Billy Ray Chitwood
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I'm on the frontier of a new generation bringing my blogs, books, and poetry from the 'Romantic Period' of my young adult life where I chased the pretty ladies in the evenings, sang my cherished Sinatra ballads in piano bars, read lines from my favorite poets. There were many of us 'Romantics' in the day, some, like me, searching hungrily for some reparation from a non-enchanting childhood where abuse and temporary love abided. That 'hunger' consumed me...
That 'hunger' pushed this Romantic into the neon-glitter of California and Arizona, chasing an intangible 'Nirvana' of love, family, purpose. Time and again my play-periods with Bacchus disappointed friends and family who truly cared. The novels, the blog posts, the poetry I've written, on and between the lines, convey some of that 'hunger'. Many of my fictional narratives are based on true criminal cases, some of which touched me 'up close' and personally. My books fall into the genres of: mystery, suspense, thriller, romance, love, memoir(s), fantasy, and Science-Fiction. |
With humble admission, these books are 'good reading'... Try one, review it, and I very much appreciate your comments - good and bad.
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The Power Merchants
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Mystery, Suspense, Love, Pandemic, Political Malfeasance
A man is found near death in a ditch on a state highway in Scottsdale, AZ with two bullet wounds to his badly beaten body.... Chapter One begins a novel that has murder, a beautiful love story, political intrigue, an under-age sexual component involving pre-pubescent girls and political perverts, and a raging worldwide pandemic.. "The Power Merchants" is a novel for our time... This book will have you reading late into the night. The Power Merchants sample 
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Serpent Rock: - A Sci-Fi Battle Between Good and Evil
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Science Fiction
Three young businessmen find much more than their special deep-sea love of fishing for Grouper and Marlin can bring. This 'Science Fiction' adventure brings them to a fateful place in their successful lives when a classic clash of 'good and evil' empowers them with a special civic responsibility that can win the battle but lose their lives. This fascinating Sci-Fi story has all the reader might want in a thrilling race against time and a villainous 'Satanic Group' set to bring a great nation to its proverbial knees. If you like 'edge of the seat' thrills, patriotic heroes of the first order who will fight until the end protecting their faith and the sovereignty of the nation they hold dear, this novel will be an exciting escape for those who enjoy. The reader will also find some of the scary elements of our too current political unrest... Please enjoy the read and leave a book review if you are so inclined...book reviews are the authors' favorite gauge for further writing.
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Daddy, No!
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Family Tragedy
Inspired by August, 2018 murders of a mother and her two daughters by the father-husband...fictionalized in the narrative, but the murder method is presented in its evil details. A narcissistic sociopath wants a divorce/separation from his wife. An argument ensues. The husband smothers the wife with a pillow. He smothers his two small daughters with their bedtime blankets. He takes his dead family to an oil field, buries the wife/mother in a shallow grave, and the 4-year-old and 3-year-old daughters he puts in crude oil tanks. All of these horrible events occur in early morning. After disposing of the bodies he goes to his Oil Company Offices and has coffee with his co-workers... The author fictionally explores the mind of this sociopath after he is sentenced to life imprisonment - in an attempt to understand the known and unknown factors of these gruesome crimes. It's a read you do not want to miss... Daddy, No sample 
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DOMINIQUE: Love shattered in six and a half hours! Romantic Suspense!
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Romantic Thriller Suspense
A handsome internet 'whiz' is hired by a global leader in the 'Information Industry'. Scott Mahlon attends his first company 'Social Event' in Dallas Ft. Worth, meets and falls immediately in love with a lady he declares the most beautiful creature his eyes have ever befallen. Scott Mahlon's fast entry into 'Love' lasts all of six and one-half hours before tragedy hits... From there, Scott Mahlon faces inner demons never before encountered. His dream job, his first REAL LOVE, his career dreams all come ripping through his mind like cymbal clashes, and his life in Texas begins under dark gray skies... There is murder. There is a 'sex ring' operation. There is a corporate puzzle that Scott and his newfound friend and detective, Bonnie Boone, must figure out together, lest the person and/or persons trying to kill Scott are successful. There is so much more in this romantic thriller, a page-turner mini-epic that blends genres to make this novel an incredible and exhilarating experience. You, the reader, will not be disappointed in this wonderful foremost story of love. Down the evil corridors of despair, murder, sex-rings, will Love win the day? Read this beautifully written book and live in the story, love and hate the characters you meet therein... AND, please, leave a review of your read. Thank you. 
