Murder Served Hot for the Holidays

MISSING, ASSUMED DEAD
Prejudice, murder, insanity, suicide: Every small town has its secrets.


MuseItUp Buy Link $5.50
Amazon Kindle $5.22
Amazon Print $5.50

When Kameron McBride receives notice she’s the last living relative of a missing man she’s never even heard of, the last thing she wants to do is head to some half-baked Oregon town to settle his affairs. But since she’s the only one available, she grudgingly agrees.

En route, she runs afoul of a couple of hillbillies and their pickup in an accident that doesn’t seem...accidental. Especially when they keep showing up wherever she goes. Lucky for her, gorgeous Deputy Mitch Caldwell lends her a hand, among other things. Her suspicions increase when the probate Judge tries a little too hard to buy the dead man’s worthless property.

Working on a hunch and trying to avoid the Judge’s henchmen, Kam probes deeper into the town’s secrets and finds almost no one she can trust. With Mitch’s help, she peels away the layers of prejudice, suicide, murder, and insanity. But someone in town doesn’t like her poking around, and when they show their intentions by shooting her through the police chief’s office window, the stakes are raised. Kam must find out what really happened to her dead relative before someone in this backward little town sends her to join him.

And she thought Oregon was going to be boring.

EXCERPT

Kam gasped and jumped down the embankment toward the creek, stumbling through the underbrush. She heard the pickup tires screech and glanced back. Scruffy had gotten out and headed down the slope behind her. She moved faster, gripping her hair spray. A strap broke on her sandal, and she kicked it off. Ignoring the brambles poking into her legs through her jeans, she moved as fast as she could, the terrain preventing her from flat out running.

She heard the crashing of bushes behind her and put on more steam. She knew the pickup would have reached her car by now, but she’d be coming up on the passenger door, slightly downhill from the driver’s side. She switched the hair spray to her left hand and pawed into her purse for the keys. Finding them, she dropped the bag on the ground to free her hands and kept moving.

When she reached the Chrysler, the driver had already skidded down the embankment and was standing on the driver’s side. Thin compared to the other man, but his arms were solid muscle under the tats. She rushed to the passenger side, jerked open the heavy door, dived in, slammed the door and hit the lock button on the key fob.

The driver pounded the window with his fist. The scruffy one had caught up and pulled on the passenger side door handle. Kam hit the panic button on the fob. The deep and seriously loud Chrysler horn went off with honking bursts. Both men jumped back from the car.

The driver yelled, “I’ll fetch the rifle.” He scrambled to climb up the embankment.

Kam’s heart almost stopped. Even the shatterproof windows wouldn’t stand up against a hunting rifle. She looked around the car wildly, her breath coming in sharp rasps, and then launched herself over the console and into the rear. Sweat ran from her armpits, soaking her blouse. She ran her shaking hands across the top of the seat back hunting for the latch. She hoped the Chrysler had fold down back seats. If she could just reach the tire iron, she’d have a weapon. If this stupid car even had one that is.

She felt the latch pin, grasped it and pulled it up. It clicked. She grasped the seat back in both hands and pulled it down. On her belly, she crawled halfway into the trunk searching for the spare tire well.

Best Sellers - Tales of a Texas Boy

Every holiday, TALES OF A TEXAS BOY, turns into pancakes (sells faster than). There's a reason or two this collection of 20 short stories loosely based on my father's tales of his boyhood in West Texas during the Great Depression sells so well.

I can suggest a couple of ideas of why it's a hot Christmas item.

• The Greatest Generation is more likely to find familiar ideas in these stories. 
• People who grew up in rural areas with lots of animals enjoy remembering the good old times.
• Lots of people love stories set in Texas.
• Many of our elders have vision problems and the Large Print format is valuable.
• While e-readers are growing in popularity, folks in their 70s and 80s are less likely to buy one. So many years of reading have made the feel of a paper book the only way to go.

There you have it. A few reasons why TALES OF A TEXAS BOY is a great gift YOU can give your parents, aunts, uncles, or even yourself. Buy LARGE PRINT at Amazon and take advantage of the free shipping, or buy from Texas Boy Publications ( to get an autographed copy. Costs more, but worth it. A standard type copy is also available for a nice savings.

Here's an excerpt to give you an idea of what the stories are like. I will sneakily give you only half the story so you will need to buy the book to find out the rest (it can be had for only 99 cents in all the popular ebook formats at Smashwords).

Excerpt:

No Angel

Idle hands are the devil's workshop. So goes an old saying. A boy with nothing much to do can sometimes find the worst possible things to occupy himself.

FROM WHAT YOU'VE heard about me, you might come to the conclusion I was a well-behaved child. Well, I don't mean to give you a false picture of what I'm really like. I know it's hard to believe, but sometimes I did stuff that was not admired by my Ma and Pa. I wasn't exactly the devil, but I weren't no angel neither.

