Pulp Modern Flash: I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR YOU by Michael Bracken

Pulp Modern Flash: I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR YOU by Michael Bracken:   Carl held his wife’s hand and listened until her last breath escaped from between her lips and the machine monitoring her heartbeat regis...

Catherine Dilts Reviews: AHMM July/August 2020 - Transported Via Fiction

Catherine Dilts Reviews: AHMM July/August 2020 - Transported Via Fiction

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 119

As posted by Peter DiChellis to our SMFS list…

This week’s blog raises a full pint to short mystery & crime fiction: links to a properly deadly selection of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes all the latest free-to-read stories from stories from Britain’s Crime Writers Association, posted on their Crime Readers Association website.

Plus—Tricks of the trade: Developing unique character voices.

And review of a collection of murder and horror stories by the “criminally underrated” and “very talented” author Christianna Brand.

A short walk down a dark street (#119). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/08/30/short-walk-119/

Best wishes,

Peter

Little Big Crimes Review: No Body by Clea Simon

Little Big Crimes: No Body, by Clea Simon: "No Body," by Clea Simon, in Shattering Glass, edited by Heather Graham, Nasty Women Press, 2020.   Before she even spoke she kne...

SMFS Members Published in The Chase Begins: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Issue Three

SMFS list members are published in The Chase Begins: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Issue Three out now. Published by Knotted Road Press, the issue came out earlier this month. It is available in both print and eBook formats from Amazon and other vendors as noted on the website. The SMFS list members in this issue are:

Diana Deverell with “Lonesome Whistle.”

David H. Hendrickson with “Sully and the Geezer.”

Synopsis:

Crime fiction has many different facets, including the chase. Come run with us, either toward danger, away from the bad guys, or maybe toward a better understanding of ourselves.

Welcome to MCM Issue #3: The Chase Begins.

Be sure to pick up the first couple of issues, and be on the lookout for issue #4, "Sins of the Father."

So Criminal, it's Good.

SMFS Members Published in Thieves: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Issue Two

SMFS list members are published in Thieves: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Issue Two out now. Published by Knotted Road Press, the issue came out at the first of the month. It is available in both print and eBook formats from Amazon and other vendors as noted on the website. The SMFS list members in this issue are:

Diana Deverell with “Gone Gold.”

David H. Hendrickson with “Bubba’s Blunder.”

Synopsis:

Heists are always popular. People love to read about the thief who gets away, the vigilante seeking vengeance, or even how the cops catch the criminals.

Welcome to the second issue of Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem, and the wonderful world of Thieves.

SMFS Member Publishing News: David H. Hendrickson

SMFS list member David H. Hendrickson’s short story, “A Long Shot Worth Betting On” appears in Private Eyes: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Issue One out now. Billed as a “Quarterly Mystery Magazine,” the read is published by Knotted Road Press. This new market is available in both print and eBook formats from Amazon and other vendors as noted on the website.

Synopsis:

For many of us, our introduction to mystery began either by watching a detective show on TV, or when we fell in love with characters like Phillip Marlow and the Continental Op in old books. This is the white knight, the only one with morals in the story, the one person who will set the world right.

Come with us and explore new takes on the traditional PI story, whether they're old school and solving a current day crime or sent on a case far away from the city into Appalachia. And enjoy some historic PIs as well, all with voice and perspectives you've never seen before.

Enjoy issue #1 of MCM - and be ready for more to come!

SMFS Member Publishing News: Sylvia Warsh

SMFS list member Sylvia Warsh’s short story, “The Emerald Skull” is the current published selection for Barb Goffman Presents: The Emerald Skull by Sylvia Warsh. Originally published in Thirteen: A Mesdames of Mayhem Anthology, the read is available in eBook form at Wildside Press.

SleuthSayers: Getting Nailed by O'Neil De Noux

SleuthSayers: Getting Nailed: My last piece on SleuthSayers talked about nailing a story, getting goosebumps when you reread a story you've written before you send it...

Jacqueline Seewald: Point of View: Who’s Telling the Story?

Jacqueline Seewald: Point of View: Who’s Telling the Story?: More to the point: Who should be telling the story? I often see the comment from agents that they are looking for writers who have a “uniqu...

SMFS Member Publishing News: Chris Chan

SMFS list member Chris Chan’s new book, Sherlock & Irene: The Secret Truth Behind “A Scandal in Bohemia” is now out. Published by MX Publishing, the book is available in eBook and print formats at Amazon and through the publisher.

