Free Short Story in Lamplit Underground Magazine

Here's another older story of mine that was published in Lamplit Underground Magazine back in 2021 (Transformations, volume 5). "Painted Smiles" was also included in the collection Where the Gravel Lane Ends. This is another one of those "weird" stories that seem to always find its way into a collection that I'm working on. You can check out the story here.

"Carnival Fun" Free Short Story at New Pop Lit

Here's a story of mine that was published a few years ago in the online magazine New Pop Lit. You can check it out HERE or click on the picture above. Later, I included "Carnival Fun" in the collection "Where the Gravel Lane Ends" along with two other stories that also feature the character Preston Monroe. 

Free eBooks

 Hey friends, just letting everyone know that I still have three ebooks available to download for free over on Amazon. Click on the titles below and grab your free copies.   

Pride of the Shawnee (A Brothers of the Mountain Adventure, Story #1) - Lucas McCarty has his sight set on America's western frontier. He wants to be a trapper and explorer while his brother, Henry, rides along to escape a tragedy that has changed his life forever. However, a blood-thirsty scoundrel is on their trail, and getting out of the mountains of Eastern Kentucky alive will be a feat all on its own for the McCarty brothers.

Faith, Love and Moonshine: An Appalachian Tale (The Moonshine Series)  Frank Jamison is a proud Appalachian man who relies on his moonshining business to help his family endure the harsh and troubled times of the 1920s. When Frank finds out the local authorities and federal revenuers are seeking to dismantle his operation for the second time in three years, grave memories resurface for the seasoned moonshiner, and an old-fashioned, backwoods shootout now seems inevitable. (cultural heritage, historical)

Faith, Love and Moonshine is a standalone short story but also serves as the first two chapters of the novel Moonshiner's Justice, which is available in ebook and paperback.

Down on the Farm (Sheriff Randall King, Story #1) - Vietnam veteran Lyle Mullins loses his farm to the bank and is now being forced off his land. However, the tough old vet won't be cowering to the demands of the bank, or Sheriff Randall King, any time soon and will do whatever it takes to keep his farm. (Country Noir, Neo-Western, Grit Lit) This story was first published in Cowboy Jamboree Magazine. 

Short Story Collections Going Wide

 Hey friends, I wanted to let you know that my short story collections are no longer exclusive with Amazon. They are now available at Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and a few other online stores. The Brothers of the Mountain single stories, the Randall King series, and The Moonshiners series are still exclusive with Amazon.

It's been a while since I've moved any books out of Amazon's select program. We'll see how it goes.

Be sure to click a book cover on the side bar to find the purchasing links.

Here are the titles and descriptions:

Brothers of the Mountain: Heart of the Frontier - Brothers of the Mountain: Heart of the Frontier follows the lives of brothers Henry and Lucas McCarty. Come along on their journey as they travel from eastern Kentucky to America’s untamed western frontier where they seek a life of freedom and exploration as mountain men and fur trappers. The stories within not only portray extreme action and adventure but also represent the special breed of men who were willing to risk their lives in the adverse and hostile conditions of America's western frontier in the 1820s and 1830s. These stories have been arranged in chronological order. (novel-in-stories)

Where the Gravel Lane Ends - An assortment of twelve stories that begin in the gritty depths of rural noir and slide down the literary spectrum into the tragedy and triumph that is contemporary realism; then shuffle through small-town America where carnivals and psychedelic awakenings are experienced, and finally, the last three stories take a detour into the strange and surreal.

Chicken Liver Blues - Chicken Liver Blues is an inimitable collection of twelve stories that at times barrels and swerves down rural backroads kicking up gravel and dust in its wake, and other moments it’s a calm late-night country cruise that soaks up the stars, the moon, and the heavens while contemplating the meaning of life.

Hard Luck - Hard Luck is an evocative collection of seventeen stories that glimpse into the lives of the often broken and downtrodden people in small-town southern Indiana. Some residents escape while others are consumed by their drug-fueled, crime-ridden environments.

Under the Willow Tree - Throughout this collection are tales honed with a psychological edge and sprinkled with a dash of dark humor, while other stories cross over into the realms of tragedy, coming of age, and the paranormal.

Forsaken Land: Selected Stories - This collection brings in fifteen selected stories by Jeremy Perry from his books Hard Luck, Chicken Liver Blues, and other online publications. In this collection, you’ll dive headfirst into the underbelly of a fringe society in rural America that often forces many to live by their own rules. These are people who live in an environment saturated with drugs, crime, and other evils. This culture believes you need to get what you can, while you can, before the forsaken land comes calling. These are stories of crime, rural noir, and hillbilly gothic.

 

Cranked: A Short Story (updated)

 

"Cranked: A Short Story" is no longer free on Amazon. For some reason Amazon continues to kick this story out of its permanently free status. So, now I've placed Cranked in the Kindle Unlimited program. 

This little story takes place in the fictional town of Uproar, Indiana located in the southern part of the state where crime and drugs run rampant. This story is also a part of the collection Hard Luck: Stories, which consists mostly of stories just like this one. 

From the back cover:

Joe Spray is a small-time drug dealer who's caught in the middle of a fiery love triangle. When he is forced to choose between his two love interests, he quickly finds himself reluctantly conspiring to commit murder on the other woman. (Crime)

Click here for Amazon link.

Hard Luck: Stories is Free for a Limited Time

I'm happy to announce that starting today my short story collection HARD LUCK (eBook) is available for free the next five days on Amazon. Click over and download your free copy. The Amazon link is HERE, or simply click on the book cover.

You can check out what author Scott McCrea had to say about Hard Luck: Stories HERE. And while you're over there, be sure to check out his amazing catalogue of books. You won't be disappointed! 

From the back cover of HARD LUCK:

Hard Luck is an evocative collection of seventeen stories that glimpses into the lives of the often broken and downtrodden people in small-town southern Indiana. Some residents escape while others are consumed by their drug-fueled, crime-ridden environments.

A man’s love triangle goes awry in CRANKED. Sex, drugs, and gambling seduce the characters in LOOKING FOR ACTION. In the title story, HARD LUCK, a hard-drinking sheriff enforces his own kind of law. A once imprisoned biker returns to his hometown to witness a backwoods, bare-knuckle brawl in THE FIGHT. In the dark, hillbilly gothic tale YOUR BIRD MY CAT, a young boy is fascinated by the chance to see the female anatomy up-close and personal for the first time. A man rides the rails looking to escape the perils of his hometown only to discover a town stranger and more unlivable than his own in BOXCAR TO PARADISE.
The stories in this collection spring in and out of the gritty country noir genre and often land in steamy piles of contemporary and dirty realism. Some stories contain mature content.

Fit Body, Sharp Mind

 

Hey friends,

I hope everyone is doing well. It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so I thought I would write a few words.

My writing has slowed a bit these past couple of months. I’m about a thousand words into a new story, but I’ve set it aside for now. Lately, my focus has been on my mind and body. I’ve always been a huge proponent of diet and exercise, so that’s where much of my energy has been. I feel that if your body is fit and your mind is sharp, nothing can stop you. I’ve been lifting three to four days a week, and I feel pretty good for a 47-year-old man.

As always, the writing will continue. I have many projects to complete. If you’re new around here, feel free to check out some of my free stories on this website or on Amazon.