The Rapist introduces us to Truman Ferris Pinter, an amoral man occupying a prison cell for a heinous crime committed years earlier. Master storyteller Les Edgerton guides us on a haunting journey inside the criminal mind to show that no matter how depraved a person appears to be, there might still exist a spark of humanity.

The Rapist

Literature & Fiction

Edgerton, Les

Literary

New Pulp Press

Ex-con Jake Bishop is several years past his second stint in prison and has completely reformed. He’s married, expecting a child, and preparing to open his own hair salon. But then an old cellmate re-enters his life begging for a favor: to help him with a burglary. Forced by his code of ethics to perform the crime, Jake’s once idyllic life quickly plunges into an abyss. Jake soon realizes that there is only one way out of this purgatory . . . and it may rupture his soul beyond repair.

The Bitch

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

Now middle aged and in poor health, widower and grandfather Corey takes a solo trip home to Freeport, the Texan town he grew up in. But that trip turns out to represent much more than a poignant journey for old times’ sake. With memories of his childhood prompted by the familiar Texan landscape, Corey narrates the story of the 1950s summer that changed his life forever. Dismissed and beaten by a frustrated and violent father and effectively abandoned by an emotionally fragile and obsessively religious mother, the teenage Corey turns to his grandfather for comfort. Then his grandfather is diagnosed with terminal cancer. As events unfold, it becomes clear that this is just one of several life-changing events to happen to Corey that summer. His parents’ marriage falls apart, his mother’s mental health declines and his father becomes increasingly angry, as a beloved father and grandfather slides towards death. Meanwhile, Corey’s best friend lives locally in a violent and dysfunctional household, until the ultimate tragedy strikes and Destin is whisked away to live with relatives. Faced with the loss of his closest friend and imminent loss of his grandfather, Cory focuses his attention on a very special project, a present for his father. A present intended to win his father’s love. But it doesn’t. And Corey’s good intentions vanish into violence... And that is when, strengthened by the wise counsel of his dying grandfather, Corey realizes that it is time to be his own person. "The Death of Tarpons" is a coming-of-age tale as the adult Corey recalls his past and sees with new clarity the issues surrounding love, parenthood, family and death which he must deal with. Praise for "The Death of Tarpons" “Edgerton's first novel shines with wisdom.” — Publishers Weekly “Highly recommended for public libraries and for academic libraries supporting writing programs.” — Library Journal “Edgerton's skillful writing and characterizations invite the reader to share Corey's horrors and hopes, to try to understand unreasonable motives, to care about the outcome.” — Austin American-Statesman “While this book deals with violence and cruelty, it is ultimately a definition of gentleness and love. It is a good story; it is a good book.” — The Indianapolis Star “...this first novel reflects equally the author's respectable effort at expression, and its protagonist's expressive struggle. Big on heart.” — Booklover's Magazine “Edgerton is not just another stunning narrative talent, he is an important narrative authority – a master of his or any other generation.” —Vincent Zandri, author of As Catch Can “It is heart-felt, heart-rending, compulsively readable and wise.” —Douglas Glover, author of The Life and Times of Captain N. “Les Edgerton’s The Death of Tarpons is a big-hearted and beautiful story of love and death and the fact that we all grow up and away, for better and worse, from who and what we once were. A fine book, well worth the reading.” —Bret Lott, author of Jewel “Edgerton takes on one of the hoariest of projects, the family chronicle, but he explores individual characters and domestic relations in so particularized, so eloquent and—in the very best sense—so idiosyncratic a way, that we almost feel we are treading such ground for the first time.” —Sydney Lea, author of A Place of Mind

The Death of Tarpons

Genre Fiction

Betimes Books

Seventeen stories screaming past the red line, tires tearing across the highway, guns stained with smoke and gore.
Seventeen stories of heroes and anti-heroes on desperate journeys, white knuckles on steering wheels, hearts pounding to the staccato beat of magnum hollow points slamming against flesh and steel.
Seventeen stories of hard-bitten souls hurtling over asphalt, the desert, the sea, and even through space itself in adventures fueled by vengeance, betrayal, madness, and murder.
Seventeen stories of tough justice, redemption, and salvation.
Hang on.

