You don’t mess with Atlanta Burns. Everyone knows that. And that’s kinda how she likes it—until the day Atlanta is drawn into a battle against two groups of bullies and saves a pair of new, unexpected friends. But actions have consequences, and when another teen turns up dead—by an apparent suicide—Atlanta knows foul play is involved. And worse: she knows it’s her fault. You go poking rattlesnakes, maybe you get bit. Afraid of stirring up the snakes further by investigating, Atlanta turns her focus to the killing of a neighborhood dog. All paths lead to a rural dogfighting ring, and once more Atlanta finds herself face-to-face with bullies of the worst sort. Atlanta cannot abide letting bad men do awful things to those who don’t deserve it. So she sets out to unleash her own brand of teenage justice. Will Atlanta triumph? Or is fighting back just asking for a face full of bad news?

\ \ \ ( Book features adult language and situations.) \ \ \ “Sometimes she wakes up at night, smelling that gunpowder smell. Ears ringing. A whimpering there in the darkness. Doesn’t always hit her at night, either. Might be in the middle of the day. She should be smelling pizza, or garbage, or cat s\\t wafting from the house next door, but instead what she smells is that acrid tang of gunsmoke. All up in her nose. Clinging there like a tick…” So begins the tale of Atlanta Burns, a young girl with a grim past lingering at the fringes of her droll and dreary high school existence. She’s content to remain there, too, or so she soon, however, she’s drawn in a battle against two separate groups of bullies – a trio of local troublemakers and a group of Neo-Nazi gay bashers – to save a pair of new and unexpected friends. But actions have consequences, and by fighting back, Atlanta discovers she’s kicked over a log, thus revealing what hides squirming underneath. It’s just her, her friends, and a .410 squirrel gun against a handful of bullies and a conspiracy whose worst aspects remain yet hidden. Can she triumph? Will her victory be paid in unseen sacrifices? Or is fighting back just asking for a face full of bad news? (This is novella #1, a complete tale in and of itself. But Atlanta’s story will continue in episode #2, BAIT DOG.) “SHOTGUN GRAVY is like VERONICA MARS on Adderall. Atlanta Burns is a troubled teenage girl who’s scared, angry, and not taking s\\t from anybody. Chuck Wendig knocks this one out of the park as he so often does.” – Stephen Blackmoore, author of CITY OF THE LOST and DEAD THINGS “Give Nancy Drew a shotgun and a kick-butt attitude and you get Atlanta Burns. Packed with action and fascinating characters, SHOTGUN GRAVY is a story that will captivate both teens and adults and have them clamoring for the next installment.” – Joelle Charbonneau, author of SKATING OVER THE LINE

This book contains both the novella Shotgun Gravy as well as the follow-up novel, Bait Dog. The last time shotgun-wielding Atlanta Burns tangled with the town bullies it seemed like she and her friends had won the day. But then her cohort Chris Coyne ended up dead—dead by his own hand if you believe the reports. Atlanta and her pal Shane are not so sure. Atlanta, afraid of once again stirring up the hornets by investigating her friend's apparent suicide, instead focuses her efforts on looking into the death of a local teen's beloved dog. But solving a dog's murder is no easy task, and soon Atlanta ends up embroiled in a rural dog-fighting ring. Stranger still, looking into the events surrounding the dog's death sheds new light on the death of her friend. Once more she finds herself face-to-face with bullies of the worst sort, staring down a corruption that's seeped into the town like a septic infection. It's all too much for one girl to handle and she knows that she and her trusty .410 squirrel gun must go up against the cruel and callous malefactors of her world. No good can come of this, and yet, Atlanta cannot abide letting bad men do awful things to those who don't deserve it. This, then, is Bait Dog: one girl, her single-barrel Winchester shotgun, and a whole town full of terrible that deserves her brand of teenage justice.

It’s Atlanta’s senior year of high school, and she is officially infamous. Not only has she saved herself from a predator, brought down an untouchable dogfighting ring, and battled a pack of high-school bullies, but she’s also proclaimed to the Internet her willingness to fight for anyone who needs help. And Atlanta can’t believe what’s coming out of the woodwork. From an old friend to a troop of troubled girls with connections to a local fracking company, there’s definitely fire in the water. As always, the girl with the unforgettable name is not afraid to burn it all down if it means making things right. But as high school races toward its inevitable end and the hornets begin to swarm from all directions, Atlanta must decide how much of herself and her growing group of friends she is willing to risk…before it’s too late.