Wednesday, 1 October 2025
Saturday, 14 June 2025
First Chapter of Death Secrets, An Anna Hale PI Thriller
Chapter One
2004
Lexington, Kentucky
Anna Hale cranked up the volume on her headphones, desperate
to study for her high school English exam scheduled for the morning, but the hypnotic
beat couldn’t mask the loathed voice of her stepfather growing louder by the
second.
“You whore! Sneaking around
and giving me those pious looks. You don’t think I don’t know better. I should
throw you out right now, you and your bitch of a daughter!”
The soft sounds of her mother
trying to pacify him were indistinct, impossible for her to hear.
Pass out already, old man.
She tried forcing her mind on
the textbook, but the lines of printing blurred, making it hard to concentrate.
If the subject at hand was a math or science quiz, she’d ace both without much
effort. And that one computer module they’d had this semester had fascinated her.
She yearned for a career in data processing, discovering all the secrets. That was
if she got a choice. Her stepfather was threatening to make her leave school
early to help bring more money into the household. She rolled her eyes in
disgust. The guy just couldn’t hold down a job. Never his fault, like his
shitty attitude wasn’t a factor. Or that his breath so often stank of booze, and
his body of stale sweat.
The conversation from earlier
between her and her mom bothered her like a harbinger of things to come, making
it harder to focus. “I’ve made arrangements. If anything happens to me—go next
door. Alex and Cindy Pace will look after you. And you get along so well with Josh
and the twins.”
Her mom had talked over Anna’s
every denial of anything ever happening to her. Anna was going to keep her mom safe.
Learn karate or something badass
at the gym to give her the upper hand. But her mom had made her promise and she
had gone along with it. Anna didn’t want her mom worrying more than she already
did, not that she wouldn’t stay and help her if worst came to worst. She’d
never desert her mom. They had to stick together, no matter what.
Another loud series of barks
drew her attention away from her favorite daydream of getting a high-paying job,
of taking her mother far, far away. She’d also warned her to stay out of it,
that her stepfather couldn’t help himself having to work at a job he hated, but
Anna’s stomach churned with the effort. She wiped her damp palms on her patched
jeans, straining to hear, the test long forgotten.
She pressed hard with her fist
through her ragged T-shirt, making the talisman she wore around her neck dig
deep into her chest. It was just a crude image of a wolf stamped into a cheap
metal disk and tied to a bit of cord she’d found lying by the sidewalk, but it
meant something to her, something that reminded her of her namesake, her real
father. Bartley Wolfe.
A loud crashing sound of something
falling erupted downstairs. She dumped the headset and jumped off the bed, then
raced down the narrow staircase in her sock feet, her pulse hammering in her
ears, her head about to explode. She rounded the sharp corner that composed the
L-shaped kitchen and living room, the clean but faded linoleum with most of the
square-shaped pattern worn down to gray splotches, slippery beneath her feet. Her
disgusting bear of a stepfather stood over her mom, his meaty fists raised like
a boxer, his pugnacious face darkened by raw hatred.
The man who liked to fight at
the local gym or bar was not in the ring now, but at home, one that his mother
had tried very hard to make as nice as possible on a shoestring budget. She
could take a few items from the half-bare cupboard and turn them into something
good in no time, having a long-acquired knack for stretching things. The food
was prepared with love, the essential ingredient she always said would keep
them full.
Her mother had fallen to the
floor, or more likely been pushed, knocking over a chrome chair with a torn
cushion that she had duct-taped to keep the stuffing inside. The dingy fabric
was bulging out again like gray matter, the cover torn.
“Mom, are you okay?” She
rushed to her side.
She looked so tiny, so worn
out, though she’d had her when she was only sixteen. She tried to speak and
failed, her mother’s eyes pleading with her. A stream of blood dripped down the
side of her face making Anna’s stomach roil with worry.
“Take my hand. We’ll go next
door. Get help.” She crouched, put her arms around her, and tried to get her to
sit up. Before she could manage it, her stepfather was on her, slamming her
hard and knocking her off her feet.
“You got something coming as
well, you little bitch.”
A ringing in her ears drowned
out any further words, but the blows to her body and face echoed deep inside. She
tried to roll over onto her mother, arms flailing to protect her, and she
partially succeeded just before the world went dark.
The stench of something burning
woke her. It took a few seconds for the haze in her mind to clear, to realize how
dim the light in the kitchen was. She began coughing uncontrollably, her lungs
trying in vain to force the heavy smoke out. Her heart raced with the effort,
eyes streaming tears. Her mother was so still, curled up on her side, her body
half over hers.
