Rock and a Hard Place Press is a lit-noir publisher, focused on stories of struggle, tales of the powerless and marginalized, characters on the fringes of society … and what they do next.
Rock and a Hard Place Press is proud to bring another Eryk Pruitt masterpiece back into print with Hashtag, a tale of Internet celebrity and America’s obsession with true crime, set in the American South.
When #OdieShanks goes missing from his job at Maggie’s Pizza Pick-Up, it sets off a chain of events and bad decisions that leaves everyone in its wake affected.
There’s Odie’s partner and mentor, Jake Armstrong, who’s pursuing his own vengeful agenda.
#DeputyRoyRains is just trying to keep a lid on the whole thing, give his community some closure . . . and maybe cover up his own complicity in another crime, opportunity being the mother of invention and all . . .
And then there’s #SweetMelindaKendall, who’s loose in the American South, running from a drug dealer boyfriend, the law, and the media. Her story will intersect with Odie’s soon enough.
At a time when the red flags raised by Pruitt’s writing are more relevant than ever, you need to check out Hashtag, now available through Rock and a Hard Place Press. As one character muses in the prologue: “This is Lake Castor”—but really, it could be any of our hometowns in an age of social media suffocation and true crime escapism.
If you’re looking for heart-stopping thrills, Nick Kolakowski’s got your number!
From the author of Boise Longpig Hunting Club and Rattlesnake Rodeo, comes the latest book in the Jake Halligan series: Righteous Trash.
After years of war and crime, Jake has settled down with his wife and daughter in rural Idaho. But in a country that pushes people to the brink, Jake soon makes a bet to get ahead that will have disastrous consequences.
Spurred by his sister Frankie, the West's most dangerous arms dealer, Jake is pulled into a chaotic conspiracy that involves a pregnant teenager, gangs of gun-toting thugs, a wetwork specialist from New Orleans, high-powered politicos, and a backwoods shooting competition just begging to be robbed.
Righteous Trash is now available, wherever you shop for books! And listen to Nick’s interview about the latest Jake Halligan book over at the RHP Patreon!
Earlier this fall, we took on the end of the world.
Climate change is a pervasive and existential crisis that drives so much of human behavior—either because we’re impacted by it, or because we falsely believe we can run from it, shrugging off our collective responsibility to the planet. In On Fire and Under Water: A Climate Change Crime Fiction Anthology, as in real life, no one is afforded such luxuries.
These 15 beautifully told stories, from some of crime fiction’s top talents, is edited by guest editor (and newly minted Anthony Award winner) Curtis Ippolito and the usual RHP gang. The anthology showcases how those who have contributed the least to man-made climate disaster are suffering the most from its consequences.
“Raw, brutal, tender, tragic—these are fifteen stories of people smashed flat by the Invisible Fist, people flailing and fighting against the huge and hidden violence at the center of our world. This is crime fiction that matters, crime fiction that is ready to face what comes next.” — Jordan Harper, author of She Rides Shotgun and Everybody Knows
Make sure you check out the anthology that everyone’s already talking about.
And in case you missed it, we also launched a new issue of everyone’s favorite crime fiction and noir periodical, Rock and a Hard Place Magazine!
Issue 15 is packed to the gills (which we’ll need to develop once climate change melts the polar ice caps) with noir goodies from Tim P. Walker, M.E. Proctor, Kirstyn Petras, Travis Wade Beaty, and more! With two new insightful essays on the motivation to write noir from Gabriel Hart and Joshua Murray.
Rock and a Hard Place Magazine continues to be the vanguard of literary crime fiction, and is the best place to discover your next favorite writer.
Snag a copy of Rock and a Hard Place Magazine, Issue 15, and make sure you’re also up-to-date with the back issues. There’s gold out there, ready for you to discover it.
Thanks for continuing to be a part of our RHP community! Believe it or not, we’re just getting started—so many great projects on the horizon!