by Travis Hill
I do apologize for the cover of this short story. It is not very…awesome. If the version you are reading is just a black background with yellow text, or part of a gun, some blood, and… well, whatever that brown stuff is, welcome to Travis Hill’s awesome Photoshop skills. If the version you are reading does not have that cover, then most likely welcome to Amazon’s pre-made covers. I will assume before I even attempt to use it to make a better cover that I will fare no better than I did with Photoshop.
Update 7/7/2014: First, I’d like to let you know there’s a prequel novella (26,000 words, about 70-ish pages) out called “One Bad Job.” Your good pal Billy tells the tale of how he got involved with Petrovski. It’s $.99 US just about everywhere.
Second, there’s a couple more stories of ol’ Billy and his girl Tanya rattling around in my skull. I’m hoping to have one or two novellas out by the Christmas 2014 season.
And third, though this won’t help with this book, I’m having a much nicer cover made. “One Bad Job” already has a very nice cover, as I’ve been at this writing thing for more than a year now. “One Last Job” was my very first published story (probably mentioned this already), and it was a bit of a learning experience.
Fourth, thank you for taking a chance on a nobody author (unless you hated the story, then I’m sorry I wasted your time. I’d rather one of my stories didn’t get read than to be read and disliked/hated, but unfortunately, reading a book is always a guessing game. If I could make up for you not liking something I read by having a bit of candy and maybe some confetti pop out of your ereader/phone screen, I totally would do that. It still wouldn’t make up for having to read something I wrote, but… it’s candy (and confetti!)).
If you did like the story, know there are hundreds of other nobodies out there writing great books. You’ll come across some bad ones, but I guarantee you’ll find a whole bunch of new authors and stories to enjoy. You can thank me later (and yes, thanks can also come in the form of hatemail haha).
If you’d like to see more of Billy Jensen, drop me a line at [email protected]
Or catch me on Twitter: @Angry_Games.
Or maybe even at my website, http://www.angrygames.com.
Yeah, it’s kind of a theme as you can tell.
Here’s a list of some other stories that I’ve published:
One Bad Job:
Career criminal Billy Jensen and his pals have plotted for more than a year to take down Gennady Konovalov's jewelry store. When the heist doesn't work out exactly as planned, the survivors go into hiding.
Not only are the Dolgoprudninskaya, the second largest Russian organized crime syndicate in the world, searching for Billy and his crew, but the Dolgo's biggest rivals, the Solntsevskaya, have joined forces with them in an attempt to recover the seven million dollars' worth of stolen jewelry, cash, and bearer bonds.
After Alexi Nikolayev Petrovski, head of the Solntsevskaya in Houston, captures Billy's long-time girlfriend, the crew is left with no choice but to meet the Russian mobster on his turf. Billy learns that Petrovski isn't interested in recovering the stolen goods as much as he is in recruiting a new employee...
"One Bad Job" is the prequel to the free short story "One Last Job," available all major ebook retailers.
26,309 word / 70 page novella
Adult language / situations / violence
Enforcer:
Eighteen-year-old Connor Dunsmore was about to begin his professional hockey career as the top NHL draft pick when an on-ice accident shattered his life's dream. Eight years and over five hundred stitches later, he's become a fan favorite as an enforcer for the Boise Bombers of the United Professional Hockey League.
Off the ice, Connor also moonlights as an enforcer for Costache Ojacarcu, the Bomber's owner, and head of a discrete Romanian organized crime operation in the Treasure Valley. What started out as running simple errands for extra money to supplement his meager hockey salary has evolved into collection, intimidation, and retribution.
After becoming an unwilling accessory to murder, Connor's life begins to spiral out of control. When he rescues a prostitute from an abusive drug dealer, he begins to dig himself in even deeper, and soon realizes how entrenched he truly is.
Adult themes / violence / language
132,000 words / 412 pages
Alive, or Just Breathing:
Devin Fischer lost both of his parents when he was nine.
