Saturday, October 31, 2020

SMFS Members Published in Mysterical-E Fall 2020

Several SMFS list members have short stories, nonfiction columns, and more in the just released Mysterical-E Fall 2020 issue. The issue can be read for free here. The SMFS members in the issue are:


Shortstories:   

Jeanne DuBois with "Murder at the Alcazar." 

Ron Katz with “The Sleuthing Silvers and the Mystery of the Perfect Profiles.” 

 

 

Non Fiction: 

Kaye George’s column, “What's Your Process” thuiis issue focuses on Priscilla Patton, Susan Van Kirk, SMFS list member Judy Penz Sheluk, and A. R. Kennedy. 

Gerald So’s column, “Mysterical Eye” discusess the impact of the pandemic on movies and tevelision and offers some viewing suggestions. 

 

 

Book Excerpt and Interview: 

There are three book excerpts in this issue and an excerpt from Bar None by Cathi Stoler is included. She is also one of three authors interviewed by staff.

SleuthSayers: Themed and Tailored by John Floyd

SleuthSayers: Themed and Tailored:   No, I'm not talking about fall outfits. My question is,  How open are you to being prompted, guided, or otherwise steered, in determin...

Friday, October 30, 2020

SMFS Member Podcast News: John Floyd

SMFS list member John Floyd reads his short story, “On the Road With Mary Jo” for the latest Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine podcast. Episode 133 features his tale that originally appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of EQMM. It runs slightly more than 21 minutes and can be heard for free  here.

 

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

John M. Floyd is one of the mystery genre’s most prolific short story writers. His work has appeared in more than three hundred different publications, and has earned four Derringer awards and a nomination for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best short story. In 2018, he received the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement. His most recent honor came this year, when he won the best short story Derringer for the story he reads for this podcast, “On the Road With Mary Jo,” from the January/February 2019 issue of EQMM. www.johnmfloyd.com 

Thursday, October 29, 2020

SMFS Member Publishing News: Nikki Dolson


SMFS list member Nikki Dolson’s short story, “The Replacement” appears online today at Beat To A Pulp. The story is free to read here.

Victoria Weisfeld: Where Writers’ Ideas Come From: What Kind of Trip Is it?

 Victoria Weisfeld: Where Writers’ Ideas Come From: What Kind of Trip Is it?

SMFS Member Publishing News: Ang Pompano

SMFS list member Ang Pompano’s short story, “Liver Man” appears at Kings River Life Magazine today. The story is free to read here.

The Wickeds: Write Where You Know by Judy Penz Sheluk

 The Wickeds: Write Where You Know by Judy Penz Sheluk

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

SMFS Member Publishing News: John M. Floyd


SMFS list member John M Floyd’s short story, “The Wading Pool” has been published in the Halloween 2020 Issue of Tales from the Moonlit Path. The story is free to read here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Peter DiChellis


SMFS list member Peter DiChellis’ short story, “Lost Souls” appears online at the Crime Readers’ Association. The story is free to read here.

Monday, October 26, 2020

SMFS Member Podcast News: Kaye George


The latest KRL Podcast features the mystery short story, “The Takeover” by SMFS list member Kaye George. The story is read by local actress Ariel Linn.  You can listen for free to the KRL Podcast here.

 

 

From the site:

This episode features a mystery short story with a paranormal twist, The Takeover by Kaye George, read by local actor Ariel Linn. You can learn more about the author on her website. 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 it as that helps more people be able to find us! Also, consider subscribing so you never miss an episode-both to this podcast and to the podcast newsletter. You can find more mystery fun on our websites Kings River Life Magazine and KRL News and Reviews.

SMFS Member Publishing News: John M. Floyd

 

SMFS list member John M. Floyd’s short story, “Lands End” appears in the new anthology, A Trip For The Books. Published by Red Penguin Books, the read is available in print and eBook from Amazon.

 

Synopsis:

 

Adventure with our writers on this edition of The Red Penguin Collection as we travel the globe on “A Trip For The Books”. In this anthology of travel-inspired works, you will quickly find yourself swept up by stories of great journeys, trials on the road, and destinations that made it all worthwhile. From Africa to Mexico, Disney World to the Australian Outback, our esteemed authors are prepared to share with you their most memorable tales. The spirit of adventure awaits!

