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Hellbound Books - James Longmore & Xtina Marie
HellBound Books are the veritable tour de force in the Independent publishing world - For eight years and counting, we have published novels, novellas, and bestselling anthologies of exemplary horror, bizarro, and all things dark - the type of tales from exciting new authors guaranteed to keep you wide awake in the small hours and checking the inky-black, coagulating shadows beneath your bed just one last time before you dare sleep...
We are incredibly Proud to be champions of the newest, brightest upcoming authors as well as home to more established writers. Our objective is to bring to you - our wonderful readers - the very best in the dark genres. We are proud to say all HellBound Books titles are available in traditional-sized paperback and eBook (along with a few very special hard cover books), too and that we never - ever - use Artificial intelligence in any HellBound book's prose or cover art, nor do we condone its use in any way. So, Please do take a little of your time to peruse our ever-expanding bookshelf...
Xtina Marie is an avid horror and fiction genre reader, who became a blogger; who became a published poet; who became an editor; who now is a podcaster and an aspiring novelist—and why not?
People love her words. Her first book of poetry: Dark Musings has received outstanding reviews. It is likely she was born to this calling. Writing elaborate twisted tales, to entertain her classmates in middle school, would later lead Xtina to use her poetry writing as a private emotional outlet in adult life—words she was hesitant to share publicly—but the more she shared; the more accolades her writing received.
Her first novel: Desiree is well under way.
James hails originally from Yorkshire, England having relocated with his family to Houston, Texas in 2010. He was honored to become a US citizen in 2022. He has an honors degree in Zoology and a background in sales, marketing, and business. James is a former Affiliate Member of the Horror Writers Association.
An accomplished, published author (and publisher in his role as co-founder partner in HellBound Books Publishing LLC), and ghostwriter of popular fiction, James writes across an incredibly wide range of genres and subjects in novel, shorts story, and screenplay formats. To date, he has four novels, five novellas, and a whole slew of short stories published by various publishers (many can be found in his first collection, Blood and Kisses). He also runs and co-hosts the popular ppodcast/radio show (The New Panic Room), which is used to promote HellBound Books and indie authors, artists, audiobook narrators, and publishers of all genres.
James has been working full time as a freelance ghostwriter (and editor) for over a decade. He is quite the chameleon when it comes to writing: James is able to adapt to a wide range of styles and genres, is incredibly thorough in his research (he's renowned for his details, which bring stories leaping from the page!), extensive vocabulary, and he always keeps the client's "voice" when ghostwriting. Clients love him - especially with that Northern British accent (as an ex-pat, James is most proficient at writing in both UK and US styles – he also has clients in Australia who love his style!) and enthusiasm for every writing project he takes on.
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C.C. Robinson - Caged Book Two
22:30|The walls are closing in on Rose.But when powerful enemies move her from house arrest to a literal prison, Rose finds herself alone. Caged. And without help.Isolated from her friends and allies, yet stumbling on the truth of her captors’ schemes, Rose must free herself. If she doesn’t make it out in time, evil oppressors will take over her city.Can Rose escape her cage before her foes win and destroy what took the Underground generations to build?Find out in the second book in the award-winning YA dystopian Divided series that reviewers say reminds them of such classic YA dystopian as Divergent and The Giver.
Christa Faust - The Get Off
39:17|The first Angel Dare novel, MONEY SHOT, earned universal acclaim: finalist for the Edgar, Anthony and Barry Awards, won the Crimespree Award and chosen by fans as their favorite Hard Case Crime title of all time. Angel’s story continued in CHOKE HOLD and – after almost 15 years – it comes to a blazing conclusion in THE GET OFF.WILL THE CHANCE FOR A NEW LIFE BE ANGEL’S LAST SHOT?Tagged as a cop killer when a mission of vengeance goes wrong, Angel Dare finds herself on the run, with an unexpected burden: she’s pregnant. Her desperate flight takes Angel across the American west, where cattle barons lock horns with rodeo bullfighters and life can end suddenly and brutally. A renegade couple living off the grid near the border might offer a chance of escape – but can Angel reach them in time…?
