Rob Pierce

Three criminals on the run, not just from the law but from other criminals. Two of them are lovers, the third her former lover. Where does love lie, except in the grave? Deria is the psychotic woman who prefers to work with a guy who’s good in bed. Vern is her violent ex, who let her go because he thought she lived too dangerously. Russ is the new guy, new to Deria, new to whatever hell he’s gotten himself into. Can they keep the money from the psychotics who want it? Are they more psychotic? Or will they break down from the acts they must commit? If you liked Pierce’s Vern in the Heat, you’re going to love Snake Slayer. And if you didn’t read that one, strap in for the ride. It’s fast, it’s bloody, and it goes well beyond that, into the minds of those who commit the horrible crimes. Praise for Snake Slayer: “Pierce’s writing doesn’t so much take you for a ride as it throws you in the trunk and takes off at top speed. Kinetic, blistering, and hard-boiled to the bone, Snake Slayer is a read to be experienced more than once.” —Angel Luis Colon, author of Hell Chose Me “Imagine if Raymond Carver’s slick poetic prose and unhappy alcoholics found themselves with a gun and a thirst for crime—you’d get Rob Pierce’s bleak but darkly funny Snake Slayer.” —Shawna Yang Ryan, author of Green Island “Rob Pierce puts the pedal to the medal from the word go in his latest novella, Snake Slayer. Pierce is a master of tight writing and great action sequences cut lean and hard…a hard-rock symphony of violence.” —Bobby Mathews, author of Living the Gimmick “Rob Pierce explores the humanity of otherwise ordinary people who kill first and ask questions later. There is violence or sex on every page—for a reason. The dialogue is masterful and the action is flawlessly executed!” —Kris Calvin, author of Under a Broken Sky “Tough guys and tougher women, zip-tied together...Pierce’s sharp, minimalistic style lays the story like brutal poetry while offering glimpses of the horror and humanity behind his characters.” —Marietta Miles, author of May and After the Rain “Crime is a dish well-delivered: lean, unsentimental, and pitiless. That’s what Rob Pierce brings to the table, and Snake Slayer is a choice cut of prime unadulterated Pierce.” —Scott Adlerberg, author of Graveyard Love and Jack Waters “Deria…every woman’s fantasy of killing without compunction. Mesmerizing in its staccato delivery, Snake Slayer is also riveting with its psycho story, complete with happy ending. Well, sort of. A must-read noir gem.” —Kate Thornton, author of Buzz Kill “Rob Pierce has crafted an action packed tale of a woman on the grind determined to do whatever it takes in a blood drenched hell to make her own personal heaven.” —Tia Ja’nae, author of Ghosts on the Block Never Sleep “This is real crime fiction, reminiscent of Edward Bunker. Dialogue sharp enough to shave with and prose that repeatedly jabs before landing several knockout blows. With Snake Slayer, Pierce stakes his claim as one of the best in the business.” —Bill Baber “Lean, mean, and spitting venom, Snake Slayer coils around your throat and won’t let go. Rob Pierce delivers a hard-boiled narrative that’s all the more brutal for its fleeting moments of tenderness.” —Scott Von Doviak, author of Charlesgate Confidential “Deria, a woman who won’t hesitate to put a hole in someone, smile about it, and go along with her day.” —Kevin Lear “The high priest of Oakland low-lives is back with another nihilistic neo-noir nightmare ... this merciless book will shoot you in the back and finish its drink while you bleed out in the gutter.” —Tom Leins, author of Repetition Kills You and Sharp Knives & Loud Guns

Snake Slayer

Max Allan Collins

Joe R. Lansdale

Chris Miller

Paul D. Brazill

Andy Rausch

Tom Pitts

Contract killers have long been a point of interest for readers of crime fiction and action film fans. Dead-End Jobs: A Hitman Anthology offers up eighteen works of short fiction from some of the hottest writers in the business. While the stories all depict professional killers, they are wildly different in their tone and the styles in which they are written, as well as the way they are depicted and the point-of-view from which they're told. Some of these killers are seasoned professionals and others are new to the killing game. Some stories find their settings in urban locales such as New York City or Los Angeles and others in backwater rural locations. There are also contract killers of every stripe. Some stories depict the traditional organized crime gunmen while others feature corner boys doing the bidding of neighborhood drug dealers and the like. The stories in this collection are fast-paced and action-packed. Just as there are contract killers of varying pedigrees here, Dead-End Jobs features the writing of veteran wordsmiths such as Joe R. Lansdale, Max Allan Collins, and Stephen Spignesi, as well as new but equally exciting writers. Each author in this collection is as skilled as the hitters depicted in the stories. But their weapons are words instead of rifles and pistols, and every one absolutely kills here. Praise for DEAD-END JOBS: “An incredible collection of powerful and haunting stories that exist in that shadowy realm between tragedy, nihilism and noir.” —S.A. Cosby, author of Blacktop Wasteland