SMFS Member Publishing News: Nick Kolakowski


Today is publication day for Nick Kolakowski’s new book, Rattlesnake Rodeo. This sequel to the Boise Longpig Hunting Club is published by Down & Out Books. The read is available in print and eBook from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

  

Synopsis:

 

The fiery sequel to Boise Longpig Hunting Club is here…

 

Three nights ago, Jake Halligan and his ultra-lethal sister Frankie were kidnapped by a sadistic billionaire with a vendetta against their family. That billionaire offered them a terrible deal: Spend the next 24 hours in the backwoods of Idaho, hunted by rich men with the latest in lethal weaponry. If Jake and Frankie survived, they’d go free; otherwise, nobody would ever find their bodies.

 

Jake and Frankie managed to escape that terrible game, but their problems are just beginning. They’re broke, on the run, and hunted by every cop between Oregon and Montana. If they’re going to make it through, they may need to strike a devil’s bargain—and carry out a seemingly impossible crime.

 

Rattlesnake Rodeo is a neo-Western noir filled with incredible twists. If you want true justice against the greedy and powerful, sometimes you have no choice but to rely on the worst people…

Little Big Crimes Review: Goon #4 by Tod Goldberg

Little Big Crimes: Goon #4, by Tod Goldberg:   "Goon #4," by Tod Goldberg, in  The Darkling Halls of Ivy,  edited by Lawrence Block, LB Productions, 2020. It makes sense that ...

SleuthSayers: Stratford Redux by Steve Liskow

SleuthSayers: Stratford Redux:  by Steve Liskow Several weeks ago, I got an idea for a short story that needed a little refresher on Shakespeare. During my theater days, I...

Saturday, October 24, 2020

SMFS Members Published in Hoosier Noir: Two


Several SMFS list members have short stories in Hoosier Noir: Two. Published by First City Books, the read is available in both print and eBook at Amazon. The SMFS list members in the read are:

 

C.W. Blackwell with "Perry County Payback."

 

Michael Bracken with “Bet Me.”

 

Joseph S. Walker with "What They Say I Used To Be."

 

Synopsis:

HOOSIER NOIR is the low-rent home of gritty Indiana Crime fiction. Our debut issues featured indie crime heavyweights: Alec Cizak, and Preston Lang. That was just the beginning. Issue TWO features Marianne Halbert , Serena Jayne to Stephen J. Golds, C.W. Balckwell, and many more. We aren't going anywhere.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Margaret Mendel


SMFS list member Margaret Mendel’s short story, “The Caldera” has been published today at Kings River Life Magazine. The story is free to read here.

Friday, October 23, 2020

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Criminal Minds: Is Dad Reading This? by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: Is Dad Reading This?: How do you handle sex in your books? Or, if you don’t, why not? From Frank Okay, full disclosure here - this question was posed to the group...

SMFS Member Podcast News: Alec Cizak


SMFS list member Alec Cizak’s short story, “The Bridge” is the subject of the current podcast of
Dark Softly Tales. This episode is their fiftieth podcast and is a little longer than thirty minutes. It can be heard here.

  

Site Synopsis:

A history teacher, trying to find a way to connect with his teen daughter, discovers a local urban legend on Reddit about a haunted bridge. He offers to take his daughter to this bridge to see if the legend is true, but decides to check it out himself first. He makes a harrowing discovery that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Dark Softly Tales presents The Bridge by guest author Alec Cizak.

Author Bio: Alec Cizak is a writer and filmmaker from Indianapolis. His fiction has appeared in several journals and anthologies. He is also the editor of the fiction journal Pulp Modern.

Swing on over to amazon to find The Bridge and other stories in Alec Cizak's horror anthology, Lake County Incidents. Follow Alec on Twitter and Youtube. Head on over to his website http://nomoralcenter.blogspot.com to discover more.

