Saturday, June 30, 2018

SMFS Members Published In Mystery Weekly Magazine: July 2018


Three members of the SMFS have stories in the Mystery Weekly Magazine: July 2018 issue available from the publisherAmazon, and elsewhere.  They are:

Peter DiChellis for “Locked Tight.”

Jim Doherty for “Cap Device.”

Rosemary McCracken for “Black Bear Country.”

SleuthSayers: 100 and Counting by by John M. Floyd

SleuthSayers: 100 and Counting: by John M. Floyd A few weeks ago I reached a milestone, of sorts: I sold my 100th story to Woman's World magazine. Allow me to m...

Writers Who Kill: On Writing Fast by Maddie Day (Edith Maxwell)

Writers Who Kill: On Writing Fast by Maddie Day (Edith Maxwell): My name is Maddie (and Edith), and I write fast. There, I’ve said it! But it’s true. Why do I write fast, and how can I? Long ago I r...

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Joseph D'Agnese

SMFS Short Story Saturdays was born out of the very successful International Short Story Month this year. Each Saturday we feature a SMFS list member whose work can be read online for free. These short stories are at least a year old and were not previously linked to during the May 2018 Short Story Month event.


Today for SMFS Short Story Saturdays, Joseph D'Agnese shares the short story “Wood Man” archived at Shotgun Honey.


If you would like to be included and are a member of the SMFS list at yahoo groups, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net. If you are not a member, this would be a good time to check us out at Yahoo Groups.




Wednesday, June 27, 2018

SMFS Member Publication News: Carolyn A. Rowland


SMFS Member Carolyn A. Rowland’s short story, “Beach Body” appears online at TOUGH. You can read it here.


Catherine Dilts Reviews: Short Story Reviews

Catherine Dilts Reviews: Short Story Reviews 

SMFS Member Publication News: John M. Floyd


SMFS Member John M. Floyd has had two stories published this month in Woman’s World Magazine. The stories are:

“Fun and Games” in the June 11th issue.

“Runaway Bouquet” in the June 25th issue.

Mr. Floyd also says he will have at least one story out next month in the publication that is available on some newsstands and by subscription.

Little Big Crimes Review: Hateful in the Eyes of God by Eric Rutter

Little Big Crimes: Hateful in the Eyes of God, by Eric Rutter: "Hateful in the Eyes of God," by Eric Rutter, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, July/August 2018. This is a terrific s...

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

The First Two Pages: “English 398: Fiction Workshop” by Art Taylor

The First Two Pages: “English 398: Fiction Workshop” by Art Taylor

SMFS Member Publication News: Jim Doherty


Jim Doherty’s first novel, AN OBSCURE GRAVE, is now out in eBook and trade paperback formats with the hardback coming very soon. Available from the publisher, as well as Amazon and elsewhere, it features Dan Sullivan, who first came to fictional life by way of several short stories.


Amazon Synopisis:

A beautiful victim. An elusive criminal. A part time policeman. Three pieces of the mystery that is Jim Doherty's AN OBSCURE GRAVE.

Dan Sullivan, UC Berkeley undergrad and part-time cop, is working the tip-line for a missing-persons case that is getting national attention. DeeDee Merryweather, beautiful Cal co-ed, has disappeared. The prevailing theory is that she's been abducted. But one of the tipsters, an anonymous caller claiming psychic powers, believes it's a murder, because, she says, she's sensed DeeDee's corpse buried in a makeshift tomb.

If she's right, the Berkeley Police and the FBI are on the wrong track. But will a part-time reservist be able to put them on the right one that leads to DeeDee's obscure grave? And, from there, to her killer?

Jim Doherty, author of JUST THE FACTS: TRUE TALES OF COPS AND CRIMINALS, crafts a challenging mystery within this spot on police procedural. An Obscure Grave, his first novel, was a finalist for a CWA Debut Dagger Award, competing with hundreds of entries from all over the world.

Saturday, June 23, 2018

SMFS Members Published in the A Wink And A Smile Anthology


Two members have short stories in the anthology, A Wink And A Smile, published by Smoking Pen Press. The book is part of their Read On The Run Anthology Series and features romance stories of various types. The book is available at Amazon in both print and eBook formats and elsewhere. The two members with stories in the book are:


Michael Bracken with “Too Close To School.”


Jacqueline Seewald with “The Man Who Didn’t Like Children.”


