Harry F. Smith

Biography

Harry F. Smith grew up in the frozen wilderness of Jersey City, New Jersey and proudly claims to be a born and bred native, but only when it is to his financial advantage to do so.

After a brief career in the Navy stationed at the amphibious base at Little Creek, Virginia as a member of Beachmaster Unit Two, he attended California State University, Chico where he somehow managed to obtain a BS in Mathematics and a Master's in Computer Science. A glutton for punishment, he spent another year at the McCloud Institute of Simulation Sciences as a graduate assistant and was the first person to receive a Certificate of Achievement in Simulation Science from the Institute.

He also ate a lot of ramen noodles and drank many beers during this time.

After graduating from college, Harry needed to pay off his numerous school loans, so he worked as a software engineer on various defense industry projects. Most of them can't be talked about in public forums without filling out massive amounts of paperwork, but believe me, they involved some pretty cool stuff like lasers and bombs and small furry creatures from other planets.

During this time, he authored many boring technical documents and manuals, such as 'A Case Study of Constrained Nonlinear Optimization Methods' and 'A Thousand and One Ways to Properly Use Your Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO)'. None of these ever reached the New York Times Best Sellers list, although he did win a minor award for 'The Most Semicolon Usage in a Government Document.'

Having conquered the exciting world of software engineering, he finally caved into the voices that rattle around in his head as they commanded him to switch from writing computer code to mystery stories that concentrated on living, breathing people and the evil things that are done by them.

After a while, he started his own E-book publishing company, Like A Duck Publishing and wrote his first novel, 'The Chat Room Murders.'

He invented the character of John DelMonico, an ex-Jersey City detective who is recruited by a friend to join the newly formed National Cybercrime Investigation Agency. This was a bit of a stretch since John was quite possibly the most computer illiterate person ever born. Recently divorced form his childhood sweetheart, John moves out to Silicon Valley to start his life anew, taking his prized '66 Mustang to face the harsh San Jose traffic.

Since all good detective stories need at least one beautiful woman, he is teamed up with the gorgeous Terri O'Brien, a red headed, ex-FBI lawyer babe. A native of California, John soon learns that behind her green eyes lurks a fierce Irish temper. Being a Shaolin kung fu master, Terri quickly proves that she can hold her own in the male dominated world of criminal computer investigations.

Eugene Lee, a Chinese-American software engineer / computer nerd extraordinaire, rounds out the team.

John and Terri's exploits have spanned five novels so far. In each one, they manage to defeat the bad guys while they try to deny the building frisson that they feel for each other.

Lately, Harry has finished the latest story in the John DelMonico / Terri O'Brien detective series. Since there was a bit of a cliff hanger in 'The Hunting Club' , he wrote 'Shadow Of The Throwaways' to continue the story. Maybe this will be the one where John and Terri jump each others bones ...

Besides the John DelMonico / Terri O'Brien detective stories, Harry wrote 'The Peaceful Night', a story about a category five hurricane that smashes into Orlando, Florida and forces the people of an exclusive gated community to fend off starvation, a power hungry ex-mafioso don, alligators, a horny but brain dead mutt named Peepers and a psychotic killer who'll do anything to silence the voices in his head until help arrives.

He decided to make this story a FREE download because:
A) He is a kind and generous person.
B) He believes that authors should give something back to their fans.
C) Everybody kept bugging him for a freebie.

Since the statute of limitations for unspeakable past crimes has not yet expired in New Jersey, Harry now lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota year-round so that he can enjoy the snow, ice and freezing cold weather. His interests include listening to esoteric music, perfecting his vast barbecuing skills and devising new ways to scare small children, all the while fighting killer rabbits who are intent on eating the lush green lawn outside of his condo townhouse.