Ma and Pa liked to go to town, that bein' Hereford, on Saturday nights. They'd visit friends and sometimes eat at the diner. They left me home to take care of Sister, which is what we call my sister Dorothy. Generally, we behaved ourselves 'cause we knew the consequences if we didn't. One of them Saturdays, I was outside not doin' much of anything. You know, just watchin' the clouds and throwin' rocks and so on.

I noticed a flock of blackbirds lit on Ma's clothesline, so I went in and got the shotgun. I loaded it with smallshot and snuck around the side of the house so's not to scare the birds. I figured I could get the whole flock of birds if I shot straight down the clothesline from one end to the other.

I had to be real quiet, so's I thought I'd sneak up on 'em like I was a Comanche. I got down on my belly and rested the shotgun across my arms. The grass was high enough so I'd not be seen. I dug in my elbows and pulled myself real slow around the corner of the house. When I got to the lilac bush, I got up behind it and checked if the birds had a notion I was there. They just sat on the line and didn't even look my way, so I hunched over and ran lickety-split to the oak tree. From there, I was right at the end of the line and no more'n ten feet away.

I leaned around the tree trunk and eyed the line. Yep, I could see right down it. My hands aren't big enough to span both triggers, so I pulled them one at a time. I figured I'd shoot the first barrel and then real quick-like, fire off the second. That way, I'd get to hit the flock twice.

I eased the shotgun up to my shoulder and pulled back slow on the left-hand trigger. The first shot blasted off and knocked me back a few feet where I landed on my rear end real hard. I still held the shotgun in my hands, but I wasn't in any position to fire off the second barrel. When I sat up and looked to see how many birds I got, I was in for a shock. All that noise and not one feather to show for it. But Ma's clothesline . . . now that's a different story. The durn thing looked like a dead snake layin' there.

I knew right away Ma would not be pleased with this.


Read the rest in TALES OF A TEXAS BOY...

I Write Short Shorts

Continuing with paperback month, I come to two short story collections. Actually, there's the short, PG book titled "Mixed Bag." I give this away in ebook format a lot.

I added a dozen stories with more adult themes in the book, "Mixed Bag II: Supersized." The majority of the stories were previously published in either print or ezine. In other words, some editor thought they were good enough to publish.

Both books are available in ebook (all types) and paperback formats. Here's where you can get the shorter book. MIXED BAG in all the eformats free: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/43460

On Amazon, the ebooks are both priced at 99 cents (the minimum allowed by Amazon outside of the special KDP program).


  
Mixed Bag II: Supersized

Here's what you'll find in the books. About half of them are in Mixed Bag; all of them are in Mixed Bag II.

Science Fiction
Fish Story
Published in The Fifth Di... ezine and included in Wondrous Web Worlds #7 best of anthology from Sam’s Dot Publishing.

The Delegate
Published in Lorelei Signal ezine and included in the A Time To, Volume 2 best of anthology.

The Great Writing Competition

Published in AnotherRealm

Horror/Dark
Heather's Pain
Published in Weirdly, Volume 1 from WildChild Publishing.

The Vision
Published in Weirdly, Volume 1 from WildChild Publishing.

The Hunter
Published in Weirdly, Volume 1 from WildChild Publishing.

Country Faire
Published in Weirdly, Volume 1 from WildChild Publishing.

Coward
Published in Weirdly, Volume 1 from WildChild Publishing.

Extraordinary Rendition
Published in The Deepening and November 3rd Club

No Deposit, No Return
Published in Diddledog Flash

Fantasy
Chilpequin - 22 Miles
Published in Lorelei Signal ezine and A Time To..., Volume 1 best of anthology.

Cursed Valley
Published in Scribal Tales, Sorcerous Signals and Arcane Whispers best of anthology.

A Visit to Potter's Field
Published in Lorelei Signal ezine and A Time To..., Volume 1 best of anthology

Jonathan Swift Finds Nemo
Published in 5th Story Review

Miscellaneous Bits and Pieces
Big Bessie's Place
Published in Green Silk Journal

If You Could See Her
Published in The Deepening and Lily Lierary Reviw.

Ma 'Yote and Her Cubs
Published in Tales of a Texas Boy

A Good, Honest Dog
Published at Wildchild Publishing On-Line

Lemons
Published in Stories for Children

Drabbles and Flashes
Four Drabbles
Published here and there.

Neighborly
Published in AnotherRealm.

Fair’s Fair
Published in Bewildering Stories.

Unpublished Stories I Happen To Like

Invasion
Entomological Horror

Shasta Lake
Literary Realism

Witches of Galdorheim - First Released Paperback

The excruciating process of creating print out of electronic has begun. The first book in the Witches of Galdorheim saga is coming to Amazon's virtual shelves soon. A mere $8.00 (I hate those .99 endings) will snag you a copy of BAD SPELLING with the bonus story SPELLSLINGER included. Here's the entire wraparound cover. Don't be picky; I write, not draw.

