Friday, May 31, 2019

SMFS Members Published in The Desperate And The Damned: A Toe Six Anthology


Several SMFS members have short stories in the new book, The Desperate And The Damned: A Toe Six Anthology. Edited by SMFS member Sandra Ruttan and Brian Lindermuth, the read is available in both print and digital formats from Amazon and other vendors. The SMFS members in the book are:

Rusty Barnes with “Easy Tiger.”

Tracy Falenwolfe with “A Mother’s Love.”

Thomas Pluck with “Two To Tango.”

Travis Richardson with “I’ll Be You.”

Merrilee Robson with “Stealth.”


Amazon Synopsis:

A naughty old woman. A girl locked away. Men desperate for money. The people caught in the crossfire of other people’s lives as they implode. The Desperate and the Damned contains 14 stories that look at both sides of crime. There are the criminals, desperate for money or revenge or driven by their own desires. There are the victims, who suffer at the hands of others. Some get revenge, some get justice and some elude suspicion from anyone willing to take action. Others are damned from the first word, the ones who never could catch a break no matter how hard they tried. Justice is both served and denied throughout these pages, much as it is in real life. 

Whether it’s a naughty grandma heading out to find a guy to bring home to satisfy her desires, a mother struggling with mental illness, a guy about to lose his job who doesn’t know how he’ll pay the bills, each character is living on the edge of their existence, forced to extreme measures to right wrongs or survive. 

The only question is will they? 

Contributors: Patricia Abbott, Chris Barili, Rusty Barnes, Tracy Falenwolfe, Paul J. Garth, Allan Guthrie, Shannon Lawrence, Christa M. Miller, James Oswald, Thomas Pluck, Keith Rawson, Travis Richardson, Merrilee Robson, Benjamin Sobieck, and Mindy Tarquini,

Sunday, May 26, 2019

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 54

As posted by SMFS list member Peter DiChellis…

This week’s blog celebrates short mystery and crime fiction with links to a dangerous dose of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.
Includes reviews of the best mystery stories Robert Lopresti read during the past few weeks. Plus: A real-world police detective reveals ten traps that could kill your fictional detective.
A short walk down a dark street (#54). What’s fresh, what’s famous, and what’s fiendish in short mystery and crime fiction.
Best wishes,
Peter

Saturday, May 25, 2019

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Patricia Dusenbury


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.  

For SMFS Short Story Saturdays today, list member Patricia Dusenbury shares her June 2017 short story, “Family Man” archived at the Mystery Tribune.

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.

Thursday, May 23, 2019

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: AUTHOR MERRILEE ROBSON TAPS INTO FAMILY HISTORY FO...

Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers: AUTHOR MERRILEE ROBSON TAPS INTO FAMILY HISTORY FO...: Merrilee Robson is the author of Murder is Uncooperative , a traditional mystery set it a housing co-op, as well as numerous short storie...

SMFS Members Published In The Book of Extraordinary Historical Mystery Stories: Best New Original Mysteries


Several SMFS members are published in The Book of Extraordinary Historical Mystery Stories: Best New Original Mysteries. Published by Mango Publishing Group, the book is currently available in digital and print formats from Amazon and other vendors. The SMFS members in the book are:

Michael Bracken and Sandra Murphy with “Gracie Saves the World.”

Martin Edwards with “The Sound of Secrecy.”

O’Neil De Noux with “Another Body.”

Sunday, May 19, 2019

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 53

As posted by SMFS list member Peter DiChellis to our list…
This week’s blog celebrates short mystery and crime fiction with links to deviously delightful reviews, releases, free reads, and more.
Includes, free to read, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a 12-story collection by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Plus: The editors of pulp zines Broadswords and Blasters and Econoclash swap tweets about forcing characters to make choices. See what they think.
A short walk down a dark street (#53). What’s fresh, what’s famous, and what’s fiendish in short mystery and crime fiction.
Best wishes,
Peter

SleuthSayers: East Texas Tales, Part 2 by John M. Floyd

SleuthSayers: East Texas Tales, Part 2: by John M. Floyd Have you ever discovered an author whose novels and stories you like so much you want to find and read everything he o...

