Elaine's Literary Salon

October62025

E19: Oil and gas entrepreneur and nonfiction award-winner Michael Slavin talks about his new fiction series, “Kill Crime”

Elaine's Literary Salon
Elaine's Literary Salon
E19: Oil and gas entrepreneur and nonfiction award-winner Michael Slavin talks about his new fiction series, "Kill Crime"
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Meet the Author: Mike Slavin loves to write exciting and fast stories. It’s a new passion since he sold his oil and gas exploration company in 2024. A West Pointer and self-made millionaire, Mike has written seven award-winning business books, including One Million in the Bank: How To Make $1,000,000 With Your Own Business, Even If You Have No Money Or Experience. His fiction titles include Life Changing Money, Spike, Wrong Kill, and Kill Crime. He lives in Houston, Texas, with his wife of almost 40 years; they have two children. Mike also loves to play poker and do anything exciting. Learn more at mikeslavinauthor.com.

About Kill Crime: Former Green Beret and a two-war veteran, Jeff Case is now rich and has it all. But people he loved were murdered in a robbery and he vowed revenge when the police couldn’t catch the killers. More murders, more complications, and the revenge list kept growing. Plus, there is the backdrop of a book in a book.

The fictional book in the novel is a best seller, and it tells everyday people how to help society by going out and just killing a bad guy. This Crime Thriller takes place in Houston, Vegas, Reno, and a couple of small Texas towns with flashbacks in West Point, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The settings are in the oil industry, private investigators, drugs, thugs, murder, the police, and no limit Texas Holdem poker. Case and his friends are a force to be reckoned with. You’ll feel like you’re pulling the trigger. It’s an exciting and fast ride.

About Wrong Kill: What could go wrong when you put together the DEA, the cartel, serial killers, a war dog named Happy, war heroes, a PI, everyday people, vigilantes, human trafficking, and an old jet pilot named Ace? And that’s not all. There is not a single wasted page in his story. The twists and turns start early and keep going.

The story starts with an ambush going wrong. In the Vegas desert, Jeff Case, and his team, help the DEA ambush a Cartel leader, Zorro. A big shootout creates all kinds of unintended consequences. The wrong man was killed, and now Zorro vows to kill Case and everyone involved. The chase begins, people killed, and family members kidnapped, leading to a below-the-radar private jet taking Case and his team into the jaws of death in Mexico to fight the cartel on their home turf. Two serial killers, separately, move into the story for different reasons. Who are they, and what are they all about? You won’t be able to predict it. One of them runs into Zorro’s wife, Rosa. Tons of action takes all over from the cities of Las Vegas, Houston, and Boston, the states of Colorado, Louisiana, Texas, and New Mexico, and Chihuahua Mexico. Where you find bad guys, you’ll find Jeff Case and his team taking out the trash.

About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host, Jeffrey James Higgins: A retired supervisory special agent who writes thrillers, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays, Jeff has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor. CNN, National Geographic, and The New York Times have interviewed Jeffrey. Learn more: jeffreyjameshiggings.com

Find more of Elaine’s Literary Salon events here. And check back for new episodes of Elaine’s Literary Salon on Inkandescent.tv and listen to all the podcasts on InkandescentRadio.com.

Elaine’s Literary Salon

About Elaine’s:  A menu filled with delicious modern Mediterranean cuisine selections is sure to please everyone in your party. The dishes are based on exquisite food found in Alexandria, Egypt — a combination of Middle Eastern and French, Greek, and Italian influences. Elaine’s is named for the owner’s grandmother and is based on a promise she made at the age of 12, growing up in Cairo. “I promised my grandma I would someday own a restaurant and name it after her,” shares Cynthia, who is also an author. She and her husband, bestselling thriller novelist Jeffrey James Higgins, are proud to share my family’s recipes with new friends and families in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.” Located in an 1880s building, it was the previous home for 38 years of the beloved bistro Bilbo Baggins. The newly renovated restaurant is located in the heart of Old Town’s Historic District, within sight of the Potomac River and Founders Park, just a few blocks from The Torpedo Factory Art Center and Old Town Alexandria Waterfront. Make a reservation today: elaines-restaurant.com.

