SleuthSayers: Where's a Grammar Cop When You Need One? by John M. Floyd

SleuthSayers: Where's a Grammar Cop When You Need One?: by John M. Floyd I doubt the Grammar Police are always pleased with me. I make a lot of mistakes, stylewise, in my fiction writing. Som...

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Kevin Eagan

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 we have something a little different. Instead of the normal online story to read, Kevin Eagan shares “The Heist” by way of a podcast archived at Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. It comes from the July/August 2016 issue.

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.

Little Big Crimes Review: There's an Alligator in my Purse by Paul D. Marks...

Little Big Crimes: There's an Alligator in my Purse, by Paul D. Marks...: "There's an Alligator in my Purse," by Paul D. Marks, in Florida Happens , edited by Greg Herren, Three Rooms Press, 2018. ...

Catherine Dilts Reviews: Short Story Reviews - stand alone and series

Catherine Dilts Reviews:  Short Story Reviews - stand alone and series

SMFS Member Interviewed: Jacqueline Seewald

As posted by Jacqueline Seewald to our list... 

Hi,

Steve Moore writes an excellent blog. I'm pleased to say he has interviewed me and that interview is now posted on: 

http://stevenmmoore.com/interviewing-author-jacqueline-seewald/

I hope you will join us and leave a comment if you so choose.

Best,

Jacqueline Seewald

SleuthSayers: Not a Dry Eye in the House by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: Not a Dry Eye in the House: by Michael Bracken I cried. I screamed loud enough to be heard on the far side of the house. Then I cried. My reaction to the email ...

SMFS Member Publication News: James Blakey

SMFS list member James Blakey has informed the list that his short story, “The Bicycle Thief” has been published at The Norwegian American. The story can be read in is entirety for free here.

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 19

Per Peter DiChellis' message to our list... 

As usual, this week’s blog climbs onto to the rooftop and yowls at the moon for short mystery and crime fiction: links to free stories by Patti Abbott and Reed Farrel Coleman, reviews, releases, and more.

A short walk down a dark street (#19)

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2018/09/23/short-walk-19/

Best wishes,

Peter

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: MYSTERY AUTHOR SUSAN OLEKSIW ON THE SETTING FOR HE...

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: MYSTERY AUTHOR SUSAN OLEKSIW ON THE SETTING FOR HE...: Susan Oleksiw is the author of twelve mysteries in three series. Below the Tree Line is the first in the Pioneer Valley series. Her shor...

SMFS Member Publication News: John M. Floyd

SMFS list member John M. Floyd has another mystery story appearing in the Woman’s World Magazine. His latest mystery short story, “Half-Baked Plan” is in the current issue (October 1, 2018) of  Woman’s World Magazine. The publication is available on some newsstands and by subscription.

This is Mr. Floyd's 103rd published story in this market. Members are reminded that Mr. Floyd shared in his piece at SleuthSayers Blog how he goes about writing short stories for this market. Well worth reading, especially if you are looking to break into this market.

SMFS Members Published in Shhhh...Murder!

A number of SMFS list members are published in the just released anthology, Shhhh…Murder! Published by Darkhouse Books, the anthology is available in print and eBook from Amazon and features “Cozy Crimes in Libraries.” The SMFS list members that have reported their publication in the book are:

Michael Bracken with “Mr. Sugarman Visits the Bookmobile.”

David Goudsward writing as DG Critchley with “The Body in the Book Drop.”

Deborah Lacy with “Wuthering Stacks.” (Cowriter Pat Hernas). 

Linda Leszczuk writing as LD Masterson with “Drop Goes The Weasel.”

Josh Pachter with “DDS 10752 LIBRA.” (Cowriter John Lutz).

KM Rockwood with “Map To Oblivion.”

Jacqueline Seewald with “Ask a Librarian.”

Nupur Tustin with “The Christmas Stalker.”

Amazon Synopsis:

Cozy crimes in libraries!
Featuring stories by (in order of appearance):
Deborah Lacy & Pat Hernas, Michael Bracken, Warren Bull, Sharon Marchisello, Jacqueline Seewald, Anne-Marie Sutton, Aislinn Batstone, John Lutz & Josh Pachter, Jennie MacDonald, Gwenda R. Jensen, LD Masterson, Kate Fellowes, KM Rockwood, DG Crichley, Richard Lau, Janet Raye Stevens, Michael Brandon, Edward Ahern, Amy Ballard, Barbara Schlichting, M. M. Elmendorf, Nupur Tustin, Albert Tucher, Michael Guillebeau

SMFS Members Published in FLORIDA HAPPENS anthology

A number of SMFS members are published in the just released Florida Happens: Tales of Mystery, Mayhem, and Suspense from the Sunshine State anthology.  Published by Three Rooms Press in conjunction with Bouchercon 2018, the book is available in paperback and digital formats from Amazon and elsewhere. The SMFS list members that have reported their publication in the book are:

Patricia Abbott with “When Agnes Left The House.”