Synopsis:

To Sherlock Holmes, Irene Adler is ‘the woman.’ In A Scandal in Bohemia, she defeated him in his attempt to retrieve an incriminating photograph of the King of Bohemia. Or did she?
In the tradition of ‘The Great Game’, this book will explore the unanswered questions in A Scandal in Bohemia, illustrating that there is much more to the case than is generally suspected.
Why did Holmes make so many elementary mistakes?
Was Holmes really a cocaine user?
Was the King of Bohemia hiding a dark secret?
Why was the photograph so dangerous?
Why was Irene Adler in such a hurry to get married?
Was Irene Adler really a blackmailer?
These and more questions will be answered by studying the clues and contradictions in the original story, which lead to a shocking conclusion...

Writers Who Kill: An Interview with Debra Goldstein by E. B. Davis

Writers Who Kill: An Interview with Debra Goldstein by E. B. Davis: When a romantic rival opens a competing restaurant in small-town Wheaton, Alabama, Sarah Blair discovers murder is the specialty of the h...

Mystery Fanfare: MACAVITY SHORT STORY NOMINEES: Links to the stories

Mystery Fanfare: MACAVITY SHORT STORY NOMINEES: Links to the stories: Although voting has ended, Art Taylor offers us links to all the Mystery Readers International Macavity nominated short stories . Great ...

2020 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award Winner: Richard Helms

SMFS congratulates list member Richard Helms on his win of a 2020 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award. Paid In Spades: A Pat Gallegher Novel won in the Best Procedural or P. I Novel category. This fifth novel in the series was published by Clay Stafford Books.

                                 

SleuthSayers: The Next Best Thing to Being There by Paul D. Marks

SleuthSayers: The Next Best Thing to Being There: We’re all hunkered down these days under house arrest. Some people are binging on Netflix, others catching up on all the cute cat videos the...

The First Two Pages: “The Dark House Down the Street” by Richard Helms

The First Two Pages: “The Dark House Down the Street” by Richard Helms

SMFS Member Publishing News: Debra H. Goldstein

Today is publication day for Three Treats Too Many: A Sarah Blair Mystery. Published by Kensington Press, this third book in the Sarah Blair Mystery Series is available in eBook and paperback formats.

Synopsis:

When a romantic rival opens a competing restaurant in small-town Wheaton, Alabama, Sarah Blair discovers murder is the specialty of the house . . .
 
For someone whose greatest culinary skill is ordering takeout, Sarah never expected to be co-owner of a restaurant. Even her Siamese cat, RahRah, seems to be looking at her differently. But while Sarah and her twin sister, Chef Emily, are tangled up in red tape waiting for the building inspector to get around to them, an attention-stealing new establishment—run by none other than Sarah's late ex-husband's mistress, Jane—is having its grand opening across the street.
 
Jane's new sous chef, Riley Miller, is the talk of Wheaton with her delicious vegan specialties. When Riley is found dead outside the restaurant with Sarah's friend, Jacob, kneeling over her, the former line cook—whose infatuation with Riley was no secret—becomes the prime suspect. Now Sarah must turn up the heat on the real culprit, who has no reservations about committing cold-blooded murder . . .
 
 Includes quick and easy recipes!

SMFS Members Published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: September/October 2020

Several SMFS list members are published in Ellery Queen  Mystery Magazine: September/October 2020 issue. The issue is available at the publisher website, Amazon, and other vendors. The published SMFS list members in this issue are:

Libby Cudmore with "All Shook Down."

Barb Goffman with “Dear Emily Etiquette.”

Joseph S. Walker with “Chasing Diamonds.”

SMFS Members Published in The Year of the Cat: A Cat of Strange Lands

SMFS list members are published in the The Year of the Cat: A Cat of Strange Lands. Published by WMG Publishing, the anthology is available in print and eBook formats from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members in the book are:

Annie Reed with “Life, with Cats.”

Leigh Saunders with “Burning Bright.”

Synopsis:

Cats roam everywhere on the planet. Everywhere. Their breed names often betray their place of origin—or their strange origin story in some now-lost land.

This collection honors that feline diversity in odd ways as much as possible. And the strange lands that cats not only originate from, but find themselves in.

These cats prowl in a witch’s hut, an enchanted shop, post-apocalyptic cities such as Las Vegas and Seattle, as well as across an ancient land where they once ruled as gods.

Come settle in for a journey through the kitty-cat cosmos.

Includes:

“Cat Web” by Meyari McFarland

“Burning Bright” by Leigh Saunders

“The Poop Thief” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

“Cat in a Different Place” by Dean Wesley Smith

“A Silly Question” by E. Nesbit

“The Witch’s Cat” by Manly Wade Wellman

“Life, with Cats” by Annie Reed

“Night of the Hog-Tied Alien” by Stefon Mears

“Fur Tsunami” by Kent Patterson

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 118

As posted by SMFS list member Peter DiChellis…

This week’s blog gulps lemonade under a shade tree with short mystery & crime fiction: links to cool reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes all the latest free-to-read stories from Mystery Tribune.