Saturday, May 18, 2019

SMFS Member Publishing News: Earl Staggs


SMFS list member Earl Stagg’s short story, “The Key” appears online today at Kings River Life Magazine. You can read it for free here.

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Brenda Williamson


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.  

For SMFS Short Story Saturdays today, list member Brenda Williamson shares her 2013 short story, Happy Father’s Day: 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.

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

2019 Anthony Award Nominees


The 50th Bouchercon will be held in Dallas, Texas, this fall from October  31-November 3, 2019. As part of the coming celebration of the best in mystery and crime fiction, the 2019 Anthony Award Nominees in five categories were officially announced on the Bouchercon website earlier today. Congratulations to all the nominees who will receive their awards during the convention.
The SMFS especially congratulates two of our SMFS list members who were nominated in the Best Short Category. Those members are:

Barb Goffman for “Bug Appétit” published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: November /December 2018.  Read it here.

Art Taylor for “English 398: Fiction Workshop” published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: July/August 2018. Read it here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: James Blakey


SMFS member James Blakey reports that his short story, “Picture Perfect” appears online at Crimson Streets were you can read it here for free.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Victoria Weisfeld Reviews A TIME FOR VIOLENCE: STORIES WITH AN EDGE

Victoria Weisfeld Reviews A TIME FOR VIOLENCE: STORIES WITH AN EDGE

The First Two Pages: “A Bitter Thing” by Mark Stevens

The First Two Pages: “A Bitter Thing” by Mark Stevens

SleuthSayers: The Ones That Went Away by Steve Liskow

SleuthSayers: The Ones That Went Away: by Steve Liskow A few months ago, I got a new computer and did what all writers do before getting rid of the old one. I scoured it for fil...

Victoria Weisfeld: Is Somebody Following Me?

Victoria Weisfeld: Is Somebody Following Me?

Little Big Crimes Review: The Spy Who Walked Into The Cold by Ron Collins

Little Big Crimes: The Spy Who Walked Into The Cold, by Ron Collins: "The Spy Who Walked Into The Cold," by Ron Collins, in Fiction River: Spies, 2019. Not a very short story this week.  A novel...

Monday, May 13, 2019

Sunday, May 12, 2019

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 52

As posted by Peter DiChellis to our list…

This week’s blog celebrates short mystery and crime fiction with links to a sinister selection of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.
Includes: For those who missed Short walk #3 (way back in June): EQMM editor Janet Hutchings discusses why the end of a story should come first.
Plus: Short walk #52 marks 52 weeks of weekly posts for the blog, though isn’t quite the one-year anniversary because Short walk #1 posted on May 22, 2018. (Huh?) For a good time, try the Archives and Search Box on the right-hand side of the screen.
A short walk down a dark street (#52). What’s fresh, what’s famous, and what’s fiendish in short mystery and crime fiction.

Saturday, May 11, 2019

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Marilyn Holt


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.  

For SMFS Short Story Saturdays today, list member Marilyn Holt shares her short story, “Rules of Everyday Life” archived at Short-story.me.


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.


Thursday, May 9, 2019

SMFS Members Published in EconoClash Review #4: Quality Cheap Thrills


Two SMFS list members have works in the just released EconoClash Review #4: Quality Cheap Thrills. The read is currently available on Amazon in digital format with the print edition expected in the new future. The two SMFS members in this issue are:

C. W. Blackwell with “Bad Junk.”

Robert Petyo with “In The Blood.”