John Floyd with “Frontier Justice.”

Barb Goffman with “The Case of the Missing Pot Roast.”

Eleanor Cawood Jones with “All Accounted For at the Hooray for Hollywood Motel.”

Paul D. Marks with “There’s An Alligator in my Purse.”

Amazon Synopsis:

When it comes to Florida, no crime is too unusual and no criminal too peculiar to be impossible. Florida is the one state where fiction has to catch up to the headlines, and the contributors to FLORIDA HAPPENS: Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Suspense from The Sunshine State do not hold back!

Edited by award-winning author/editor Greg Herren, with an introduction by New York Times bestselling author Tim Dorsey, FLORIDA HAPPENS is a riveting anthology featuring some of the brightest stars of mystery writing. Published in conjunction with Bouchercon, the world's biggest mystery convention, this new anthology offers stories of pristine white sands and palm trees, snowbirds and theme parks, mangroves and manatees, pirates and policemen―from the redneck Riviera to the southernmost point of the United States. 

Jam-packed with stories from top authors, FLORIDA HAPPENS promises to surprise and thrill lovers of mystery and suspense. Included are classic tales from the legendary John D. MacDonald and Lawrence Block, plus fresh new fiction from bestselling mystery authors Susanna Calkins, Alex Segura, Brendan DuBois, Hilary Davidson, Reed Farrel Coleman, and Craig Pittman. The collection also includes thrilling new stories by top mystery writers Holly West, 
Paul D. Marks , Greg Herren, Debra Lattanzi Shutika, 
Jack Bates, Barb Goffman, Angel Luis Colon, 
J. D. Allan, Eleanor Cawood Jones, 
Neil Plakcy, Michael Wiley, 
John M. Floyd, and Patricia Abbott. 

A portion of the proceeds from the anthology will go to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that provides free books to children from birth to school age regardless of family income. A personal mission of Dolly Parton’s, the Imagination Library fosters literacy, a love of reading, and is meant to inspire children to succeed.

SMFS Member Publication News: Bob Petyo

Based in Sydney, Australia, Gypsum Sound Tales has published their second book in the Colp anthology line. As he was with the first book where his short story, “Past Mistakes” appeared, SMFS list member Bob Peyto has a short story in the new book. His short story, “Heaven’s Bar” appears in the just released, COLP: Sky’s The Limit. The book is available in print and eBook Formats.

Amazon Synopsis:

The sky has always fascinated me. The more I learn, the more questions I seem to have. Free radicals, refracting light, the knowledge that, if you travel high enough, everything will eventually give way to the blackness of space - each fact makes me more and more curious about what might be going on up there. There are stories wrapped up in this knowledge, plenty of stories… Colp's latest collection, Sky's The Limit, contains twelve of these tales. Each story presents a unique perspective on our atmosphere and the effect that it may have on the people living, day by day, on the land down below.

Under Cover of Midnight: A Midnight Ink Blog: Finding the Story for BELOW THE TREE LINE: A Guest...

Under Cover of Midnight: A Midnight Ink Blog: Finding the Story for BELOW THE TREE LINE: A Guest...: We welcome Susan Oleksiw, author of the new Below the Tree Line , the first book in the new Pioneer Valley Mystery Series, to Midnig...

Writers Who Kill: Is your butt-crack showing? by Warren Bull

Writers Who Kill: Is your butt-crack showing? by Warren Bull: Is your butt-crack showing? Image by rawpixel on Upsplash In the world of popular fashion, like most of us, I admire the saggy pa...

Jacqueline Seewald: How to Create Characters Readers Care About

Jacqueline Seewald: How to Create Characters Readers Care About: Readers need both an emotional and intellectual connection to fiction or they won’t continue reading. If this connection isn’t creat...

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Leslie Budewitz

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, Leslie Budewitz shares “The End Of The Line: A Father’s Day Mystery Short Story” archived at Kings River Life Magazine.

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.

SleuthSayers: Put Some Feeling Into It by Barb Goffman

SleuthSayers: Put Some Feeling Into It: by Barb Goffman Authors often hear the advice to write what you know. The advice is usually offered to make sure the author gets plot de...

