The Owl of Death Row

 
John T. Biggs

Richard Harjo’s job is to counsel death row inmates in Oklahoma’s notorious McAlester Prison. That usually consists of convincing them heaven is a sort of afterlife work release program, and God is the most gullible parole officer ever. All they’ve got to do to qualify is have faith as they walk quietly to the execution chamber.

No wonder Richard has lost faith in all things supernatural.

Everything changes when he meets a Choctaw murderer named Holabi Minco. Native guards say the inmate is a witch… and they might be right. He keeps a popsicle stick calendar in his cell that tells when people are going to die and does so more accurately than the DOC roster. Minco befriends Richard and sends him on a series of extralegal missions to give him insight into the lives of the other death row inmates. The chaplain crosses paths with a pole dancer, white supremacists, and a secret town full of outlaws that isn’t on any official map. What’s always been a humdrum, hypocritical life is suddenly an adventure. When Holabi Minco’s beautiful daughter, Kinta, enters the picture, Richard is hooked. He quickly finds himself drawn into a complicated plot to break her father out of prison. It involves a slice of something called Dead’n’berried pie, a shoot out on the prison parking lot, and a disappearing act that looks too much like magic. Who could possibly resist?

About the Author

John T. Biggs

Everything John T. Biggs writes is so full of Oklahoma that once you read it, you'll never get the red dirt stains washed out of your mind. The tribes play a significant role. No authentic discussion of the state is possible without them. Traditional Native American legends are reworked and set in the modern era, the way oral historians always intended. One of John's stories, "Boy Witch" took grand prize in the 80th annual Writer's Digest Competition in 2011. Another won third prize in the 2011 Lorian Hemingway short story contest. Eighty of his short stories have been published in one form or another, along with several of his novels.

Other Books By John T. Biggs

Recommended Posts

Twice Upon a Crime

When Hollywood burns you, it’s time for a rewrite.
Fiona Moore is done playing nice with Hollywood. A former screenwriting star now sidelined by ageism and a biting sarcasm problem, she finds herself jobless, friendless, and left with only her dog and an impressive stash of disdain for the industry that’s ditched her. Enter Jack Reynolds, a bright-eyed, thirty-year-old film student with a boundless love for classic cinema—and a very distracting smile that makes Fiona question if a twenty-year age gap is really such a big deal. Despite her attempts to keep him at arm’s length, Jack is determined to help Fiona reclaim her place in the spotlight, and together they embark on a passionate, if snark-filled, quest to write the next great blockbuster.

But when their hard work is stolen by a sleazy Hollywood producer, Fiona and Jack decide to go off-script. Armed with a screenplay about the perfect crime, they set out to pull off the heist of a lifetime—one that’s clever, classy, and just this side of legal. As their partnership heats up on and off the page, they’ll discover that while Hollywood may be all about illusions, their feelings just might be the real deal.

Fast-paced, funny, and full of twists, Twice Upon a Crime is a madcap caper that will leave you cheering for this unlikely duo—because revenge is sweet, but falling in love is even sweeter.

 

The Long Goodnight

We’re not troublemakers. We’re trouble finders.
Step into a world where shadows hold secrets and cryptids rule the night. Ruby’s dream of exhilarating adventures takes a spine-chilling twist when she becomes an apprentice at The Goodnight Agency. But the supernatural underworld she thought she knew proves far more treacherous—and thrilling—than she ever imagined.
Goodnight is a hub for all things enigmatic and bizarre, a haven for creatures straight out of tabloid tales. Yet, as Ruby soon learns, mysteries are not merely stories. When an innocent old woman narrowly escapes murder, Ruby becomes a suspect .

Amidst the chaos, Ruby finds herself entangled with the Skohlars, a clandestine race of intelligent rats, entrusted with secrets potent enough to reshape reality itself. And as if that’s not enough, a group of kidnapped Sasquatches unravels a feud among The Scene’s own Guardians, leaving the agency in a perilous struggle.

The Long Goodnight is a pulse-pounding adventure where friendships are tested, mythical creatures come to life, and the line between reality and fantasy blurs.

 

Little Red Wraith

A tyrannical queen. A rising rebellion. A choice that will change everything.
All Anna wants is to grieve her sister in peace. But peace is the last thing she’ll get. After the tragic accident shatters her world, her life takes an even darker turn when her father is imprisoned in the castle and her mother is summoned by the ruthless queen. Terrified of losing what’s left of her family, Anna demands to go with them, despite the dangerous path ahead. As a shapeshifter who can’t transform, she’s already a target under the queen’s brutal laws—and the castle is the last place she wants to be.

Enter Redford, her sister’s former fiancé, with an offer she can’t ignore—join the Rising, a rebel force determined to tear down the queen’s rule. Redford promises refuge, but when a ghost from Anna’s past shows up with a twisted opportunity to serve the queen, the lines between right and wrong begin to blur.

Anna faces an impossible choice—join the Rising as their poison maker or stay at the castle and create a weapon so monstrous, it could change the kingdom forever.

 

Leave A Comment