SMFS Congratulates 2016 Agatha Award Winner and SMFS Member Art Taylor

SMFS Congratulates 2016 Agatha Award Winner and SMFS Member Art Taylor who won in the "Best Short Story" category with his tale, "Parallel Play" in the anthology Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning published by Wildside Press (April 2016).

You can read his winning story on his website here. 

In addition to Art Taylor, three other SMFS members were up for the "Best Short Story" Agatha Award. Those nominees were Barb Goffman, Edith Maxwell  and B. K.  Stevens.

Additionally, member Pam De Voe's book, Trapped: A Mei-hua Adventure was a finalist in the "Best Children/Young Adult" category.

Established in 1989, Malice Domestic™ is an annual fan convention in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area that celebrates the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie, containing no explicit sex, excessive gore, or violence. The 2016 Agatha Awards were given for materials first published in the United States by a living author during the calendar year 2016 (January 1-December 31), either in hardcover, as a paperback original, or e-published by an e-publishing firm.

Society Members' News: April 2017

The members below reported their publishing successes this month: 

Karen Abrahamson, Death By Effigy, Guardbridge Books (April 2017).

Michael Bracken, “Atonement” in Mystery Weekly Magazine (April 2017). Michael also has “Blossoming Romance” in True Story (April 2017) and “April Fools’ Day?” as well as “Bearded For My Pleasure,” and “The Wild Life’s Not For Me” in True Confessions (April 2017) and One Knight With the Swordsmith’s Daughter, Deep Desires Press (April 2017).

Sarah M. Chen, Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles Presents LAst Resort, Down and Out Books (April 2017).

Peter DiChellis, “Most Evil” in the anthology Busted! Arresting Stories from the Beat, Level Best Books (April 2017).

John Floyd, “Sand Hill,” in Gathering Storm Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 2: Collected Tales of the Dark, the Light, and Everything in Between (April 2017) and “Doctor in the House,” in Flash Bang Mysteries: Spring 2017.  Also out this month is his short story “The Red-Eye to Boston,” Horror Library, Vol. 6, Cutting Block Books (April 2017).

Debra H. Goldstein, “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place” in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: May/June 2017.

Martin Roy Hill, “The Other Enemy” in Devolution Z April 2017: The Horror Magazine (Volume 17).

Steve Liskow, "That's All Right, Mama" in the anthology Switchblade: Issue One (Volume 1), Caledonia Press (April 2017) and “Afternoon Delight” in the anthology Busted! Arresting Stories from the Beat, Level Best Books (April 2017).

Paul D. Marks, “Twelve Angry Days” in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: May/June 2017. Paul also advises that his short story, “Ghosts Of Bunker Hill” was the first place winner in the 2016 Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers poll. 

LD Masterson, “Annie Get Your Gun” in the anthology Busted! Arresting Stories from the Beat, Level Best Books (April 2017).

Ruth M. McCarty, “Becky’s File” in the anthology Busted! Arresting Stories from the Beat, Level Best Books (April 2017).

Alison McMahan, "The New Score" in Fish Out of Water: A Guppy Anthology, Wildside Press (March, 2017) and "The Drive By" in the anthology Busted! Arresting Stories from the Beat, Level Best Books (April 2017).

Carlos Orsi, “Bulls Eye” in Mystery Weekly Magazine: April 2017.

Mary Sutton writing as Liz Milliron, Charlaine Harris Presents Malice Domestic 12: Mystery Most Historical, Wildside Press (April 2017).

Victoria Weisfeld, “The Flock,” in the anthology Murder Among Friends: Mysteries Inspired by the Life and Works of John Greenleaf Whittier, Post Mortem Press (April 2017)  and  “Burning Bright” in the anthology Busted! Arresting Stories from the Beat, Level Best Books (April 2017).

When, and only when he makes the call onlist, email news for next month's post to SMFS President Kevin R. Tipple (KEVINRTIPPLE at VERIZON dot NET).

Final Day of Voting for the 2017 Derringer Nominees

Eligible SMFS members have been voting during the month of April. As set by the Derringer Coordinator, Dan Persinger, voting ends at 11:59 pm, EDT,  tonight. Dan will verify the votes on Sunday and prepare the winner announcement. Winner announcement comes Monday.

