A Stab in the Heartland


Book Description

Taking place across the Midwest’s heartland of America, this collection of short stories offers nuance to the darker aspects of human relationships. Told primarily from the intoxicating beginnings of lust before progressing toward love, the stories fluidly transform into stark realities rather than romantic ideals. Each story provides an intimate look at how commitment and affection can turn into disloyalty or even hatred. With subtle mystery and humor sprinkled throughout, readers will be fascinated and shocked at where these winding plots lead, both physically and psychologically. Though at times jarring, the stories ultimately highlight the complexity of bonds between people in both their beauty and brutality.




Heartland


Book Description




Murder in the Heartland: Book One


Book Description

For 16 years, Harry Spiller worked as a deputy sheriff, investigator, and sheriff in a place where murder isn't suppose to happen- Southern Illinois. Investigating murder cases mainly in Williamson County and assisting in other counties, he learned the hard reality that murder is all around us. The act is swift for the victim and can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. It doesn't matter if you live in a big city or a small county, with brick-front towns, small farms, white church houses, lakes and ponds, the Shawnee National Forest, and the muddy rivers. All too often, victims fall prey in places that we think are safe to raise our families, places where we take walks on hot summer nights, where our children play in the park without concern, where we fish in the local pond hoping to land the big one, and where we leave our doors unlocked at night. In this book, Murder In The Heartland, there are 20 case files.




Hunted in the Heartland


Book Description

On May 12, 1978, a woman is assaulted and brutally murdered in her home. It happened in broad daylight, as her husband lunched with friends, and neighbors bustled in and out of their houses. -- Two nearby women have encounters with a strange man and remember him. Neither would have believed that they would be the only living survivors able to identify who was then an unknown serial killer in the midst of his most deadly killing frenzy. The two become part of a police investigation that ends up a cold case. -- It wasn't until 2007, when a detective working another murder ran a new DNA analysis on a piece of evidence, that a computer registers a hit on the killer's identity. This led to a convicted rapist who had no prior murder charges. Thus began the unmasking of a serial killer of nine women, and resolved sixty rapes and robberies. -- The true story of the dark life of Timothy Krajcir, who hunted his victims in parking lots and neighborhoods, ends with his sentencing at a federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri on April 4, 2008.




Conspiracy in the Heartland


Book Description

The socialist agenda is being crammed down the throat of Americans in the veiled political movement called progressivism that has spanned many generations. The hated despots in power have conspired to infect the entire nation with PC (political correctness) poison brewed by the witches of the Left Coast, Great Flakes, and North Least. However, one man is immune to their poison because he has patriotic blood. This man begins a movement to counteract the psychos in power finding love, a revival of the true American spirit, and a course to take well into the future for all freedom loving people. This story brings to life some of the principles upon which the USA is built and a hope that the story line will bear witness to the reader. One must answer the question after reading: is it a nice little fairy tale or is it a fore tell of events to come if America continues on the course set by the polecats in Washington?




Heartland


Book Description

The second novel of the Codex of Souls furthers explores the strange occult world first introduced in Lightbreaker. Mark Teppo’s vision of a magical underworld is a non-stop adventure that continues to bring new light to the occult origins of our history. Markham returns to Paris where he lost his love, and nearly his life. The ancient order of manipulative magicians that once cast him out is now in turmoil . . . a turmoil made all the greater by the swaths of destruction that Markham tried to avert in the Pacific Northwest. Teamed with an unlikely partner, Markham seeks to overturn the corrupt remains of an order no longer able to police its own practitioners. Yet, he can't escape the feeling that he's still just a pawn in a larger game.




Murder in the Heartland: Book Two


Book Description

In a place where murder isn’t supposed to happen—rural Missouri and Southern Illinois—deputy sheriff and investigator Harry Spiller learned the hard reality: murder is all around us. It doesn’t matter whether you live in a big city or small county with farms and churches—murder is swift and can happen to anyone, anywhere, and anytime. All too often, victims fall prey in places we think are safe to raise our families, where we take walks on hot summer nights, where our children play in the park or yard without concern, and where we leave our doors unlocked at night. Murder in the Heartland, Book 2 tells the stories of innocent victims in these seemingly innocent places. From his research and investigations of ten murder cases, Spiller recounts the gruesome details of a fraternity hazing gone deadly, teen killings, and even murders by those living and working with the victims. As much as we like to think we’re safe, murder can happen even in rural America—and it does. Join Spiller in the second installment of his three-book series of these horrifying murders in the heartland.




