Discover the Worlds Within My Stories

Honor among thieves is an outdated  cliché, as Gil Miller shows in this collection of short crime stories. These thrilling tales will have you holding your breath and waiting on the edge of your seat to find out who the “bad guys” really are.

Includes a preview of the novel Spree.

Ex-cons Steve Wilson and Eddie Jones are struggling to make it in Los Angeles, two-strike losers dodging a third and life in the slammer . . . until the phone call that changes everything for them. Eddie’s brother back in Jersey has brain cancer, and no insurance. In the wisdom imparted by smoking some righteous bud, the bungling pair concoct a plan to travel across the nation from L.A. to Atlantic City, robbing stores along the way to get the cash for Jimmy’s operation. All they have to do is avoid the law and get the money to Atlantic City and Eddie’s Uncle Vinnie.

What could possibly go wrong?

The answer turns out to be “almost everything.” From their accidental kidnapping of a young bank teller in Carlsbad, New Mexico, to a fight with a bunch of drunk rednecks in a bar in Texas, nothing quite goes as planned. Things get even worse when the law shows up in the form of Brad Ferguson, the tough, smart LAPD detective on his own cross-country mission to put them both behind bars for life. It’s a recipe for disaster on an epic scale-and one that even the dumb luck of two stoned ex-cons may not be enough to handle.

Max Joplin was living his dream. A great job that was the envy of others, in a high-profile law enforcement company, under the sunny skies of Florida. Until he blew the whistle on illegal practices within the organization. Suddenly, he found himself in protective custody with the FBI and blacklisted from employment with agencies across the country.When an old friend helps him secure a new job in a place far removed from the beaches of Miami, he’s immediately saddled with a partner he isn’t sure he can trust and a case unlike anything the world has ever seen before.

Adding to the chaos, his new artificial intelligence assistant is becoming annoyingly independent, and there’s Doctor Roxie Mann-an assistant ME who seems to be interested in more than a professional relationship with Max. As the bizarre murders stack up, and new obstacles are thrown in his path, Max wonders if the people at his new job aren’t somehow connected to his old bosses-until his partner becomes one of the victims.

New job, new AI, new murders, new romance, and old problems rearing their heads all add up to more complications than he’s sure he can handle. As the stakes rise and the bodies pile up, Max isn’t sure who he can trust or which way to turn-except that everything he’s seeing points back to a company that is supposed to be defunct but appears to be very much in business.

And getting away with murder.

Twelve authors. One prompt.

Eighteen short stories.

Given only three words—crimes, sins, misdemeanors—a dozen skilled authors have created a tremendous adventure through the dark side of humanity. In these pages, you’ll find: a political prisoner in what turns out to be not-so-solitary confinement; a young woman who has finally had enough of being abused by her lowlife husband; two busybody elderly sisters who become convinced that their next-door-neighbor has murdered his wife; a man who fulfills his buddy’s dream of owning a very special car; a wild-child teenage girl desperate to find a way to bail her boyfriend out of jail; a rivalry between two farmers that turns deadly; and a lonely, frustrated little boy who discovers a powerful and terrifying new way to channel his anger.

And those are just a few of the wonderful tales you’ll find in Crimes, Sins, and Misdemeanors. The styles and approaches are as unique as the authors are—there’s truly something for everyone’s tastes.

So fasten your seatbelts, and see where this collection takes you.

When Lyle Villines learns his daughter has leukemia, he searches for a way to pay the huge medical bills that come with the condition. In desperation, he takes a well-paying under-the-table job driving a delivery van. He doesn’t know what the cargo is, but the pay is enough to make him ignore that for the sake of his child.

Lyle questions his decision when he’s hijacked on the interstate and left alive only so he can deliver a message to his employer. Turns out the load wasn’t exactly legal. Nor was it insured, meaning he will have to pay for the loss by taking on a new job – cooking meth. Not only does it pay better, his boss says, but it keeps him off the road. When Lyle objects, he’s given a simple choice. He can either take the opportunity, or his family will suffer. Faced with no other option, the only thing to do is follow orders…and hope he can get out alive.

Just when he thinks he’s clear of the meth business, Lyle Villines gets busted cold cooking for a friend. After his arrest, he’s approached by a DEA agent who wants him to work as an informant – and take down someone high up in a Mexican cartel. It’s a tall order for a small-time player like Lyle, but one he can’t refuse. If he doesn’t do it, he’ll only be seeing his kids during prison visiting hours.

He goes back into business and is immediately confronted by two local thugs who want a piece of the action – either he cooks for them, or he doesn’t cook at all. Searching for a way around them, he meets Carl and Zeke Higgins, members of a local family distributing meth for the Sinaloa cartel. Before he knows it, he’s so far in he can’t get out.

The only way to go is up – all the way to the top to cartel leader Joaquín Guzmán himself. Along the way, he has to deal with the local thugs and a Kentucky family hell-bent on holding his bosses hostage.

And in the end, what Guzmán asks of him might be too much.

Moving deeper undercover than ever, Lyle Villines now works as a major meth distributor directly for infamous Mexican cartel leader Chapo Guzmán. And the deeper he gets, the more he wants out. Taking over a territory and running drugs through the flatlands of Kansas is only the beginning, though.

Someone’s gunning for Lyle…and hard. Someone who can afford to send teams of trained siccarios – Mexican hit men – to attack him and his operation. Someone who can find him, no matter where he is and will stop at nothing to see him dead.

The only way out is forward, until they come after his family. Then, all bets are off. When his daughter is crippled for life, Lyle will go to any lengths to get to those responsible. Even if it means trusting Joaquín Guzmán to get him into Mexico after them.

But the danger doesn’t end. Someone close to Lyle is betraying him, and it will take another deal with Chapo to take down the traitor.