Plus—Tricks of the trade: EQMM editor Janet Hutchings discusses pandemic reading, writing, and story acceptances.

And a reviewer says the new Ray Bradbury collection demonstrates the “imagination and creativity Bradbury brought to crime fiction.”

A short walk down a dark street (#118). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/08/23/short-walk-118/

Best wishes,

Peter

Little Big Crimes Review: Nicking Votes by Stephen Buehler

Little Big Crimes: Nicking Votes, by Stephen Buehler: "Nicking Votes," by Stephen Buehler, in Low Down Dirty Vote 2, edited by Mysti Berry, Berry Content Corporation, 2020. I have a s...

Ladies of Mystery: From First to Third by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery: From First to Third by Susan Oleksiw

SleuthSayers: The Rocky Writing Process by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: The Rocky Writing Process: As I write this a few days before it appears, I have five full short-story manuscripts atop my desk. This is unusual. A full manuscript is u...

Writers Who Kill: Birthing Another Baby by Debra H. Goldstein

Writers Who Kill: Birthing Another Baby: Birthing Another Baby by Debra H. Goldstein When my first book, Maze in Blue , was published, it was a freak accident. I’d written the man...

SMFS Member Publishing News: Josh Pachter

SMFS Josh Pachter has two pieces in the Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine: September/October 2020 issue.  Mr. Pachter provides the English translation of the story, “Anchored” by Dutch journalist Walter Boonstra. He also selected and introduces “Thubway Tham and the Hoodoo Roll” by Johnston McCulley for the “Mystery Classic” segment of the issue. The issue is available at Dell Magazines, Amazon, and other vendors.

SMFS Member Publication News: Josh Pachter

SMFS list member Josh Pachter’s short story, "Paramus is Burning" appears in Mystery Tribune: Issue No. 13, June-July 2020. The read is available in digital and print formats at Mystery Tribune and in digital format at Amazon. 

Site Synopsis:

Issue Nº13 features:

·         A curated collection of short fiction including stories by Reed Farrel Coleman, Gregory Herren, D.C. Benny, Chip Jett, Josh Pachter, Tyler McGaughey, Matthew Mercier, Mike McHone, Charles Onyon, and Kevin Egan

·         Interviews, Essay and Reviews by Tamara Adelman, Max Allan Collins, and Nick Kolakowski

·         Art and Photography by Justin Sellers and more.

This issue also features a preview of the new graphic novel Happiness Will Follow by Mike Hawthorne.

NY Times Bestselling author Reed Farrel Coleman has called Mystery Tribune “a cut above” and mystery grand masters Lawrence Block and Max Allan Collins have praised it for its “solid fiction” and “the most elegant design”.

An elegantly crafted quarterly issue, printed on uncoated paper and with a beautiful layout designed for optimal reading experience, our Issue Nº13 will make a perfect companion or gift for avid mystery readers and fans of literary crime fiction.

SMFS Members Published in WMG Holiday Spectacular 2019: All 35 Stories and Introductions

SMFS list members appear in the book, WMG Holiday Spectacular 2019: All 35 Stories and Introductions. Billed as The Holiday Spectacular #1, the read was published in eBook format only early last month by WMG Publishing. The 764 page book is available at Amazon. The SMFS list members published in the book are:

Annie Reed with “Killer Party” and “A New Home for Christmas.”

Lauryn Christopher with “Some Folks Just Need Killin’.”

Synopsis:

Read a story per day from the end of November to January first...or binge the entire collection. Stories that center around holidays from American Thanksgiving and Black Friday to St. Nicholas Day, Hanukkah to Boxing Day, and of course, the worldwide biggies, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. Award-winning and bestselling writers like Ron Collins, Annie Reed, Robert Jeschonek, and 28 others explore holidays in three different genres--mystery, romance, and light fantasy.

This volume contains 35 stories, including two previously uncollected Kristine Kathryn Rusch stories, presented as they first appeared in a newsletter that went to subscribers every single day for 35 days.

The first volume in a series that will appear annually, The Holiday Spectacular #1, will fulfill all your seasonal story needs.

SleuthSayers: Comedy Is Hard by Steve Liskow

SleuthSayers: Comedy Is Hard: by Steve Liskow I've often been accused of being funny, except by my former students. I've directed comedy in theater, too, both...

