At six, Clifton watched as two white police officers beat his black father to death. The official report called it an accident. But Clifton and his mother, who was also there, know the truth. Ten years later Clifton's life has been shaped by that horrible event. He's a social outcast, his mother has sunk deep into alcoholism, and the only connection has with a living thing is with the dog next door whose life is as bad as Clifton's. But then Clifton's principal comes up with the idea to have all the students release balloons with notes attached. It's meant to build school spirit, but it also gives Clifton an idea. What if, somehow, he was able to reach someone somewhere far away, and actually make a connection? Maybe even have a friend. So instead of balloons he uses bottles, and sets them afloat with notes inside down the New River. Amazingly, Clifton actually does here from someone. His name is Swamper, he's got to be at least 70, and he lives in a shack on the river, meaking out a living selling fish. Swamper and Clifton strike up a friendship and it looks like Clifton may be okay after all. But then the kidnapping of a young girl that Clifton witnesses brings back all of his old demons. How can he go to the police after what they did to his father? And his mother, she's useless. So he turns to Swamper, and in the end, discovers truths about his family, his life, and himself, that he never would have imagined.

Gray Baby

Teen & Young Adult

Sanders, Scott Loring

Literature & Fiction

Clarion Books

What Walter reads that day changes him. Not in any way someone would really notice. He still goes to school, hangs out with his friends Jimmy and Mothball, and tries to avoid the Troll, the town recluse. But something in him has changed. It's as if he can feel a part of him growing—the part that can stand by and watch a house burn down or the life flow out of a fox, without doing anything to stop either. He knows he could—should—do something to help. But some part of him keeps him glued in place, watching with fascination and curiosity. Maybe it would have been better if Walter had never found out the things he did. Maybe he didn't really want to know. But then again, maybe he did. Richly atmospheric, The Hanging Woods is at times disturbing, but it is always riveting. It's a tale of deception, delusion, and the dark places a troubled mind can go.

The Hanging Woods

Children's Books

HMH Books for Young Readers

Enter the world of THUGLIT, oh lovers of dark and nasty crime fiction. Come on in. Spend some time, but don't forget the sanitizer. You might want to take a bath in it after you roll around with these EIGHT BRAND NEW STORIES!!! POACHERS by Neil Krolicki DESPERATION by Albert Tucher AUTHENTI CITY by Eddie McNamara GRANDPA'S PLACE by S.A. Cosby BE MY ALIBI by Blair Kroeber ASSISTED LIVING by CT McNeely SHOOTING CREEK by Scott Loring Sanders HEART by Dan J. Fiore

THUGLIT Issue 14

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Cosby, S.A.

Tucher, Albert

McNamara, Eddie

Krolicki, Neil

Kroeber, Blair

McNeely, CT

Fiore, Dan J.

Mystery

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

EIGHT—count 'em—eight new tales of murder, misdeeds, mayhem, and misdemeanors coming your way from the multiple award-winning crime fiction magazine THUGLIT. YOU know you want some. WE know you want some. SO GET SOME, ALREADY!!! THE SPLIT by Eric Beetner ALCHEMY AND ATROPHY by Devon Robbins THE BEARD by Ed Kurtz IT BOTHERS ME by Erik Arneson BLOOD MAKES THE GRASS GROW by Bracken MacLeod DICK JOKE by Mark Rapacz THAT TIME by Scott Loring Sanders DRONE by Rob Hart