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Hammer's Holy Grail
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Faith, Family, Love, War, Veteran
A star quarterback at Grand View University in Knoxville, Tennessee battles not only his gridiron foes but his Appalachian father's anger toward his mother and sister. By a turn of fate and nature, Wesley Walton will meet a man ravaged by war and lost love, a man, through his hardships, has come to peace with his spirituality, a man who will become a surrogate soulmate and mentor to the confused young athlete. This is a short novel but it is long on love, family, forgiveness, and football action - all blending to make this short read a 'tour de force' in its own right, with a twist at the end to tie the ribbon to this gift of a novel! 
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Cloud Dancer
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Time Travel Romance
A freeway accident in his modern world changes the life of Blake Fielding as he is transported back in time to the infamous 'Trail of Tears'. Back in today's world, he finds murder, mystery, and the woman of his dreams. This is a book that takes the reader to the pinnacle of love, crosses genres, and reveals the soul-rending fate of a people who suffered the inequities of history. 
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The Pickett Factor
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Crime Thriller
A novel inspired by true events but fictionalized in its narrative... Some strange criminal elements are at work in the small town of Mackland, PA: a Mackland patrol officer is ambushed and murdered in 2013; a mother and common law wife goes missing in 2015; the missing woman's father is killed in a hunting accident in 2016 (was he getting too close to some truths about his daughter's disappearance?); a mother and daughter are brutally murdered in 2014 - the mother's & daughter's throats are slashed, then shot separately in their bedrooms (the daughter went to high school with the missing woman's daughter); at least two drug gangs operate in the small town, brazenly attacking citizens and bragging about bigger crimes they've committed...there's more, and the town has only 11,000 + population. The lovely town of Mackland has historic eminence and receives thousands of visitors every year.Attorney at Law Brady Pickett of neighboring large city of Graniteville, PA, only twenty minutes from Mackland, takes up the gauntlet after a young man phones from prison to tell Pickett he has been 'railroaded' with false drug charges and murder charges are to be forthcoming. Brady Pickett visits the young inmate in Lewisburg and tapes the details of the young man's declaration of innocence and becomes a strong believer in the verity of the taped testimony. Along with his old college friend, now Chief of Police in Mackland, Ed Billups, and, along with JD Brewer, a seasoned special investigator and friend, the three men and those police officers that can be trusted, fight an uphill battle to relieve the small town of its urchins of evil. There is also a very likely connection to one or more of the bigger Pennsylvania cities in the drug business that has come to the small town.This novel has a lovely narrative flow with some well-placed levity and folksy humor, and the characters are drawn with some deft strokes of the pen. While at times tense and absorbing, it is also a delightful novel, all brought together by an author of sixteen other romance, mystery/suspense novels, and memoirs. It is a novel that mystery and suspense lovers will without doubt enjoy. The Pickett Factor sample 
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Phoenix Fire
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Romance
A Phoenix, Arizona entrepreneur and an ad agency director fall in love in a most unusual way. Their relationship is interrupted by sibling clashes, a gambling addiction, a murder, and a matriarch's secret that ultimately causes emotional chaos and disorientation. This is a book that will draw the reader into the story and compel them to stay glued until the end. The gripping climax to PHOENIX FIRE is powerful, and tissues are recommended. Treat yourself to a marvelous romance, mixed with some suspense and a desert odyssey to save one's soul. A truly great read. Phoenix Fire sample 
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The Reluctant Savage
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Romantic Thriller Suspense Mystery
Marcie Madden and Billy Jay Campbell were high school sweethearts and very much in love. Separated by years of military service and advanced education, they reunite and find themselves suddenly in a world of mystery and intrigue. Billy's best friend and co-worker is murdered. Marcie's husband is a law partner with a man of evil who thrives on power and greed. More murders and more greed later, all the elements of crime, love, mystery, and romance burst into a climactic ending. Billy's choice might surprise you. This book crosses the genres of Crime, Love, Mystery, Romance, and Suspense. "The Reluctant Savage" is about those elements of society that seek power through greedy deals, the murder of the innocent, and feel no remorse from their deeds. The novel is about character and humility challenged by the savage among us. It is in a very large part about the strength of love. The Reluctant Savage sample 
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Mama's Madness
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Suspense Mystery
A story inspired by a northern California news account a few years ago ... Some of the details in this fictional penning are true. Some of the details are exaggerated and are simply the work of the author's imagination. What is clearly evidenced in this novel is the coldness of a mother's heart and the madness of her cruelty. The mind cannot comprehend lives the children depicted here were forced to endure: from black punishment closets of hell, kitchen tables used for crudely performed operations, to a high sierra execution by fire. The terror is real. The pain is vicariously felt. Unbelievable? Yes, it is unbelievable that such depravity, such MAMA'S MADNESS exists in our world. Accept the embellishments with the truth. 