“Mom, wake up, we gotta get
out of here!” She crawled onto her knees and shook her shoulder, but she didn’t
move, didn’t respond at all.
The sounds of sirens in the
distance. Help was on the way. But she had to do something. Now. She touched
her throat, felt a faint pulse under her fingertips.
“It’s going to be okay. I’m
going to get you out of here.” She tried to pick her up, but her arms flailed
like a rag doll. She was heavier than she thought.
She’d have to pull her mother along
the floor. At least the smoke was less dense near the ground. Sweat dripped in
her eyes, stinging. She ignored the pain and began tugging her mom toward the
back door. It was only a few feet. If she could just get her outside, into the
fresh air, she would come around.
But she never did.
Hugs, January Bain
Storyteller
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Saturday, 12 April 2025
Sneak Peak at When Darkness Comes: Book One/Connor Hale Post-Apocalyptic Thriller series coming soon!
Chapter One
Mckenna
Day One: Friday, May 23, 2055
Mexico City, Sinaloa
7:00 a.m.
Her heartbeat quickened to the point Mckenna Stuart
feared her security detail would begin to notice. This is it. Hold it
together…almost there. She kept her head facing forward staring out
the front window of the unmanned uFree sky link, her nails digging into her
palms, avoiding looking at the menacing security guard she’d never trusted. The
compact pod was illegal in the town proper, but Diego paid the air marshals to
look the other way. Lily, her four-year-old daughter, crowded in next to her.
Lily had been quiet for the thirty-minute air ride from the compound, clutching
her teddy bear to her chest. She reached out a trembling hand and smoothed the
young girl’s bright curls, praying she had made the right decision. The pod
landed in the parking lot behind the hair salon. When the door slid open
automatically, the guard spoke up.
“I’ll be by to pick you up in
one hour. Don’t be late.”
Mckenna cleared her throat.
“Better make it two, I’m getting highlights done.”
Without even turning her head,
she knew the burly man was now staring right at her, calculating, judging.
“It takes time to do well. Not
my fault. And you know how important tonight is. Diego’s expecting me to look
my best.” She detested this man almost as much as her husband, but she feared
her husband more.
He narrowed his eyes. “I’m
thinking I need a trim. Let’s go.”
Mckenna froze. “The owner
won’t like it. They only do women’s hair here. Otherwise, how can we get to
talk female things and not be overheard?”
The only response was a grunt
followed by a garlicky belch. The man was an animal, a brute only kept in
Diego’s employ to frighten those who would dare think of rising up against him.
Diego considered himself king of Sinaloa, a man who had completely pulled the
wool over her eyes when she had met the charming, devilishly handsome playboy.
He had swept her off her feet in Miami where her family had landed after
leaving Alaska, promising to make her his queen. Now she was nothing but his
prisoner as he grew ever more paranoid by the day about someone taking anything
from him. She’d blame the drugs for his behavior, but it went far deeper.
Sometimes, when she glanced into his eyes of late, she had no idea who she was
looking at.
It was a hard life for her,
but it was even worse for Lily with no friends to play with. And after he’d
recently threatened to cut her throat if she even looked at another guy, she
knew it was time. She had one chance at this and now the security guard was
standing in their way.
“What’s the hold up?” a gruff
voice interrupted her thoughts.
Mckenna quickly helped her
tiny, precious daughter out of the seat. Then she picked her up in her arms to
carry her the short distance into the salon.
The guard followed so close
behind her down the hallway she could feel his breath on the back of her neck.
Lily held on tighter to her, a small whimper escaping her lips as she pressed
her small head against her mother’s chest, her small body trembling. No
child should have to live like this. Resentment tightened her resolve,
straightened her spine.
“No men allowed,” a voice
spoke up sternly from inside the larger room. The salon’s owner, Teresa Mendez,
stood there, one hand on her hip and gesturing with cutting shears in the other
for him to leave. She then pointed out a customer in the front area, her face
covered by a white cloth. “I have a special client this morning and her patron
would not appreciate a man anywhere near her. Any man. I assume you know Carlos
Trejo.”
The guard behind her hesitated
and Mckenna used the distraction to quickly walk into the salon. She sat down
on one of the styling chairs and cradled Lily on her lap with her teddy bear.
“Come back in two hours. No
sooner,” Teresa added.
