Michael Kardos

When Melanie Denison discovers she is ten-weeks pregnant, she decides she is through hiding from her murderous father and goes on a mission to find him before he finds her.

Before He Finds Her

From a writer who "dazzles with prose strength and style" (Michael Koryta), Bluff takes us deep inside the fraught and fascinating world of a modern magician who becomes obsessed with magic's dark twin--the underworld of the card cheat

Bluff

Brief, practical, and wonderfully readable, The Art and Craft of Fiction gives aspiring writers all they need — in under 400 pages. Michael Kardos focuses on technique and presents fiction writing as a teachable (and learnable) art. With an organization built on methods and process rather than traditional literary elements, Kardos helps students begin their stories, write strong scenes, use images and detail, revise for aesthetics and mechanics, and finish and polish their own stories. He delivers clear instruction, effective examples, and assignments that build toward finished work in a tone reviewers praise as "pitch perfect." A brief fiction anthology at the back of the book — of 15 works that Kardos draws on in his instruction — provides stories that students will love to be inspired by.

A Writer's Guide

The Art and Craft of Fiction

Leading respective lives after a close shared childhood, Will, Jeffrey and Nolan share three fateful days of psychological turmoil and danger after Jeffrey attempts to rob a convenience store and abducts a young woman. A first novel by the author of the story collection, One Last Good Time.

The Three-day Affair

A gripping debut thriller about four longtime friends who make one mistake, forcing them to face down old grudges and make horrifying choices that could haunt them forever. Will, Jeffrey, Evan and Nolan have been friends since their undergrad days at Princeton. Since graduation they then have each forged new lives and careers. Will is a failed musician still reeling from the tragic death of a bandmate, Jeffrey got lucky and then rich from the dot-com boom, Nolan is a state senator with national aspirations, and Evan is about to make partner at a major New York law firm. Their friendships have bent without breaking for years, until one shocking moment changes everything. One night on a drive, they make a routine stop at a convenience store. Within moments, a manic Jeffrey emerges, dragging a young woman with him. He shoves her into Will’s car and shouts a single word: “Drive!” Shaken and confused, Will obeys. Suddenly four men find themselves completely out of their element, holding a young girl hostage without the slightest idea of what to do next or why she’s there to begin with. They’re already guilty of kidnapping and robbery; it’s only a matter of time before they find out the terrible depths of what else they might be capable of. For these men, three days will decide their fate—between freedom and prison, innocence and guilt…and life and death. The Three-Day Affair marks the emergence of a truly talented new crime writer in Michael Kardos.

A Novel

The Three-Day Affair

A down-on-her-luck female magician is drawn into a dangerous criminal scheme in this “hopelessly addictive” thriller (Megan Abbott, Edgar Award–winning author of Give Me Your Hand). At twenty-seven, magician Natalie Webb is already a has-been. A card-trick prodigy, she took first place at the World of Magic competition at eighteen and has never again reached such heights. Now she lives alone in a New Jersey apartment with her pigeons and a pile of overdue bills. In a desperate ploy for extra cash, she follows up on an old offer to write for a glossy magazine and pitches the editor a seductive topic: the art of cheating at cards. But when Natalie meets the perfect subject for her piece—a poker cheat who dazzles at sleight of hand—what begins as a journalistic gamble soon leads her into a dangerous proposition with the highest of stakes . . . “Truly gasp-worthy.” —Library Journal, starred review “[A] delightfully surprising thriller.” —The Florida Times-Union “If you haven’t read Kardos yet, Bluff is the perfect place to start!” —Lisa Scottoline, New York Times–bestselling author of Someone Knows

A girl in witness protection hunts for her fugitive father in this thriller with “an ending you don’t see coming” (The New York Times Book Review). Everyone in the quiet Jersey Shore town of Silver Bay knows the story. One day in the early 1990s, Ramsey Miller threw a blowout block party—then murdered his beautiful wife and three-year-old daughter. But everyone is wrong. The daughter got away. Under another name, she has spent the last fifteen years in small-town West Virginia as part of the witness protection program. She has never been allowed to travel, go to a school dance, or even get onto the internet at home. Precautions must be taken at every turn, because Ramsey Miller was never caught and might still be looking for his daughter. But now she has a pressing reason to defy her guardians and take matters into her own hands. Returning to Silver Bay, she hopes to do what the authorities have failed to do: find her father before he finds her . . . “A compelling story about sad truths, loss, and resilience . . . should make fantastic fodder for book-group discussions.” —Booklist “[An] outstanding crime thriller.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Read the first page and kiss the next 24 hours goodbye.” —Jeffery Deaver

"Michael Kardos's soulful stories take place in that hard-luck corner of New Jersey where rock and roll dreams crash into blue-collar reality. One Last Good Time is a remarkable debut collection, full of stories that are funny and melancholy at the same time." - Tom Perrotta, author of Little Children and The Abstinence Teacher. "One Last Good Time is one of the sharpest, funniest, and most compassionate debuts you will ever have the good fortune to read. Without a doubt, Michael Kardos is a truly gifted writer and a vibrant new voice in American letters." - Donald Ray Pollock, author of Knockemstiff

One Last Good Time

Jay Stringer

Steve Cavanagh

Lori Rader-Day

Laura McHugh

Alex Segura

John Rector

Lili Wright

Andrew Case

Jon McGoran

Dana King

James R. Tuck

Nick Kolakowski

David James Keaton

Chris Holm

Josh Stallings

James W. Ziskin

Terry Shames

Bill Crider

E.A. Aymar

Kris Calvin

Scott Loring Sanders

Dave White

The Anthony-nominated collection of crime stories without guns—the collection we didn't want to be necessary—is back for Volume 2. Two dozen more crime writers have come together to raise their voices and take pen in hand to call for a sensible and reasoned debate about guns in America. As the mass shootings continue, the avoidable accidents, the suicides, the gun violence that consumes our country rolls on unabated and unaddressed by our leadership other than to say, “Now is not the time to discuss it,” these crime writers have chosen to start the dialogue. In stories of crime, mystery and suspense these authors have left the guns out to show for a short while that we can do without them and the plot doesn’t fall apart. Maybe, in a small way, we can show that the American way of life doesn’t cease to be, either. Not anti-gun, Unloaded Vol. 2 is pro-reason. These authors comprise gun owners and non-owners, voters on both sides of the political aisle. The cause that unites us all is the desire to see the senseless killing stop and to be able to have the discussion without the divisive language, vitriol and name calling that too often accompanies this debate. The top priority in these stories is to entertain with thrilling action and suspense that readers know and love about a crime story. To do so without guns leads to some creative leaps from writers who spin tales of simians on the loose, androids with buried secrets, punk rock shows and tattoo shops. Bestselling authors like Chris Holm, Lori Rader-Day, Bill Crider, Laura McHugh, James Ziskin and John Rector along with many more join together to call for an end to the needless violence and a start to a reasoned debate. With a forward by legendary Sara Paretsky, Unloaded Vol. 2 is a book we wish wasn’t needed. But staying silent is no longer an option. Proceeds go to the non-profit States United To Prevent Gun Violence. Praise for UNLOADED VOLUME 2: “[A collection of] entertaining and often thought-provoking stories.” —Publishers Weekly

Brian Cooper

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