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Stranger Abduction
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Suspense
It is a sunny Sunday in May, 1993. After church, a mother and her lovely fourteen-year old daughter walk three miles to a country store for cigarettes and ice cream. It is a walk members of the family often take in this rural Sulphur Springs Valley area of southeastern Arizona near the Mexican border.The mother and daughter arrive at the store in a jovial mood, trading pleasantries with customers and the owners... The daughter timidly flirts with a boy from her school. The daughter and mother leave the store in a silly mood, finger painting ice cream on their faces.They never make it home...The deputy sheriff of the county believe there has been a 'stranger abduction'.There are lots of action, interesting characters, and romance to go with this fictional account of an incident inspired by true events...events that brought tragedy to a shaken family.Don't miss this one! 
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An Arizona Tragedy : A Bailey Crane Mystery #1
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Mystery Crime Thriller
Meet Bailey Crane, a son of the south, now firmly transplanted in Phoenix, Arizona. Bailey is six feet tall, one hundred eighty-five pounds, a ruggedly good looking guy in the mold of a young Christopher Plummer, the "Sound of Music" gentleman. Bailey has just enough nuance in his charming southern manners and speech to make him appealing to most, perhaps a bit flamboyant for some. He's got a soft manufacturing rep business that brings in easy money. He's an actor on the local and regional scene, doing television commercials, print modeling, and some theater. He's a private investigator for a few attorney friends in town, and, a former cop, he is an auxiliary detective for the Phoenix PD. Bailey has love, friends, golf, and a bon vivant life style. For the most part the man is a crusader without a cape and has life just about where he wants it. In "An Arizona Tragedy" Bailey Crane's life takes a perilous and tumultuous twist when a young lady friend is brutally murdered in the Arizona desert. The friend, a twenty-six year old single mother and model, goes missing for weeks, is then found in a desert arroyo just northeast of Scottsdale, her skull crushed, her body ravaged and unrecognizable. Working privately on an estate matter for one of his attorney friends, Bailey finds the name of his lady friend's boyfriend. The discovery does not necessarily have great significance but it does start the wheels turning in the mind of our southern sleuth. Bailey becomes a target for an unknown pursuer and ends up battered, bruised, and angry. His strong feeling of hostility pushes him deeper into his friend's murder, and, finding a possible connecting link, he travels to Washington, D. C., to the hallowed halls and offices of the nation's lawmakers. At his hotel across the Potomac the unknown assassin strikes again, this time wounding our noble protagonist. The bad guy gets away, and Bailey has a temporary stay in a Reston, Virginia hospital. Through more ironic turns and twists Bailey goes on to solve not only his friend's homicide but another brutal slaying in the nation's capital. With the help of his PPD buddies, and, one very special female cop, the bad guy behind the gruesome killings is caught. The climatic ending scene in this Bailey Crane caper is nail biting tense and will keep the readers riveted to their seats of choice. |
"An Arizona Tragedy" was inspired by two actual homicides. The Phoenix slaying of the young mother and model has never been solved. With the decomposition of the body, accelerated by the desert's extreme heat and denizens of the habitat, evidence was scarce.
This Phoenix murder was also very personal for the author … he was a friend of the real murder victim. While "An Arizona Tragedy" was written to be commercially acceptable and successful, the author also wanted it to be a token of remembrance.
This Phoenix murder was also very personal for the author … he was a friend of the real murder victim. While "An Arizona Tragedy" was written to be commercially acceptable and successful, the author also wanted it to be a token of remembrance.