A few seconds of pure terror
for Mckenna. She closed her eyes and prayed the guard would go away as she bent
her head down and kissed the top of her daughter’s head. She breathed in the
fresh scent of strawberry shampoo and felt the love for her daughter fill her
with strength. Then as if God had heard her prayers, the bodyguard turned and
left, his heavy footfalls echoing in her mind until they faded away. When the back
door slammed behind him, she looked up and met Teresa’s eyes in the mirror. She
nodded her teary-eyed thanks.
The woman with the towel over
her face pulled it off to reveal it was Teresa’s assistant Sienna hidden under
it.
“I figured that bastarda would
try something. Come, there’s no time to waste. I have wigs and clothes picked
out for you both.” Teresa led them through the salon and up the steep staircase
that led to the apartment above. On the kitchen table were two head forms, a
child’s size and one considerably larger. Teresa had measured them both weeks
ago, deciding on a medium brown, collar-length bob with thick bangs for Mckenna
and a longer, wavy light brown one for her daughter.
Mckenna twisted her long hair
into a quick knot and pinned it tight to the back of her head. Then Teresa
slipped on a net to hold it in place before pulling the wig down over Mckenna’s
head and arranging it to cover all her bright red-gold hair that hung to her
waist. “I would have cut and done your hair, but there’s no time. Roberto is
waiting to escort you through the tunnel. The bigger head start you get from
him, the better, hermosa.” The stylist then picked up a tube of lipstick. “This
red will transform you as well. You don’t wear much makeup and never anything
bright. It will be unexpected.”
Mckenna gave a small smile at
the term of endearment Teresa always called her as she quickly took the tube
and added a film to her lips. It was nice to be called beautiful after years of
being told she was too fat and needed to lose weight or that her hair wasn’t
perfect or her breasts weren’t large enough. Diego could never be pleased; she
saw that now. His paranoia kept him from enjoying his life and his terrible
need to appear perfect to the world. While all Mckenna wanted for her and Lily
was a life lived without fear of never knowing what the day would bring.
The two women then transformed
Lily, reassuring her she was going to be playing a part in a game, pretending
to be a princess looking to help the Chaneques by going on a journey to find the land of snow and
ice.
“I can help them, Mommy. What
do they want me to do?” Lily asked with wide eyes, her former fear of the
bodyguard fading away. Her slight lisp from the loss of a front baby tooth made
her smile. Her cornflower blue eyes reminded Mckenna of her own. They also
shared the titian hair of her Scots heritage. Something that made them stand
out in Mexico.
“You must tell know no one
about the Chaneques. Not even your daddy. Once we discover this new land,
their handsome prince promises to keep us safe from harm.” Please let Connor
still be there and willing to take them in, if not for her sake, for her
daughter’s. Last word she’d had of him was years ago before she’d left Florida
for Mexico, but she knew him to be attached to his family and couldn’t imagine
him ever leaving Alaska.
“Is Daddy going to be there?”
“For now, sweetheart, he must
stay behind in Mexico.” She didn’t add she prayed with all her might he would
never find them. “But he has many guards to protect him, and he can’t help the Chaneques like we can.”
Lily nodded her head, the new
brown hair making her almost unrecognizable except for her bright blue eyes.
They would both wear sunglasses as much as possible to hide the fact. “Because
we’re girls. That’s why, right? Only girls can help them.”
“Yes, Lilybelle, only girls
can help them. Daddies aren’t even capable of seeing them.” She used Lily’s favorite
nickname, knowing she’d smile or giggle.
“Let’s get you both into the
new clothes. I’ve packed a bag for both of you as well.” Teresa slid the two
newly minted passports across the table. “Keep these safe.”
“I can’t thank you enough for
all you’ve done for me and my daughter, Teresa.” Mckenna’s eyes filled with
tears again she blinked away. She couldn’t risk upsetting Lily.
“I bought you a new IC.”
Teresa handed over the biometric device. The IC or Intelligent Communications
device was nestled in its two-inch-sized lens carrying case that made
everything else before it obsolete as soon as it hit the market. Placed in the
eye, the flexible film allowed easy access to all personal data and made
thought calls or think-speak as it was more commonly called, easily connecting
to internet and computer services with the same thought process.
“Thanks. I’ll let you know as soon
as I’m in the States. We have a short layover in Washington.” Mckenna slid the
compact device into the pocket of the new jeans. Normally she wore dresses, but
she was going to downplay everything today, hoping to slip through the bars of
the prison she’d unintentionally created for herself and her daughter without
being spotted.
***
Diego held Teresa by the throat while his bodyguards
watched dispassionately from the doorway. His fingers squeezed tight until he
saw her eyes start to drift. Then he slapped her hard. Once. Twice. “Tell me
where they went. If you want to live another day, Teresa Sanchez, you will tell
me. Or so help me God, I will send you straight to hell. But not before I make
you suffer until you will wish you’d never been born.”