The 2017 Derringer Finalists

Derringer Awards Procedure

Update: As posted to the SMFS list from Derringer Coordinator Dan Persinger at 11:18 AM today:

"You can still cast your votes in this year's Derringers until 11:59PM ET tonight.

I will count, recount, and record the results tomorrow, and I will report the results to the membership by 8:00AM ET Monday morning. Those results will be official."

Edgar Award for Best Short Mystery

SMFS salutes author Lawrence Block on his win of the Edgar Award for Best Short Story. He won for his tale, "Autumn at the Automat" in the anthology In Sunlight or In Shadow. 

The full list of the 2017 Edgar Award Winners can be found at at the MWA website.

Catherine Dilts Reviews: Arson at Al's Auto Parts by Kate Fellowes

Catherine Dilts Reviews:  Arson at Al's Auto Parts by Kate Fellowes

Slow Beginnings and Lines of Action by Art Taylor

 Slow Beginnings and Lines of Action by Art Taylor

Guest Post: (SOME) OF MY WRITING SECRETS by Jan Christensen

For this last Monday in April, we have a special guest post from our former President, Jan Christensen. This is the first of what will be quite a number of informative posts from Jan about writing and tips she has come up with over the years.

(SOME) OF MY WRITING SECRETS by Jan Christensen

I write "by the seat of my pants." If I outline, which I dislike doing in the first place, I lose interest in writing the story--it's like reading a book for the second time immediately after you just read it for the first time.

Boring!

But I've found out after writing several novels and lots of short stories, that there are some tricks that can help me with both character AND plot.

So, what I do now is think of several characters and start writing. After a while, I probably know what they do for a living, what they look like and some tiny bit about their personalities.

But I need more. I need to know their secrets. The sooner I know their secrets, the more I can ratchet up the conflict and tension for them. Because of course, they don't want anyone else to know their secrets, so they'll often do things than are unreasonable to keep them.

Each character also needs to be motivated by something. And then I have the fun of putting obstacles in her way to creative tension and conflict there, too.

So, two important ways to help yourself have interesting characters your readers will care about is to give each one (even many of the minor characters) a secret or two, and something they want badly.  It could be that what they want badly is to hide their secret.

It's up to you when to divulge the secrets. Often it's best to wait a while to do that, but other times it's good for the reader to know almost right away because it explains why the character acts as she does. And it's always delicious, isn't it, to be in on other people's secrets?

Jan Christensen ©2017

Jan Christensen lives in Corpus Christi, Texas, and has had nine novels and over seventy short stories published. www.janchristensen.com

Little Big Crimes Review: Double Slay by Joseph D'Agnese

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Robert Mangeot

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SleuthSayers: The Little Engine That Couldn't: Writers and Self-Doubt

SleuthSayers: The Little Engine That Couldn't: Writers and Self-...: by John M. Floyd Confidence is a wonderful, magical thing, when applied to creative endeavors. It can sustain us in good times and bad,...

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Victoria Weisfeld

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Hilary Davidson

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Catherine Dilts Reviews: Atonement by Michael Bracken

Catherine Dilts Reviews: Atonement by Michael Bracken

Little Big Crimes Review: Game, Set, Match, by Zoe Burke

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Doug Allyn

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Bruce Arthurs

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Bruce Arthurs

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Meg Opperman

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Meg Opperman

Passport to Murder Anthology Authors

Congratulations to all the selected authors.

The anthology will be published on October 12, 2017.  The anthology will be available for pre-order in the summer of  2017. Details will be posted on Twitter/Facebook/this page with details as they become available.