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 117

As posted by Peter DiChellis to our list…

This week’s blog scours the world of short mystery & crime fiction for links to an ominous assortment of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes new free-to-read crime stories from All Due Respect and Beat to a Pulp.

Plus—Tricks of the trade: A devotee of “rejectomancy” (the arcane practice of divining hidden meaning from rejection letters) analyzes whether a series of rejections from the same market indicate your writing style isn’t right for that market. Check the comments for an insightful observation from short fiction guru Michael Bracken.

A short walk down a dark street (#117). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/08/16/short-walk-117/

Best wishes,

Peter

Little Big Crimes Review: The Law of Local Karma by Susan Dunlap

Little Big Crimes: The Law of Local Karma, by Susan Dunlap:  "The Law of Local Karma," by Susan Dunlap, in Berkeley Noir, edited by Jerry Thompson and Owen Hill, Akashic Press, 2020. The pub...

Writers Who Kill: Writing Outside of My Head by Judy Penz Sheluk

Writers Who Kill: Writing Outside of My Head: Writing Outside of My Head By Judy Penz Sheluk   This is my first official post as a regular (every third Sunday) blogger on Writers Who Kil...

SleuthSayers: "Just Shoot Anywhere," Tom Said Aimlessly by John Floyd

SleuthSayers: "Just Shoot Anywhere," Tom Said Aimlessly: A little background, here.  A month or two ago, some writer friends and I were having an e-discussion about literary style --which I cons...

SMFS Member Publication News: Lauryn Christopher

SMFS list member Lauryn Christopher’s short story collection, Secrets and Lies is out from Camden Park Press. The read is available in print and eBook at Amazon and other vendors.

Synopsis as posted to our SMFS list today by the author:

SECRETS AND LIES
A collection of five short crime stories by Lauryn Christopher

Contains:
- Lemonade and Larceny
  When a silly law forbids Effie Birmingham from practicing her trade
as a psychic, she feels obliged to break it!

- A Little Casual Blackmail
  For one Florida housewife, eavesdropping on the neighbors escalates
from entertainment to entrepreneurship...

- The Goddess Killer
  A serial killer forces Tommy to choose which of the women in his
life - his mother, his wife, or his daughter - he loves the best, and
which will die.

- The Man in the Gabardine Suit
  Who was the "man in the gabardine suit" from the Simon & Garfunkel
song? Why was he on that bus in the first place?

- Mistletoe and Murder
  When the members of a highly dysfunctional family are snowed-in for
the holidays, tempers flare, secrets are revealed, and someone's bound
to die...

SECRETS AND LIES is available in print or ebook from your favorite
online retailer: https://books2read.com/LaurynC-SecretsLies


Lauryn Christopher
www.laurynchristopher.com

SMFS Member Publishing News: Frank Zafiro

Today is publication day for SMFS list member Frank Zafiro’s new book, Place of Wrath and Tears. This is the sixth book in his police procedural series that began with, Under A Raging Moon: A River City Crime Novel. More information on the book and the series can be found at the author’s website. The read is available at Amazon and other vendors in a variety of formats.

Synopsis:

A River City Crime Novel #6

It is the nightmare of every community – a school shooting.

When a disturbed teenager masterminds this terrible event, everyone in River City is plunged into the darkness that surrounds it. The students and teachers try to survive, and the men and women of RCPD try to save them. But when things go horribly wrong, everyone seems to be looking elsewhere for someone to blame.

Officer Katie MacLeod is among many who discover that the nightmare doesn’t end when the shooting stops.

Takes place in 2001.

Author’s Note: This book was originally slated to be #5 in the series, but when I began writing it after finishing And Every Man Has to Die, I stalled about a third of the way through.  There were personal and professional reasons for this hitch, but what I eventually discovered was that it just wasn’t time for this story yet. The Menace of the Years had to come first. Once that happened in 2018, the time for this tale had come. And even though the subject matter is difficult, and unfortunately still very relevant today, it is against these terrible events that we measure the greatness of those who respond… or their failures.

2020 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Readers’ Choice Award SMFS Members Finalists

The SMFS is proud to announce that list members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2020 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Readers’ Choice Award. Winners will be announced later this month during the virtual Killer Nashville conference. The full list of the nominees is on the website. The nominated SMFS list members are:

Debra H. Goldstein with Two Bites Too Many: A Sarah Blair Mystery Book Two, published by Kensington Books.

Peter W. J. Hayes with The Things That Are Different: A Vic Lenoski Mystery, published by Level Best Books.

Sharon Marchisello with Secrets of the Galapagos, published by Sunbury Press.

Laura Oles and Manning Wolfe with Last Call, published by Starpath Books.