Mysteristas Guest Post: Eleanor Cawood Jones

Mysteristas Guest Post: Eleanor Cawood Jones

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 18

Per Peter DiChellis' message to our list... 

This week’s blog delivers a medley of deadly choices in short mystery and crime fiction, including links to free stories at Over My Dead Body! and a review of three mystery shorts penned by the ingenious storyteller Roald Dahl. Plus lots, lots more.

A short walk down a dark street (#18)

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2018/09/16/short-walk-18/

Best wishes,

Peter

Little Big Crimes Review: Problems Aren't Stop Signs by Robert Mangeot

 Little Big Crimes: Problems Aren't Stop Signs, by Robert Mangeot: "Problems Aren't Stop Signs," by Robert Mangeot, in  Mystery Weekly Magazine, September 2018. This is Mangeot's fourt...

SleuthSayers: Spies and Secret Agents by O'Neil De Noux

SleuthSayers: Spies and Secret Agents: by O'Neil De Noux The subject of the latest  MYSTERY READER'S JOURNAL , the Journal of Mystery Readers International (Vol 34, No ...

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Debra H. Goldstein

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, Debra H. Goldstein shares “A Political Cornucopia” and “This is Where I Buried My Wives” from her page in the archives of the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.

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.

Guest Post: Carbon (Copy) Dating Your Work by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Please welcome SMFS list member Andrew Welsh-Huggins to our SMFS blog today….. 

Carbon (Copy) Dating Your Work

          Rare and envied is the writer who can sit down, compose, stand up and declare her creation complete, no editing necessary. Lee Child is said to do it with his Jack Reacher novels, beginning without fail on Sept. 1, the date he started writing his first novel in the series. “This is not the first draft,” he told biographer Andy Martin, who sat with Child as he wrote, Make Me, published in 2015. “It’s the ONLY draft.” Kurt Vonnegut was similarly known as a day-by-day polisher who didn’t do rewrites. For most of us—and especially me—we’re probably more in tune with the practice, if not the talent, of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who in the pre-computer era noted he needed a 500-sheet ream of paper to write a fifteen-page short story.

          When I first tried my hand at mystery writing, I revised the same draft over and over, always working off the same document. Although it was pleasing to reach the point where I was satisfied with the result, the journey was more discouraging than I thought necessary. More recently, I’ve developed a process that improves how I edit my work and allows me to track my draft-by-draft progress in a glass half-full fashion. Here’s how it works.

          The first thing I do when starting a piece of fiction is to name and date my work in progress, a la “WIP-Jan. 3, 2018.” The name might be the actual title once I’m finished, but more often than not is a place holder. (For several months, the most recent novel in my Andy Hayes private eye series carried the catchy title No. 6: it finally became Fatal Judgment the third or fourth draft along.)

          From there, I write from beginning to end without stopping to edit. Some dub this the vomit or rocket draft, but whatever you call it, it’s an approach I recommend. Just get the story down on paper, flaws, plot holes and inconsistencies be damned. For short fiction, it usually takes me anywhere from a week to ten days to complete a first draft. During that time, I work off the same document. First draft done, it’s time to follow the example of James Michener, who said, “I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter.”

          I open the original document, create a new one with a new date—“WIP-Jan. 13, 2018—and edit it from beginning to end. Finished, I close that draft and move onto something else until returning to the draft the next day. There’s no formula for how many edits you’ll end up with, though for me, perpetually anxious that my prose could be better, it’s usually a minimum of five. Long Drive Home, a story I published in July in Tough, took nine drafts—the first dated Dec. 15, 2017 (under a different title, The Tourists), the last May 18, 2018. This essay required six individually dated drafts over two weeks.

          I like this system because all those edits provide a point-in-time sense of accomplishment as I work my way through a story or novel. As I said, I find it disheartening to open the same document again and again during the editing process. For me, it’s hard to measure success except by the somewhat amorphous feeling that a draft seems to be getting better. By contrast, I’m bolstered each time I create a new document with a new date, since I have visual evidence of my progress—the literary equivalent of taking pictures of a home improvement project from beginning to end. And just as it’s rewarding to page through the photo album of that project, it’s satisfying to look back at my computer folder of work to see what happened, and got better, along the way.

          Could this system get out of hand? It’s possible. By my count, Garcia Marquez produced thirty-three drafts of a story under his approach. That’s a lot of individually dated files. These days, the ease of editing on a computer makes that many e-copies unlikely, but even if it doesn’t, there’s still an upside. Think what a goldmine you’re leaving behind for your own biographer.