Now available on Amazon. Eligible for free shipping 

and Buy 3, Get One Free.

Now available on CreateSpace. 

Special Offer for readers of this blog: 
Coupon code 9Z94TUUZ for 40% off ($4.80 +S/H)

And I'm happy to introduce the mascot of the series, Teddy the long-suffering bunny familiar for Kat the Teen Witch.

Here's an excerpt showing why Teddy is an unlucky familiar, at least in BAD SPELLING.

Excerpt:

She (Miss Mariah) faced the class. “Now then, please take out your chalk and wands for today’s lesson, which is,” she shot a semi-annoyed look at Rune and Dalton, “transformation.” The Wiccan students rustled bags and whispered to each other while they did as told.

When the witches and warlocks in training looked up, she continued. “Although some students can transform without benefit of pentagram and wand, those of you who are beginners, or less motivated—” she paused and gave Kat a hard look, “must practice first with the proper equipment.”

Kat’s face warmed, and she sank lower into her chair. Heaving a sigh, she set her brown bunny, Teddy, on her desktop and fumbled in her bag for her spell book, yew wood wand, and chalk.

Merry, the curly-haired blonde witch sitting next to Kat, waved her arm in the air.

“What is it, Merry?” Miss Mariah asked.

“Can you make Katrina sit somewhere else? Whenever she’s near me, my spells don’t work right. She’s a jinx.”

The class snickered. Kat grimaced at Merry. If I got my hands on her…aw, what’s the use?

“No, everybody stays right where they are,” Miss Mariah snapped. She pasted on a fake smile and continued in a treacle-sweet voice. “Now, class, draw the pentagram on your desktop and place your familiar in its center.”

The younger students practicing their first transformations looked to the board where, under Miss Mariah’s control, the chalk drew a practice pentagram stopping short of completing the last of the five points. She tapped the board. “An unattended pentagram can cause all sorts of problems, the least being a tusser or tomte taking advantage of an open gateway. They’re harmless for the most part but like to play tricks. So be prepared with your spell before completing the pentagram.” More than one kid smudged an opening in their already drawn star.

“Children, you must focus. Don’t let yourselves get distracted.” Miss Mariah adjusted a child’s grip on his wand as she walked by.

Merry curled her lip and hissed, “You’d better not screw me up. If I can’t work this spell right, it’ll be your fault.”

“Tough luck, Merry,” Kat snarled. “If you’re such a great witch, my being here shouldn’t make any difference.”

Turning away from Merry, Kat finished the final leg of her pentagram and set the bunny in the center. “Stay right there, Teddy,” she whispered to her little brown rabbit, setting a chunk of carrot in front of him. He made a dash for the edge of the desk. Kat hauled him back. “Cut it out. You’ll smear my chalk lines.” She stroked his soft fur for a moment. “Hope this works.” He twitched his nose twice, closed his eyes, and hunkered down.

Kat checked her spell book one last time, took a deep breath, and completed the spell with a loud “Fullgerður!” and a dramatic sweep of her arms, just missing Merry’s head with her wand.

Merry shrieked and jumped out of her chair. She glared at Kat while wiping green goo off the side of her face. “Your rabbit stinks. Just like your spellcasting!”

****
Also available in ebook format at MuseItUp Publishing and Amazon.

Special Sale - Larriane Wills SF/F Paperback

LOOKING GLASS PORTAL

Caught up in situation not of his making, a modern day cowboy with attitude is taken aboard an alien research vessel. To put it mildly, all hell breaks lose.

After years of captivity, the other captives knew what to expect and follow the routines set up for them. Garrett doesn't, nor does he blindly accept that things can't change. He is also tuned in to a sinister undercurrent of a change that only meant harm.

Suitable for ages from teens on, "Looking Glass Portal" is a science fiction/fantasy which make you wonder as Garrett did: Do like minds link even over the vast distances of space?

Great for under the Christmas tree, a limited number are now on a special sale at 2/3 the regular price making a printed, autographed book in the same price range as an ebook. The Buy Now link will take you to excerpts and easy purchase. Only $5.00 plus S/H. Feel free to browse all my pages. Though not on sale, I have a wide variety of books from historical to the future.

http://www.larriane.com/specialsale.htm

Larriane AKA Larion Wills
Two names, one author, thousands of stories

PAPERBACK WRITER!

The rest of this month and most of next will be all about paperbacks. Many folks just like the feel of a paperback in their hands. Others want to buy a gift of a book for somebody who doesn't have access to an ereader. I know for certain that the more senior of us often prefer reading a real 'live' book.

In past years, I've found a good audience for my LARGE PRINT books among the folks that remember  when gas was a quarter a gallon. Several of my other books are for the younger audience of tweens and teens.

Here's what I'll feature this month. I also have some friends who have their own books in paperback. They'll be joining me here on this blog to let you know where they can get the bet deal on their paperbacks.