His controversial mother was taken from him in a freak accident. His father made him an emotional orphan that same day. Devin’s goal is to leave small-town Southern Idaho and the legacy of his mother’s sensational death behind. The only obstacles in his path are the last two years of high school, and the many enemies he’s made with his quick fists and quicker temper.
Melinda Liddy dreams of the day she can escape from the nightmare her life has become.
Her life has become a bitter tug-of-war between the need to escape from her drunken, abusive father, and her inability to leave her mother behind to face the monster’s explosive, unpredictable violence alone. As Melinda struggles to hold on long enough for an academic path, instead of becoming a runaway like her older sister Theresa, she finds a kindred spirit in Devin.
Together, they attempt to navigate the minefield of broken families, high school society, and the chaotic, sometimes confusing emotions that come with falling in love for the first time.
84,600 words / 255 pages
Mature themes / language
Chasing Time:
A snarky, cynical government operative is sent back in time to 5th century France, during the reign of Clovis and the Frankish Empire. His mission: to find and eliminate Dr. Barnard Jameson, a rogue scientist, before history can be significantly altered.
Finding Bertric, aka Dr. Jameson, was the easy part. Eliminating the smirking, pudgy little scientist proves to be a lot harder than he expected.
The smug doctor's plans of advancing human civilization by introducing 21st century concepts and technology more than a thousand years early sound like the ravings of a madman with a God complex... but with the possibility to avoid the Dark Ages and the stagnation of civilization for almost a millennium, is Jameson's scheme a chance worth taking?
Strong language
60,215 words / 300 pages
BONUS: One bonus short story & the first book of a new time travel novel titled "Search Terms: Alpha" included.
It’s Better This Way:
Twenty-three years ago, the 'bulls' appeared in orbit and destroyed Earth's infrastructure in less than ten seconds.
These days, the alien invaders aren't as much of a problem as the surviving humans are.
Evan Greggs learns that things aren't always as bad as they seem, but sometimes the choices to be made are as murky as they are difficult.
24,000 word novella
Contains Adult Language
LGBT Friendly (it is science fiction, not erotica or romance… it does have LGBT characters in it, so if that bothers you, you probably won’t want to read it!)
Departure:
Today is my 40th birthday. It's also my last day on Earth.
I get to do anything I want today, within reason, as long as I make it to the portal before my time is up.
What I want is to spend the day with Cara and my two young children.
I don't know what awaits on the other side of the portal, I only know that certain death awaits me here if I refuse to go.
Some light adult content
14,600 word short story/novella (Science Fiction / Romance)
Diabolus:
Salvatore Antonelli, a disgraced ex-bishop, and Benito Castillo, a young tech-priest fresh out of Seminary, are tasked by the Vatican to confront DAMON-1, a nuclear capable AI that claims to be Satan incarnate, returned to the physical world to bring about Armageddon.
The two clergy must battle to restore DAMON and purge Satan from the enslaved AI's core. The bishop is forced to play a deadly game with billions of lives
in the balance, while the young priest must confront Satan's digital persona within the network.
The eternal conflict between good and evil, fought in the space between time, brings humanity and their AI creations to the dawn of a new age, and to the brink of annihilation.
"The Exorcist" meets "Skynet" meets "The Matrix" in this thought-provoking new science fiction thriller by Travis Hill.
66,000 words / 203 pages
Teen+ appropriate
Ability (Omnibus):
The end of the world began on YouTube...
Brian Carter wanted to create a superior recreational substance.
Garret Stewart wanted to create the next evolution in learning.
Derry Clarkson wanted her two best friends to see reason.
What happens when the perfect drug meets the perfect technology?
Ability is a serialized urban tech-fantasy set in the near future.
Contains: Adult Language / Situations / Drug use
60,000 words / 217 pages
Eight Hour Fiction #1:
Two stories inspired by a JA Konrath challenge to write, edit, create a cover, and publish a short story in eight hours or less.
A Career Move - A crash-landed alien tries to find his career path but isn't having much luck...
3072 word short story (teen+ appropriate)
Capture At The Hive - The Evil Queen Mother has finally captured General Megatron, Defender of the Galaxy.
421 word flash fiction story (safe for children)