Andrew Welsh-Huggins ©2018

Writer, reader, owner of too many pets. Recently asked for pancakes at Waffle House. Author of the Andy Hayes private eye mystery series, including The Third Brother. Winner, 2017 Al Blanchard Award for The Murderous Type, available in Snowbound anthology from Level Best Books.

Online: https://andrewwelshhuggins.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndyHayesMysteries/

Twitter: @awhcolumbus

Catherine Dilts Reviews: Short Story Reviews: Not Fall Yet

Catherine Dilts Reviews: Short Story Reviews: Not Fall Yet 

SMFS Member Publishing News: Paul R. Paradise

SMFS list member Paul R. Paradise reports that his short story “Crocodile Tears” appears in the The Story So Far (TSSF) Journal 1.5.  His story can be read online here or the entire issue can be downloaded here.

Bouchercon Recap & Crime Reads Roundtable by Art Taylor

Bouchercon Recap & Crime Reads Roundtable by Art Taylor

Little Big Crimes Review: Rozotica by R.M. Greenaway

Little Big Crimes: Rozotica, by R.M. Greenaway: "Rozotica," by R.M. Greenaway, in The Dame Was Trouble , edited by Sarah L. Johnson, Halli Lilburne, and Cat McDonald, Coffin Ho...

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 17

Per Peter DiChellis' message to our list....

This week’s blog serves up the hot stuff in short mystery and crime fiction, including links to a free story by the late, great Tom Piccirilli, and to story collections and writing tips from an assortment of legendary mystery and crime authors. Plus lots more.

A short walk down a dark street (#17)

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/short-walk-17/

Best wishes,

Peter

Behind the Story: “Problems Aren’t Stop Signs" by Robert Mangeot

Behind the Story: “Problems Aren’t Stop Signs" by Robert Mangeot

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: William Burton McCormick

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, William Burton McCormick shares “The Interpreter” archived at Over My Dead Body!

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.

Catherine Dilts Reviews: Short Story Reviews: Catching Up

Catherine Dilts Reviews: Short Story Reviews: Catching Up

SMFS Member Cathi Stoler—Bouchercon Panelist

As posted by Cathi to our SMFS list.... 

I'll be on The Mystery Machine--Amateur Crime Solving panel on Sunday morning at 8:00 am. It's early, but we'll be interesting. Delighted to be in such good company with authors Victoria Landis, Frankie Y. Bailey Edwin Hill, Naomi Hirahara and Tina Whittle. Hope you'll stop by. 

Cathi Stoler

SMFS Member Publishing News: Rusty Barnes

SMFS list member Rusty Barnes’s short story, “Ghost Road” appears in the just released Mystery Tribune Issue No. 6: Summer 2018. Currently available from the publisher in print format it most likely will soon be for sale on Amazon as well in print and digital formats.

SleuthSayers: Prolific Slacker by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: Prolific Slacker: by Michael Bracken When Brian Thornton described one project for which he wrote an average of 1,425 words/day (“ La Joie de l’Écriture ,...

SMFS Members on the Anthony Short Story Finalist Bouchercon Panel

Debra H. Goldstein has informed the list of her appearance on the Anthony Short Story Finalist Panel Friday at 1 PM. Though Jen Conley will not be attending the panel, SMFS members Hilary Davidson, Barb Goffman, and Art Taylor will be on the panel with Debra H. Goldstein. 

SMFS Member Joan Lipinsky Cochran—Bouchercon Panelist

As posted to our SMFS list.... 

Hi all,

I'm a bit of a stalker but do follow you all. If anyone attending Bouchercon is up early Sunday, I'll be moderating an 8 a.m. (ouch) panel on religion in mysteries. I'm looking forward to attaching faces to names at this, my first, Bouchercon conference.

Warm regards

Joan Lipinsky Cochran

SMFS Members Published in Blood Work: Remembering Gary Shulze Once Upon A Crime

The anthology, Blood Work: Remembering Gary Shulze Once Upon A Crime features thirty authors and that includes seven SMFS members.  Published by Down & Out Books and edited by Rick Ollerman, the book is available in print and digital formats from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The published SMFS list members in alphabetical order are:

Eric Beetner with “Return.”

Michael Bracken with “Blacklit.”

Gary R. Bush with “I’m With It: A Love Story.”

Jen Conley with “Melanie.”

Michael Mallory with “Message From a Dead Man.”

Gary Phillips with “The Funkafied Man.”

Lissa Marie Redmond with “Dead Man’s Blues.”

SMFS Member Publication News: Mark Troy

As Mark just posted to the SMFS list….

