"From a much newer novel, Head Games by Craig McDonald, the first line is: “We were sitting in a backroom of a cantina on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, three drinks in, when Bill Wade reached into the dusty duffle bag he had tucked under the table and plunked down the Mexican general’s head.” The … Continue reading Praise for the opening line of HEAD GAMES by Craig McDonald
Kindle edition of GIFTS free this week!
Christmas is not always magic but good books always are. Whether you love or hate Christmas, you might enjoy a good story. Our collection GIFTS: NINE BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS STORIES is free on Amazon this week: getBook.at/FREE_GIFTS
Promotion in Australia on Dec. 15: KILLARNEY BLUES (read excerpt)
Excerpt from KILLARNEY BLUES by Colin O'Sullivan "Cathy is ignoring Janet’s requests to open the door. She stays in the same position. On the floor. On that nice soft carpet. Her legs are stretched out in front of her. Her head hangs low. She is a collapsed marionette. But who will pick up the strings … Continue reading Promotion in Australia on Dec. 15: KILLARNEY BLUES (read excerpt)
Excerpt: The Running Kind by Craig McDonald
“It is a long road that has no turning.”— Irish proverb 1 No happy ending ever started in a bar. The old friends had chosen to murder the afternoon drinking in the shadowy hotel pub mostly to evade December’s bitter chill. “All I’m sayin’ is that any son of a bitch who sets off … Continue reading Excerpt: The Running Kind by Craig McDonald
Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Kevin Stevens
From “The Return of Eddie Sloan” by Kevin Stevens: “She checked on Wardell. He was fast asleep, dreaming of sugar plums. All the doors were locked. The backyard was deserted and the thin cover of fresh snow showed no footprints. In the parlor, the Christmas tree stood lightless and lonely, the angel on top askew. … Continue reading Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Kevin Stevens
Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Colin O’Sullivan
From “Be Good for Goodness Sake” by Colin O’Sullivan: “It is Christmas Day and they are having Christmas dinner, and Anita is trying her best to enjoy herself, trying to acclimatise. But the dreams keep coming back to her, the nightmares, the flashbacks, she doesn’t even have to be asleep, all she needs to do … Continue reading Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Colin O’Sullivan
Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Craig McDonald
From “Echoes” by Craig McDonald “You two are the closest thing to family I have, Hem, and it’s Christmas and that’s about the giving. You’ll just have to live with the receiving, you righteous son of a bitch.” Hector pointed to the gift for our son. “I’ve got no brother or sisters, so I’ll never … Continue reading Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Craig McDonald
Excerpt from GIFTS: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Jackie Mallon
From “Blue and Unassuming under a Christmas Star” by Jackie Mallon: “In Sean Kat recognizes not a point of conversation anymore but the repository for all her frustrations. “Give that money back, you little shit. Go on, hand it over.” She holds out her hand and several shoppers gasp. “Come on, it’s Christmas, let it … Continue reading Excerpt from GIFTS: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Jackie Mallon
Excerpt from GIFTS: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Richard Kalich
From “The Party” by Richard Kalich: “The entire affair was catered by the world’s greatest chefs, and platters of sumptuous foods were served by geishas in kimonos and men in black. Champagne flowed like April rain. Every guest was given a token of appreciation for not attending, diamonds and gold; and for those who didn’t … Continue reading Excerpt from GIFTS: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Richard Kalich
“The Nihilesthete”. Excerpt from the first novel of “Central Park West Trilogy” by Richard Kalich
"My studio apartment has all the features of an artist’s garret now. Everything careless, lackadaisical and purposefully strewn about. The only thing missing is the proverbial skylight, but I do have bay windows and a park view. Still, Montparnasse it’s not. There are canvases everywhere: rolls of canvas, stretched canvas, some stretched and mounted on … Continue reading “The Nihilesthete”. Excerpt from the first novel of “Central Park West Trilogy” by Richard Kalich
Excerpt: Roll the Credits
FRANCE: 1940 In the old days, if a horse stumbled three times you shot it in the head. As far as I was concerned, our driver had just made his second stumble. Well, arguably it was his third if you counted a certain slip of the tongue earlier in the late-morning. I’d wondered at Billy’s … Continue reading Excerpt: Roll the Credits
Excerpt: The Great Pretender
1 THE STRANGER “Perception is reality, that’s how the saying goes, isn’t it, Hec?” Hector Lassiter, novelist, screenwriter, and for the moment, literary executor, looked down at all the chilly pedestrians scurrying through the autumn wind tearing along Fifth Avenue. The fierce wind made eyes water and noses run down there. Up here the wind cut to bone. He … Continue reading Excerpt: The Great Pretender
Excerpt: Central Park West Trilogy
From The Nihilesthete 1. Something interesting happened to me today. As I was walking home from the subway after work, I stopped to watch an artist draw a picture of Christ on the sidewalk in front of the Maine Monument. There was a crowd surrounding the artist, but one area was left open purposefully. This … Continue reading Excerpt: Central Park West Trilogy
Excerpt: Toros & Torsos
NO GOOD DEED 1 “Can I sit with you for a time, sir?” A silky voice — alto, but strained. The young woman said, “I think a man in this place may mean me harm.” Hector Lassiter looked up from his notebook. She was 23, maybe 24. Pretty, poised and flustered. Hector had seen her … Continue reading Excerpt: Toros & Torsos
Excerpt: One True Sentence
PARIS: FEBRUARY 1924 “It is the fate of every myth to creep by degrees into the narrow limits of some historical reality, and to be treated by some later generations as a unique fact with historical claims.” — Nietzsche Snow falling on the Seine. It was half-past-two and it was quiet as it gets … Continue reading Excerpt: One True Sentence
Excerpt: Permanent Fatal Error
1 It started with an email: From: writerswife@yahoo.com Subject: Query Regarding Suggested Life of Author Everett Hyde To: Chase Alger Reply-To: Amanda Hyde Chase was accustomed to acquiring editors writing to suggest topics for biographies. The recent PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Chase’s biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry had resulted in a flurry … Continue reading Excerpt: Permanent Fatal Error
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