Showing results by author "J.A. Cox" in All Categories

The staying power of the world's most dashing secret agent and the evolution of the James Bond franchise are explored in this smart yet nostalgic collection of essays. Leading writers, including Raymond Benson, J.A. Konrath, Raelynn Hillhouse, and John Cox, discuss the 10 sexiest Bond girls, the best villains, and the controversy surrounding the latest actor to play James Bond. Topics covered range from the playful - how to build a secret lair and avoid the perennial mistakes made by would-be world dominators - to the thought-provoking.

She thought she’d heard it all. Then the hangman called. Psychic witch Allison Lopez has dealt with angry spirits, ancient gods, and haunted radio stations. But nothing prepares her for the call that comes in during her live show: a man describing the unseen hands squeezing the life from his throat in the dead of night. Desperate to help, Allison heads into California’s high desert, where an old mining town’s bloody history refuses to stay buried. There’s a spirit here with murder in its heart, fueled by anger, greed, and a century-old hanging tree. As Allison’s visions reveal a ...

Detective Madeline Wimsey tends to stand out with her wild red hair, pentacle amulets, and offbeat methods, but she has a tool few other cops use - magic. After a man turns up dead in a grisly satanic rite, her fellow detectives are quick to crack jokes. Since they can't tell a pentacle from a pentagram, Maddy's happy to get the case. She suspects the ritual to be the work of amateurs, a theory that pans out when they track down the pack of clueless high school students who made the shrine in the woods. But then Maddy learns that the Devil's Eye is watching her....

Magical forces don't always play nice. In fact, they can be downright evil. Life is going fairly well for Detective Maddy Wimsey. At 35, she's an accomplished detective, practicing Wiccan, has a wonderful relationship with her long-time boyfriend, and even a much-needed vacation after dealing with a cursed gem. Alas, her break doesn't last long. A creeping darkness interrupts the solace of the woods with a supernatural vendetta against her coven. Maddy had opened a particular can of worms looking into the past, and the entity has decided to make her a target.

Back home from her first mission, Solstice confronts a scarier problem than a lizard the size of a garbage truck: immortality. She won’t exactly live forever, but ten thousand years isn’t much different. In the blink of an eye to her, everyone she loves will be gone. True, being the only elf in the world is a lonely future, but at least she has her cat to talk to. Good thing he talks back. Solstice doesn’t have too long to mourn as someone thoughtfully sends a magical assassin to take her mind off the family she’ll eventually lose. She’s fairly certain the Ordo Sanguinem Aeternam ...

Solstice Winters never expected her job as a photojournalist would involve stopping a death god. She’s only ever wanted the same things as anyone else—a nice career, a safe place to call home, and no magical assassins trying to kill her. Alas, there’s nothing like an unexpected dimensional misalignment to ruin plans. The rapid flood of magic into the world changed her from simple reporter to secret agent in mere months. It also revealed the truth of her being an elf. Her investigation into who wants her dead stalls when a paranormal entity shows up in her apartment pleading for help. ...

Samantha Moon should have known better than to end a vacation with a scenic helicopter ride over the Amazon. When a demonic entity attacks mid-flight, their chopper crashes deep in the jungle—leaving Sam, Allison, Tammy, and Paxton bruised, battered, and on foot in one of the deadliest places on Earth. But the real danger isn’t the snakes, the bugs, or the endless green walls. It’s the creature that stalks them. Feeding on fear, it conjures illusions to separate and trap them. Sam’s vampire powers are pushed to the limit as she fights to keep her family alive, battling jungle ...

The vampire spy returns! Mina Barrett is back in an all-new, thrilling adventure! It's normal for a parent to bring their kid to work if they can't find a babysitter, but Mina Barrett doesn't exactly work an office job—she's a CIA field agent. She's also a vampire. The Dominion isn't going to take a break because of Mina's schedule, so when an urgent situation crops up in Libya right before she learns the bad guys have plans to abduct her daughter, there's only one possible fix: Bring her daughter on the mission. The bosses aren't too thrilled, but since the kid's a vampire, they don't ...

Sun-drenched jungles. Lost cities. A treasure everyone wants... and no one should touch. Samantha Moon just wanted to show her kids the wonders of Colombia’s Amazon basin. But vacation plans go off the rails when they hear about a hidden ruin stuffed with El Dorado–style gold—and the deadly curse that guards it. Ignoring warnings (as usual), Sam, Allison, Tammy, and Paxton venture deep into the jungle, only to be attacked by spectral warriors bound to protect the hoard for eternity. These ancient spirits aren’t evil—they’re enslaved. Breaking the curse means battling illusions, ...

