Pluck. Take a ride on the neuter scooter in “The Big Snip”, selected as one of the best crime stories of 2016. Follow a mountain man who’s not what he seems into a snowbound frontier town where evil has sunk its claws. Dine at the most exclusive restaurant in New York, where “Eat the Rich” takes on a whole new meaning. And meet Denny the Dent, a hulking 350 pounds of muscle who wouldn’t harm a fly…but who’ll glad crush a bully’s skull. And read the Jay Desmarteaux yarn that takes off where Bad Boy Boogie ends. Read the stories readers call “hard-hitting bombs” full of “gut punches and belly laughs”…and be ready to get Plucked. Praise for Thomas Pluck: “Thomas Pluck is a crime writer to watch. Steeped in the genre’s grand tradition but with heart and bravado all his own, his writing is lean, smart and irresistibly compelling.” —Megan Abbott, author of You Will Know Me and Queenpin “He writes those quick, hard-hitting bombs as well or better than anybody on the scene today. Keep ’em coming.” —Wayne Dundee, author of the Joe Hannibal PI series and creator of Hardboiled Magazine “If you don’t know who Thomas Pluck is, you will soon enough. His short fiction is all over the internet and he combines jabs of clever humor with full-impact gut shots.” —Johnny Shaw, author of Dove Season and Big Maria
Download or read book Street Whispers Stories written by Liam Sweeny and published by All Due Respect, an imprint of Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-02-23 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An eclectic collection of pulp, grit and noir stories inspired by the Capital Region of New York, a rust-belt crossroads in the shadow of the city that never sleeps. Here’s a trip led by fat slobs in smoky, vomit-stained cabs, heading to the oasis of the strip club on a street lined with rusted out factories, ventilated with beer cans and rocks. No heroes and villains in these pages, just shades of grey and characters making choices between bad and worse. Tales of woe and macabre, the profane and ordinary dance with each other in a building where the forgotten stay, passing their street whispers like bottles from the bottom shelf.
Download or read book Nine Toes in the Grave and Three Stories written by Eric Beetner and published by All Due Respect, an imprint of Down & Out Books. This book was released on with total page 121 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reese has tried to live a good, honest life. But life has other plans. From the boss’s wife who wants him to do something terrible to the sleazebags trying to set him up, when things go downhill, they go fast and Reese finds himself fighting for his life as the hard luck piles on. His only way out might be to throw away the moral code he’s been living by, face trouble head on and prove you can only push a man so far before he pushes back—hard. Praise for NINE TOES IN THE GRAVE: “If dead bodies, a dystopian view of the world and whip-crack dialogue are your thing, then this tale may just be for you.” —Crime Fiction Lover “Beetner is an old school talent, a crime writer’s crime writer like Gil Brewer (although, in my humble opinion, he’s better than Brewer), who writes stuff that is fast and funny and dark all at once.” —Jake Hinkson, author of No Tomorrow and Hell on Church Street “Nine Toes in the Grave reads like a runaway train going downhill, relentlessly gathering speed as one bad decision builds upon the last. One part noir, one part humor, one part action, one part philosophy, viciously shaken, served straight up. Where Reese ultimately ends up may surprise you, however. Beetner unquestionably knows how to write an adrenaline-fueled adventure, and he’s never been one to be beholden to tradition when he does. With Nine Toes in the Grave, Beetner shows that coming full circle doesn’t necessarily get you right back where you started.” —Reviews by Elizabeth A White “A stripped-down, old-school blast of noir.” —Rob W. Hart, author of New Yorked “This book does everything right and further demonstrates that Beetner has a keen eye on how to plot a book that never allows the reader a chance to catch their breath. It is criminal how entertaining Beetner makes this book. Why criminal? Because murder, double crossings, and a woman with no heart shouldn’t be this fun to read about.” —Out Of The Gutter
