Eryk Pruitt

To catch the killer who eluded her detective grandfather fifty years ago, a true-crime podcaster must contend with outdated evidence, ulterior motives, and the dark family secrets that got in the way. True-crime podcaster Jess Keeler has returned to Deeton County, North Carolina, to pick up where her grandfather left off. Sheriff's Deputy Big Jim Ballard, her grandfather, was a respected detective--until it all came crashing down during a 1972 murder investigation. For Jim, solving the murders of two teens should have been the highlight of his already storied career. Instead, he battled his own mind, unsure where his hunches ended and the truth began. Working from her grandfather's disjointed notes, Jess is sure that she can finally put the cold case--and her family's shame--to rest. Enlisting the help of disgraced reporter Dan Decker, Jess soon discovers ugly truths about the first investigation, which was shaped by corruption, egos, and a family secret that may be the key to the crime. Told in a dual timeline that covers both investigations, Something Bad Wrong explores human folly, hubris, and how sometimes, to solve a crime, you have to find out who's covering it up.

A Thriller

Something Bad Wrong

Second in the Jess Keeler Thrillers series, this moody installment follows the podcaster's investigation of one brutal, bloody summer in a former mill town and the shocking truths brought to light. Hot on the heels of her podcast debut, Jess Keeler looks for another unsolved crime to investigate--this time with a documentary crew in tow. But she can't seem to find the right case...until a handsome stranger approaches her in a bar in Lake Castor, Virginia, with an incredible story about wrongful conviction. The Lake Castor sniper struck in 1984. Terrorizing the historically Black part of the old mill town, the killer claimed five lives. No one seemed worried about the first four victims. But when journalist Hal Broadstreet was killed, the police were suddenly interested. They arrested a suspect two days later. But did they get the right man? As evidence emerges pointing to a false confession and a murky connection to three bootleggers' murders, Jess closes in on the truth--and risks landing in the sights of the true sniper.

Blood Red Summer

Collects Pruitt's southern fried crime stories in a single volume.

And Other Stories of Southern Mischief

Townies

Eric Schiller

Richard Smith

Adam Millard

Nick Johnson

Jeffrey Veregge

Damien Krsteski

Jon Alston

N. S. Mariner

Robert Santa

Trak Sumisu

Edd Howarth

Jennifer Courtney

Jesse Harlin

There will come a time when everything we know and love will cease to exist. But how will such a disaster transpire - by nuclear warfare, ecological collapse, technological failure, perhaps pandemic? And how would we cope in our last hours, in catastrophe's wake? This theme of finality is explored in Nuclear Town USA, a collection of apocalyptic and dystopian fiction set across a diversity of scenarios and backdrops. From fast-paced thrillers to dark reflections, each story intriguingly captures frightening alt-realities surrounding humanity's twilight. Some of the brightest new stars in speculative fiction today share their vision of the apocalypse - from bestselling and emerging authors such as Adam Millard, D. Krauss, Damien Krsteski, Edd Howarth, Eric R. Schiller, Eryk Pruitt, Jeffrey Veregge, Jennifer Courtney, Jesse Harlin, Jon Alston, Nick Johnson, N.S. Mariner, Richard Smith, Robert J. Santa and Trak E. Simisu. Welcome to the end of the world. Welcome to Nuclear Town USA.

Nuclear Town USA

Jack Jordan und Summer Ashton sind in den Besitz eines Kilos Koks gekommen, haben sich neue Namen zugelegt und eine neue Identität angenommen. Sie machen sich auf den Weg nach Lufkin, Texas, wo sie einen großen Coup landen wollen. Er ist charmant, engagiert, extrem paranoid. und eifersüchtig. Summer mehr durchgeknallte Partnerin, die einer ehemaligen Liebe nachtrauert und schwört, Jordan nie zu hintergehen. Mit einem Kilo Koks in einer Bibel, erscheint ihnen alles möglich zu sein. Eine unbeschwerte Zukunft. Erst jedoch müssen sie einen Abnehmer finden. In letzter Zeit lässt der Verstand nach, was es schwer macht, nicht in Schwierigkeiten zu geraten. Die beiden haben sich gegenseitig so viele Lügen erzählt, dass es schwerfällt, sich an die Wahrheiten zu erinnern. Außer jener Regeln, die sie stets befolgen: Bullen erzählen sie nie etwas, und in eine Notaufnahme zu gehen, bedeutet, ins Gefängnis zu wandern. Pruitts überdrehter, düsterer Southern-Noir-Kriminalroman ist ein Parforceritt, in dem es inmitten der eigenen Versklavung Momente voller schwarzem Humor gibt.