SMFS Members Published In Alfred Hitchock Mystery Magazine: July/August 2018

Four members of the SMFS have stories in the Alfred Hitchock Mystery Magazine: July/August 2018 issue. They are:

Kevin Egan for “The Movie Lover.”

Robert S. Levinson for “Nine Years Later.” The passing of Mr. Levinson is noted at the end of his story as well as the fct that Mr. Levinson won a Derringer award for his 2008 story, “The Quick Brown Fox.”

Robert Mangeot for “Book of Hours.”

Josh Pachter for “Not My Circus.”

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Kaye George

SMFS Short Story Saturdays was born out of the very successful International Short Story Month this year. Each Saturday we feature a SMFS list member whose work can be read online for free. These short stories are at least a year old and were not previously linked to during the May 2018 Short Story Month event.


Today for SMFS Short Story Saturdays, Kaye George shares a short story that won First Place in the “Murder and Mayhem at a Writer’s Conference Contest” by Mysterical-E back in 2008. The story is “Retransformation.”


If you would like to be included and are a member of the SMFS list at yahoo groups, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net. If you are not a member, this would be a good time to check us out at Yahoo Groups.

Sunday, June 17, 2018

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 5

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 5

SMFS Member Nominees for the 2018 Macavity Awards

The Macavity Award is named for the “mystery cat” of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats). Each year The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International, subscribers to Mystery Readers Journal, and friends and supporters of MRI who all nominate and vote for their favorite mysteries in four categories. The winners will be announced at opening ceremonies at Bouchercon in St. Petersburg, Florida in September.


This year we have five members of the Short Mystery Fiction Society nominated in the category of Best Short Story. The nominees are:


Craig Faustus Buck for “As Ye Sow” in the anthology, Passport to Murder: Bouchercon Anthology 2017, published by Down & Out Books.

Terence Faherty for “Infinite Uticas” in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine: May/June 2017.

Barf Goffman for “Whose Wine is it Anyway” in the anthology, 50 Shades of Cabernet published by  Koehler Books.

Paul D. Marks for “Windward” in the anthology, Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, published by Down & Out Books.

Art Taylor for “A Necessary Ingredient” in the anthology, Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea, published by Down & Out Books.


The full list of all the 2018 Macavity Award Nominees can be found on the website. Congrats and good luck to all the nominees and especially to those members of the SMFS!

Saturday, June 16, 2018

V. S. Kemanis: 7 Stories in 7 Sentences: Crime Fiction Review

V. S. Kemanis: 7 Stories in 7 Sentences: Crime Fiction Review

SMFS Short Story Saturday: Mo Walsh

SMFS Short Story Saturdays was born out of the very successful International Short Story Month this year. Each Saturday we feature a SMFS list member whose work can be read online for free. These short stories are at least a year old and were not previously linked to during the May 2018 Short Story Month event.


Today for SMFS Short Story Saturdays, Mo Walsh offers “Breaking Point” archived at Spinetingler Magazine as well as “The Night Clerk” archived over at Flash Bang Mysteries: Winter 2016.


If you would like to be included and are a member of the SMFS list at yahoo groups, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net. If you are not a member, this would be a good time to check us out at Yahoo Groups.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

Bookbrowsing Blog: The Multi-Author Series, Old and New by Catherine Dilts

Bookbrowsing Blog: The Multi-Author Series, Old and New by Catherine Dilts

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Jake Devlin

SMFS Short Story Saturdays was born out of the very successful International Short Story Month this year. Each Saturday we feature a SMFS list member whose work can be read online for free. These short stories are at least a year old and were not previously linked to during the May 2018 Short Story Month event.


Today for SMFS Short Story Saturdays, Jake Devlin offers the short story “Think Fast” from his site archives as well as the audio file, “A Caregiver’s Lament.”  


If you would like to be included and are a member of the SMFS list at yahoo groups, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net. If you are not a member, this would be a good time to check us out at Yahoo Groups.

Friday, June 8, 2018

SMFS Member Publication News: Travis Richardson

SMFS Member Travis Richardson has a new story at Shotgun Honey. The satirical short story “Safer Campuses” can be read here.

SMFS Member Publication News: O'Neil De Noux


SMFS Member O'Neil De Noux latest novel featuring New Orleans Private Eye Lucien Caye is DAME MONEY

From the author:


Lucien Caye stories have won the Short Mystery Fiction Society DERRINGER AWARD and the Private Eye Writers of America SHAMUS AWARD. Two Caye novels were also finalists for a SHAMUS in 2016 and 2017. 