He’d thought to surprise his beautiful
wife at the salon by bringing in gifts to delight her and the clientele who
would think him a good husband. He’d bought a bouquet of scarlet roses and a
high-end diamond tennis bracelet to show proper remorse for his over the top
reaction the night before. Though she drove him to the edge, still, she was the
mother of his child. Only to find this puta packing up to leave with no Mckenna
or Lily in sight. She’d tried to say they’d left early, taken a uFree sky link home,
but he knew better.
The traitorous bitch had
decided to leave him. And this could not be allowed, not even if he had to
track her to the ends of the earth. He was Diego Lopez. If he let this pass, he
would forever be the goat. Unthinkable. It could not be condoned. Not if he had
to tear out every last fingernail and hair on Teresa’s body.
Saturday, 27 July 2024
New Release from CJ Burright!
New Release
July 30th, 2024
Wherever, Whenever by CJ Burright
Sometimes the only way to forget the ghosts of the past is to face the curse of love head-on.
Buy Links:
https://books2read.com/u/m27XMj
Artist Vi Keller made a holy vow to never return to her quirky hometown of Devils Hollow. But when the sister she left behind pleads for help during the busy Halloween season, Vi can’t say no—even if it means a month of watching her ex-BFF Max loving someone new…and braving the darkness awaiting her return.
Max has fantasized about Vi every day since she disappeared. Some of those dreams revolve around revenge, but when Vi shows up at his historic bed and breakfast, his thoughts take a steamier turn. She may still own his heart, but he rebuilt life without her and doesn’t need a blonde bombshell with tempting artwork skin to wreck him again.
When Vi and Max are forced to partner up during the seasonal festivities, it’s just like old times, resurrecting a desire that never died. But happily-ever-afters in Devils Hollow are paid in blood and bones. Missing pets, tourist attractions turning sinister and shadows stalking the lake point to Vi’s worst fear—the spirit that failed to destroy her once has neither forgiven nor forgotten. If Max and Vi can’t untangle the tragic past of a local urban legend, they’ll lose more than a second chance at love.
Author Links
https://www.facebook.com/CJ-Burright-362988090450604/
https://www.twitter.com/CJBurright
https://www.instagram.com/cjburright/
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/c-j-burright
http://cjburright.com/
Sunday, 12 May 2024
Why I wrote the book: No Good Deed by January Bain
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May 12, 2024
Good Morning to you and Happy Mother's Day!As some of you may know, I was honored and happy to sign back in December with Rough Edges Press, an imprint of Wolfpack Publishing. Since then, I have been rewarded with realizing what a great decision that was!
Today, I want to talk about my newest release and why I wrote, No Good Deed.
No
Good Deed is a book written not only from real world experience, but from the
heart. Many years ago, I tried to do what the protagonist does in the story.
No, I didn’t go nearly as far as my character, Katie Kelly does when she hides
a young girl in her safe room. I didn’t have the resources that Katie does, or
the wherewithal.
I
was barely out of my teens when a young woman a couple of years older than I
was at the time came to me for help one day while I was at work. But I did have
the loan of a half ton that would allow me to move her, her two small children,
and her possessions to a new location. Loading that old truck, I felt the
urgency of time pressing in. The abusive husband was at work and if he
discovered she was missing, I had no idea what he would do to her. Or to me for
that matter.
The
part I found most unsettling, was after we managed to fill the truck box with
her things, drive the thirty miles to her new location, and while we were
unloading her stuff, she changed her mind. Drive me back, she demanded.
I
was stunned, worried, and tried to talk her out of it. But she was more concerned
that he would find her and she wouldn’t budge. I had no choice but to do as she
asked, piling her things back onto the truck and tying them down. Filled with
regrets, I left her that day with her two children, wishing I knew more about
life and how to help her. I did try to keep in touch, but she pulled back and
wouldn’t share anything more with me.
Not
long after, I moved about four hours away, taking up a teaching position in a
different community. I still have regrets to this day. This story, No Good
Deed, is told from a bit older person’s POV, who knew more than I did, as I would
know now. And looking back, I realized there was little more I could have
realistically done. Do I wish it had turned out differently? Of course, but in
the end, we all choose our own lives.
In
No Good Deed, I have addressed this issue and it felt good to write a strong
female lead that did what Katie Kelly did for her neighbor. I admire strength
in people. People willing to step up and help when they can.