Download or read book Second Story Man written by Charles Salzberg and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-03-26 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Francis Hoyt, arrogant, athletic, brilliant, manipulative and ruthless, is a master burglar. He specializes in stealing high-end silver, breaking into homes that seem impenetrable. He’s never been caught in the act, although he has spent some time in prison on a related charge, time he used to hone his craft and make valuable connections. (Hoyt is based on two real-life master burglars: the so-called Dinnertime Bandit, who only stole when his victims were home, and The Silver Thief, who was only interested in high-end silver). Hoyt follows the money. In the winter, he works down south, primarily in southern Florida and Georgia, around the Atlanta area. Summers, he moves back up north, where he plies his trade in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. One day, Charlie Floyd, brilliant, stubborn, an experienced investigator, who has recently retired from his job with the attorney general’s department for the state of Connecticut, receives a phone call from Manny Perez, a Cuban-American Miami police detective. Perez, who’s worked with Floyd previously, wants to enlist the former investigator in his efforts to put an end to Francis Hoyt’s criminal career. Floyd accepts the offer and they team up to bring Hoyt to justice. Told in alternating chapters representing Hoyt’s, Floyd’s and Perez’s points-of-view, the story develops into a contest between the two lawmen and this master burglar. As Floyd and Perez get closer to their prey, Hoyt finds out they’re after him and rather than backing down, he taunts them, daring them to bring him in. The stakes get higher and higher, and Hoyt, who is always concerned about proving he’s the best at what he does, even resorts to murder. Eventually, the story climaxes in a confrontation between the three men. Praise for SECOND STORY MAN: “Second Story Man is a down and dirty game of cat and mouse, only this time there are two cats and the mouse hasn’t yet seen the trap that can touch him. Are two cats better than one? Read it and see.” —Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times bestselling author of What You Break “Salzberg is a superb wordsmith, with an honest ear for dialogue, and a delight in plot twists. If you’re not already a Salzberg fan, read this book; you will become one.” —Michael Sears, Edgar Award nominee and Shamus Award winner for Black Fridays “With Second Story Man, Charles Salzberg works his magic on the old cat-and-mouse game: he adds an extra cat, a (Michael J) foxy mouse, and a mousetrap you won’t see coming until it snaps shut.” —Tim O’Mara, Barry Award-nominated author of the Raymond Donne mysteries “Traversing my old stomping grounds, from Connecticut to South Beach, I loved the local touches and flavors. But what hit me hardest is how much this plays like a re-envisioned Michael Mann’s Heat. The terse dialogue, two men on opposite sides of the law but oh-so-much alike, the chess match. I would’ve liked to see that movie.”—Joe Clifford, author of the Jay Porter thriller series “Terrific. And the riveting Second Story Man is also a master class in voice and dialogue and storytelling. This caper about three men—two cops and a burglar—reinventing themselves for the second stories of their lives is unique, textured and even hilarious. Charles Salzberg has perfected the existential crime novel—and this one will break your heart.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author “Charlie Floyd and Manny Perez are a new and most welcome team on the investigative scene. Now that they’ve dispensed with master burglar Francis Hoyt—or have they?—I’m expecting, and looking forward to, more of their unique take on how to bring down evil-doers.” —SJ Rozan, Edgar Award-winning author of Ghost Hero
Download or read book Shooting at the Stars written by John Hendrix and published by ABRAMS. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shooting at the Stars is the moving story of a young British soldier on the front lines during World War I who experiences an unforgettable Christmas Eve. In a letter to his mother, he describes how, despite fierce fighting earlier from both sides, Allied and German soldiers ceased firing that evening and came together on the battlefield to celebrate the holiday. They sang carols, exchanged gifts, and even lit Christmas trees. But as the holiday came to a close, they returned to their separate trenches to await orders for the war to begin again. Award-wining creator John Hendrix wonderfully brings the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914 to life with his signature style, interweaving detailed illustrations and hand-lettered text. His telling of the story celebrates the humanity that can persist during even the darkest periods of our history.
