Spiral Publishing

When Jason A. Adams puts fingers to keyboard, the reader never knows what’s coming. Come climb the squirrel tree of Jason’s imagination. Among its branches, find adventure in the future, the past, and the present. Join galactic billionaires, Appalachian lawmen, mythical monsters in modern cities, and ancient warriors in the first collection of short fiction from Jason A. Adams

When the cat drags in a mystery A cold IT dungeon, full of noisy servers and grumpy workers. Not exactly a natural fit for a cat.Until you consider blinking lights and all those places to hide. And folks more comfortable with animals than other people.But this cat discovers toys more disturbing than cute.What will Dana find in the impossible hiding place? A Dana Sanderson Short Mystery An excerpt from Three Computer Geeks Gruff Gayle sat back, rubbing her chin and staring at a bright red line on the screen. “Huh. Looks like Mr. Rawson is under suspension. Hasn’t reported to work at all for a week, or even called in. Still doesn’t explain how this thing got down here.” She held the token up, turning the smooth black plastic back and forth. When Peluda jumped up on the desk this time, she held a heavy gold ring in her teeth. A man’s college class ring, from the looks of it, with a big sapphire stone and lots of engraving. “What the hell?” Gayle absently patted Peluda’s head as she extracted the ring and held it up to the light. A gold G with a T joined to it. “Please tell me McGranville went to Georgia Tech,” Dana said, trying to catch her breath through the falling sensation in her gut. “Please tell me that’s his ring.”

Through the Trees and Far Away Into every marriage, DIY must fall. Will this relationship survive the Cat Tree? Sylvester Dotson, homeless lawyer and lover of rooftop sleeping. Until he wakes up somewhen else. Blake and Chelle currently run a solid IT business. Can they escape their pasts? Ted Jenkins lives a reliable life until the mail interferes. Can he sort things out before the next special delivery? When a piece of his childhood falls, Jess grieves. Will new friends help Jess resurrect Ruby in time? Our worlds abound with doorways. Some seen, some stumbled upon. Travel the wilds of Jason A. Adams’ imagination through five previously unpublished tales of the thin space between hither and yon. Includes five original stories: The Dangers of Cat Trees, Temporal Fallout, Career Choices, Special Delivery, and Resurrecting Ruby.

An Appalachian Crime Story Private Investigator Helen Hartsock returns home to the Appalachian Mountains. Searching for a missing person hardly anyone misses.She finds Martha Phelps: a woman with a mysterious past and fiercely loyal friends.And a deep knowledge of the secrets the mountains hold.Will Helen get answers, or regret asking in the first place? Originally appeared in Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Private Eyes, Knotted Road Press, 2020. An excerpt from The Definition of Crime: A Mystery Almost No One Cares to SolveHelen was determined to follow the path to wherever Rodney Blevins ended his days, no matter how it twisted or turned. Almost as determined as his family, even if no one else seemed to care.She pretended to read and watched Martha load everything into one washer while everyone else was still busy sorting into two, sometimes three machines. All typical behavior for this crew.But instead of standing around and chatting with her friends, Martha stared right at Helen.Not good.Then she walked over and sat beside her, which was worse.“Figured I should introduce myself,” Martha said, her voice quiet but a bit rough, as if she’d shouted a lot in her life. “Since we seem to have noticed each other for several days in a row now.”

Billy’s new tech start-up sits on the verge of greatness. A fantastic reward for leaving his rotten old job in the dust. Until a miscalculation lands Billy in a nightmare. And he only sees one way out. Unfortunately Billy’s way out puts him squarely in cybercrime expert Dana Sanderson’s sights. Will Dana catch him before it’s too late? A Dana Sanderson Short Mystery An excerpt from The Fabulous Feats of Billy: The first line you cross is the easiest ??Billy pulled the power cord out, running it idly through his fingers.? The lax security and asset tracking wasn’t all he knew about Gossalor. ? He knew the yearly, quarterly, and monthly profit numbers for the place. They were nowhere near AllState or State Farm numbers, no. ? But they were easily a thousand times more profitable than the amount Billy was pulling his hair out over.? And twenty-eight thousand wasn’t much, not really. Not compared to the settlements Gossalor paid out every single day. Many times a day. Paying out was part of doing business for them, and they clearly had plenty to spare.? Sometimes a gold-plated nest could do without a feather or two.? Especially if no one would ever be the wiser.?

