“Trip Among the Bluebonnets,” The Eyes of Texas (Down & Out Books), 2019.

For private detective Trip Allison, the days of dangerous cases and packing protection were long over.  Or so he thought.  On a routine case, Trip ends up driving through the Texas Hill Country on twisty roads of stunning vistas and hidden perils that can take your breath away.  Permanently.

If you’d like to read more about Trip’s first adventure, here’s an essay I wrote for Art Taylor’s The First Two Pages:

The First Two Pages: “Trip Among the Bluebonnets” by James A. Hearn – Art Taylor

“A Beretta, Burritos and Bears,” a novella in Guns + Tacos, Episode 6, Season 1, (Down & Out Books), 2019.

From the editor: There’s a taco truck in Chicago known among a certain segment of the population for its daily specials.  Late at night and during the wee hours of the morning, it isn’t the food selection that attracts customers, it’s the illegal weapons available with the special order.  Each episode of Guns + Tacos features the story of one Chicagoland resident who visits the taco truck seeking a solution to life’s problems, a solution that always comes in a to-go bag.

Brian Piccolo, the namesake of the famous Chicago Bears halfback, is a football nut who’s living the American Dream: a good job, loving wife, and promising career. But when Brian loses everything and hits rock bottom, he places a unique wager on the outcome a single game – if Da Bears lose, he’ll take a swandive out the window of his crummy fifth-story apartment. But if his beloved Bears win, he’ll seek revenge on the public defender who sold him down the river, reduced him to poverty, and stole his wife. In this tale of lust and love, poverty and greed, betrayal and murder, revenge is a dish best served hot—and with extra sour cream—courtesy of a special order at an unusual taco truck.

“Tunnel Visions,” Monsters, Movies & Mayhem (WordFire Press), 2020.

From the publisher: Lights!  Cameras!  Monsters?  Join award-winning authors Jonathan Maberry, Fran Wilde, David Gerrold, Rick Wilber and others (that’s me!) for 23 all-new tales of haunted theaters, video gods, formidable demons, alien pizza, and delirious actors.  Each story takes you to the silver screen with monstrous results.

It’s 1933, and movie star Rachel Knox is traveling the Adriatic Express through the Italian Alps to film a Trojan War epic.  Europe is rife with violence and fear, barreling like a runaway locomotive toward world war.  When Rachel’s train enters a mysterious tunnel, a continent’s collective terror takes tangible form, and she must confront her own fears…or fall prey to the monsters always waiting in the dark.

“I’ll Be Seeing You,” Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of the ’60s (Untreed Reads), 2020.

Retired Marine Jimmy Valentine is a Frank Sinatra tribute artist with a killer tuxedo and a repartee of snappy one-liners.  At Santino’s Cafe, he serves up standards to a regular clientele, including reclusive widow Samantha Riordan, who dines alone every New Year’s Eve and requests Sinatra’s “I’ll Be Seeing You.”  When Samantha fails to show at Santino’s to ring in the New Year, Valentine embarks on a mystery worthy of Ol’ Blue Eyes himself.

“Hard Luck Case,” Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir (Down & Out Books), December 2020.

In Trip Allison’s second adventure, the private detective takes on the state of Texas itself.  Convinced that convicted felon Bobby Stone was wrongfully imprisoned, Trip locks horns with a devilish politician with the power to set Bobby free.  But as Trip’s obsession builds to a climatic showdown, he begins to doubt Bobby’s innocence.  Can a prison’s walls change once-good men into criminals?

“Becoming Zero,” Black Cat Mystery Magazine #9, 2021.

Executive Roger Dubose was dead, the victim of a rare but perfectly explainable infection, according to the coroner.  But private detective Craig Connors can’t shake the feeling the man he’d once trailed in a divorce case was the victim of foul play.  Now sharing a bed with Dubose’s striking widow, Connors discovers he’s embroiled in a love triangle with his former client and her cloying friend, a maniacal microbiologist.

“Blindsided,” written with Michael Bracken, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2021.  Mystery Writers of America 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee for Best Short Story!

Jeremy “Jumbo” Jones was born to play college football.  As the starting left tackle for the Whalers, he flattened defenders who came near the quarterback and seemed destined for NFL glory.  When Jumbo’s young cousin suffers a brutal attack on campus, he must make a life-altering choice between family loyalty and the team’s pathway to a championship.

If you’d like to read more about “Blindsided,” here’s an essay for Art Taylor’s The First Two Pages:

The First Two Pages: “Blindsided” by Michael Bracken and James A. Hearn – Art Taylor

“Winner Takes All,” Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 2 (Down & Out Books), 2021.