Where to find Harry F. Smith online

Books

I Hobot, Vol. 2: Another Anthology of Robot Love Stories
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 81,080. Language: English. Published: January 3, 2024 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories
'I Hobot, Vol. 2: Another Anthology of Robot Love Stories' depicts what the future could possibly hold for us concerning the advent of advanced artificial intelligence. As we relinquish more of our daily activities over to computers, it was only a matter of time that we develop machines that could substitute for a human in all our daily activities, including sex and love.
Night Of The Deadly Lotus
Series: John DelMonico/Terri O'Brien Detective Mysteries. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 76,650. Language: English. Published: September 26, 2019 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
The seventh story of the John DelMonico / Terri O'Brien series, John returns to his old neighborhood home in Jersey City after the death of Siobhan McKenna, his Irish girlfriend. Starting his own private detective agency, he and Terri run into both a Mafia hit man and a beautiful Chinese assassin, both intent on being the first to kill them.
I, Hobot: An Anthology of Robot Love Stories
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 71,000. Language: English. Published: October 29, 2018 . Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Short stories
'I, Hobot: An Anthology of Robot Love Stories' depicts what the future could possibly hold for us concerning the advent of advanced artificial intelligence. As we relinquish more of our daily activities over to computers, it was only a matter of time that we develop machines that could substitute for a human in all our daily activities, including sex and love.
Even Goddesses Need Clean Underwear
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 53,210. Language: English. Published: November 14, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Thriller & suspense » Psychological thriller
'Even Goddesses Need Clean Underwear' is a collection of 3 stories about love and madness. In 'Extended Vacation', a meek book publishing clerk takes over for his missing boss. 'Perfect Touch' tells the tale of Tony Harper, who discovers a laptop that allows his wildest dreams to come true. '6:06 To Sunnyvale' is a story about a man who literally bumps into his one true love on his train commute.
A Matter OF Trust
Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 94,290. Language: English. Published: June 8, 2016 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
NCIA agent John DelMonico finds himself undercover as a security officer in a Silicon Valley computer firm, investigating the breach of highly classified material by Chinese agents. As he burrows into the seedy world of industrial espionage, he must finally decide between the two loves of his life: Siobhan, a beautiful Irish chiropractor or Terri, his fiery, red headed partner.
Shadow Of The Throwaways
Series: John DelMonico/Terri O'Brien Detective Mysteries. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 100,590. Language: English. Published: December 1, 2014 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
In the fifth story of the John DelMonico / Terri O'Brien series, the NCIA agents take on an assignment to hunt down Mafia backed pornographers that have been exploiting young runaways for their films. Exposing themselves to the seamy side of the mob, they go undercover in Los Angeles, all the while sharing close quarters as they pose as a Mafia hit man and his girlfriend.
The Hunting Club
Series: John DelMonico/Terri O'Brien Detective Mysteries, Book 4. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 108,560. Language: English. Published: December 4, 2013 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
An erotic thriller, the fourth novel in the John DelMonico / Terri O'Brien detective series finds Terri leaving the safety of the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency to infiltrate a rogue group of hunters who have decided to swap out animal trophies for people while John reminisces about early life growing up on the mean streets of Jersey City.
The Prying Eye
Series: John DelMonico/Terri O'Brien Detective Mysteries, Book 3. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 64,480. Language: English. Published: August 1, 2012 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
This third novel in the John DelMonico/Terri O'Brien series finds them getting involved when the Director’s secretary, Mary Beth Harrington is blackmailed by a rogue Internet service provider technician. He gains entry to customer’s computers by tapping into their service and installing backdoor snooper programs. Not satisfied with blackmail, he begins a murderous spree that must be stopped.
Last One Standing
Series: John DelMonico/Terri O'Brien Detective Mysteries, Book 2. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 65,160. Language: English. Published: July 12, 2011 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
This second novel in the John DelMonico/Terri O'Brien series finds them traveling to Manhattan to investigate a pump and dump securities fraud scheme on Wall Street. As John reminisces about early life growing up on the streets of Jersey City, Terri grows close to someone connected to the case. Along the way they encounter Mafia hit men, fierce nuns and an even more dangerous ex-wife.
The Peaceful Night
Price: Free! Words: 118,130. Language: English. Published: December 30, 2010 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
(5.00 from 1 review)
A category five hurricane smashes into Orlando, Florida and forces the people of an exclusive gated community to fend off starvation, a power hungry ex-mafioso don, alligators, a horny but brain dead mutt named Peepers and a psychotic killer who'll do anything to silence the voices in his head until help arrives.
The Chat Room Murders
Series: John DelMonico/Terri O'Brien Detective Mysteries, Book 1. Price: $2.99 USD. Words: 124,500. Language: English. Published: August 23, 2010 . Categories: Fiction » Mystery & detective » General
In this erotic thriller, former Jersey City detective John DelMonico and his beautiful new partner Terri O'Brien confront unimaginable dangers from teenage hackers, roadside Mexican burritos, rapping white boys, sadistic lunch meat, mutilated stuffed animals, irate California drivers and finally, a pair of kinky, psychotic killers who use the Internet to hunt down and torture their victims.

Harry F. Smith's favorite authors on Smashwords

Tilly Andrews
Latest book: The Honey Keys - Book 2.
Published October 7, 2014.