Synopsis:
Every one likes a good cheap thrill, but if you enjoy quality schadenfreude you'll love the tightly wound tales found between the covers of ECR number four. Number Four: The elemental number: Earth-wind-fire-books...I mean air. Four is the tetrad...the perfect number...a number for all mankind. These stories pulse with realism as they swing wildly between genres and bring you the joy in other people’s pain. The one, the only Rex Weiner kicks things off with a fantastic peek into realistic crime and punishment; and the one, the only, A.B. Patterson closes the show with the most transgressive thing I've read outside a public lavatory. Everyone in between brings vivid, pulse pumping action and suspense mixed nicely with severe moments of WTH. ECR #4 proudly features the authors: Mark Slade, Jon Zelazny, Robert Petyo, Hailey Piper, Matthew X. Gomez, Mark Slade, J.L. Boekenstein, Hatebreaker, J.S. Rogers, and C.W. Blackwell. Buy this book--lock the door with a chair—and get down with the fourth Issue of EconoClash Review.

SMFS Members Published in Parnell Hall Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Edible


A number of SMFS list members have been published in the latest Malice Domestic anthology titled, Parnell Hall Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most EdibleCurrently available in print from Amazon and other vendors. The members in the anthology are:

Marcia Adair with “Brown Recluse.”
Leslie Budewitz with “A Death in Yelapa.”
Debra H. Goldstein with “Pig Lickin’ Good.”
Marni Graff with “Quiche Alain.”
Kristin Kisska with “Snowbirding.”
Ellen Larson with “Up Day Down Day Deadly Day”
LD Masterson with “Sticky Fingers.”
Edith Maxwell with “Sushi Lessons.”
Ruth McCarty with “Killer Chocolate Chips.”
Rosemary McCracken with “Dining Out.”
Josh Pachter with “The Cremains of the Day.”
Ang Pompano with “Diet of Death.”
Stephen D. Rogers with “Turn The Sage.”
Verena Rose with “Death at the Willard Hotel.”
Harriette Sackler with “Honor Thy Father.”
Terry Shames with “Bring It.”
Nancy Cole Silverman with “The Gourmand.”
Shawn Reilly Simmons with “The Last Word.”
Mark Thielman with “Bull Dog Gravy.”
Stacy Woodson with “The Secret Blend.”                                                                                                                              

Synopsis: 

The Malice Domestic anthology series returns with a new take on mysteries in the Agatha Christie tradition -- 36 original tales with a culinary bent! Included are:
A Cup of Tea, by Parnell Hall
Brown Recluse, by Marcia Adair
A Slice of Heaven, by Laura Brennan
The Extra Ingredient, by Joan Long
A Death in Yelapa, by Leslie Budewitz
The Pie Sisters, by Richard Cass
Too Many Cooks Almost Spoil the Murder, by Lynne Ewing
Pig Lickin' Good, by Debra H. Goldstein
Quiche Alain, by Marni Graff
Diet of Death, by Ang Pompano
Death at the Willard Hotel, by Verena Rose
Dining Out, by Rosemary McCracken
Snowbirding, by Kristin Kisska
Up Day Down Day Deadly Day, by Ellen Larson
The Secret Blend, by Stacy Woodson
First of the Year, by Gabriel Valjan
Sticky Fingers, by LD Masterson
The Cremains of the Day, by Josh Pachter
Honor Thy Father, by Harriette Sackler
Killer Chocolate Chips, by Ruth McCarty
Sushi Lessons, by Edith Maxwell
The Missing Ingredient for Murderous Intent, by Elizabeth Perona
It's Canning Season, by Adele Polomski
The Gourmand, by Nancy Cole Silverman
The Blue Ribbon, by Cynthia Kuhn
The Last Word, by Shawn Reilly Simmons
Murder Takes the Cupcake, by Kate Willett
Bull Dog Gravy, by Mark Thielman
Morsels of the Gods, by Victoria Thompson
Mrs. Beeton's Sausage Stuffing, by Christine Trent
Bring It, by Terry Shames
Gutbombs 'n' Guinness, by Lisa Preston
Deadly In-Flight Dining, by Sara Rosett
Carne Diem, by Sharon Lynn
Turn the Sage, by Stephen D. Rogers
Bad Ju-Ju, by M.A. Monnin


International Short Story Month: Sarah M. Chen


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, Sarah M. Chen shares, “Living The Dream” published in 2014 at Akashic Books. The story can be read online for free here.