“There Is No Tom Waits” appears in the newsletter of The Ladderbird Agency. To read it, you have to sign up for the newsletter at http://Ladderbird.com. My story was one of four winners in a contest for stories based on the writing prompt, “There Is No Tom Waits.”

Mark Troy

The Splintered Paddle, an Ava Rome mystery

Now available in audio at Audible, iTunes, and Amazon

Http://marktroyauthor.com

SMFS Members Published in TOUGH: Crime Stories

Several SMFS members have been published in the just released anthology, TOUGH: Crime Stories. Currently it is only available in print from Amazon. The SMFS members in the anthology are:

Tom Barlow with “Leave the World a Better Place.”

Michael Bracken with  “Texas Hot Flash.”

Chris McGinley with “And They Shall Take Up Serpents.”

Court Merrigan with an opening excerpt from “Ruby Behemoth.”

Matt Phillips with “Working Overtime.”

Little Big Crimes Review: Rats by Tom Savage

Little Big Crimes: Rats, by Tom Savage: "Rats," by Tom Savage, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Mystery, September/October 2018. Are you familiar with the term logli...

SMFS Member Jim Doherty—Bouchercon Panelist

As posted by Jim Doherty to our SMFS list...

Starting my trip from Chicago to Florida tomorrow.

I'm on two panels, "Yin/Yang," about the difference between traditional/"cozy" and hard-boiled/noir. on Saturday at 1pm; and "Agents in Charge,":about police procedurals featuring federal cops, on Sunday at  9am.

I'm also one of the New Authors speaking at the " New Authors' Breakfast" on Friday at 8am.  Strictly speaking, I'm not a new author, but I am a first novelist.

Finally, I'm one of the authors doing the "Authors Speed Dating" on Saturday, at 8 am.

I'll be flogging An Obscure Grave (nothing but five star reviews on Amazon so far) at both the New Author's Breakfast and the Speed Dating event.

Bouchercon's gotten so big, it's possible for people to go and never cross paths, but I hope to see a lot of you there.  

JIM DOHERTY

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 16

Per Peter DiChellis' message to our list....

This week’s blog pours another straight shot of short mystery and crime fiction, including links to a summer of free Saturday stories from the SMFS blog and a review of an anthology edited by Bouchercon namesake Anthony Boucher (original release 1950, reissued 1985. A handful of copies are available from Amazon third party sellers). Plus lots more.

A short walk down a dark street (#16)

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2018/09/02/short-walk-16/

Best wishes,

Peter

SMFS Member David H. Hendrickson—Bouchercon Panelist

As posted by Dave to our SMFS list….

I'm really looking forward to being part of the "Across State Lines-- Writing Across Genres" Bouchercon panel. Since I'm all over the place in terms of genres I write in, this is a topic dear to my artistic heart.

Karen Olson will be moderating. Joining me on the panel will be Carla Neggers and Victoria Helen Stone. (Nancy Herriman was also on the panel, but will not be able to attend.)

The panel runs on Thursday afternoon at 4 pm. If you're there, stop by and say hi.

Dave also shares.... 

I wasn't going to post this here because it isn't specific to the mystery/crime genre. However, I've decided that if I'm on a Bouchercon panel about writing in multiple genres, it makes sense to post about my just-released, multi-genre short story collection, SHIMMERS AND LAUGHS: EIGHT WILDLY HILARIOUS TALES. I think you'll laugh your * off.

From a little blue fuzzy monster in a Casanova's pants... to a movie star wannabe raising money for her boob job.

From rival Key West female impersonators... to the wife of the Biblical King David.

From an Irishman with a unique challenge on St. Patrick's Day... to a borscht-belt-style comic in outer space.

Yeah, I find hilarity in the strangest of places.

Available in print from all the usual online stores and in all major ebook formats here:  books2read.com/shimmerslaughs

SMFS Member Joan Leotta Interviews John Raab, Editor of Suspense Magazine

SMFS Member Joan Leotta Interviews John Raab, Editor of Suspense Magazine

SMFS Members Published In Mystery Weekly Magazine: September 2018

Several SMFS list members have works appearing in the just released Mystery Weekly Magazine: September 2018 available in print and digital formats from the publisher, Amazon, and elsewhere. The SMFS members in this issue are:

John M. Floyd with “Lightning.”

Steve Liskow with “Teddy Baer’s Picnic.”

Robert Mangeot with “Problems Aren’t Stop Signs.”

Chris McGinley with “Coal Black Haint.”

Jude Roy with “The Money Mattress.”

Earl Staggs with ‘Doctored Justice.”