Download or read book The Shooting Party Large Print 16pt written by Isabel Colegate and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-05 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is the autumn of 1913. Sir Randolph Nettleby has assembled a brilliant array of guests at his Oxfordshire estate for the biggest hunt of the season. An army of gamekeepers, beaters, and servants has rehearsed the intricate age-old ritual, the gentlemen are falling into the prescribed mode of fellowship and sporting rivalry, the ladies intrigued by the latest gossip and fashion. Everything about this splendid weekend would seem a perfect consummation of the pleasures afforded the privileged in Edwardian England.
Download or read book The Night of the Flood written by E.A. Aymar and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-03-05 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It happened the night Maggie Wilbourne was to be put to death, the first woman executed by the state of Pennsylvania in modern times. That was when a group of women passionately protesting Maggie’s imprisonment struck. They blew up a local dam, flooding the town of Everton and indirectly inspiring a hellish night of crime and chaos. Fourteen of today’s new and most exciting contemporary crime writers will take you to the fictional town of Everton, with stories from criminals, cops, and civilians that explore the thin line between the rich and the poor, the insider and the outsider, the innocent and the guilty. Whether it’s a store owner grimly protecting his property from looters, an opportunistic servant who sees her time to strike, or two misguided youths taking their anger out against any available victim, The Night of the Flood is an intricate and intimate examination of the moment when chaos is released—in both society and the human spirit. Praise for THE NIGHT OF THE FLOOD: “Plenty of complex characters and hard edges. Take a breath, then hang on and enjoy this entertaining romp.” —Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author “Bravo to all the authors who contributed to The Night of the Flood, a collection of brilliant short stories about residents of the dysfunctional town of Everton who are thrust into the turbulence of decisions that will forever change who they thought they were. A stormy page-turner that will leave you wanting more.” —Sandra Brannan, author of the award-winning Liv Bergen Mystery Series “A brilliant, multi-leveled concept, Faulknerian in its structure. A novel in stories. Wow. Fourteen new exciting crime writers create a rare three-dimensional mosaic of a doomed town and the night hell flooded through it. Terrifically exciting. Wonderfully inventive.” —David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of Murder As a Fine Art
Download or read book Revenge is a Redhead written by Phil Beloin Jr. and published by All Due Respect, an imprint of Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-06-10 with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rich Brown is out of cash and luck when he finds stripper Cherry Pop. Like so many before him, Rich falls for the redhead, but all he can afford is a quick peep show. But soon Rich has bigger problems than lack of love and money when he stumbles into a homeless shelter that’s really a front for a bunch of shady dealings. He crosses paths with Cherry Pop again, and to survive the night, the duo have claw their way out of all kinds of mayhem. Trashy, funny, and filled with pure pulp action, Revenge is a Redhead is the ideal way to kill time before you die.