Kriminalroman

Das schnelle Leben

Sam and Rachel are still down and out, scratching out survival level cash in short cons as they travel through out of the way areas. They're spotted doing a con at the train station in Lawles County, and blackmailed into helping a man get revenge on his nemesis, Deputy Slade, by cheating the dirty cop out of the money he has stashed away.

A Grifter's Song, Book 7

Gone Dead on You

Richard Godwin

Alec Cizak

Tom Pitts

Daniel Horn

Mav Skye

Emily McNeely

Dan McCarthy

Joseph Pete

Paul Handley

Grigori Black

Issue eight of this critically-acclaimed literary journal focuses on stories about America's third favorite activity--drugs. From the Middle East to Middle America, these ten stories deal with all manner of dope and addiction. Some are dark, some are light, all of them make unique statements about drugs and the people who use and sell them.

Issue Eight

Pulp Modern

John Dennehy

Gwendolyn Kiste

Weasel Press

Scott Outlar

R. Gold

G. Smith

Donald Uitvlugt

Joseph Rubas

Diane Arrelle

Leon saul

Leslie Bohem

J. Michael

Jeffrey Sims

G. Boorse

Alyssa Roseman

Searska GreyRaven

Ace Hall

Andrea Lorin

Welcome to the latest edition of The Haunted Traveler, a roaming anthology dedicated to bringing you some of the most shocking and twisted tales this world has to offer. This issue will surely mesmerize you with its dark and haunting fiction pieces, leaving your nightmares vivid and your dreams insane. This edition features several new and old faces to the zine. Tag along, you won't want to leave after getting all tangled up in our twisted tales.

Vol. 2 Issue 1

The Haunted Traveler

S. A. Cosby

Ben Nadler

Ed Kurtz

Aaron Fox-Lerner

Terrence McCauley

Mark Mellon

Ed Hagelstein

New hardcore hardboiled tales from eight of the best crime writers on the planet. So sit back, gird your loins, and tear into some THUGLIT, punk!WE AIN'T YO MAMA'S CRIME FICTION!HOUSTON by Eryk PruittWALK UP by Ben NadlerOUR LADY OF MERCY by Edward HagelsteinDEATH OF A ONE-PERCENTER by Mark MellonNOTHING YOU CAN DO by Ed KurtzFOR WHOM NO BELL TOLLS by Terrence McCauleyTHE RAT AND THE COBRA by S.A. Cosby

THUGLIT

Mike Miner

Adam Howe

Nikki Dolson

Thomas Pluck

J. David Jaggers

Don LaPlant

Brandon Patterson

It's another issue of the multi award-wining crime fiction mag, THUGLIT! Filled with EIGHT brand new stories of crime and criminals that will bring you straight to the edge. Dig the nasty, kittens. It ain't gonna be pretty.IT'S GONNA BE THUGLIT!!! In This Issue of Thuglit:ANIMAL CONTROL by Don LaPlantTHE LAST TIME WE SAW BEARS IN LAKE CASTOR by Eryk PruittTHE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by J. David JaggersMOMMA'S BOY by Mike MinerTHE LAST DETAIL by Thomas PluckOUR MAN JULIAN by Nikki DolsonBRUIN by Brandon PattersonCLEAN-UP ON AISLE 3 by Adam Howe

THUGLIT Issue Nineteen

Asa Maria Bradley

Holly West

Long time grifters Sam and Rachel love two things: each other and the grift. On the run from the mob, the two lovers move from one con to the next, winning some and losing others, but always finding a way to survive. Episodes 7-9 of Season Two begins with Gone Dead on You by Eryk Pruitt, a master of rural noir. Set in Pruitt's fictional Lawles County, this tale brings an element of the supernatural into play as Rachel portrays a medium who speaks to the dead partner of a dirty cop as part of a revenge ploy. Swedish paranormal romance author Asa Maria Bradley penned Episode 8, Upgrade. When Sam and Rachel target a rich mark in San Francisco, the con is high tech but the strain on their relationship is even higher. Faced with a challenge they've never truly encountered before, the pair realizes they are risking more than their freedom on this one. Episode 9, The Money Block by Holly West, follows a reinvigorated Sam and Rachel in central California as they work a variation of an old scheme, updated for the digital age. But when their mark realizes he's been taken, the repercussions are brutal, and Sam and Rachel lose more than they knew possible.