The cases come quickly this time around – 
1. Catch a cat burglar too slick for the police to catch. 
2. Look into the case of a dipso business man accused of murder. 
3. Help a teary-eyed woman solve the murder of her uncle. 
4. Take a pro-bono case of vandals terrorizing a nearby neighborhood. 

All this while juggling a home life that includes raising an 8-year old daughter on his own and romancing an alluring, auburn-haired, doe-eyed beauty, with frequent interruptions from a rambunctious kitten. 

“You brought a date?” the police lieutenant asks as Lucien is joined by his new operative, the same alluring beauty named Alizée – who uses her sharp mind to get the facts and wears a sexy sarong to get closed-mouth men to talk. 

It’s not easy being Lucien Caye. Yet, if anyone can solve these mysteries, he’s the man. Threats, gunplay, police corruption, sex and violence – New Orleans style – inexorably draws Lucien to the chilling secret of Dame Money

DAME MONEY is available as a trade paperback and eBook at Amazon.

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Guest Post: The Mentoring Impact of Simple Acts of Kindness by Debra H. Goldstein


Please welcome SMFS list member Debra H. Goldstein to the blog today…

  
The Mentoring Impact of Simple Acts of Kindness by Debra H. Goldstein


A few months ago, I wrote a Writers Who Kill blog, “Mentors for a Reason, Season or a Lifetime,” talking about the impact people who come into our lives for an ongoing or short period of time may have. The recent death of SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and his presence at a book signing made me think more about what I, as an author and a person, learned from Mike, B.K. Stevens, and Bill Crider that will stay with me for a lifetime.



I enjoy sports, but my blood doesn’t run crimson like my husband’s nor do I share his excitement at the signed picture of Nick Saban on our den wall. Consequently, I had little to no idea what being the commissioner of the SEC entailed. All I knew was that because I enjoyed meeting and spending time with Mike Slive’s wife, it seemed natural to make plans for the four of us to go out for dinner. During that first dinner, I was impressed by Mike’s intelligence, kindness and sense of humor. As time went on, I understood the skills necessary to juggle the pressures and constant demands required to take a league mired in NCAA violation allegations and turn it into a well-watched sports powerhouse whose revenue went from $96 million to $455.8 million. I also saw how Mike interacted with his family and volunteered his time and name for charity, including the creation of the Mike Slive Foundation for Prostate Cancer Research. Mike was a busy man.


That was why, at my first book signing, I was blown away when I looked up and saw Mike waiting in line for me to autograph three copies of my book. It meant something to me that he’d taken the time to pencil my personal event onto his calendar of activities. For Mike to say no to other activities to share in the excitement of a mere acquaintance spoke volumes about the man and how he viewed his priorities. This was a man who valued people. That it was reciprocal was obvious by the standing room only crowd at Mike’s funeral, as well as the many television and print tributes to him. Mike’s willingness to support others, even when it probably wasn’t convenient, is a lesson I won’t forget.



After reading “Thea’s First Wife,” I wrote my first fan e-mail to author B.K. Stevens. In the e-mail, I expressed my awe at the story and asked if she taught internet writing classes. She didn’t, but she wrote me a detailed note of things I should read and could do. We became friends. She was one of a group of people who encouraged me to have the guts to submit my work to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen. The last time we were together, before her untimely death, was at 2017’s Malice conference when the new Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine issue provided to every attendee featured my story, “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place.” A few weeks after the conference, I received a package from Bonnie which contained several copies of the issue and a note telling me she knew I’d want extra copies because it was my first AHHM story and because, in her mind, “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place” was an award-winning story. Her words alone were award enough, but I wish she could know other writers and readers agree with her – “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place” has been named both a 2018 Agatha and Anthony nominee.

Bonnie, or B.K., was only in my life for a few years, but reading her works taught me technique. Personally, she instilled confidence in me. Both things, and the hope of emulating her willingness to help other writers, will keep her with me for a lifetime.


When I was assigned to a panel with Bill Crider, my impression was of what an unassuming guy he was. His bio said he’d been a teacher and the calm way he came across belied that fact. Thinking he was a nice Joe, I invited him to write a guest post for my personal blog, “It’s Not Always a Mystery.” He agreed. A few months before his post was scheduled, another friend called to say my blog was cited in his Ellery Queen column as one that lived up to its name – it offered thoughts on writing and general life from Debra H. Goldstein and her friends.