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

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

The First Two Pages: “Please See Me” by Deborah Lacy

The First Two Pages: “Please See Me” by Deborah Lacy

SMFS Member Publication News: Barry Ergang


SMFS list member Barry Ergang’s latest book is a book of poetry titled, FARRAGO: Poems of Light and Dark. The book is available in print and digital formats from Amazon.

Synopsis:

Prefer your poetry accessible rather than impenetrable? You've come to the right book! FARRAGO contains a hodgepodge of accessible poems, both light and humorous as well as dark and serious, rhymed and unrhymed, formal and free, most of which won't require you to be the poet's psychologist or a mind-reader, or have a Ph.D in Literature to understand. Included are parodies of "Jabberwocky" and "Prufrock"--the latter slightly bawdy--a comic poem about a rabbit in the meter of Poe's "The Raven," as well as more serious works, among which are tributes to Raymond Chandler and others.

SMFS Member Publication News: John M. Floyd


SMFS list member John M. Floyd’s short story, "The Messenger” appears today online at Allegory. It is part of the Spring/Summer 2019 issue. Mr. Floyd also reports that it was a Pushcart Prize Nominee after it appeared in Futures almost twenty years ago. You can read it in its entirety here.

SMFS Member Podcast: KM Rockwood


SMFS list member KM Rockwood’s short story, Liquor Store Holdup is currently the subject of Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast. Actor Sean Hopper reads the tale. He also read the first chapter of KM Rockwood’s Fostering Death that was featured last March on the podcast.

Podcast Synopsis

This episode features the mystery short story, Liquor Store Holdup by K.M. Rockwood, and it is read by local actor Sean Hopper. The story was published in Jack Hardway’s Crime Magazinev. 2 # 2, March/April 2015. You can learn more about K.M. Rockwood's writing on her website, and check out our earlier episode featuring the first chapter of her novel, Fostering Death, right here on Mysteryrat's Maze. Sean has also done the reading for The Way to a Man's Heart. In each episode we share with you mystery short stories and mystery novel first chapters read by actors from the San Joaquin Valley. If you enjoyed this episode please review or rate the episode as that helps more people be able to find us!

International Short Story Month: Gary Cahill


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, Gary Cahill shares, “Hudson County, November ’80” published in 2013 at Shotgun Honey. The story can be read online for free here.

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

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

SMFS Member Publication News: Terry Shames


SMFS list member Terry Shames’ has a new book out in her long running Samuel Craddock Mystery Series. Published by Seventh Street Books, A Risky Undertaking for Loretta Singletary, is currently available in both print and digital formats at Amazon and other vendors.

Synopsis:

A FAVORITE SERIES CHARACTER FINDS HERSELF IN HARM'S WAY. After using an online dating site for senior citizens, town favorite Loretta Singletary--maker of cinnamon rolls and arbiter of town gossip--goes missing. Chief Samuel Craddock's old friend Loretta Singletary--a mainstay of the Jarrett Creek community--has undergone a transformation, with a new hairstyle and modern clothes. He thinks nothing of it until she disappears. Only then does he find out she has been meeting men through an online dating site for small-town participants. When a woman in the neighboring town of Bobtail turns up dead after meeting someone through the same dating site, Craddock becomes alarmed. Will Craddock be able to find Loretta before she suffers the same fate? Finding out what happened to Loretta forces him to investigate an online world he is unfamiliar with, and one which brings more than a few surprises.


SleuthSayers: The Importance of a Solid Beginning by Barb Goffman

SleuthSayers: The Importance of a Solid Beginning: by Barb Goffman  "Will you walk into my parlour?" said the spider to the fly; "Tis the prettiest little parlor that you e...

International Short Story Month: Larry W. Chavis


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, our Vice President, Larry W. Chavis shares, “School Spirit” published in 2017 at Flash Bang Mysteries. The story can be read online for free here.