HVAC repairman Floyd Kent was a New Orleans card sharp in his wilder days, once upon a time. Fast forward thirty years, and a young man’s recklessness and fast living were put aside for the ordinary dreams of a good marriage and a quiet retirement. But when life deals Floyd a bad hand, he winds up selling everything for a buy-in to an exclusive game of no-limit Texas hold ’em. It’s winner takes all in a poker game where the stakes aren’t just Floyd’s fortune, but his very life.

“When the Dams Break,” Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, September/October 2022.

Congressman Benjamin Ballard has had a long and prestigious career.  He hires ghostwriter, Selena Dyson, to chronicle his life while he rides off into the sunset.  When Selena unearths information about a former campaign worker’s disappearance, Ballard scrambles to protect his legacy.  When the dams break, the unwary might be swept away, never to be seen again.

If you’d like to read more about the inspiration behind this story, click here:

“A Writer’s Tears” by James A. Hearn

“Home Is the Hunter,” Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 3 (Down & Out Books), 2022.  Selected for inclusion in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023!

In crime-ridden Detroit, hired gun Joe Easterbrook was far from his native West Virginia and the peaceful mountains where he hunted with his father.  After witnessing a brutal murder, Joe goes on the run, seeking salvation in the trackless wilderness of his youth.  Pursued by a vengeful crime lord and a former partner-in-crime, Joe and an unlikely companion make a final stand against impossible odds.

If you’d like to read more about the inspiration behind this story, click here:

SleuthSayers – January 17, 2023 – You Can Go Home Again: The Story behind “Home Is the Hunter” in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 3

“The Third Wish,” Black Cat Weekly #69, 2022.

Chicago business tycoon J. B. Black is a man used to getting what he wants, when he wants.  When his step-daughter enters the picture, Black finds himself losing a battle of wills with a stubborn eight-year-old who believes in magic lamps and speaks to invisible genies.  As little Jasmine’s wishes start to come true, Black and his wife discover to their horror that monsters sometimes lurk behind cute smiles of missing baby teeth.

“Home Is the Hunter,” Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023 (Mariner Books), 2023.

From the publisher: A collection of the year’s best mystery and suspense short fiction selected by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger and series editor Steph Cha.  Master of the thriller Lisa Unger selects twenty mystery and suspense short stories that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.

Praise from readers for “Home Is the Hunter” in BAMS 2023:

“A BRILLIANT piece of work, perfect in every way.  Easily the best story story in that book.” ~ C. K.

“I’m reading the Best Mystery and Suspense and I was blown away by your story.” ~ L. T.

“I loved reading ‘Home is the Hunter.’” ~ J. L.

“You’re the One,” Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 4 (Down & Out Books), 2023.

Heiress Darlene Dillman is convinced that perfect love exists, if she can only find The One.  Her boyfriend Vance Maxwell is determined to marry Darlene, though she’s a spoiled brat and more than a little nuts.   After a chance encounter with one of Darlene’s former admirers, Vance’s well-laid plans are in jeopardy, and Darlene must choose which of them deserves to be The One.  But is the last man standing getting more than he bargained for?

“For Lydia,” Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, March/April 2024.

Private detective Trip Allison makes his debut in Alfred Hitchcock!  Trip must match wits with avaricious televangelists who’ve swindled a dying woman out of her most prized possession: a diamond tennis bracelet worth a quarter of a million dollars.  The con is on as Trip and his partner Denise assemble a talented crew of criminals and ne’er-do-wells to pull an outrageous caper, striking a blow for the Lydias of the world.

“An Evening at the Opera House,” Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-o-mite Seventies (Down & Out Books), 2024.

It’s the summer of 1977, and private detective Harvey Lisch—and an entire country—have fallen on hard times.  Hyper-inflation, gas shortages, political turmoil, and a general sense of malaise have crushed America’s spirit.  On the run from drug dealers, Lisch hides himself in the largest crowd he can find . . . and wanders into a magical movie that will change his life—and the world—forever.

If you’d like to read more about the inspiration behind this story, click here:

SleuthSayers – June 4, 2024 – The Force of Star Wars: The Story behind “An Evening at the Opera House” in Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies

“Here Comes the Judge,” a novella in Chop Shop, Episode 6, Season 1 (Down & Out Books), 2024.

Brothers Brad and Rolly steal The Judge, an ultra-rare vintage GTO, from a funeral home for the biggest payday of their careers.  But instead of cruising Easy Street, the discovery of cursed tarot cards and an unwelcome guest in the trunk sends them on a collision course with the afterlife.  Can the bumbling brothers escape their fate before becoming ghosts themselves?

