Christopher J. Lynch

July 23, 1970; 1145 hoursMortar rounds rained down on us continuously, starting at sunrise. We hadn't slept the previous night because the business of life and death were upon us. Now those mortar rounds were erupting like little volcanoes. But instead of hot lava rocks, they were hot pieces of shrapnel that whizzed by us in every direction. RPG's, 75mm recoilless rounds joined in the endless phalanx. Rounds from the NVA's 51 caliber heavy machine guns and small arms fire from AK-47s were as constant as a swarm of bees flying past our heads, and eating up the hill around us. It was if the Gates of Hell had opened to advertise that we were now open for business. Sappers and a large number of enemy troops had penetrated our perimeter and had overrun the CP like a colony of angry, red army ants. Colonel Lucas was killed instantly. The last of our platoon fought valiantly, firing continuously in a rearward action, leapfrogging toward the LZ to get on one of the last choppers off of Ripcord. We fought hard making our way through the thick haze of cordite smoke that was tearing up my eyes and burning my throat. Then word came down that we were giving up the firebase. THIS IS A STORY OF FIRE-BASE RIPCORD IN THE A SHAU VALLEY OF VIETNAM. THIS STORY MUST BE TOLD

Professional blackmailer One Eyed Jack has few boundaries when it comes to choosing his targets: embezzlers, philanderers, and scammers. They're all fair game in his eyes. But when he dips his toe into the high stakes world of college football to target athletes who use performance enhancing drugs, he finds that the pond is far more toxic and dangerous than he thought. Betrayal, greed and murder abound in this fast paced thriller.

Eddie Haskell was the bad kid who never went away. When child actor Ken Osmond stepped onto the set of Leave it to Beaver in 1957, he not only entered our living rooms, he homesteaded a permanent place in American pop culture. The poster child for sneaky, rotten kids everywhere, he was the reference point for cautious mothers to warn their children about. And everyone in America knew an Eddie Haskell at some point in his or her lives. The amazing phenomenon of Ken Osmond's character is still going strong, over half a century after the show's cancellation. Even today, the name Eddie Haskell remains firmly entrenched in the American lexicon. Political foes from both sides of the ideological spectrum love to accuse their opponents of, "acting like Eddie Haskell," and when Kobi Bryant argued a referee's call, tweets went out labeling him as an, "Eddie Haskell." Psychology Today Magazine has published articles about recognizing and treating "Eddie Haskell Syndrome" and Matt Groening created Bart Simpson as his own version of "the son of Eddie Haskell." Now it's time to meet Ken Osmond, the man behind America's preeminent bad boy. A man who, as co-star Jerry Mathers said, "Was the best actor on the program, because he was so diametrically opposed to the character he played." A devoted husband, father and patriot, he's a man who's been forever shadowed by Eddie Haskell, but whose own life, was even more amazing than the character he portrayed.

A 2013 Shamus Award finalist, and Writer's Digest self-published book awards Honorable mention. Professional blackmailer John Sharp, aka One Eyed Jack, is a man who knows how to keep a secret - for a price. But when a routine case of infidelity takes an unexpected detour, he soon finds himself caught in a tangled web of double-blackmail, commodities manipulation, and trying to rescue the woman that had once been his target. Judge, 22nd Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards said, "In One-Eyed Jack, author Christopher J. Lynch has created a multifaceted main character who will instantly grip readers from the moment he steps onto the stage. What I found interesting was how I both liked and disliked this character at the same time; this is something I've rarely experienced in my many years of reading fiction. This is definitely a book you won't be able to put down." Check out the video trailer at: http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvraVL8dMY0