Music: Very Low Note by Kevin MacLeod

Long Note One by Kevin Macleod

www.darksoftlytales.com

www.darksoftlytalespodcast.com

SMFS Member Publishing News: C. W. Blackwell


SMFS list member C. W. Blackwell’s short story, “The Cold Dark Forever” appears in the just published The Other Side: A Horror Anthology. Published by Devil's Rock Publishing, the read is available in digital and print formats from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

 

 

Synopsis:

 

Death is only the beginning…

There was only so long that the crypt could hide the secrets. Only so long the living could wait to pry open the coffin’s lid and discover the truth. For millennia, humans have pondered the endless abyss, made their own determinations, sobbed at the tombstones of lovers and prayed for a restful thereafter.

 

Now, for the first time, “The Other Side” is revealed in all its decrepit glory.

 

In this dark fiction and horror anthology, eleven horror authors explore the infinite possibilities that lay beyond the living. Featuring ghosts, graves, celestial voyages, forgetful realms, and forests of the dead, “The Other Side” will have you questioning all that you think you know about what lies beyond the curtain.

 

This bone-chilling collection features:

 

“Dirt” by Tom Garback

“Marvin’s Tavern” by Heinrich von Wolfcastle

“Corpse Forest” by Julie Hiner

“Wheels within Wheels” by Daniel R. Robichaud

“Piece by Piece” by Daniel Willcocks

“Secret Places” by Harvey Click

“Sheol” by Paul Stansfield

“The Cold Dark Forever” by C.W. Blackwell

“The Fork in the Road” by J. Thorn

“The Bus” by M.B. Vujačić

“Click for Ascension” by Thomas Kodnar

 

This collection has been edited by international bestselling author of dark fiction, Daniel Willcocks, and published by Devil’s Rock Publishing. For more information, visit www.devilsrockpublishing.com

SleuthSayers: Countdown to the Anthony Best Anthology Award by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: Countdown to the Anthony Best Anthology Award: Anthony Award Nominees Best Anthology or Collection Bouchercon 2020 The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods , ...

SMFS Members Published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine: November/December 2020


SMFS list members are published in the Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine: November/December 2020 issue. The issue is available at the publisher,  Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS members in the issue are:

 

Michael Bracken with “Woodstock.”

 

O’Neil De Noux with “Dreamboat Gambol.”

 

Barb Goffman with “Eat, Drink, and Be Murdered.”

 

R. T. Lawton with “A Matter of Values.”

 

Robert Mangeot with “On Loan from the Artist.” 


 

Publisher Synopsis:

 

In these times, when even a trip to the supermarket is fraught with peril, we can pursue new experiences through the widely traveled characters of our November/December issue. Their travails transport us to far-flung places—and drop us into situations that we would perhaps rather experience on the page. Take Magistrate Ovid’s path between the underworld of ancient Alexandria and the temple of the crocodile god in Tom Carpenter’s “The Lure of the Crocodile.” Or Michael Bracken’s housewife, whose detour takes her to a life-altering concert in “Woodstock.” When a prodigal son returns, he brings with him an alluring whiff of crime in Eric Rutter’s “Raven Stole the Sun,” while a spy returns to the home office to face his past in Mark Sadler’s “At the Coal Face.” Two siblings from Mexico try to make their way in the States in Doug Levin’s “Tamales for Sale.” A Midwestern transplant to New York has a metropolitan odyssey in Meredith Anthony’s “I’m Right Here.” O’Neil De Noux takes his adroit 1940’s P.I. on an excursion in New Orleans in “Dreamboat Gambol.” And low-level mobsters take to small-town New Hampshire seeking to hide out in “A Report on the Ladies’ Playground Committee of Prescott, NH” by Brendan DuBois.

 

An artist’s obsession with a particular color keeps her rooted in “The Color of Murder” by Mary Angela Honerman. A senior gets caught in financial shenanigans in John C. Boland’s “Time-Sharing.” Upstate NY P.I. Maggie Dove doesn’t take someone seriously in “Crown Imperial” by Susan Breen. A local newspaper struggles to stay relevant—and afloat, in Barb Goffman’s “Eat, Drink, and Be Murdered.” Las Vegas stylist Stacy Deshay is once again on hand when murder strikes in Shauna Washington’s “A Pageant to Die For.” A bit of art inspires a loan officer to think in Robert Mangeot’s “On Loan from the Artist.” And R. T. Lawton introduces us to a new series in “A Matter of Values.”