Carmen Amato - Barracuda Bay
29:01|Political corruption turns Acapulco’s first female police detective into a fugitive on the run . . . in Washington DC."A thrilling series" -- National Public RadioIn a derelict building for sale, Acapulco police detective Emilia Cruz stumbles on the body of a woman brutally shot to death. Incredibly, the victim was the sister of Acapulco’s ambitious mayor, who is running for re-election against an opponent with deep pockets.Emilia’s investigation is immediately under pressure for a fast result. The victim’s ex-boyfriend has a suspiciously weak alibi but is the crime scene the key to finding the murderer? The building was once used for a secret Mexican government operation targeting a ruthless drug lord.Meanwhile, there’s a conspiracy within the police department to force Emilia out.Before Emilia can save her job or arrest her prime suspect, she’s sent on an errand of mercy to Washington, DC.There she becomes a fugitive hunted by killers masquerading as cops. Alone, desperate and on the run, Emilia turns for help to a man she once vowed to murder.He's her only chance to survive a deadly game of political intrigue on the wrong side of the border.From Acapulco’s beaches to the streets of Washington, DC, the stakes couldn’t be higher in this electrifying, page-turning thriller.2019 and 2020 Poison Cup award, Outstanding Series - CrimeMasters of America"Emilia is a character who is close to my heart" - MysterySequels"Amato brings her characters to life with her vivid writing style and sets them on the streets of a Mexico steeped in Catholicism and corruption" - OnlineBookClub.orgWith unflinching authenticity from the author's own espionage and counterdrug experience in Mexico and Central America, this is a female detective mystery series like no other.The Emilia Cruz series is for fans of international mystery and crime by Ian Rankin, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves, Donna Leon and Liza Marklund, plus the Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Fans of Don Winslow's cartel and border thrillers set in Mexico love the plots torn from the headlines of the Detective Emilia Cruz police series set in Acapulco.
Mike Papantonio - The Middleman: A Legal Thriller
42:58|The Middleman is an epic drama of whistleblowers, murder, thrills, and legal combat—torn out of today’s headlines.Nicholas “Deke” Deketomis and his law firm take on America’s Big Pharma when Deke’s college pal, Matt Redmond, presents him with a case of possible fraud involving EirePharma, the Redmond family business and a powerful Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM). PBMs serve as the “middlemen” between drug manufacturers and insurance companies, working in cryptic ways to determine not only the cost of drugs but also placing them on insurers’ preferred formularies. EirePharma was recently taken over by the charismatic CEO, Connor Devlin, who has a Rasputin-like influence over Matt’s cousin, Amy, the company’s current president. Devlin may be utilizing racketeering practices—and perhaps murder—to raise the prices of insulin and other drugs for his own profit and to the detriment of consumers.Amy, who at first was in love with Devlin, decides—at great peril—to become her company’s whistleblower and provide evidence to Deke and his team. When key witnesses and even Redmond family members meet mysterious and violent deaths, Amy finds herself a pawn caught in the center of a frightening and deadly game of wills between a formidable gangster, who in the eyes of the public is a respected businessman, and a law firm that is determined to investigate and uncover the Middleman’s crimes.In the tradition of Suspicious Activity and Inhuman Trafficking, Mike Papantonio takes Deke and his cohorts on a new and different kind of legal gamble in The Middleman, which is chock full of the action and thrills for which he is known.
