Showing results by author "Dale Phillips" in All Categories

Trapped by a final promise to a dying woman, a reluctant Zack Taylor seeks her missing grandson, a slippery con man of the art world. Zack discovers the corruption beneath the glossy exteriors, confronting murder, greed, fraud, and a host of crimes that belie the beauty of the art in which the people deal.

So many writers are held back from writing and publishing due to irrational fears, which are then turned into excuses for not writing. This book helps you understand where those fears come from, and how to conquer them so you can freely write. Remedies are given for the most common excuses, and an extensive list of resources allow for further study.

The warning signs are obvious. Our freedoms and our nation itself are under siege. We face unprecedented circumstances. Russia and China’s expansionist ambitions pose an existential foreign military threat. At the same time, we are facing a significant internal challenge as every fissure from social media to election integrity to our national borders are being exploited. The backbone of our Republic, ensuring our American freedoms, is our military. The Calvert Task Group sounds the alarm about the erosion of core Navy values of honor, courage, and commitment by progressive politics.

Most writers want to sell more books, but with over 20 million books on the market, you need to adopt techniques and methods that help do that. Here are a number of things to do that will move you further along your goal of more book sales. Some are quick and easy, some are more difficult and long-term, but the more you do, the better your chances of sales improvement.

Cole Hampton's military service and tough upbringing come in handy when solving dangerous problems for the less fortunate. But against his will, he's tasked with finding a missing woman. When the search leads down dark pathways, he must deal with an array of desperate crooks and killers.

Here are 11 tales of crime and mystery. Tales of people of all ages making desperate choices, calculated choices, and survival choices. Everything from killers and junkies on the run to innocents caught in a web of danger. Darkness and fear rule, and surprises occur when some think they're safe at last. It's Crime Time, and it's a black, cold street at night here....

In this, the final volume of the Fables and Fantasies collections, we have a number of dark tales: a twisted version of an old fairy tale, a fantastic ride that does not end where the rider thought, horrible creatures from a legendary world of monstrosity, a terrifying clown in a macabre fantasy setting, and a hunt where the tables are turned by a creature of myth. These fantasies remind us that evil things can lurk in the dark, and our choices should keep us on lighted paths.

Here are five more scary stories, where people meet their fate in a number of ways. Never-before tales of terror to keep you unsettled. You never know whether Death or salvation is just around the corner. Pleasant screams....

Grieving over a past tragedy, troubled ex-con Zack Taylor has spent a lifetime in the shadows. He has finally found a measure of peace in Maine, helping others as a way of dealing with his grief, guilt, and rage. But he finds even simple problems have unintended consequences, and danger lurks in the most unlikely places. In these three tales, Zack encounters murderous individuals who hide below a surface of normality. He uncovers more than he bargained for at every turn, and must deal with the fallout of taking on deadly people willing to kill.

Zack Taylor's life is once again in shambles. Having narrowly escaped death, guilty over the pain he's caused a loved one, he's hurting and angry. When looking into the disappearance of a reporter, Zack's death wish may be his cure for his troubles as he uncovers corruption and evil in a world of politics, passion, and power.

Reality slides into madness again in these eleven tales from some of New England's finest storytellers. Feel your heartbeat quicken as your senses drift to dark places: the howls of horror, terrifying visions, a hint of mystery in the air, and the bitter taste of death. You may never sleep with the lights off again.

More tales of crime and mystery, of those who walk crooked paths and pay the price for it. People on the spot when things have taken a bad turn. A young woman facing a deadly challenge. A man who walks into the wrong bar with the wrong attitude. A boxer who refuses to quit. An officer of the court with a grudge. A rich man who finds his motives questioned by the police. These are the stories of the darker side of life, when people decide to harm others.

Zack Taylor's new life is crumbling. His fledgling business is in jeopardy, he's been dumped by his lady love, and a murderous gang leader is bent on revenge. A shattered Zack is enticed onto a movie shoot to provide martial arts expertise and security, when a sudden murder raises the stakes. Zack must deal with his own demons, as well as a host of shadowy tricksters with secrets to hide. Death is at hand, and Zack must figure out who to trust in a world of illusion built on money and power.

When a single mother is wrongly accused of murder, Zack Taylor must work to clear her name. Not an easy task, as everyone in the Maine town of Mill Springs thinks she's guilty. Zack finds, however, plenty of people who wanted the victim dead. As the events around him begin to spiral out of control, Zack begins to do the same.

Here you will find twisted psyches, peculiar people, and demons of the mind and spirit. If you like your stories dark and scary, come take a stroll through this asylum, hearing ominous whispers or the shrieks of the unhinged echoing in your ears. You'll find yourself glancing nervously over your shoulder, or wondering about that odd-looking person at the bus stop - or even in the mirror. Come in, enjoy the trip, but step carefully, and watch the shadows, for you may never be the same again.

Here is one big volume of stories, 30 tales in different genres. Strange new worlds and encounters with the unusual, in stories from light to dark. Some to make you laugh, some to make you think, and some to scare you. Dip into the Big Book for a taste of monsters, mayhem, myth, magic, and murder.

This blend of previously-published stories crosses many genres: science fiction, crime, fantasy, horror, humor, magic realism, and mainstream. There are fractured fairy tales, cautionary parables, peeks into disturbed minds, and amusing little romps. Everything from people with problems to giant lobsters, demonic creatures, small-time gangsters, and perverted dwarves. Stories of odd happenings, of criminals, of ordinary people with issues, of strange worlds. Something that gives you a shiver of frisson or a chuckle, or a chance to think about the world in a new way.

This collection of ten tales of horror involves monsters, mayhem, and murder: everything from war to everyday homicide, to otherworldly terrors from hell dimensions. The horror may be internal or external, in your heart or in your cellar. Here are people making bad choices, and people reacting to terrible situations. These are stories to make you think, tremble, and and shiver with fright - and lock your doors at night - even though it may not do any good...

This set of 5 tales from the noir school of crime and mystery highlights the dark spot on the human psyche that haunts people with the siren call of revenge, destruction, or ill-gotten gain. Here are featured a variety of characters and crimes, with different outcomes. Everything from cool, calculating killers to tortured souls caught in a net of circumstance beyond their control. Plotted heists, schemes, and cons, along with acts of passion committed in the heat of the moment.

Here are five different tales of the end of the world. Some methods are long, drawn-out affairs, others threaten us in the blink of an eye. Even if our take on Mayan calendars was all misinterpretation, there are plenty of other terrors that we could fall prey to. Self-launched bombs, asteroid from space, rain of fire, alien invasion, or virus and pandemic?