 

Wherever you are at this point in time, let us whisk you away with great crime fiction.

SMFS Members Published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: November/December 2020


SMFS list members are published in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: November/December 2020 issue. The issue is available at the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS members in the issue are:

 

Maurissa Guibord with “A Voice from the Dark.”

 

Josh Pachter with “The Adventure of the Black-and-Blue Carbuncle.”

 

 

Publisher Synopsis:

 

Close out the year with EQMM’s charmingly chilling holiday issue. In our pages you’ll follow clues through the snow in “Killer Instinct” by Doug Allyn, solve a compelling Christmas Eve puzzle by firelight in Catriona McPherson’s “Mrs. Tilling’s Match,” travel through time to the holidays at a coal mine in Almuth Heuner’s Glauser Award-winning “Black Legacy,” and enjoy a Yuletide visit with Ellery Queen and the Puzzle Club in “The Adventure of the Black-and-Blue Carbuncle” by Josh Pachter.

 

The holidays are known as a family time, and characters navigate those ties in “My People” by Liza Cody, featuring an undercover police officer, “Good Decisions” by Edwin Hill, in which two couples navigate their desires, “The Cards You’re Dealt” by Michael Z. Lewin, featuring Sergeant LeRoy Powder, and “The Man at the Window,” a Slater and Lomond case by Pat Black. Much like unwrapping a gift, characters sometimes give more than you’d expect, such as those in “The Man From Scotland Yard Dances Salsa” by John Lantigua, a Willie Cuesta mystery, “Crumble” by Christine Poulson, set in a small English town, and “The Other Imelda” by R.T. Raichev, featuring always reluctant sleuth Antonia Darcy and her husband Major Payne.

 

Two entires from our Black Mask department shine like coal in a stocking: “Duel of the Aces” by Travis Kennedy and “Boomerang Dice,” a classic reprint by Stewart Stirling. Meanwhile, power dynamics shift uneasily in “The Winner” by LaToya Jovena, “Maps” by Kim Harbridge, and “The Tuesday Curse” by Bill Pronzini and Barry N. Malzberg.

 

As you read “The Line” by Cath Staincliffe, “Words Don’t Kill” by Jehane Sharah, and “A Voice From the Dark” by Maurissa Guibord, you might find yourself reflecting on your year’s deeds (or misdeeds). Finally, we invite you to consider the stories published in EQMM this year and fill out our Readers Award ballot!

Monday, October 19, 2020

SMFS Members Published in Revenge of the Widow Malcom

\

Today is publication day for the new anthology, Revenge of the Widow Malcom published by Down & Out Books. The read is available in print and digital formats from the publisherAmazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members in the book are:

 

E. A. Aymar with “The Dying.”

 

Libby Cudmore with “Vengeance, Deep Fried.”

 

Nikki Dolson with “When The Widow Came To Dinner.”

 

Synopsis:

In 2017, Kate and Dan Malmon edited Killing Malmon, a unique anthology with short stories featuring the death of “Dan Malmon”. 100% of the profits went to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Some stories were scary, some were funny; some were random, some were heroic. But they all featured his death.

 

Dan Malmon’s widow would not sit idly while her husband was killed multiple times. Editors Kate and Dan Malmon are back with a second anthology, Revenge of the Widow Malmon. In this collection, all the stories feature “Kate Malmon” plotting and executing her bloody revenge. As with the first anthology, all profits from Revenge of the Widow Malmon will go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. So if you hate Multiple Sclerosis as much as we do, or just want to see Kate get her sweet revenge on some fools, please join us as we continue to raise money to battle this disease.

 

Featuring stories by E.A Aymar, Sean Chercover, Joe Clifford, S.A Cosby, Libby Cudmore, Nikki Dolson, Matthew FitzSimmons, Jordan Harper, Shaun Harris, J.J. Hensley, Jennifer Hillier, Aimee Hix, Matthew Iden, Renee Asher Pickup, and Eryk Pruitt.