Heartland


Book Description

Falls City, Nebraska. Just a scratch on the Great Plains. To Billy tree, it's home--the last refuge for the ex-Secret Service agent scarred in body and soul by an unforgettable tragedy. But he's trading one for another. For the quiet burg of his youth has changed over the year. darkness has taken hold. And now, the killing secrets and terrible lies buried beneath the tranquil surface of Falls City are ready to erupt. Where it begins is with a shocking sniper attack at the local high school. No motive. No clues. Just two innocent teachers left dead, and a third injured. A woman with secrets of her own, she shares a place in Billy's heart, his past, and his fears, when a second murder paralyzes the town. Urged by the sheriff to help the investigation, Billy can't refuse. Even if it means seeing old friends in a terrifying new light, and exposing himself to the insidious rage of mysterious killer...




Struggle for the Heartland


Book Description

Struggle for the Heartland tells the story surrounding the military campaign that began in early 1862 with the advance to Fort Henry and culminated in late May with the capture of Corinth, Mississippi. The first significant Northern penetration into the Confederate west, this campaign saw the military coming-of-age of Ulysses S. Grant and offered a hint as to where the Federals might win the war. For the South, it dashed any hopes of avoiding a protracted conflict. Stephen D. Engle colors in the details that bring great clarity and new life to the scene of these battles as well as to the social and political context in which they occurred.




Heartland Western Collection Set 1


Book Description

A Suitor for the Spurned Mail Order Bride Anna Dawson thought she had the perfect man. She had the perfect life planned out with her perfect man. She was marrying the town’s most eligible bachelor. Until she wasn’t. Suddenly, on her wedding day, she’s spurned. What’s a girl to do but run away, her head tucked low in shame? Daniel West’s got a problem. His uncle’s will states that in order to inherit his own parents’ property, Daniel’s got to have a wife before his next birthday. Before his next birthday? There doesn’t seem to be time to find and woo a wife. Until his sisters concoct a plan involving placing an advertisement for a mail order bride. Seemed like a great idea at the time, but it seems Mother Nature has other plans. No sooner had Daniel collected his mail order bride than an earthquake struck and destroyed the town, sending the two into a head-spinning day of search and rescue. Among all the ravages inflicted on the town, can Daniel and Anna find what they are seeking and rescue their attempts to find love? A Secret Admirer for the Mail Order Bride Tom McAllister has been betrothed to Martha Smith for all of his adult life. Their fathers arranged this and though during their younger ages Tom and Martha might have felt a spark, that’s long past. Now Tom’s stuck. He’s promised to Martha and yet his heart seems to beat faster when Amelia West strolls by. Amelia West is an honorable woman. She’s always done what’s right. She’d never fall for a man who belongs to another. Tell that to her heart. She’s found herself attracted to Tom McAllister though he’s betrothed to another. What’s a woman to do? Well, her sister-in-law Anna has a solution. Respond to a mail order bride ad. Little does Amelia know, Anna’s been doing some plotting of her own. The Outlaw Finds A Bride Landon Smith’s got a problem. He’s accused of murdering his dead wife. This has turned him into an outlaw, one running from justice. Only it’s not real justice. It’s the machinations of a few crooked individuals. Landon needs help. The kind of help that only the West family can provide. He’s heard of the Wests. Who in that part of the country hadn’t? So he seeks out their help under duplicitous means. Lucky for Landon, Rose West has taken a liking to him. And the feeling is reciprocated. But will she reject him after learning the truth? Will her brother Daniel West kick him out, or worse, turn him in to the law? The Royal Takes A Bride Emma’s found herself attracted to a newcomer in town. Definitely not the type she’d ever expected to be interested in. This is no rough and tumble cowhand. No sir. This is a duke’s son. One who was bred aboard, and yet has spent enough time at boarding schools in the new country to rid himself of most of the accent. Will this royal come to his senses and realize the western bloom practically in his backyard?