The week I wrote to remind him his promised piece was coming due, he responded he was appreciative of the reminder and would dash something off that day because he was going into the hospital for some testing the next day. I offered to forget his piece, but he wanted to fulfill his obligation. He sent me an excellent piece on writing, which I received while he was undergoing the tests that diagnosed his cancer. I printed the piece that week and reprinted it the week he announced that the doctors advised him the treatments were no longer working and he should enter hospice. (http://www.debrahgoldstein.com/guest-blogger-bill-crider-write-novel/ ) I can reread Bill’s lesson on writing and look at the mention in his column where, unsolicited from me, he gave my writing career a vote of confidence, but it was reading his posts about the VBKs and seeing how he handled himself during his final months that left an impact. Bill was humble, a gentle man and a gentleman. Again, an individual who came into my life for a reason, season, and a lifetime.


The writing world is filled with mentors. Some are readers, some writers. They don’t necessarily take inexperienced authors under their wings and teach particular skills, but the way they act, treat others, and live their lives leaves an impact in small and large ways that last a lifetime. I bet you, too, have had mentors make a lasting difference for you.


Debra H. Goldstein ©2018



2018 Anthony and Agatha Short Story Nominee Debra H. Goldstein is the author of Should Have Played Poker and IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. One Taste Too Many, the first book of her new Kensington Sarah Blair series will be in stores on December 18, but is available for pre-order now. For more information about Debra, check out www.DebraHGoldstein.com .

Saturday, June 2, 2018

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Nik Morton

StoryADay.org proclaimed May International Short Story Month back in 2013. As the short story, in the mystery genre, is the reason why the Short Mystery Fiction Society exists, we join in the celebration each year. We do so by highlighting the stories of one or more members each day. This year our celebration went from May 1st to June 1 and featured 39 stories by 31 authors.


The event this year was incredibly successful and garnered a lot of interest by membership and nonmembers. So much so that the SMFS membership has decided to keep the momentum going by way of a new feature. SMFS Short Story Saturdays will highlight each Saturday at least one short story from a SMFS list member that can be read online and for free. These short stories will be stories that are at least a year old and were not previously linked to during the May 2018 Short Story Month event.


Today, one of our newest members, Nik Morton, shares the short story “Grave Concerns” from the author’s archives. This short story kicks off our SMFS Short Story Saturdays feature that will continue for many more weeks to come.


If you would like to be included and are a member of the SMFS list at yahoo groups, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net. If you are not a member, this would be a good time to check us out at Yahoo Groups.


(Big time thanks to our graphics and computer wizard, Gerald So, who created the new graphic seen above).

Friday, June 1, 2018

SMFS MEMBERS published in Fiction River: WISHES


Four SMFS members appear in the just released WISHES issue of  Fiction River: An Original Anthology Magazine. The issue (number 28) is available in digital format with the paper format coming soon from  WMG Publishing  as well as Amazon and other vendors.


The published members are:

Dayle Dermatis for “Family, Fair and True.”

Diana Deverell for “Turquoise Trail.” (Diana’s work also appeared in the previous issue, JUSTICE).

Jamie Ferguson for “Twin Wishes.”

Robert T. Jeschonek for “Granted.” (Robert’s work also appeared in the previous issue, JUSTICE).


Synopsis:

Forget the old adage that cautions against wishing. The sixteen stories in this latest Fiction River contain just the right amount of heart, magic, pathos, and even hope. From a daughter hoping to save her father with a crash-course in wishery to an unfortunate victim at the wrong end of someone else’s wish, these stories show teens trying to wish away their problems—with often unexpected results. But no matter the dilemma, this volume of Fiction River promises to lift your spirits and remind you just how much magic the universe offers.

Short Story Month Bonus: Lisa Clarfella

StoryADay.org proclaimed May International Short Story Month back in 2013. As the short story, in the mystery genre, is the reason why the Short Mystery Fiction Society exists, we join in the celebration each year. 


The SMFS spin on festivities is to highlight one or more members' online stories per day. Today, Lisa Clarfella shares two stories as a bonus to Short Story Month and to start your June off right. She shares “Last Night’s Lift” archived at Near To The Knuckle as well as “Karmic Catastrophe"  archived at Out Of The Gutter Online.


If you would like to be included, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net.