Sunday, October 18, 2020

Writers Who Kill: Writers Have Long Memories…and an Anthology Callout by Judy Penz Sheluk

Writers Who Kill: Writers Have Long Memories…and an Anthology Callou...:   Back in August, I wrote about ‘Cleopatra Slippers,’ first published in  THEMA , Spring 2005, and how that story, and the actual event that...

Little Big Crimes Review: Alt-AC by Warren Moore

Little Big Crimes: Alt-AC, by Warren Moore:  "Alt-AC," by Warren Moore, in The Darkling Halls of Ivy, edited by Lawrence Block, LB Productions, 2020. This is the second app...

2020 SMFS Anthony Award Winners

Numerous SMFS list members were nominated this year for Anthony Awards at Bouchercon 2020 Sacramento. The event was held online and the awards were given out last night during ceremonies. Several SMFS list members have won. Those winners are:   

 

In the “Best Anthology or Collection” category, the winner was Parnall Hall Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Edible. Published by Wildside Press and edited by Verena Rose, Rita Owen, and SMFS list member Shawn Reilly Simmons. Twenty SMFS list members have short stories in the book as previously announced here on the SMFS blog.

 

In the “Best Paperback Original” category, Gigi Pandian won for her book, The Alchemist’s Illusion, published by Midnight Ink.

 

In the “Best First Novel” category, Tara Laskowski won for her book, One Night Gone, published by Graydon Press. This book has also won an Agatha Award as well as a Macavity Award 

 

SMFS congratulates our SMFS members in this achievement. The full list of all the nominees is on the official Bouchercon website as is more information on the event.  

Saturday, October 17, 2020

SMFS Member Publishing News: Sharon Marchisello

 

SMFS list member Sharon Marchisello’s short story, “Halloween Justice: A Halloween Mystery Short Story” appears today at Kings River Life Magazine. The story is online and free to read here.

Jungle Red Writers: How Do You Say That? The Mysteries of Audiobooks by Leslie Budewitz

Jungle Red Writers: How Do You Say That? The Mysteries of Audiobooks b...: Jenn McKinlay: Do you hear what I hear? Yes, it's our very dear Jungle Red friend, Leslie Budewitz, talking about audiobooks! Take it aw...

Ladies of Mystery: Guest Author – Jacqueline Seewald

 Ladies of Mystery: Guest Author – Jacqueline Seewald

SMFS Member Publication News: Louise Taylor


SMFS list member Louise Taylor’s short story, “Red Roses,” appears in the recently published anthology, Bodies in the Library Short Stories. Published by Flame Tree Publishing, the read is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

 

Synopsis:

 

Following the great success of our Gothic Fantasy deluxe edition short story compilations, including Cosy Crime, Murder Mayhem and Lost Worlds, this latest in the series is packed with amateur detectives solving mysterious murders, suspicious butlers and terrifying encounters set in locked rooms, stately mansions, haunted castles and eerily silent libraries.

 

This collection contains our usual mix of classic and brand new writing, with delightful tales of dastardly dealings from Wilkie Collins, R. Austin Freeman, Anna Katharine Green, Thomas W. Hanshew, E.W. Hornung, Gaston Leroux, Guy de Maupassant, Edgar Wallace and Oscar Wilde. Of course, new stories from contemporary authors give a voice to new writers through our open submission windows.

SMFS Member Publishing News: John Floyd


SMFS list member John M. Floyd’s short story “Dawson’s Curse” appears online at Danse Macabre. It can be read online for free here.  

2020 Macavity Awards SMFS Member Winners

 

During the opening ceremonies of Bouchercon 2020 Sacramento, the winners of the 2020 Macavity Awards nominees were announced. The SMFS power couple of Tara Laskowski and Art Taylor won in their respective categories.

 

Tara Laskowski won for “Best First Mystery” for her book, One Night Gone, published by Graydon House. This book won an Agatha Award earlier this year and is also up for an Anthony Award. She was the only SMFS member in this category.