A Grifter's Song Vol. 3

"Reminds me of a young Quentin Tarantino. Pruitt is one of our best Southern fiction writers." —Bookreporter Meet Jack Jordan. He’s a smooth-talking con artist with a penchant for the fast life. He’s snuck into Lufkin, Texas, in the dead of night with little more than a beat-up Honda, a hollowed-out King James Bible full of cocaine, and enough emotional baggage to sink a steam ship. He’s charming, dedicated, and extremely paranoid. Summer Ashton, his partner-in-crime. She’s stuck by him through thick and thin, but lately her mind has begun to slip. They’ve told their fair share of lies and she’s having a devil of a time remembering what’s the truth. And recently, she’s been hearing voices. Unfortunately for both of them, she’s the brains of the operation. Furthermore, they have begun to tire of one another. For these two career grifters, the sleepy East Texas countryside is but another pit stop on their rampage across the American South. Will it be their last? In WHAT WE RECKON, Eryk Pruitt explores themes of identity, loyalty, and purpose with psycho-delic, transgressive, chicken-fried twists that read like Trainspotting cut with a couple grams of Helter Skelter.

What We Reckon

Gary Cahill

BV Lawson

Tom Barlow

John H. Dromey

Ian Creasey

Ed Ahern

Wayne Scheer

Jed Power

Peter DiChellis

Patti Abbott

S.R. Mastrantone

Kevin R. Doyle

Desperation is the same in any language. Madness respects no borders. Greed and revenge transcend cultural differences. In this third collection of stories from Plan B Magazine, we find tales from all the corners of the crime world. From Cold War espionage to small town stick-ups, high-powered diplomacy to the opportunism of poverty, these are stories of the darkness of the human heart. And once in a while, how the light of our common humanity can transcend that darkness. Table of Contents: "Sirens" by Gary Cahill "House Cleaning" by Ian Creasey "Murderous Lies" by Peter DiChellis "Doing God's Work" by Wayne Scheer "Um Peixe Grande" by Patti Abbott "Loveable Alan Atcliffe" by S.R. Mastrantone "Slice" by Tom Barlow "How Green Was My Valet" by John H. Dromey "The Least Of These" by BV Lawson "Miscellany" by Eryk Pruitt "Stars & Stripes" by Jed Power "Alten Kameraden" by Ed Ahern "The Farm" by Kevin R. Doyle

a mystery and crime anthology

Plan B Volume III

A collection of riveting, funny, and captivating southern fried crime stories from Eryk Pruitt, one of the best new crime fiction writers working today. Townies, and Other Tales of Southern Mischief collects, for the first time, Pruitt's short fiction in a single volume. The title story, "Townies," details what really happened one night, after hours, in a once popular East Texas sports bar, and the sinister revenge that would soon follow. "Knacker," the story of a Texan who finds himself homeless in Dublin, Ireland, and willing to sacrifice damn near anything to scratch together what remaining pride he may have lost. "Let's Be Awful" tells the story of a cocktail waitress who decides that, after a horrid round of revenge porn, her days of playing the victim have past. In "A Lot Prettier (When You Smile)," we are introduced to a woman who can wrap any man around her finger and decides to put that powerful skill to use one last time. When a black sheep son comes home to his sick momma's deathbed in "The Only Hell My Momma Ever Raised," he discovers long lost family secrets, as well as how he can use his own set of skills to give her a proper send off. When Old Man McCarthy turns up dead in the bottoms of "Blood Holler," a cursory investigation turns up an unlikely suspect, which barely scratches the surface of the true implications of the brutal crime. These and other stories will have you turning the pages to read more of one of the most unique voices in southern fiction.

From one of the freshest voices of Southern noir comes a gritty crime story with plenty of Southern flavor and a world and characters you’ll be clawing for more of. The repercussions are felt across the American South when a pizza joint in sleepy Lake Castor, Virginia is robbed and the manager, Odie Shanks, is kidnapped. The kidnapping is the talk of the town, but it's what people don't know that threatens to rip asunder societal norms. Odie chases dreams of Hollywood stardom and an explosive social media presence while his partner in crime, Jake Armstrong, pursues his own vengeful agenda. In the meantime, corrupt and lazy Deputy Roy Rains has a hard-luck time of covering up the crime in order to preserve his way of life. And college student Melinda Kendall has hit the highway in a stolen ride with nothing but a .22 and limited options, on the run from her drug dealer boyfriend, the Mississippi State Police and the media, trying to escape some bad choices by making even more bad choices.