Judy Penz Sheluk with A Fool’s Journey, published by Superior Shores Press.

Judy Penz Sheluk with the anthology, The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, published by Superior Shores Press.

Criminal Minds: Hot Off the Press! by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: Hot Off the Press!: Business: Talk about newsletters.  Do you or do not have one? If you do, how often do you send it out? On what venue? How did you get your ...

SleuthSayers: Black Cat Mystery & Science Fiction Ebook Club by Barb Goffman

SleuthSayers: Black Cat Mystery & Science Fiction Ebook Club: If you like reading crime short stories, and let's face it, you wouldn't be a regular SleuthSayers reader if you didn't, then yo...

Writers Who Kill: What Did We Mean by That? by KM Rockwood

Writers Who Kill: What Did We Mean by That? by KM Rockwood: “One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I’ll never know.” Groucho Marx was clever at turning ambiguitie...

SMFS Member Publication News: John M. Floyd

SMFS list member John M. Floyd has another short story appearing in Woman’s World Magazine. His latest tale, “Stolen In Plain Sight” is in the current issue (August 17, 2020) of  Woman’s World Magazine. The publication is available on some newsstands and by subscription.

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.

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 116

As posted by Peter DiChellis to our list…

This week’s blog swoons over short mystery & crime fiction with links to star-studded reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes free-to read-stories by Tom Piccirilli, Bill Pronzini, and S.J. Rozan (all repeated from previous posts, in case you missed them the first time).

Plus—Submission calls: Hoosier Noir is open for Indiana-related crime stories. Submissions close September 13th, but the publisher will then open September 15th for marijuana-related crime stories. (Write what you know?)

And a collection of crime stories is on the way from legendary author Ray Bradbury.

A short walk down a dark street (#116). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/08/09/short-walk-116/

Best wishes,

Peter DiChellis

Little Big Crimes Review: Only the Desperate Come Here by Michael Mallory

Little Big Crimes: Only the Desperate Come Here, by Michael Mallory:   "Only the Desperate Come Here," by Michael Mallory, in Mystery Weekly Magazine, August 2020. I made a huge embarassing gaffe in ...

Killer Nashville’s 2020 Claymore Award SMFS Member Finalists

The SMFS is proud to announce that members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2020 Killer Nashville Claymore Award. The award recognizes the best unpublished book based on the first fifty pages of the manuscript. The top three finalists and the winner will be announced on August 22, 2020 during the virtual Killer Nashville event. The two SMFS list member finalists are:

William Burton McCormick with Ghost.

J. B. Stevens with The Red Exit.

The complete list of finalists for the Claymore and more information can be found on the website.

SMFS Members Published in Stop the World: Snapshots from the Pandemic

Several SMFS list members are published in the recently released anthology, Stop the World: Snapshots from the Pandemic. Published by Thalia Press, the anthology is available in both print and eBook formats at Amazon and other vendors.  The SMFS list members published are:

Sarah M. Chen witAh the essay “The Five Stages of Coronanxiety.”

Co Editor Gary Phillips with “No Room! No Room!”

Travis Richardson with “Diametric America.”

Merrilee Robson with “Break His Bone.”

Synopsis:

HOW WILL YOU REMEMBER THE PANDEMIC?

These 40 writers from around the world set out to record their experiences, emotions, fears, and gratitude for living through 2020. Stuck at home, watching the news in horror, helping others: these writers' imaginations never stopped (although their productivity sometimes took a hit.)

Crime stories, creative fiction, elegant and angry poetry, wrenching personal essays-- these "snapshots" record the pandemic year in insightful ways that help us understand the sacrifices we've all made. For the record, here are 40 inspiring, heartfelt, creative takes on this odd and terrifying time in the world, from writers in the US, Canada, Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, and Romania.

SleuthSayers: Nailed It by O'Neil De Noux

SleuthSayers: Nailed it: After four hours, the man leans back in the uncomfortable metal chair and says, "I buried him in field behind my house." I sit bac...

SMFS Member Publishing News: Nupur Tustin

Today is publication day for SMFS list member Nupur Tustin’s new book, Visions of Murder: A Celine Sky Prequel. Published by Foiled Plots Press, the 87 page read is available in print and eBook formats at Amazon and other vendors. The book serves as a prequel to the recently published Master of Illusion.  

Synopsis:

Prequel to the Bestselling Master of Illusion

Celine Skye has always wanted to be an artist.

But when visions of murder infiltrate her senses, art must take a backseat to justice.

A Prequel to the first Celine Skye Psychic Mystery, Master of Illusion.

Psychic detection combines with art in this thrilling new series from the author of the beloved Haydn Mysteries.