 

In the “Best Mystery Short Story” category, Art Taylor won for his story, “Better Days” in the Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine: May/June 2019 issue. This tale also finished tied for sixth place in the most recent EQMM Readers Award balloting. Art was not the only SMFS member nominated as Barb Goffman with “Alex’s Choice (Crime Travel) and G. M. Malliet with “Whiteout” in the Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine: January/February 2019 issue were also nominated.

 

The SMFS congratulates Tara and Art on this magnificent accomplishment.

 

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 five categories. For more information on the Macavity Awards, please go to the site.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

SMFS Member Publication News: Cathi Stoler

SMFS list member Cathi Stoler’s short story, “Fried Zucchini Sticks” is published online at Yellow Mama. You can read the flash fiction piece here for free.

Sunday, October 11, 2020

SMFS Member Publishing News: Peter DiChellis


Peter DiChellis’ short story, “Soliciting Misery” appears in the online edition of Calliope Magazine of the Writers’ Special Interest Group of American Mensa. It is free to read and can be read here. The story previously appeared in 2015 at Over My Dead Body!

 

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

SleuthSayers: The Inspiration Panel by Robert Lopresti

SleuthSayers: The Inspiration Panel: Next week was supposed to be the Bouchercon in Sacramento.  Alas, it had to had to move to virtual  due to you-know-what. Some of you ar...

SMFS Members Published in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #7: Special Private Eye Issue


Several SMFS list members have short stories in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #7: Special Private Eye Issue. The read is available in print and eBook from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS members in the issue are:

 

Michael Bracken with "From the Cat's Perch" (the editorial)

 

John Floyd with “Mustang Sally.”

 

Robert  Jeschonek with “The Makings of a Killer.”

 

Robert Lopresti with “The Charity Case.”

 

O’Neil De Noux with “Love Pirate.”

 

Josh Pachter with “The Stopwatch of Death.”

 

Graham Powell with “Pictures of Lily.”

 

Bev Vincent with “The Fugitive with the Dragon Tattoo.”

 

Andrew Welsh-Huggins with “The Whole Story.”

 

 

Synopsis:

 

The Black Cat Mystery Magazine returns with issue #7 -- a special Private Eye edition, with great new tales (and one classic reprint) by masters of the genre. Included this time are:

 

THE CHARITY CASE, by Robert Lopresti

THE WHOLE STORY, by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

THE STOPWATCH OF DEATH, by Josh Pachter

THE FUGITIVE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, by Bev Vincent

LOVE PIRATE, by O'Neil De Noux

PICTURES OF LILY, by Graham Powell

SHOW AND ZELLER, by Gordon Linzner

MUSTANG SALLY, by John M. Floyd

FUNERAL POTATOES, by E.E. King

THE MAKINGS OF A KILLER, by Robert Jeschonek

LOOSE ENDS, by Fletcher Flora (classic reprint)

 


Monday, October 5, 2020

SMFS Member Publishing News: John Floyd

SMFS List Member John M. Floyd has a short story in the new issue of The Strand Magazine. Issue 61 contains his short story, “The Ironwood File.” The issue is available at the publisher and elsewhere.

Friday, October 2, 2020

SMFS Members Published in Mystery Weekly Magazine: October 2020


SMFS list members are published in the Mystery Weekly Magazine: October 2020 issue. The read is available from the publisher in both print and digital formats as well as at Amazon and other vendors.  The SMFS members in this issue are:

 

Teel James Glenn with "The Affair of the Heart" and "The Adventure of Sherlock Hominid.”

 

Bruce Harris with “Beggars Can Be Choosers.”

 

Synopsis:

 

Our annual Sherlock Holmes themed double issue is stuffed full with pastiches, parodies and articles.

“The Case Of The Count Of Saint Germain” by Martin Rosenstock: War is on the horizon, and the German ambassador narrowly escapes an assassin in London. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson must investigate, and encounter the immortal Count of Saint Germain.

“The Case Of Vigor, The Hammersmith Wonder” by Larry Lefkowitz: Holmes and Watson must solve a locked room mystery with seemingly no clues.