Satan's Song: A Bailey Crane Mystery #2
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Suspense Mystery
Inspired by a true crime in Phoenix, AZ - In Phoenix, Arizona, a young woman on a Sunday evening bike ride in Encanto Park is murdered in a most gruesome way - she is decapitated! The authorities have no leads in the case, and Bailey Crane is sought out by the victim's desperate mother. She must know the awful truth of her daughter's death, must come to some semblance of closure. There are no clues, no evidence, for Bailey to follow, but the mother's plea for his help in solving her daughter's murder has an emotional impact on the detective. As Bailey anxiously searches for links he finds homicides of young women in San Diego, California, Texas, and other states that have some similarities... By focusing on memorabilia provided by the distraught mother, Bailey's attention is subliminally directed toward a long-ago Summer Camp in Ohio and provides a trail that will lead him to physical and psychological confrontations that will leave his relatively sane world rearranged and shaken. There is a strong woman's presence in all Bailey Crane books...his partner, Wendy, is not only lovely but a fierce warrior for law and order and can hold her own in the dark and gritty world of crime and its dark and shady characters... Bailey is happily married but there are some interesting moments for these partners of the Phoenix Police Department. The bizarre conclusion comes in a small mountain town in Colorado. Our always musing southern sleuth will find a very personal and near sacred part of his life finding its own end point. There is emotional pain and there is a new beginning for our endearing Sherlock. 
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The Brutus Gate: A Bailey Crane Mystery #3
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Suspense Mystery
Bailey Crane, auxiliary cop for the Phoenix PD, is set-up by the bad guys and nearly consumed by a warehouse fire as this adventure begins. One of the thugs utters a mysterious phrase, 'Beware the Brutus Gate,' and the boys in blue have a good chuckle and try to figure out its meaning. This simple string of words marks the start of a tale that leads our southern muser/sleuth to the worst criminal elements in our society, elements that reach the highest levels of government and politics. Bailey encounters the players of the drug world, murder, and political corruption with his special panache and contempt. It's a case that has it all, and there are some personal changes in the life of our crusader for truth and justice. Bailey's emotions run the normal gamut as he plods and ponders his new realities, his life, and the meaning of it all. The climax to THE BRUTUS GATE plays out at an old ranch on the Mexican border, just south of Yuma, Arizona. It's a fun caper you won't want to miss. 
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Murder in Pueblo del Mar: A Bailey Crane Mystery #4
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Suspense Mystery
An Arizona wife and mother is murdered while on holiday in Mexico. Bailey Crane is an auxiliary cop with the Phoenix PD and is obliquely involved in the case until he visits close friends in Pueblo del Mar. The local police chief seeks Bailey's help in this most unusual caper about a philandering husband and a transvestite lover. There is of course the ever-loving musings of our southern Sherlock, an encounter with a mysterious mystic seer of 'Time and Place,' and just about all the emotions in the human heart and soul. Bailey gets banged around and challenged at the highest level of his endurance. When family and friends are caught in the ugly web of corruption, drugs, and sex, our hero's Cherokee blood hits the boiling point. The brutally devastating climax comes in a 'Whale Shack' on the scrub brush and sand near the Sea of Cortez. This tale was inspired by an actual murder some years ago, and it's one you won't want to miss. 
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A Soul Defiled: A Bailey Crane Mystery #5
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Suspense Mystery
Bailey Crane and wife, Wendy, are just settling into their new condo unit on the Sea of Cortez when the call from an old friend begins an unexpected and dangerous ride through another mystery maze. They're all here, the scammers, the contract killers, the good guys and the bad guys. Bailey came to the sea for semi-retirement fun in the sun. Instead, he gets kidnapped twice, bruised and battered twice, meets a man of intrigue, and, finally finds that friendship and life can come to surprising ends. With compelling characters and a beautiful backdrop of sea and desert elegance, this is a story with surprising climatic moments, not to be missed. 
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A Common Evil: A Bailey Crane Mystery #6
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Suspense Mystery
Former sleuth Bailey Crane and lovely wife Wendy are enjoying their penthouse pleasures until a cartel sting operation at their Mexican resort brings chaos and emotional uncertainty into a blurry reality. Wendy is kidnapped, and Bailey faces the demons running loose in his mind as he struggles with his choices. Also President of the resort's HOA, Bailey has not only kidnapping and murders with which to contend, but other problems which add to this suspenseful chapter in his life. The surprising end point brings back to Bailey and Wendy those memories better left in the memory vault. An exciting, intense thriller in the sand and cacti of Mexico's Sonoran desert by the beautiful Sea of Cortez. 