“Totality,” Dark of the Day: Eclipse Stories (Down & Out Books), 2024.  Selected for inclusion in The Mysterious Bookshop Presents: The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2025.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and private eye Denise Fletcher is staring at an empty chair where her date should be. Sparks fly when she finds her partner, Trip Allison, poring over an unsolved murder from years past. Feeling jilted for a dead woman and tired of being eclipsed by her famous partner, Denise wagers that she will solve the case before Trip does. Will the bet ruin their partnership, or can Denise walk the tightrope between love and pride?

“Gone Fishin'” Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 5 (Down & Out Books), 2024.

For everyman Herbert Q. Middleton, 2020’s global pandemic was a godsend.  He worked his reverse mortgage compliance job remotely, exchanging rush hour traffic jams for relaxed mornings with his cat, coffee, and crosswords.  When a new CEO mandates a return to the office under a ruthless “efficiency expert,” Herbert’s life takes a downward spiral.  Crushed by the greed of corporate America, the ordinary man can only be pushed so far…is it murder if the person you killed had no soul to begin with?

“The Nine Lives of Dr. Impossible,” Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, January/February 2025.

Actor Walter Crestwood had the world by the tail: a hit TV show, a gorgeous co-star, and the adoration of millions of children across America.  But fame came with a price.  Typecast as a superhero with a magical mask, the boozed-out former star is reduced to living in a Winnebago and ribbon-cutting at car dealerships, forced to wear the mask he hates to eke out a living.  When a dying fan’s letter reaches him on Christmas Eve, Walter finds himself at a crossroads.  Is there just enough magic left in the old mask to save a young boy’s life?

Praise for “The Nine Lives of Dr. Impossible”: “Bravo!  It held me paragraph to paragraph.  I loved it.” ~ G. D.

If you’d like to read more about the inspiration behind this story, click here:

Genre Benders and “The Nine Lives of Dr. Impossible”

“Shane on the Scene,” Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May/June 2025.

It’s 1969, and young Shane Mitchell thinks his life is ruined at the tender age of twelve.  His mother is flying to Vegas to marry a federal contractor, a creep who’s suddenly flush with cash from space-race contracts.  But shipments of sophisticated circuits are going missing, stumping the FBI.  Convinced that his soon-to-be stepfather is a criminal trading in national secrets, Shane goes on the case to rescue his mother from a bad match and save America’s fledgling space program.  Can a brand-new Saturday morning cartoon with a talking Great Dane actually help Shane solve the mystery?

If you’d like to read more about the inspiration behind this story, click here:

Zoinks! Scooby Doo and the Story Behind “Shane on the Scene”

“Jesus He Knows Me,” In Too Deep: Crime Stories Inspired by the Songs of Genesis (Down & Out Books), 2025.

Pastor Dutch Jameson runs a multi-million-dollar mega church in a posh Dallas suburb.  As the “spiritual advisor” for a corrupt politician, Dutch uses the church’s coffers to launder money, washing scarlet bribes as white as snow.  With the FBI closing in, Dutch sets a trap to catch the senator and, perhaps, redeem his own soul.

“Comet Boy,” Sleuths Just Wanna Have Fun: Private Eyes in the Materialistic Eighties (Down & Out Books), 2025.

To the ancients, comets heralded the birth of messiahs, but they were also harbingers of war, destruction, and death.  For a psychic detective in 1986, Halley’s Comet is the key to solving a young girl’s murder in a gated community.  Behind the outward smiles of Yuppies and social climbers, Madame Pearl confronts a powerful evil that kills in the name of love.

“Totality,” The Mysterious Bookshop Presents: The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2025 (The Mysterious Press), 2025.

It’s Valentine’s Day, and private eye Denise Fletcher is staring at an empty chair where her date should be.  Sparks fly when she finds her partner, Trip Allison, poring over an unsolved murder from years past.  Feeling jilted for a dead woman and tired of being eclipsed by her famous partner, Denise wagers that she will solve the case before Trip does.  Will the bet ruin their partnership, or can Denise walk the tightrope between love and pride?

“Beauty and the Beast,” Wish Upon a Crime: Crime Fiction Inspired by Fairy Tales (Level Short), 2026.

Vincent didn’t believe in fairy tale curses; no enchantress had turned him into a monster, and no magic kiss would restore his humanity.  But the hulking, shaggy hoodlum did believe in the curses of being alone, unloved, and above all, feared.  Tasked with “guarding” his boss’s beautiful fiancé in an isolated mansion, Vincent must confront the beast within himself or risk losing the only friendship he’s ever known.  In a modern-day twist to this tale as old as time, love still conquers all.

Coming soon:

“Shane on the Scene,” selected for The Best Private Eye Stories of the Year 2026

“M-O-N-E-Y”

“Deft Hands and a Crooked Smile”

“Mayhem at the Menagerie”

“What Comes After Omega?”