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

Monday, May 6, 2019

The First Two Pages: “Quiche Alain” by M.K. Graff

The First Two Pages: "Quiche Alain" by M. K. Graff

Little Big CrimesReview: Private Justice by Steven Gore

Little Big Crimes: Private Justice, by Steven Gore: "Private Justice," by Steven Gore, in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May/June 2019. Viewpoint is character .  That ...

SMFS Member Publishing News: Hilary Davidson


As posted by Hilary Davidson to our list…

Hi, everyone! Many of you know me primarily as a short-story writer, but I write novels, too, and I'm excited to share the news that my latest book, ONE SMALL SACRIFICE, is an Amazon First Reads pick for May 2019. If you have Prime membership, you can get the book for *free* right now. (If you don't, it's $1.99 for the eBook or $9.99 for the hardcover this month.) Here's a link if you'd link to take a look:


ONE SMALL SACRIFICE is my fifth novel, and it's the start of a new series. A little bit about it:

An apparent suicide. A mysterious disappearance. Did one man get away with murder—twice? 

NYPD detective Sheryn Sterling has had her eye on Alex Traynor ever since his friend Cori fell to her death under suspicious circumstances a year ago. Cori’s death was ruled a suicide, but Sheryn thinks Alex—a wartime photojournalist suffering from PTSD—got away with murder. When Alex’s fiancée, Emily, a talented and beloved local doctor, suddenly goes missing, Sheryn suspects that Alex is again at the center of a disturbing case. Sheryn dislikes loose ends, and Cori’s death had way too many of them. But as Sheryn starts pulling at the threads in this web, her whole theory unravels. Everyone involved remembers the night Cori died differently—and the truth about her death could be the key to solving Emily’s disappearance.

All the best,
Hilary Davidson

International Short Story Month: Jake Devlin


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, Jake Devlin, writing as Dallas Dalyce, shares “Killing Beauty: A Dark Mystery Short Story” published last February at Kings River Life Magazine. The story can be read online for free here.

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

Sunday, May 5, 2019

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 51

As posted to our list by Peter DiChellis…
This week’s blog deal a full house of links to reviews, releases, free reads, and more.
Includes a review of the newest issue of Switchblade, two reviews from BOLO Books’ Raven Award winner Kristopher Zgorski, and one from Mystery Scene’s Ben Boulden (at his Gravetapping site).
Plus, six aces of free reads from SMFS members.
A short walk down a dark street (#51): celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.
Best wishes,
Peter

2018 Agatha Award Winners


Malice Domestic™ handed out their 2018 Agatha Awards last night at the annual convention. As previously announced, there were Six SMFS list members nominated in three categories

In the Best Short Story category this year there was a tie for two SMFS list members. The two winning members are:

Leslie Budewitz  for “All God’s Sparrows” in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: May/June 2018.

Tara Laskowski for “The Case of the Vanishing Professor” in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine: May/June 2018.


SMFS salutes and congratulates our members on this honor.


As the full list of nominees and winners is not currently up at Malice Domestic, head over to The Rap Sheet for more information. 

International Short Story Month: Kevin R. Tipple


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, Kevin R. Tipple shares “The Tell: Mystery Flash Fiction” published in August 2015 at Kings River Life Magazine. The story can be read online for free here.

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

Saturday, May 4, 2019

SleuthSayers: Bad News and Good News by John M. Floyd

SleuthSayers: Bad News and Good News: by John M. Floyd Last Saturday I conducted a one-day writing workshop in Richardson, Texas, for the North Dallas chapter of Sisters ...

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Art Taylor


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.  


For SMFS Short Story Saturdays today, list member Art Taylor shares two short stories. Over in the archives of Pank Magazine, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Then, over in the archives of Shotgun Honey, “The Blanketing Snow.” 


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.

Thursday, May 2, 2019

EQMM 2018 Readers Award

Picture courtesy of Stacy Woodson

The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: May/June 2019 issue not only features stories from several SMFS members as previously announced, it also contains the announcement of the 2018 EQMM Readers Award. This year, eight of the thirteen recognized authors are SMFS members. Our SMFS members and here they placed are as follows:

1St Place--Stacy Woodson for “Duty, Honor, Hammett” in the November/December 2018 issue.  