Hashtag

Michael Russell

Heather Bell Adams

Rose Yndigoyen

Hardy Jones

Shane K. Bernard

Charles J. Beacham

Zachary Honey

Emily Ruth Isaacson

Caitlin Cauley

Miranda Stone

Kent Tankersley

Mark Pritchard

Brian Centrone

Jordan M. Scoggins

A. G. Carpenter

A. A. Garrison

Nathan Mark Philips

Southern Gothic: New Tales of the South is an anthology like no other. Featuring over 15 stories and poems by new and veteran authors, the writing reflects a diverse range of Southern experience. From the post-Katrina New Orleans of Rose Yndigoyen's "Long Gone Girls" and the deep-rooted family of Hardy Jones' "Visitin' Cormierville" to the racial tension of Eryk Pruitt's "Them Riders" and Shane K. Bernard's "The Phrenologist," the anthology represents a new interpretation of the long-established Southern Gothic genre. Each story is paired with original art by Nathan Mark Phillips. Phillips' images pull at the underside of the stories and bring a thoughtful level of interpretation to each work. Poking at the heart of Southern distinctiveness, these writers and artists make a bold statement about the south in the 21st century.

New Tales of the South

Southern Gothic

Randy Lindsay

Jonah Buck

Doug Blakeslee

Jay Wilburn

D. Alexander Ward

Christofer Nigro

Brent Abell

John Grey

Gerry Griffiths

J. M. Scott

Harrison Graves

Gary Mielo

Lachlan David

Ben McElroy

Kerry G. S. Lipp

Tracy DeVore

Gary Wosk

Terry Alexander

Colin McMahon

Nicole Massengill

Kevin Bampton

We survived The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Then came THEM!, It Came From Beneath the Sea, and The Deadly Mantis. They were merely practice runs. Now prepare for ATTACK! of the B-Movie Monsters: Night of the Gigantis Rampaging Rodents! Terrifying Tentacles! Bone-Crushing Claws! Scientific experiments gone dreadfully wrong!

Night of the Gigantis

Attack! of the B-Movie Monsters

“She was in a fix alright and the only thing that would cure it was miles. Distance. Putting a lot of highway between her and her troubles.” Meet Melinda… a badass, .22-carrying college student battling a destructive meth addiction whilst on the run from her junkie boyfriend, campus drug dealer Sam Tuley. Melinda is no shining heroine, but she has little time to dwell on the sins of her past when miles of future lie ahead of her. In Further South by Eryk Pruitt, find out just why Melinda has hit the highway in a stolen ride with nothing but a gun and limited options. Twists and turns lace this bullet-sharp short that deals you characters and a world you’ll be clawing for more of. Pruitt dispenses a fresh insight into student drug culture in Further South, both the selling and the snorting, unveiling how it’s a cruel paradox of blissful escape and cloying prison. Further South is also available in paperback within The Severest Inks Shorts: http://severestinks.com/ShortsVol1

Further South

Charmaine Pauls

Matt Phillips

Lucy Black

Hunter Heath

The Severest Inks Shorts collects eight stories from some of the boldest new writers on the scene today. Melding unflinching themes with innovative narratives, these works confront the rawest elements of the human condition through the potent short story form This anthology comes loaded with bonus material, including commentaries, special monochrome editions of original cover art and transcripts. Founded by British writer and graphic artist Khalid Patel, Severest Inks is an independent publishing house based in the UK that seeks to cultivate innovation and originality in the literary scene, with a focus upon narratives that challenge and subvert convention. Visit htttp://SeverestInks.com and http://KhalidPatel.com for more.

The Severest Inks Shorts

In the southern town of Lake Castor, the old mill closed, and jobs vanished. But Calvin Cantrell doesn’t care for those jobs anyway. Instead, he dreams of becoming a famous serial killer. When sleazy restauranteur Tom London hires Calvin to kill his ex-wife, Calvin’s dreams begin. And so do Lake Castor’s nightmares.

Dirtbags

Eryk Pruitt

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