“The Adventure Of The Turned Tables” by Michael Mallory: It is the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Queen Victoria, and Sherlock Holmes discovers a series of puzzling crimes he can only explain in one way: the late, not lamented Professor Moriarty, who presumably died six years earlier, has returned.

“The Adventure Of Sherlock Hominid” by Teel James Glenn: A talking chimpanzee who travels to alternate relies uses deductive reasoning to solve a locked room murder à la Sherlock Holmes!

“The Baker Station Irregulars” by Eric Del Carlo: On a space station a Holmesian character tries to unravel the events which led to the murder and mutilation of a famous pugilist.

“Strangers In Blood” by Adam Beau Mcfarlane: The children of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson live in Jazz Age New York City. They're hired to investigate a seance.

“A Clockwork Crook” by John H. Dromey: A Victorian damsel is in distress. Can a steampunk professor and an opera singer come to her rescue in time?

“The Case Of The Burnt Wires” by J.J. White: Dr. Watson narrates a lost case that could not be revealed until Mr Sherlock Holmes's death.

“The Affair Of The Heart” by Teel James Glenn: Holmes and Watson are not he scene when a young man has a heart attack on a train—but was it natural?

“Death And The Doctor” by Adam Beau Mcfarlane: In New York City during the Jazz Age, the children of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson solve a murder. Did a malevolent soul hide behind the exterior mask of a well-schooled gentleman?

“The Silent Sherlock” by Philip Leibfried: This is an article telling of all the silent film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. It includes American and foreign films.

“Beggars Can Be Choosers” by Bruce Harris: This Sherlock Holmes essay examines Hugh Boone, the street beggar in 'The Man With The Twisted Lip'.

“Nevermore” by David Bart: In this Poe-ish tale, Lyle Scoggins is a veteran, a cat owner and a successful crook. So, why do they want him dead?

“Birthday Party” by Bruce McAllister: The self-aware artificial intelligence that runs the superyacht of a billionaire who just died hosts a birthday party for him anyway—one with a special theme.

“What Lies Beneath The Bandages” by Richard Zwicker: The monster of Frankenstein has returned to Geneva and reinvented himself as a consulting detective. His motto: no case too monstrous. That remains to be seen when his client is attacked by a mummy.

“Mark Of Shame” by Roxanne Dent: Smart but saddled with a new partner he resents, Detective Martinez investigates the death of a Halloween fanatic in an upscale Massachusetts community.

And we have the special Sherlock Holmes themed “Thiefsgiving”: A You-Solve-It by Laird Long.

Basis Rathbone and Nigel Bruce custom cover art by the talented Robin Grenville-Evans.

Thursday, October 1, 2020

SMFS Member Podcast News: Barb Goffman


SMFS list member Barb Goffman reads her short story, “Dear Emily Etiquette” for the EQMM podcast. The tale appears in print in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine: September/October 2020. You can listen to her read the short story here.

 

From the site:

 

Barb Goffman is a mystery author, editor, and anthologist. She has won the Agatha, Macavity, and Silver Falchion awards for her writing, and has received more than two dozen award nominations. In this episode, she reads her tale "Dear Emily Etiquette" from the current September/October 2020 issue of EQMM.

SMFS Member Publishing News: C. W. Blackwell


SMFS list member C. W. Blackwell’s short story, “Dancer in the Pines” appears in the new anthology, Dead Awake: 12 Tales of Darkness.  Published by LOM Publishing, the read is available in print and eBook formats at Amazon.

 

 

Synopsis: 


Twelve tales of darkness from the new generation of horror authors that will seep into your mind as you lie Dead Awake at night.Including tales from new horror standouts: Christy Aldridge, C.W. Balckwell, Jill Girardi, Mark Allan Gunnells, Sylvia Elven, A C Fraser, Sadie Hartmann (Mother Horror), Michelle Renee Lane, Catherine McCarthy, Justin Montgomery, Ethan Pollard, and the Sisters of Slaughter.As horror legend Stanley Wiater stated, "Go revel in their waking nightmares."



SMFS Member Publishing News: Ron Katz

 


SMFS list member Ron Katz has published “The Mystery of The Fishy Retirement” at his The Sleuthing Silvers website. You can read the tale for free here.