Passport to Murder Anthology Authors

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist B.K. Stevens

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist B.K. Stevens

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Linda Barnes

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Linda Barnes

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Catherine Dilts

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Catherine Dilts

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Travis Richardson

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Travis Richardson

Catherine Dilts Reviews: Low Tide at Tybee in the Low Country Crime Anthology

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist R.T. Lawton

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Herschel Cozine

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Herschel Cozine

Little Big Crimes Review: Bleak Future by Mitch Alderman

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Billy Kring

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Terrie Farley Moran

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Terrie Farley Moran

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Hilde Vandermeeren

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SleuthSayers: The 2017 Agatha Short Story Nominees

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Craig Faustus Buck

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Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Joseph D'Agnese

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Joseph D'Agnese

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist O'Neil De Noux

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist O'Neil De Noux

The SMFS at Malice Domestic 29 (April 28-30, 2017)

Established in 1989, Malice Domestic™ is an annual fan convention in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area that celebrates the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie, containing no explicit sex, excessive gore, or violence.

Malice Domestic 29 (April 28- 30) sees four SMFS members up for the Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Those member nominees are:

“The Best-Laid Plans” by Barb Goffman in Malice Domestic 11: Murder Most Conventional (Wildside Press)

“The Mayor and the Midwife” by Edith Maxwell in Blood on the Bayou: Bouchercon Anthology 2016 (Down & Out Books)

“The Last Blue Glass” by B.K. Stevens in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

“Parallel Play” by Art Taylor in Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning (Wildside Press)

Additionally, member Pam De Voe's book, Trapped: A Mei-hua Adventure is a finalist in the Best Children/Young Adult category.

Member Jay Hartman, editor of our 2015 first SMFS-member anthology, Flash and Bang, has confirmed that bookseller Mystery Loves Company will have copies for sale at the convention. Members with stories in the anthology are strongly encouraged to go by and sign the sale copies as well as spread the word that the anthology is present for sale.

Member Terrie Farley Moran also has set up a get together during the convention for SMFS attendees and family/friends. The location this year is the Bar of the Daily Grill (a restaurant in the hotel) at 5:30 on Friday, April 28, 2017.

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Libby Cudmore

Gerald So Interviews 2017 Derringer Finalist Libby Cudmore

Little Big Crimes Review: Just Like In The Movies by Kate Thornton

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2017 Derringer Finalists

As posted to the SMFS list by Derringer Coordinator Dan Persinger, these are the finalists for 2017. Eligible SMFS members vote April 1-29, 2017. Winners will be announced on May 1, 2017.

For Best Flash (up to 1,000 words)

"Aftermath" by Craig Faustus Buck (Flash Bang Mysteries, Spring 2016)

"The Phone Call" by Herschel Cozine (Flash Bang Mysteries, Summer 2016)

"A Just Reward" by O'Neil De Noux (Flash Bang Mysteries, Winter 2016)

"The Orphan" by Billy Kring (Shotgun Honey, March 18, 2016)

"An Ill Wind" by R.T. Lawton (Flash Bang Mysteries, Spring 2016)

For Best Short Story (1,001 to 4,000 words)

"Beks and the Second Note" by Bruce Arthurs  (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, December 2016)

The Way They Do It in Boston by Linda Barnes (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2016)

"YOLO" by Libby Cudmore (BEAT to a PULP, May 2016)

The Woman in the Briefcase by Joseph D'Agnese (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2016)

The Lighthouse by Hilde Vandermeeren trans. from Flemish by Josh Pachter (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2016)

For Best Long Story (4,001 to 8,000 words)

"Swan Song" by Hilary Davidson (Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns ed. Eric Beetner, Down & Out Books, April 2016)

"Effect on Men" by O'Neil De Noux, (The Strand Magazine, Issue XLVIII, Feb-May 2016)

"The Cumberland Package" by Robert Mangeot (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May 2016)

"Murder Under the Baobab" by Meg Opperman (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, November 2016)

"Breadcrumbs" by Victoria Weisfeld (Betty Fedora Issue Three: Kickass Women In Crime Fiction, September 2016)

For Best Novelette (8,000 to 20,000 words)

"Coup de Grace" by Doug Allyn (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2016)

"The Chemistry of Heroes" by Catherine Dilts (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May 2016)

"Inquiry and Assistance" by Terrie Farley Moran (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January/February 2016)

"The Educator" by Travis Richardson (44 Caliber Funk: Tales of Crime, Soul, and Payback ed. Gary Phillips and Robert J. Randisi, Moonstone, December 2016)

"The Last Blue Glass" by B.K. Stevens (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, April 2016)