Matt Hardman - Other Than Honorable
27:43|1939. The brink of war. The dawn of nuclear terror.Captain Everett “Ridge” Frost, a disgraced Marine with a knack for trouble and a talent for survival, faces a grim future in a Pearl Harbor brig—until a shadowy U.S. intelligence agency offers him a way out. His mission: infiltrate the heart of Nazi Germany and steal their atomic weapons research before the world tips into chaos.Thrust into a world of shadow and subterfuge, Frost must navigate a treacherous landscape of double agents, brutal Nazi operatives, and an unforgiving enemy onslaught. But as the stakes escalate, he uncovers a chilling truth far more horrifying than he imagined—one that could rewrite the fate of the world.Caught between a deadly conspiracy and his growing feelings for an enigmatic ally, Frost will need every ounce of his cunning, courage, and charm to survive. In this electrifying debut of the Unit 12 series, the line between hero and villain blurs, and the cost of victory may be more than one man can bear.Fast-paced, gripping, and evocative of vintage thrillers, this is the story of a spy who could tip the balance of history—or die trying.
Caitlin Rother - Body Parts
34:20|The bestselling author delves into the twisted crimes of Wayne Adam Ford.“This kind of frightening and fascinating glimpse into a killer’s mind is rare.” —Ron Franscell, New York Times–bestselling author On a chilly November afternoon in 1998, a tearful 36-year-old man walked into the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department in Eureka, California, and confessed to something horrible. “I hurt some people,” he said. Inside his pocket was the ghastly proof of his statement. But there was more to Wayne Adam Ford than the trail of mangled victims he left behind. More, even, than the twisted predator inside, which drove him to increasingly perverse sexual appetites. Pulitzer Prize–nominated author Caitlin Rother draws on previously sealed testimony, interviews with the key players in the case, and the killer’s shocking confession to explore the demons that drove a damaged man to his unspeakable crimes. Her book is a harrowing psychological portrait and a haunting, unforgettable true-life thriller. Includes dramatic photos “Page-turning excitement and blood-curdling terror . . . Riveting, fast-paced, and sure to keep you up at night.” —M. William Phelps, New York Times–bestselling author “Shocking, chilling, fast-paced . . . A book crime aficionados will be loath to put down.” —Simon Read, author of The Iron Sea “Rother has produced a superior study of a serial killer and his lost and lonely victims.” —Carol Anne Davis, author of Couples Who Kill “A must-read . . . Well-written, extremely intense; a book that I could not put down.” —True Crime Book Reviews
James Murphy - How to be Dead
32:33|When the role of a lifetime puts the truth into true crime television, the results can be lethal.For bestselling author and criminal psychologist,Dr. Carolyn Harkin the return to her native Northern Ireland has been tumultuous.Having survived an encounter with the notorious How To Be Dead Programme, the dangers of a writing class blurring fact with crime fiction, the resurrection of the ghosts of her past and a threat to her life and the lives of her colleagues, life was now set for a slower pace. Or so she thought.Now, with news of the death by homicide of the wife of her associate, Chief Constable Brian Hannon and a spate of murders of young men to contend with, Dr. Harkin must face her greatest nemesis and the return of the programme in another tale of fiction being blended with reality, and this time it’s set to be a small screen streaming blockbuster
Richard Helms - 22 Rue Montparnasse
33:59|Beau Shipley and Keeby Styles barely survive the WWI battle of the Meuse-Argonne. Beau returns to Charleston in a fatalistic attempt to stop his former girlfriend's wedding to a rival, while Keeby remains in Paris to become a writer.Beau discovers that time, the war, the Spanish Flu, and a dark family secret have left the Charleston he remembered unrecognizable, so he returns to Paris to live as a painter.On separate but intertwining paths, Beau and Keeby are swept up in what Gertrude Stein called the Lost Generation, two aspirants mired in the panoramic parade of ambitious expats seeking fame and fortune in the world of arts and letters.Then, drunken and desperate, Beau one night makes a fateful choice that will change both their lives—forever.22 Rue Montparnasse is a tale about high aspirations and bad decisions, with cameo appearances by the likes of Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Tsugahiro Foujita, Ernest Hemingway, Georges Brach, Amedeo Modigliani, Misia Sert, Coco Chanel, and Ezra Pound.