2nd Place--Josh Pachter for “50” in the November/December 2018 issue.

3rd Place--David Dean for “Sofee” in the March/April 2018 issue.

7th Place--Art Taylor for “English 398: Fiction Workshop” in the July/August 2018 issue.

8th Place--Tie
Barb Goffman for “Bug Appétit” in the November/December 2018 issue.

William Dylan Powell for “The Lighthouse and the Lamp” in the January/February 2018 issue.

Dave Zeltserman for “Archie For Hire” in the November/December 2018 issue.

9th Place--Mr. Dean with his story, “The Mercy of Thaddeus Burke” in the July/August 2018 issue.

10th Place--Tie
Craig Faustus Buck with “Race To Judgement” in the November/December 2018 issue.

For the complete listing of all the authors/stories that make up the top ten list as well as the backgrounds of the top three stories and their authors, see the news on Page 158 of the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: May/June 2019 issue.





SMFS Members Published in Mystery Weekly Magazine: May 2019


SMFS list members have works appearing in Mystery Weekly Magazine: May 2019. The read is available from the publisher in both print and digital formats as well as Amazon and other vendors. The SMFS members in this issue are:

Paul D. Marks with “The Box.”

Thomas Millstead with “Hi! I’m Heather.”


Synopsis:
At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Weekly Magazine presents original short stories by the world’s best-known and emerging mystery writers. 

The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty.

Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery.

In our cover feature, “The Box” by Paul D. Marks, find out what happens when a cop gets tunnel vision and only sees one suspect: You.

“Storey” by Eric Cline: Great artists sometimes have messy personal lives. But what if it becomes impossible to separate the art from its creator?

In “Evidence” by Dennis Palumbo a Crime Scene tech steals incriminating evidence from a crime scene, then uses it to blackmail the criminal.

In “Sergeant Spinge And The Locked-Room Mystery” by Rob Nisbet, Sergeant Spinge is the sole policeman in a town of gnomes. He longs to solve a traditional 'locked-room mystery' but first he must cope with a series of impossible thefts.

“Hi! I'm Heather” by Thomas Millstead, follows Sergeant Hagen on his second day with the Computer Crimes Unit, when a disturbing email propels him into a journey to the painful past—and a murder on Skeleton Hill.

“Gold, Jewels, Art, My Father” by David Rachels: David's father has hinted at family treasure buried in the backyard … After David’s father dies, he returns home to dig.

In “The Search For Doctor Vane” by Jeffery Scott Sims, Doctor Vane ventured to Ironfang Island seeking pirate treasure and archaeological lore. Now Professor Vorchek has gone in search of him. What he finds justifies the infamous island's reputation.

What Editors Want You To Know: John Floyd

What Editors Want You To Know: John Floyd

SMFS Member Publication News: Joseph Benedeto


SMFS list member Joseph Benedetto shared today that his short story, “Interception in the Desert” appears in the anthology, The Odds Are Against Us. The anthology of military fiction was published by Liberty Island Media, edited by Oren Litwin, and is available in print and digital formats from Amazon and other vendors. He officially joins John M. Floyd as the second SMFS member in the anthology announced last March.

Synopsis:

When victory seems impossible…
…Heroism is the only option. 



To survive on the battlefield, you must go far beyond what you ever imagined possible.

From a Marine in Vietnam trying to get back home, to Roman soldiers facing an Iceni rebellion; from cynical mercenaries in the harsh Chadian desert, to a Yazidi girl fighting for her freedom; from Soviet conscripts trying to survive war in Afghanistan, to American bomber pilots lost at sea.
Experience the triumph of the human spirit even in the face of death.
Includes eight short stories of military fiction from from skilled authors, some of whom are veterans themselves.

With works from...

Joseph Benedetto
Ron Farina
John Floyd
Jake Lithua
Sophie Michaels
Frank Scalise
Janis Snepsts
Jim Wilsky