THUGLIT Issue 16

Hart, Rob

MacLeod, Bracken

Kurtz, Ed

Arneson, Erik

Beetner, Eric

Rapacz, Mark

Robbins, Devon

Right Between the Eyes

Thrillers & Suspense

Down & Out Books

Dark, gritty, disturbing. Those are the types of characters you’ll encounter in the award winning stories within this collection. Tough people in a tough world. But also real people, struggling with difficult decisions when faced with unthinkable circumstances. What happens when you discover a dead body but can’t go to the police because of your own dark past? Or your father’s dark past? What might a woman resort to when her husband doesn’t hold up his end of a bargain? What frightening surprises lie buried beneath the beaches of North Carolina? Or in the desolate hills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains? Or in the swamps of the New Jersey Pine Barrens? These are stories that are as dark, gritty, and disturbing as the characters who inhabit them, yet there is a pervasive humanness which forces us to empathize. That asks us to understand why people sometimes do what they do. Perhaps that’s the reason these stories have been chosen for the Best American Mystery series, honored by The Atlantic Monthly’s Student Writing Contest, not to mention various other awards and honors. Perhaps that’s why these stories will stick with you well after the reading has commenced. Always gnawing at you, unrelenting, asking, “What would you have done in that situation? Would you have behaved any differently?” Praise for SHOOTING CREEK AND OTHER STORIES: “This excellent collection transcends any genre label. Ultimately, these stories are mysteries of the human heart's darkest regions. Scott Sanders is the real deal and deserves a wide and appreciative readership.” —Ron Rash, The New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. “Each story is a gem in this dark, atmospheric, treasure box of a collection. Scott Loring Sanders digs deep and peers unflinching into the frail, twisted human heart, revealing its many facets and glittering truths. A stellar collection!” —Lisa Unger, The New York Times bestselling author of The Red Hunter. “In Shooting Creek and Other Stories, you’ll find ne’er-do-well husbands, drunken fathers, tough-as-nails women and mothers, and murderously unfaithful wives in a rogue’s gallery of dangerous characters in bad situations. These are stories that will keep you up late reading and thinking, stories that mute the concerns of the everyday world while turning up the volume on thrills and excitement. This is a collection that will fire the imagination while raising moral and ethical issues, which is the true heart of Scott Sanders's fiction. If you’re looking for something good to read, this is the book you want.” —Ed Falco, author of The New York Times bestselling The Family Corleone. “Scott Loring Sanders’s stories are always rich in atmosphere, and his characters are often presented with difficult moral dilemmas. He’s an author who prefers a degree of ambiguity to an easy resolution, and that makes his work thought-provoking, as well as unpredictable. Readers in search of well-written, complex suspense tales won’t go wrong with a Sanders collection!” —Janet Hutchings, Editor-in-Chief, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.

Shooting Creek and Other Stories

Short Stories & Anthologies

This is not your average New Jersey childhood: a circus tiger attack, a schoolmate’s abduction, heartbreaking addicts, and a blind bad-ass granny. Scott Loring Sanders’ suburban adolescence overflowed with perils: bone-crushing water slides, hitchhiking serial killers, a chilling collision in a ‘71 Impala. From his tough, complex father to Sanders’ own reckoning of fatherhood and alcohol, SURVIVING JERSEY is a tour-de-force exploration of the risks that shape America’s youth.

Surviving Jersey: Danger & Insanity in the Garden State

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Outpost 19

Finalist for Best Book of 2017 by CLMP’s Firecracker Award Just your average New Jersey childhood? Not exactly. A circus tiger attack, a schoolmate’s abduction, heartbreaking addicts, and a few close encounters with the seedier sides of humanity. Scott Loring Sanders’ suburban adolescence overflowed with perils: bone-crushing water slides, hitchhiking serial killers, a chilling collision in a ’71 Impala. From his tough, complex father to Sanders’ own reckoning of fatherhood and alcohol after leaving the Garden State, Surviving Jersey is a tour-de-force exploration of the risks that shape America’s youth. Praise for SURVIVING JERSEY: “Scott Loring Sanders’ Surviving Jersey brings…perilous locations vividly to life in an absorbing amalgam of ravenous tigers, crazy coincidences, memorable characters, and human folly. A good read for anyone from New Jersey, or anyone seeking a few compelling reasons to steer clear.” —Dinty W. Moore, author of Between Panic &amp; Desire “Exuberant, gritty, and laugh-out-loud funny.” —Matthew Vollmer, author of Permanent Exhibit “We realize by the time we close this wonderful book that we have been reading not only about fear and human mistakes and how to survive despite them…but also about the richness of life, its connections and joys —the very things that help us hold onto hope for the future.” —Arts Fuse “Sanders’ brutal honesty is a hallmark and strength of Surviving Jersey. The book also gives the reader hope: If Sanders can survive and thrive despite the difficulties he encountered…then we all can.” —The Roanoke Times “Surviving Jersey takes one of the most fundamental human endeavors, to survive the hazards of our world, and applies it to hardy characters, risky decisions, and life-altering events. Its magic goes beyond asking Where are we going? and reminds us to also wonder: How did we make it to here? ” —Sweet: A Literary Confection

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Books by Sanders, Scott Loring