Please, feel free to share any thoughts you have about No Good Deed. It’s very rewarding to connect with fellow readers and I always respond promptly, thanks to my grandma. She taught me many things, sharing her values and wise advice, from never be late or keep others waiting to always be kind and helpful. I like to think I walk a little in her giant footsteps.
Wishing one and all a lovely day,
January Bain/Storyteller
New Release
May 14th, 2023
No Good Deed by January Bain
A gripping tale where good deeds intertwine with hidden crimes and a quest for truth…
Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/No-Good-Deed-Psychological-Thriller-ebook/dp/B0CZG4GVFF
A gripping tale where good deeds intertwine
with hidden crimes and a quest for truth…
Katie Kelly finally has the career and house of her dreams, but it’s a life
built on a shaky foundation. Everything she holds dear could be stripped away
in a split-second if the truth were to become known and her secrets exposed.
Her best friend, Sadie, is also involved in hiding the past. The pair have
managed to move on since that day of reckoning that occurred when they were
just teenagers, by helping others to escape bad situations.
When a young woman runs to Katie and begs for her help, Katie is compelled to
come to her aid and hides her in a safe room, locked away from her abusive
boyfriend.
But then the past rises up and threatens to derail her best efforts to help the
young girl, exposing her and her best friend to the vulgarities of fate as the
girl is discovered to have an unexpected agenda, harboring secrets of her own.
Katie is left with few choices. With her entire life crashing down around her
ears, she must act to save not only herself, but her dear friend as well. Can
Katie stop the past from destroying all hopes for a future?
Discover the chilling consequences of one woman's altruism in the face of
hidden crimes. Join Katie Kelly as she navigates the shadows of her past,
compelled to make a choice that could change lives forever.
Author Links
Blog Address - http://januarybainjourney.blogspot.ca/
Twitter Name – https://twitter.com/JanuaryBain
Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/january.bain
Any other social media - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6437282.January_Bain
Saturday, 11 May 2024
New Release May 14th, 2024 Get Out Of Here by Tanith Davenport
New Release
May 14th, 2024
Get Out Of Here by Tanith Davenport
He wants her. She wants him – but she’s going to make it hard for him.
Buy Links:
Amazon UK: https://tinyurl.com/4nb2yyx6 Amazon US: https://tinyurl.com/4x5h5pdb Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/ml6gvA
#rockstar, #rockstarromance
Photography graduate Starla Brower has always regretted not running away from her abusive home when she had the chance, as her older sisters did—especially her sister Electra, who fled with band Torque Converter six months ago. So when she decides to hitchhike away, she’s shocked to find Electra has arranged for the band to pick her up. And when lead singer Valen Lesellane rescues her from a gang of thugs by announcing she’s his fiancée, Starla goes along with it. Why not?
The band’s manager, Mike, is furious at this turn of events and the press attention it receives, but Starla finds Valen’s impulsiveness to be infectious and his touch to be irresistible. Before long she has regained contact with her other sisters and finds herself finally able to be happy, both with Valen and with her family.
But with her parents pursuing her and Mike fiercely against her relationship with Valen, can their unexpected engagement last beyond the bus tour?
Author Links:
https://www.tanithdavenport.blogspot.com,
https://www.facebook/com/TanithDavenport
https://www.twitter.com/TanithDavenport
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tanith-davenport
Saturday, 20 April 2024
Mann Hunt by Peter E. Fenton on Sale!
Sale
April 22nd, 2024
Mann Hunt by Peter E. Fenton
How far would you be willing to go to finish the job?
Buy Link:
https://books2read.com/u/b5WGPO
Declan Hunt is having a bad week. His kidnapping case is showing little progress, his office assistant has left him on short notice, and his latest investigation has left him literally battered and bruised. But things change when he hires twenty-four year old Charlie Watts to help out at the office. They form an unlikely partnership while trying to solve two seemingly unrelated cases whose threads begin to weave together when the missing person case turns to murder.
The investigation takes them from the dark alleys, gay bars and bath houses of Calgary to the richest parts of the city during the world-famous Calgary Stampede.
But will they be able to discover who the killer is before another life is lost? And will Declan be able to solve the mystery of his relationship with Charlie, who is clearly attracted to him — especially since it is evident that the attraction is becoming mutual?
#mystery, #mmromance, #hotcop, #hotdetective
Author Links
https://www.facebook.com/peter.fenton.9615/
https://www.facebook.com/peterefentonromance/
@virtualfenton
https://www.instagram.com/peterefentonbooks/
https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-woodcarver-s-model-by-peter-e-fenton
https://peterefenton.ca/