Blood and Gasoline: High-Octane, High-Velocity Action

Bassoff, Jon

United States

Hex Publishers LLC

Find your voice – and make your writing sing! You know a great literary “voice” when you hear it: David Sedaris’s humorous cynicism. Elmore Leonard’s weary, smart-mouthed dialogue. Nick Hornby’s simple yet imaginative descriptions. It’s the kind of writing you should aspire to, right? Well, not quite. Each of these authors found success in part by developing their own unique voice: a writing style that helped define their work. Now Les Edgerton shows you how to develop a voice of your own, one that rises about the literary din because of its individuality, not in spite of it! Inside, he provides guidelines, advice and dozens of exercises of recognizing and developing a natural style that will make your characters, stories and dialogues better and more memorable. You’ll lean: • How to make any piece you write unmistakably yours and your alone • What agents and editors really think about using your own voice • How to write better by ignoring the rules • The keys to getting your voice and personality on the page • How to get back the unique voice you may have lost by trying to write like someone else Whether you write fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, Finding Your Voice is a must read. Editors, agents, and readers all want to read something fresh and new; by finding your voice, you’ll be giving them exactly what they want!

Finding Your Voice: How To Put Personality In Your Writing

Reference

Words, Language & Grammar

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

In Surviving Little League- the father and son team of Les and Mike Edgerton offer a lighthearted but legitimate guide to maneuvering through the challenges and the characters of Little League baseball. Based on their own coaching and playing experiences, these insiders' views will enlighten, entertain, and energize anyone involved with this great American youth sporting tradition.

Surviving Little League: For Players, Parents, and Coaches

Sports & Outdoors

Edgerton, Mike

Baseball

Taylor Trade Publishing

Adrenaline Junkie

Biographies & Memoirs

Memoirs

Down & Out Books

A mix of Cajun gumbo, a couple tablespoons of kinky sex and a dash of unusual New Orleans settings and you wind up with Les Edgerton’s latest romp fest! Pete Halliday is busted out of baseball for gambling and travels to New Orleans to make his fortune hustling. Five years later, he’s deep in debt to a bookie and in cahoots with Tommy LeClerc, a Cajun with a tiny bit of Indian blood who considers himself a red man. Tommy inveigles a reluctant Pete into one scheme after another, the latest a kidnapping scheme where they’ll snatch the Cajun Mafia King and hold his amputated hand for some serious jack. Along the way, Pete is double-crossed by Tommy and falls in love with part-time hooker and full-time waitress Cat Duplaisir. With both the Italian and Cajun mobs after them, a chase through Jazz Fest, a Tourette’s outbreak in a black bar and other zany adventures, all seems lost. Fans of Tim Dorsey’s character Serge Storms, and readers who enjoy Christopher Moore and Carl Hiaasen, will enjoy this story. Praise for THE GENUINE, IMITATION, PLASTIC KIDNAPPING: “A hard-driving, relentless story with grab-you-by-the-throat characters.” —Grant Blackwood, New York Times bestselling author “The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping is not for the faint of heart, and that’s just one of its selling points. If you like crime fiction that cracks wise while offering a peek into the darker recesses, this is the book for you.” —Bill Fitzhugh, author of Pest Control and The Exterminators “… a dark crime comedy that will have you laughing from page one. It crackles with manic energy and mad thrills. If you’re looking for a different kind of edgy crime novel, this is the one to grab.” —Bill Crider, author of the Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mysteries “Les Edgerton’s latest book is the real deal, and has everything to keep you turning the pages. It’s a caper, full of fun and high-jinx, but it’s also bitter-sweet, engendering a full range of emotions. You’ll smile, you’ll wince, you’ll laugh out loud, and sometimes you’ll even cringe, but you’ll come away from the read feeling thoroughly satisfied and entertained. A terrific read.” —Matt Hilton, author of the bestselling Joe Hunter thrillers