A Hitman Anthology

Dead-End Jobs

Dustin loves to rob banks. Dustin loves to drink. Dustin loves his women. Dustin loves loyalty. He might even love his adopted nephew Jeremy. And, he sometimes gets a little too enthusiastic in his job doing collections for local bookies—so, sometimes, he loves to hurt people. Told in the first person, Uncle Dust is a fascinating noir look inside the mind of a hard, yet very complicated criminal. Rob Pierce has been nominated for a Derringer Award for short crime fiction, and has had his stories published in Flash Fiction Offensive, Pulp Modern, Plots With Guns, Revolt Daily, Near to the Knuckle, and Shotgun Honey. The editor of Swill Magazine, he lives in Oakland, California, with his wife and two children. He is equally comfortable taking romantic walks on the beach or dumping the body elsewhere. Praise for UNCLE DUST: “The story and dialogue in Uncle Dust capture much of the circumstance of prison life in all its squalid glory. Made me wish I’d done time with tough guy Dustin. I thoroughly enjoyed our criminal hero’s mind as he observed the world, and himself, through a cynical thief’s lens. And I think you will too.” —Joe Loya, author of The Man Who Outgrew His Prison Cell: Confessions of a Bank Robber

Uncle Dust

Vern is a dangerous man—he makes illegal exchanges safe. Until someone tries to rip off a drug deal he’s working and he gets blamed. Now both gangs involved are after him, including the one he works for. And he’s going to clear his name, no matter who he has to kill in the process. Praise for VERN IN THE HEAT: “Rob Pierce is one of the more imaginative literary voices in our new emerging era of noir.” —James Grady, author of Six Days of the Condor “Rob Pierce is urban noir’s high priest from the mean streets.” —Joe Clifford, author of Lamentation and December Boys “Rob Pierce is a new talent that cuts deep into the underbelly of society and rips the guts and heart out of his protagonist.” —Lou Boxer, Noircon

Vern in the Heat

Lee Matthew Goldberg

Ross E. Lockhart

Alison Gaylin

Cate Holahan

Gabino Iglesias

Reed Farrel Coleman

Eryk Pruitt

Tony McMillen

Richard Neer

Jonathan Ashley

Rusty Barnes

Erin Keaton

Chris Orlet

J. David Osborne

Inspired by the outcasts, outlaws, and other outré inhabitants of rock legend Lou Reed’s songbook, Dirty Boulevard traffics in crime fiction that’s sometimes velvety and sometimes vicious, but always, absolutely, rock & roll. Inside, you’ll find stories from the fire escapes to the underground, stories filled with metal machine music, stories for gender-bending, rule-breaking, mind-blasting midnight revelries and drunken, dangerous, dark nights of the heart. Upcoming genre stars like Alison Gaylin team up with crime fiction legends such as Reed Farrel Coleman, along with Cate Holahan, Gabino Iglesias, Tony McMillen, and many of the most exciting new names in crime and horror fiction, who teach us that a perfect day is often anything but, that the power of positive drinking is a destructive force rarely contained, and that knock-down-drag-out drag queens are probably way tougher than you.

Dirty Boulevard

Gary Phillips

Joe Clifford

Sean Lynch

Sarah M. Chen

Nick Kolakowski

Eric Beetner

Alec Cizak

Scott Adlerberg

Jen Conley

Patricia Abbott

Anonymous-9

Will Viharo

Chris Rhatigan

Ron Earl Phillips

Preston Lang

Sean Craven

S.W. Lauden

Renee Asher Pickup

Todd Morr

Travis Richardson

Greg Barth

C. Mack Lewis

Deadlines is a tribute anthology dedicated to the memory of writer and crime fiction enthusiast, William E. Wallace. A career journalist, Wallace got a first-hand look at the darker side of humanity working at various papers in California before settling at the San Francisco Chronicle. Upon retiring, Wallace engaged fully into the crime fiction community connecting with writers and readers not only to promote his own writing, but to promote other writers he enjoyed. It is through William E. Wallace’s career and his stories that the contributors to this anthology take inspiration. These stories are presented with appreciation to his unselfish contribution to our community and our publications. All proceeds of this publication will be donated to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in the name of William E. Wallace. Learn more about the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at cbldf.org. And read William E. Wallace’s blog at PulpHackConfessions.com. Thank you to those who contributed their time and stories: Preston Lang, Jen Conley, Joe Clifford, Will Viharo, Paul D. Brazill, Patricia Abbott, Rob Pierce, Sean Craven, Eric Beetner, Sarah M. Chen, Nick Kolakowski, S.W. Lauden, Scott Adlerberg, Gary Phillips, Renee Asher Pickup, Eryk Pruitt, Todd Morr, Travis Richardson, Anonymous-9, Sean Lynch, Alec Cizak, Greg Barth, C. Mack Lewis. A joint publication of Shotgun Honey and All Due Respect.

Deadlines: A Tribute to William E. Wallace

Rob Pierce

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