Self-improvement can be deadly. Insurance agency programmer Dana Sanderson only wants peace and quiet at work. A desire her micromanaging boss somehow never respects. Then the investigation of a rash of suspicious natural death claims lands on Dana’s laptop. Failure means huge payouts for the company. Success means a huge bonus for her. Find out if Dana’s risks outweigh her rewards in this clever digital mystery. A Dana Sanderson Short Mystery An excerpt from The Sound of Murder: “If you know about me,” Dana said, “you know why I can’t get back into hacking, Mr. Redmond. That part of my life is over.” “I’m not asking you to get into their bank accounts. Just find the common thread. Take a look, a careful look, and see what you come up with. Don’t worry about your usual projects for now. There’s a full year’s salary bonus for whoever works this out.” “A full…” Dana shook her head, quite certain she’d misunderstood. “You’re offering me a year’s pay? How could it be worth that?” She didn’t have to do the math. That much money would pay off her college debts and everything else she’d racked up putting her past firmly behind her. The prospect of returning to her hacker life, even temporarily, felt slightly less dreadful now. “These were all in our lowest risk pool,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “Several of them had policies worth ten times your salary. Trust me. It’s worth it.

A Strange Case in a Strange Place A chance to recapture past glory days gone awry.A cybercrime expert forced to endure warm, sunny weather in December.A South Florida holiday with two stressed-out techies ending up in the wrong place at the right time.Will Dana manage to crack the case before it goes from missing person to murder? A Dana Sanderson Short Mystery An excerpt from Glory Lane and the Humid Holiday Dana had always been more comfortable with codes and computers than people."We got a missing persons report on Rich Walters a couple of days ago," Michelle said. "Only had a plane ticket to go on. We've had the word out, but he disappeared after he flew into Miami. Not a trace until right here, last night."Michelle held up one of those evidence bags with a scuffed brown leather wallet inside, with a loose driver's license pressed against the plastic.Dana glanced the alley where a few uniforms still lingered, heads down. "He's not… Is he over there?"Michelle looked over her shoulder, then turned back to Dana with a grin."Don't worry, Dana. He's not dead, not that we know of. But Rich Walters isn't just missing. He's disappeared into thin air."

An Invisible Countdown to Death A cookie-cutter suburban house. A strange aroma. A dead body, and a suspect refusing to talk.Sometimes a stumped investigation needs a non-standard mind.A perfect case for Dana and her best friend Andre to work their magic.Can they solve the crime before the next victim's time runs out? A Dana Sanderson Short Mystery An excerpt from Melting Point: Mira took a long drink of her coffee, staring out over the trees outside before she focused on Dana again. "We've got the suspect, sure. Sitting in lockup, smug as hell, and not saying a word. What we need from you, Dana, is how on earth she did it." Dana drew back, blinking. "Me? I'm just an insurance investigator. This is your field. Surely the GBI has people on this." " They do. And they're coming up empty so far. Some of these cases are months old. They're afraid  this woman had a longer list of people she was paid to knock off." Mira took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds. "They'll probably find it," she said, "but I can't stop wondering what would have happened if someone totally innocent had walked into that bedroom instead. Like maybe her niece or nephew."

A Brewing Disaster Regina Burke never expects trouble on a fine morning in Bountyfield, Virginia. Especially trouble involving her sweet nephew Trevor.But trouble knows its own schedule, and holds its own secrets.Now Regina races to keep Trevor from driving into a nightmare neither imagined.Will she find him in time, before the nightmare wins? An excerpt from A Race Against Tea Time:A good kid headed straight into hot waterPam shook her head sharply, once to the left, then the right.“You really need to get around here and start making phone calls. I’m guessing the folks Trevor delivers to aren’t in the best of health. From what you’re telling me about this jimsonweed, we need to make damn sure they don’t brew it up thinking they can settle down for their afternoon naps.”Regina held her breath, trying not to imagine Trevor’s face if he was part of something like that happening, even with his usual best of intentions. She could wish all day long for a drone or a helicopter, or a high-tech satellite tracking device that wouldn’t work on narrow mountain roads anyway.Or, she could do her best to help him like she always had.“Thank you, Pam. Show me where I won’t be in your way. We’ll find him.”

Five Journeys Away from Life as You Know It Mark gets to know himself and his family. And learns to take unusual warnings to heart.Ella chases a lifelong dream. Never imagining the reality around the next curve.Amy takes a bittersweet trip down memory lane. And discovers the past makes its own plans.Paul celebrates a treasured best friend. Never suspecting a life-changing secret awaits.Kay’s Café serves up all kinds of comfort. But Kay wants to bring the taste of love itself back to life. Life brings constant change. Transitions we all recognize in one way or another.But sometimes those changes take us a step out of the ordinary. And into the world only glimpsed out of the corner of your eye.Join storyteller Kari Kilgore on a fantastic journey through life’s changes, and beyond. Includes five new original stories: The Perfect Shade of Haint Blue, The Road to Paradise Mountain, Amy in Wonderland, The Lightning-Struck Wood, and A Taste Just Like a Hug.