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The Cracked Mirror: Reflections of an Appalachian Son
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Memoir
When Prentice Paul Hiller enters the senior care facility he brings with him not only a hip surgery gone wrong, but a mirror of his past, cracked with the stress of all his memories: a family broken apart by their Appalachian circumstances and the 'great depression'; a childhood tainted by a father's abusive nature; an impetuous marriage and a sorrowful divorce; a subsequent search of 'isms' and for love and meaning in California bars; a tableau of horrible events, including a senseless murder and a desert survival. THE CRACKED MIRROR, Reflections of an Appalachian Son, is a search for some semblance of legacy by PP Hiller as he feels the weight of aging and a perceived inconsequental life, In an Arizona senior care facility he bonds with Greta Fogel, herself a patient and a former clinical psychologist. Encouraged by Greta, PP writes of his life, his heritage, his mistakes, the events that have shaped him, and the demon within that he cannot dispel. He gives his passionate views on criminal justice, love, politics, religion, war, and his favorite writers. Greta gives her insight and support, telling some of her own life's secrets. There is pain in the writing of his memoir, but there is also closure and a guarded inner peace. This short stay in the care facility brings more clarity to PP's life and yet another memory to store away... to take with him to the 'Sea of Cortez'. "In the end my story must be like so many others, the story of a simple kid who grew up eating some emotional soup and spending a lifetime trying to digest it." The Cracked Mirror sample 
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What Happens Next?: A Life's True Tale
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Memoir
A non-fictional memoir that covers the author's time in East Tennessee and his whirlwind education in the big world of neon lights, gin mills, pretty ladies, acting, television, stage, and film. It is also a book that takes a remarkably honest look at some mistakes and triumphs. It is a story that has depth beneath the glitter of shiny piano bars and lovely women, beneath a family disconnect and sorrowful musings. The book reveals the author's relationships in his life, the lamenting moments of despair and loneliness, the never-ending search for meaning, his faith, and the brutal assessments of who he really is. It has the family disconnect, even murder and suicide, and there is always a candor that is both refreshing and shocking in its self-analyses. In the end, it is likely a bio not so different from everyman... just changes in circumstance and event. 
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Kentucky Kernels
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Short Stories
This is a book of Short Stories, Flash Fiction, Poetry, and two excerpt sections devoted to two of the author's 15 books. The major purpose of the book is to introduce the author and his writing style to a wide audience of readers who might wish to read some of his longer novels of mystery, suspense, thriller, romance, and memoir. The book has short fiction for the Sci-Fi lovers, and there are short fiction for those readers who lean toward Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Romance, and Memoir. 
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Joe Public's Political Perspective
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Political Science
"Joe Public's Political Perspective" is a book of observations from a US citizen who does not apologize for his conservative leanings. However, the author of this book understands that one political party does not hold all the answers to critical issues facing our nation. The current Democratic president, his administration and Democratic-controlled Senate have created in this person's opinion many problems in a number of areas. The author could be accused of ranting and raving as he comments on some of our very important issues. While members of both parties without question have contributed to costly legislation, too much wasteful spending, an entitlement mentality, this current president, his liberal supporters, and his his entire administration have been evasive, inept, irresponsible, and continually in a campaign mode...in short, the American people have not been served well by the people they elected to serve them. The most egregious problem this administration has created is the Affordable Care Act, or, the euphemistically labeled 'Obamacare'. The author believes this act does more to harm our way of life than any piece of legislation in our history. The act was created in a shadowy 'supremacy' of liberal leaders of Democrat-persuasion, thousands of pages of costly mandates, little understood at its initial stages and likely not read by very many of the people in congress who work for us. As most people will know by now, the ACA had a woe begotten launch and will likely lead to doctor shortages, and costly insurance premiums. There is no doubt in the author's mind that this law is a precursor to 'Single Payer' healthcare. The author writes about the ACA and many other subjects that face our country - Education and its all powerful union, The war on terror, religion, the economy, and others. There is no claim in the author's comments to any political expertise. He has lived a long life, has seen many political turnovers in power. He is, like so many others, concerned about the future direction of this great nation and felt the need to make his observations known. |