Welcome to ElainesLitearySalon.com!

Bibliophiles will love this new show — live from the popular bistro Elaine’s in Old Town, Alexandria VA. Our host is the restaurant’s owner, Jeffrey James Higgins, a prolific author who is on a mission to help his fellow writers share their stories. Check out the live Literary Salon events here. And check back for new episodes of Elaine’s Literary Salon on Inkandescent.tv and InkandescentRadio.com.

About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host Jeffrey James Higgins: By day, Jeff manages Elaine’s, the award-winning Alexandria, VA restaurant he opened with his wife Cynthia in 2022. A retired supervisory special agent who writes thrillers, short stories, creative nonfiction, and essays, Jeff has wrestled a suicide bomber, fought the Taliban in combat, and chased terrorists across five continents. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Heroism and the DEA Award of Valor.

He has been interviewed by CNN, National Geographic, and The New York Times. He’s a #1 Amazon bestselling author with 21 literary awards, including the Claymore Award, PenCraft’s Best Fiction Book, and a Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal. He has been a panelist at ThrillerFest, Killer Nashville, Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity, and other conferences.

Black Rose Writing published his first three novels, FURIOUS, UNSEEN, and THE FOREVER GAME. Severn River Publishing has acquired Jeffrey’s forthcoming Nathan Burke espionage series. Jeffrey is an active member of the Authors Guild, the Virginia Writers Club, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, and the Royal Writers Secret Society. He’s represented by Jackson Keeler at Inkworks. Learn more about Jeff’s books: JeffreyJamesHiggins.com.

Click here to check out Jeff’s affordable book writing services to help authors everywhere make their book publishing dreams come true. 

And meet the PR Director for Elaine’s Literary Salon, InkandescentPR.com’s founder, Hope Katz Gibbs. With her team of award-winning journalists, illustrators and video producers, they help writers up their PR and marketing game with professionally produced podcasts on InkandescentRadio.com, the video version on Inkandescent.tv, a strong social media push, and more! Learn more: InkandescentPR.com.

Upcoming Podcasts

September 15, 2026Elaine's Literary SalonMeet Wolf Bahren (aka Kristi Bahrenburg Janzen) for brunch on Sept. 6 when she brings her new book to Elaine’s Literary Salon: “The Secessionist’s Wife”September 27, 2026Elaine's Literary SalonTanya Stokes is bringing “The Woman I’m Becoming” to Elaine’s Literary Salon — Your transformation starts here!September 29, 2026Elaine's Literary SalonComing to the Elaine’s Literary Salon show: A.D. Metcalfe, VP of the Cape Cod Writers Center and producer for Books and the World, gives us Johnny Alvarez, a precocious young runaway, who knows decay and lawlessness offer camouflage and opportunityOctober 1, 2026Elaine's Literary SalonComing soon to Elaine’s Literary Salon: Retired police officer, journalist, and author Mark Bergin, is bringing his “Apprehension” book series to Elaine’s!October 3, 2026Elaine's Literary SalonComing to Elaine’s Literary Salon, Oct. 3: Tonya Poindexter gets real with her new book, “The Aftermath — What Nobody Tells Black Women About Life After Divorce”October 13, 2026Elaine's Literary SalonComing soon to Elaine’s Literary Salon: Learn to demystify the often-intimidating world of pro-se litigation with Towanda Brown’s “Empowering Pro-Se Litigants,” a groundbreaking guide that illuminates the path of self-representation in legal mattersOctober 15, 2026Elaine's Literary SalonComing to Elaine’s Literary Salon: Author and former FBI Special Agent executive Katherine Schweit helps us learn how to Stop the Killing, talk to the dead, understand the second amendment, and talk about guns with anyone

MEET THE INKANDESCENT® RADIO TEAM

Hope Katz Gibbs, Founder & Executive Producer, InkandescentRadio.com

Brandi Wilsker-Merritt, Director of Podcasting

Nelson Benavides, Director of Videography

Max KukoyInkandescent Website Developer

Michael GibbsInkandescent Art Director

 

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