Just one last stop in Peru, right? How could that go wrong? When Paxton asks to see the famous Nazca Lines, Samantha Moon figures it’s an easy detour—just teleport to the desert, snap a few pics, and call it a day. But the lines aren’t just ancient art. They’re giant glyphs that act as spirit gates, sucking the whole family into a demi-plane teeming with feathered warrior-people, bizarre mesas, and ancient magic. To get home, Sam strikes a deal with an ancient spider demigod. Her price? Rescue 10,000 stolen eggs from the bird people’s sky city before they’re devoured. Cue aerial...

What’s a relaxing trip to Guatemala without a quick side quest to the Mayan underworld? Samantha Moon just wanted more bonding time with her daughters, her best friend, and the gorgeous cenotes of Cobán. But when a desperate mother begs for help finding her kidnapped son, Sam can’t say no. The boy isn’t in a normal cave—he’s trapped in Xibalba, a nightmare realm of ancient death gods, illusions, and soul-devouring monsters. With Allison’s witchcraft, Tammy’s fae-trained magic, and Paxton’s empathic instincts, they descend into the underworld to battle trickster spirits, ...

Chaos erupts in Silver Mesa when a group of outlaws decides to rob the town's only bank. The seemingly ordinary crime captures Zebadiah Clemens' full attention thanks to the lead bank robber abducting the young daughter of the stagecoach manager. But unlike the sheriff, his authority doesn't stop at the edge of town. In his pursuit, Zeb discovers a small ranching community with a rather unique problem: A dead man seems to be killing people. Zeb's not about to let the crazy supernatural stuff get in the way of finding the missing girl, but no situation is ever as simple as it seems....

Jack is a stressed out CEO of a once great business, Stackflow. But after a pandemic, supply chain chaos, labor market fluctuations, and his own failed strategic initiatives, Jack is struggling to keep his head above water—and the company's. Like nearly every other CEO in history, Jack is working endless hours away from his family, who is quickly losing patience. During those long days, he's cobbling together ideas and goals—and still not seeing meaningful results.

They survived the accident that made them superhuman. Now they’re racing to stop the one that will end the world. Mira Verborgen and Giancarlo Bianchi never asked to become living physics anomalies—able to shapeshift, heal instantly, and defy the laws of matter. But the same catastrophic experiment that gave them their powers also turned them into ticking time bombs. With just weeks before they detonate like nuclear weapons, they’re desperate to find a cure. The only chance? Repeating the experiment in a working particle collider. But their old enemy Dr. Orlov—insane, equally ...

Deputy Marshal Zebediah Clemens has a problem: the dead aren’t staying in their graves. As a lawman, Zeb’s life is already complicated, but his duties don’t end with the living. He’s tasked with protecting the world from things most people don’t believe in—and it’s getting harder to keep the balance between the mundane and the supernatural. Despite it all, Zeb still dreams of a quiet life, maybe even a family. The woman he’s taken a shine to seems to fancy him as well, and her young son already looks up to him as a father. But proposing will have to wait.

Lieutenant Miguel Alverez is a broken man. Through retreat and defeat at every turn he has been given one final mission: to take a group of survivors to the mountains of New Mexico where the last American stronghold lies. Plans change, however, and when his plane is shot down and those who survived are ambushed all seems lost until a thin, bearded man called Jonathan Fisher comes to their rescue.

Living Outside The Box is a podcast devoted to sharing good books and ideas that those books contain. Hosts J.R. and Kayla Cox have been married since 2004 and they have 3 children who also love to read.

Deputy Marshal Zeb Clemens usually goes out looking for trouble—but sometimes, it finds him first. The town of Silver Mesa seemed ideal for him: not too large, not too small, neither too remote nor too close to civilization… and even a woman he fancies. It’s the perfect hometown for a man who cannot die.

The United States is heading toward an unavoidable financial catastrophe that will paralyze the markets and the overall economy in ways never before seen. Some call this impending economic catastrophe a double-dip recession, others a financial armageddon. Regardless of what it's called, it is too late to stop it. Debts, Deficits, and the Demise of the American Economy is a look at how we got here, how the crisis is unfolding, and how it will end with a stock market crash in 2012, if not sooner.

Archeologist Ethan Stone wants to leave his past in the past and start a new life. But his plans get derailed when he discovers an old book that could help him solve the greatest mystery of the ancient world. As Ethan and his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Alex Styles, struggle to stay one step ahead of terrorists desperate to stop them, they wind up discovering something much greater than treasure or fame. Witness the powerful redemption of Ethan Stone as he opens a door into the spiritual realm that forces him to confront his past and choose his future.