Download or read book Uncle Dust written by Rob Pierce and published by All Due Respect, an imprint of Down & Out Books. This book was released on with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dustin loves to rob banks. Dustin loves to drink. Dustin loves his women. Dustin loves loyalty. He might even love his adopted nephew Jeremy. And, he sometimes gets a little too enthusiastic in his job doing collections for local bookies—so, sometimes, he loves to hurt people. Told in the first person, Uncle Dust is a fascinating noir look inside the mind of a hard, yet very complicated criminal. Rob Pierce has been nominated for a Derringer Award for short crime fiction, and has had his stories published in Flash Fiction Offensive, Pulp Modern, Plots With Guns, Revolt Daily, Near to the Knuckle, and Shotgun Honey. The editor of Swill Magazine, he lives in Oakland, California, with his wife and two children. He is equally comfortable taking romantic walks on the beach or dumping the body elsewhere. Praise for UNCLE DUST: “The story and dialogue in Uncle Dust capture much of the circumstance of prison life in all its squalid glory. Made me wish I’d done time with tough guy Dustin. I thoroughly enjoyed our criminal hero’s mind as he observed the world, and himself, through a cynical thief’s lens. And I think you will too.” —Joe Loya, author of The Man Who Outgrew His Prison Cell: Confessions of a Bank Robber
Download or read book With the Right Enemies written by Rob Pierce and published by All Due Respect, an imprint of Down & Out Books. This book was released on with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vollmer’s a young guy, grows up on ugly streets. He survives by being uglier, hurting people for money, hurting people because he likes hurting people. When he’s hired to track down Dust and bring back the money he stole, keeping Dust alive isn’t a priority. Neither is keeping anyone else alive, even people he loves. Vollmer’s killed people he loves before. With the Right Enemies is the bullet-drenched follow-up to Uncle Dust, Rob Pierce’s acclaimed debut novel about a bank robber’s disastrous fling with domestic life. Praise for WITH THE RIGHT ENEMIES: “A detailed and empathetic portrait of a personal struggle with demons we may not all face directly, but which always lurk beneath our carefully calculated covers. Pierce rips off that lid and exposes the common darkness of all our souls, whether we want to admit it or not.” —Will Viharo, author of Hard-Boiled Heart and Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me “One of the best noir and crime novels of the past five years. Pierce has done a masterful job of playing high drama and low stakes where the heart of the story isn’t about the big heist, or the big show down, or the fight scenes, but of the complicated nature of being a criminal, and a creature of violence, but not a simple caricature. A fantastic read for fans of cynical, dark, and yet hopeful tales of people who pay for their mistakes and have to keep the change.” —Jason Ridler, author of A Triumph For Sakura and Blood and Sawdust
Download or read book Saying Uncle written by Greg F. Gifune and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-06-18 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Andy DeMarco and his little sister Angela worshiped their Uncle Paulie. To them, he was a god, an enigmatic savior, the man who took the place of their absent father, who protected them and their mother, and who taught them about the true nature of life and family. But one horrible summer day something unspeakable happened to little Angela, and everyone’s world changed forever. Now, twenty years later, in the middle of a snowstorm, Andy has returned home to bury his uncle, a man with a shady past that ended with a caper gone wrong and a bullet in the back of his head. Only now can Andy begin to understand who his uncle truly was, and in doing so, finally begin to also understand who he is, and who he may still one day become. Praise for SAYING UNCLE: “This quietly powerful short novel should bring much deserved attention to Gifune, who succeeds in imbuing what could have been a clichéd and formulaic noir premise with haunting emotional depth. Fans of understated, sophisticated crime fiction are in for a treat.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review “Saying Uncle is steeped in some serious atmosphere. It’s the kind of book that you’ll want to rip through and yet also savor. You’ll reread passages for the pure poetry of sound as well as for the dazzling imagery. It’s that lush and affecting.” —Tom Piccirilli, author of Shadow Season “Saying Uncle is a tightly-crafted novel that is both an action story and an emotional one. Gifune’s words flow like mountain streams, and like those streams they bite hard when you step into their icy waters. It is a coming-of-age story filled with all the right components: strong characters, dark secrets, dangerous situations, and deep emotions. In short, it’s the kind of book other writers will wish they had written, and readers will be recommending to their friends.” —Dark Scribe Magazine “Devastating, in a good way, I feel like I experienced Gifune’s novel Saying Uncle firsthand. Wonderfully crafted on so many levels: description, characterization, atmosphere, thematically. A must read.” —Lisa von Biela, author of The Genesis Code “This—like most of Gifune’s vast body of work—is a novel first and a genre entry only secondarily. It’s a dark psychological study, engrossing and disturbing, profoundly reminiscent of the great “noir” classics of a generation ago…while remaining on the cutting edge of contemporary crime fiction. More people need to discover this excellent book. It’s hard to imagine a reader who wouldn’t be struck by its brilliance.” —Robert Dunbar, author of The Pines “Brilliant, grim, and absolutely devastating. An amazing work from quite possibly the greatest dark fiction author of our time.” —Sandy DeLuca, author of Descent
