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READ ME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
5 published titles mingle on the internet
Bereft Reality, a novel by James H. Summers – It started with an ad, the kind you scroll past unless you’re desperate. Promises for women who wanted confidence, control, a sharper edge in a world that eats the soft alive. Summer thought it was exactly what her best friend needed. Just a form to fill out. Just a little help.
But days went by and her friend didn’t call. Didn’t show. Didn’t exist in the same way anymore. Summer started digging, one click at a time, one lead at a time, and the trail turned rotten fast. The kind of scheme that preys on weakness, chews it up, and spits it back out in ways you don’t walk away from.
Confidence can be bought, they said. Power can be taught. But what Summer found was darker than ambition—it was a machine that grinds people down, body and soul.
Self-esteem issues? They don’t just scar. They kill. And once you step into Bereft Reality, you don’t get to choose how you come out. Published 4/16/2015
Picking Murphys, a novel by James H. Summers – The family was supposed to be whole, heading west together. Four tickets, four bags, four hearts chasing the promise of California. But the split came first, sharp and sudden, cutting them down the middle. The father and son took the road, chasing gold, ghosts, and whatever luck still lived in the hills. The mother and daughter stayed behind, staring down silence and wondering what future was worth waiting for.
The thing about family is, sometimes it’s bigger than blood. Old spirits tagged along for the ride—some benevolent, some not. A quiet hand offering guidance, a darker one twisting the knife. And the darker one? It wasn’t a stranger. It was family. The kind you don’t invite in but can’t shut the door on.
California glitters with wine, olives, and promises. But under that shine lies something ancient, patient, and cruel. The father and son dig for fortune. The mother and daughter dig for meaning. Each of them asking the same question in the end: was it really their choice, or did Murphys pick them? Published 2/15/2016
First Responder, a novel by James H. Summers – The city doesn’t sleep, and neither does he. On normal nights, he’s a psychologist with a clean white coat and a quiet office, listening to the wounded talk about hunger and control. On others, he’s something hungrier, something colder. The radio crackles, the police scanners sing, and he’s out the door before the sirens hit. The first on the scene. The last thing they see.
The trick is in the cleanup. Feed fast, stage the wreck, leave them where the metal twisted them up. It works—until an EMT starts asking the wrong questions. She sees too much, adds it up, but when the truth stares her down, she can’t swallow it whole. Most people can’t.
And then the past comes knocking—two old vampires who never forgot his name. They don’t forgive, and they don’t let go. Now the night is a chessboard, and every move costs blood, secrecy, and survival.
Romance? Maybe. But in this line of work, love’s got to fight for scraps. Because when you live on the edge of a siren’s wail, killing to survive isn’t just habit—it’s the job. Published 2/21/2017
Site 123, a novel by James H. Summers – Seven friends. Three campers. One holiday weekend that was supposed to be simple. Robin had lined it all up: her two girlfriends tucked into one camper, the newlyweds shining in another, and the two guys whose wisecracks kept the nights loose and loud in the third. Their rigs sat close, shoulder to shoulder, with Site 123 as the hub—the place Robin had picked.
Other campers dotted the row: families trying to hold it together, drifters with too much time, and James, a seasoned hand who moved through the woods like he owned the lease. On paper, it was safe. On paper, it belonged to her.
But Robin’s new boyfriend, Scott, didn’t take orders from paper. He was green in her life, but already barking commands, already crowding her air. He wanted the weekend. She told him no—she had her friends, her freedom. He didn’t take no for an answer.
So he followed. That’s what men like Scott do. They follow you into the shadows, where the trees lean close and the fire burns low. And when the stars drowned behind the clouds, Site 123 stopped being a holiday escape. It turned into a back-alley of the woods—where obsession sharpens its knife, fear writes the rules, and love goes crooked in the dark. Published 4/1/2024
They Heinous, a novel by James H. Summers – They come to me broken, asking for help. Bands, weights, stretches. I hand them the tools, but too many let them drop. They quit. They waste the time, the system, the hope that should’ve gone to someone else. That’s when I act.
I don’t see it as murder. I see it as balance. They took from others; I take from them. It’s simple. Quick. Necessary.
But shadows attract shadows, and now there’s Sami—the reporter clawing her way back from her own wreckage. She’s chasing ghosts I’ve already buried. She’s dragging Claire with her, a girl who can crack the dark web wide open. They want answers. They want closure.
What they don’t want is truth. The truth is the system’s broken, people are broken, and someone has to decide who gets to stay. That someone is me. Call me heinous if you want. I call it justice. Published 9/11/2024
They Heinous, a novel by James H. Summers – Healing is supposed to be slow, steady, honest work. That’s what I give them: plans, therapy, second chances. But Nikki… Nikki doesn’t see it that way. When the patients quit, she ends them. When she’s done, I’m left with the rest.
I clean up the mess. Move the bodies. Stage the exits so no one looks too close. I don’t kill. I fix. That’s my part.
But now Sami’s circling—sharp-eyed, brittle, hungry for answers. She’s chasing the trail Nikki leaves behind. She’s got Claire digging, a hacker who sees too much, too fast. They think they’re chasing one person. They don’t realize they’re chasing two halves of the same whole.
Nikki kills. I heal. That’s the balance. At least, that’s what I tell myself when the night gets quiet and the guilt leaks in. Because if I’m not the one keeping it clean, then I’m no better than she is. And maybe I never was. Published 9/11/2024
*The They Heinous was done twice, from varying perspectives – read the book for an explanation.
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