Vengeance

Have A Blast

/ MeltdownMessiah / 1 Comment

In 2022 I was invited to write a short story to be featured in an anthology focused on Wrath, as part of a series of anthologies centered around the Seven Deadly Sins. I was enthusiastically on board. Revenge and wrath are close to my heart, where fiction is concerned.

Unfortunately, I ran into a couple of issues that led to my inability to submit the story I’d been writing–not the least of which was that, upon rewriting the story, it exploded to almost double the word count expected by the publisher. I felt defeated and like I’d let the publisher in question down by not getting them the story I’d eagerly anticipated sending their way.

When Candace Nola started talking with me about rewriting/revising Innocence Ends, she asked if there was anything new I’d be interested in sending her way. I quickly wrapped up the loose threads I hadn’t tied off in the revenge story and sent it her way.

She wanted it! She had some requests and suggestions for areas she wanted me to expand on, and the story grew to just about the short end of what’s considered a novella.

And so, on August 5th of 2024, Have A Blast explodes onto the scene.

Molded by war and disfigured by a roadside bomb, Oliver Clark doesn’t hold out much hope for the future. Then he meets Jayne, and all of that changes. But when she’s taken from him, Oliver sets his sights on revenge.

No matter who it was, he’s determined that they’ll learn how far someone will go when they have nothing holding them back, and nothing left to lose.

Advance Praise for Have A Blast:

Dog Days: The Complete Lee Melvin Collection

/ MeltdownMessiah / 1 Comment

On December 16th, 2023, I decided to finally compile the three Dog Days stories into a single volume, including the Author’s Notes I’d included in each of the individual releases. This title is available exclusively in paperback format.

Lee Melvin left his years as a soldier behind him in the jungles of Vietnam, and he embraced a peaceful life of sobriety in the mountains of Western South Dakota. But a small act of heroism disrupts everything and sends Lee down a path of violence and revenge…and it won’t be the last time.

Based on true stories from the life of the author’s uncle, the three individual Dog Days stories are collected in this one volume along with the author’s notes, detailing the lines that separate fact from fiction.

What readers have had to say about the individual Lee Melvin stories:

“Heartbreaking, savage, and yet extremely cathartic.”

“Gritty, real, and satisfying.”

“…when the violence does come, it makes you feel like it’s not only justified but necessary.”