The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping

When criminal genius Charles "Reader" Kincaid accidentally alerts a retired cop to the impending commission of the perfect crime, the crime becomes a lot less perfect. The plan is to wire a prominent banker with a remote control bomb and thereby capture untold millions from a dangerous drug czar. Or is the plan something else? The plot thickens as hidden family connections come to light and who is betraying who-and why-becomes a matter of life and death for perpetrators and victims alike. With wry wit and first-hand knowledge of the underworld, author Les Edgerton unleashes a cast of quirky characters and dark ambitions that collide in a tale nothing short of explosive. Raves about Les Edgerton and BOMB: "Les Edgerton has swiftly become my favorite crime writer. Original voice, uncompromising attitude and a pure hardboiled style leap him to the front ranks of my reading list. He will become legendary." -Joe R. Lansdale, Paradise Sky, The Bottoms, Edge of Dark Water, The Thicket, the Hap and Leonard series, the books behind the TV series of the same name, and many others "Les Edgerton is the new High King of Noir." -Ken Bruen, The Emerald Lie, The Guards, Pimp and many others "Les Edgerton is the perfect reason for both of my favorite maxims: Don't trust anyone over thirty and: Don't trust crime fiction from anyone under thirty. The weight of experience behind Les's books is my anchor in the choppy waters of criminal literature." -Jedidiah Ayres, Peckerwood and others "Edgerton commits the perfect crime story." -Dietrich Kalteis, Triggerfish, The Deadbeat Club and Ride the Lightning "I'm not sure which is more fascinating, Les Edgerton's IED of a suspense novel, BOMB or the convoluted, heartbreaking story of its journey to publication. Both had me hooked. The good news is that you get it all with this fine new release from Gutter Books . . . With multiple story lines (each burning like a fuse), an authentic New Orleans setting, flawed good guys, and seriously-seriously-flawed bad guys, BOMB is the work of a gifted writer who knows how to ratchet up the suspense. If you're high strung, this is not the book for you. Adrenaline junkies won't be disappointed. " -Grant Jerkins, Abnormal Man: A Novel, A Very Simple Crime, The Ninth Step and others

Bomb!

Gutter Books LLC

Twenty years after the publication of his first short story collection, Monday’s Meal, Les Edgerton delivers the goods once again in this collection of harrowing tales of outlaws, ex-cons, frightened men and women, rap-partners throwing back tall boys and taller tales, children forced to become killers, stabbings and shootings, bad asses and sad asses…a wide-ranging collection of distinct and memorable characters who will exhibit a kind of wisdom not obtainable from the halls of academia. This is not a gathering of people contemplating their navels but real people facing the consequences of their actions…and it ain’t often pretty. Praise for Les Edgerton… “Les Edgerton has swiftly become my favorite crime writer. Original voice, uncompromising attitude and a pure hardboiled style leap him to the front ranks of my reading list. He will become legendary.” —Joe R. Lansdale, author of Paradise Sky, The Bottoms, Edge of Dark Water, The Thicket, and the Hap and Leonard series, the books behind the TV series of the same name, and many others “Reading Les Edgerton’s stories is like listening to those old World War II broadcasts from the London blitz, with the reporter crouching under a restaurant table, microphone in hand, while the bombs drop on the city and the ceiling caves in. Edgerton reports on the world and the news is not good. There’s a kind of wacky wisdom in these bulletins from the underside of life; the stories are full of people you hope never move in next door, for whom ordinary life is an impossible dream. This is good fiction; Edgerton writes lean and nasty prose.” —Dr. Francois Camoin, Director, Graduate School of English, University of Utah and author of Benbow and Paradise, Like Love, But Not Exactly, Deadly Virtues, The End of the World Is Los Angeles and Why Men Are Afraid of Women “Les Edgerton is the new High King of Noir.” —Ken Bruen, author of The Emerald Lie, The Guards, Pimp, and many others

Lagniappe

Short Stories & Anthologies

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Books by Edgerton, Les