J. B. Bergstad
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J.B. Bergstad includes trucker, firefighter, Guest Relations Department Supervisor for a major television network and thirty years of management and entrepreneurial experience in the field of transport-logistics among his career pursuits. Retiring in 2000, Jim began to seriously consider a new career in the field of creative writing, his interest focused on genre and literary fiction.
Jim has since studied with Long Ridge Writers Group and Gotham Writers Workshop among other courses of study. He and his wife will celebrate 55 years of marriage in March of 2014. Together they have raised five children who have gifted them with fourteen grandchildren. These children have in turn produced five great-grandchildren which round out the Bergstad family tree so far. Jim has published in several prominent literary magazines and journals including The Monarch Review, Scissors and Spackle, Midwest Literary Magazine and The Feathered Flounder among others. He is the author of the Readers Favorite Gold Medal for Best Fiction of 2009 for his Short Story Collection, Screwing the Pooch. A New Revised Edition of this Collection was released in early 2013. Books I & II of his Hyde’s Corner Trilogy have received five star reviews as well as his newest Short Story compilation, Doors to Perdition. |
Screwing the Pooch
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Mixed Genre - Short Story Collection
For those looking for a fast read that makes them think about events or people in their past or present, Screwing the Pooch is the book for you. J.B. Bergstad has written seven short stories that all of us can relate to from bullies to a narcissistic rapist. His ability to get into the mind of his characters is amazing. His vivid descriptions of events and repercussions, good or bad, put you right in the thick of things. You’ll find it difficult to choose one particular story over another. They all have relevance and remind us how we see the world through eyes filled with revenge, regret, anger or love. Screwing the Pooch reveals how human beings act on emotion and environment. Readers may empathize with those who are forced to protect themselves from their peers or social status to those who make unwise decisions, but eventually solve their problem through luck, courage or savagery. The author seems to be telling the reader stories he might have experienced himself or perhaps he knew of someone who lived through similar ordeals. J.B. Bergstad has made Screwing the Pooch an easy read with everyday language we all can understand. Sample Screwing the Pooch |
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Hyde's Corner - Book I - No Man's Land
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Historical - Family Saga
Hyde's Corner - Book I - No Man's Land is the first installment of a historical novel of epic proportions. Book I - No Man's Land details the story of a family saga only three books can tell. Selmer Burks grows into a man many will call monster, yet, he is a man capable of great love and devotion to family and community. Selmer Burks, youngest son of Silas and Mathilda Burks, sees his family decimated in brutal fashion by Cedric and Jared Hyde. At nineteen, he embarks on a suicidal plot of revenge against those he holds responsible, but before he makes a fatal mistake, a newspaper headline catches his eye. With a cunning beyond his years, he wins election as sheriff of the newly formed Sundowner County. Under color of law, Selmer Burks begins a terrifying campaign of revenge that spans thirty years. His vendetta of hate claims the life of his wife and is responsible for the rape, pregnancy and death in childbirth of his beloved daughter, Laura Lee Burks. Selmer Burks makes arrangements to transport his daughter's body home. But hate has claimed it's pound of flesh and part of his sanity as well. On the drive home, Burks plots the murder of Doctor Herman Beaman, who has accompanied him, as well as the bastard boy he knows bears the Hyde demon seed. |
Hyde's Corner - Book II - In The Name of Vengeance
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Historical - Family Saga
Selmer Burks mourns the loss of his only child and plots murder on the ride home from Oklahoma City. A roadside turnout proves his redemption and he is saved from disaster by the piecing cry of his newborn bastard grandson. He goes on to raise the child, whom he learns to love and protect with fierce loyalty. Sheriff Burks continues to rule his domain with a hard, gnarled fist. As Thomas Burks grows, he returns his grandpa's love and loyalty until he hears the truth surrounding his birth. He forgives and their pact is renewed and stronger than before. But Thomas is becoming a man and has developed a crush on Sara Tassel, who now works at the township brothel. After killing a railroad bum, Burks retreats to the brothel to get drunk, but Sara Tassel has other plans; plans she will see through because she is in love with Selmer Burks. Sample Hyde's Corner - Book II |
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Door to Perdition
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Dark Drama - Short Story Collection
Get to know real terror. Not the terror of fantasy, folk lore and monsters, but horrors we visit upon ourselves through our own decisions and consequent actions. From the novice bank robber on the run in Brazil, to a man who gave his trust to a murderer and thief. Get to know a hired killer who breaks his code, to pursue a client who failed to pay his fee, or the man who arrives for a rehab interview under the influence, only to realize his attempt at salvation may be too late. Crawl through the mind of an alcoholic who accepted one drink after fifteen years of sobriety only to face terrors he never conceived. Follow the tale of a man who wanted to please his young daughter during Christmas week, only to experience the desperation of her disappearance in a wall of swirling snow. Stand by the side of a small-town county sheriff as he mourns the death of a former mother-in-law and witness the surprise he has for the ex-wife who nearly killed him. Live the frustrations of a tired black ops agent as he arrives at San Francisco Airport only to encounter two gangbangers in a men's room at three a.m. When there appears to be no mayhem we have not explored, meet Carlos Estaban and Roger Morgan. Live in the mind of both boys aged ten and twelve as Roger uses his feigned friendship for Carlos to complete his study of human emotion. Sample Door to Perdition |
