Deviant Acts
Jackson lives his nightmares with eyes open. Only the heroin he’s been addicted to since Vietnam keeps the horror at bay. A poster child for losers, Jackson’s addiction has cost him his job, his girlfriend, and unless there’s a change soon, his life. That change comes in the form of his evil Aunt Camille, a Vermont millionaire who desperately needs Jackson’s services to retrieve her twenty-year-old daughter, Cheryl, from kidnappers. Camille wants her back at any cost and she wants the kidnappers, who maimed her only daughter, murdered. Jackson could use the money, no, he desperately needs the money, but can he stay clean long enough to get her back? And more importantly, can he kill again despite the demons that haunt him from the war?
Excerpt:
Vincent grabbed Jackson by his shirt and jacked him up against the wall. Jackson hadn’t been man-handled like that since his birthday, five years ago in Vietnam.
He could still smell the jungle …
*****
The platoon had been in an earlier firefight and they were exhausted, including Jackson, who had watch. The men lay in a circle around the fire, somehow managing to sleep amidst the cacophony of nighttime jungle noises. Jackson was reading the second page of Karen’s letter when the monkeys and birds and whatever else was out there went quiet. He stood and scanned three-sixty with his M16, the attached Starlight NVD scope painting the jungle green. His heart raced despite his having smoked some smack earlier; good stuff that kept a middle-class boy’s head level after seeing your buddy’s brains on your shirtsleeve.
Nothing. Jackson turned in a circle one more time and as he aimed the rifle over heavy scrub nearby, he saw green eyes staring back. He emptied the clip on auto and then ducked as the other twenty-six men woke and stood as one, also emptying their clips into the black void. Nothing should have lived through the fusillade, but two VC came over the shrub and into the circle of Marines, bent on suicide and taking as many of the enemy with them as they could.
One of the VC screamed as he fired twice into Jackson’s sergeant. Jackson butted the small man, but then the insurgent came up thrusting with an antique rifle taller than he was. Jackson sidestepped the bayonet and wrestled the man to the ground, pummeling him with his fists, only to be thrown over on his back by a man half his size. Before Jackson could stand, the VC thrust three fingers into his Adam’s apple. The pain paralyzed Jackson. He watched helplessly as the soldier prepared to run him through, until someone’s M16 nearly cut the bastard in half.
After seeing what the VC could do to him with just bare hands, Jackson swore he would someday learn the martial arts himself. Two months after they kicked him out of the Corps, he kept his oath …
Big News
My short fiction piece, Last Wave, won a Highly Commended award in the Australian Stringbark Competition. It will be published in their 2023 anthology, FERAL. https://tinyurl.com/y4cwknau
My novel, Deviant Acts, has been published in its second edition by my new publisher, Open Road Media and is available in the Kindle edition for a limited time for $1.99.
My novel, Nisei, has been published in its second edition by my new publisher, Open Road Media and is available in the Kindle edition for a limited time for $1.99.
What if you had an app on your smartphone that showed you the date and time of death of anyone photographed by you? Find out about it in my latest short fiction, "Dead App" published in the latest edition of Raven magazine. Issue 4, page 12.
https://issuu.com/ghostscribes
My short story, "The Culmination of Their Journey" won second place in the Sea Island Spirit Short Story contest. It was published in the Lowcountry Weekly Magazine in South Carolina. Click on the story above to read it.
Thanks to the Pen Women of Cape Canaveral for listening to my presentation on the Making and Marketing of the Short Story. Also, thank you for the wonderful lunch.
Check out for free the first three episodes of my Kindle Vella Western Novella. Pronghorn Mesa Vengeance https://tinyurl.com/34symyn8
My short story, "Back to Alcatraz" was longlisted in the Margery Allingham Short Story Competition.
https://thecwa.co.uk/debuts/short-story-competition
My manuscript "She Went Missing" is a finalist in the Ohio Writers Great Novel Contest 2020. Great Novel Contest 2020.
I recently sold my story, "The Case of the Burnt Wires" to Mystery Weekly Magazine. Available now on Amazon.
I'll be giving a presentation on my book, NISEI, February 17th at 1pm at One Senior Place in Viera, Florida.
My short story "Of Life and Death and Life" won the Novus Annos Short Story Award and will be adapted into a short film
My short story "Invisible," took second place in the 2018 Larry Brown Short Story Award competition.https://tinyurl.com/y8t7shua
I'll have my books set up at The Dirty Oar Brewing Company in Cocoa Village (see map) from 2 to 4 pm on Saturday, October 6th. Come in and buy a book and I'll buy you a beer.
Loiacono Literary takes on my new novel, A Promise To Lena
My interview on Many Books
I'll be at the Meet The Author bookfair in the Eau Gallie Civic Center, Nov 19 and 20. http://tinyurl.com/hmqm3yx
My interview with Donna Seebo of Warriors For Peace. Select 636-2 and click on box
My guest post on writing about other cultures : http://tinyurl.com/hb3b78z
Also, please vist Jackie Minniti's Fabulous Florida Writers blog to read my Nisei guest post.http://tinyurl.com/hqnpscg
Please vist S J Francis Writer's Blog to read my guest post http://tinyurl.com/jy7badm
I will be discussing my book, NISEI in the Jane Von Thron room at the Cocoa Beach Library, Wednesday, July, 20 at 6 pm.
Read my guest post about Engineers and Creative Writing on Cecile Sune's Book Obsessed site: http://tinyurl.com/glcy5sg
My psychological thriller, Prodigious Savant,has been reduced in a Kindle Promotion from $3.99 to 99 cents.
http://tinyurl.com/jbjaogx
You can order my new novel, Deviant Acts, on Amazon.
My interview on S.J >Francis' blog :http://tinyurl.com/h97okxg
My interview on Authors Talk About It: http://tinyurl.com/hxstpwa
My guest post on Marilyn's Musings: Five Common Mistakes made by New Writers: https://lnkd.in/dy8QcWj
My short story: "Lucky bastard Club" was included in the The Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest 2016 -
My recent interview on Carolyn Johnson's New Book Review:
My recent interview on Crime Fiction.FM: http://tinyurl.com/pf86654
A guest post I wrote for BookBrowsing: Is The First Page All That Important When Deciding Which Book To Buy?
My short story, "The Lucky Bastard Club," is a finalist in the Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest.
The Penitent was shortlisted in the Words with Jam competition.
Excerpt:
A nice article about Pam and me in the Viera Voice. http://tinyurl.com/mfjcxxa
I will be giving a presentation on "Story versus Style" at the Cocoa Beach Library on Wednesday, May 13 at 2 pm. Ya'll come. All proceeds from sales of my book, Prodigious Savant, go to the "Friends of the Library." http://tinyurl.com/nwd7krk
Check out an article about me in the Island Reporter Page 6 http://tinyurl.com/p7gwxcz
Listen to my interview on the Red River Radio-No Limits show with questions from Barbara Hodges about me and my novel, Prodigious Savant. My interview is in the last half hour. http://tinyurl.com/k768fq4.
Prodigious Savant is now available on Amazon Kindle.
Prodigious Savant, Deviant Acts , and Nisei have been acquired by Black Opal Books.
My story,"The Adventures of The Nine Hole League" was published in Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #13
Deviant Acts has been selected as a finalist in the CWA Debut Dagger competition.
Nisei has been selected as the Grand Prize Winner in the Columbus Creative Cooperative novel competition.
M.E. Browning's new website--Writer of Wrongs
Wonderful poetry blog by Nilanjana Bose--Madly-In-Verse
