SMFS Member Podcast News: Home for the Holidays by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

SMFS list member Andrew Welsh-Huggins’ short story, Home for the Holidays, is featured this week at Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine's Fiction Podcast. Read by the author, the podcast can be heard here.

 

 

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Andrew Welsh-Huggins is an accomplished author who has been nominated for Shamus, Derringer, and ITW Thriller awards. We're thrilled to feature his reading of "Home for the Holidays," a Christmastime thriller from our Jan/Feb 2020 issue, as the latest entry in our podcast series. 

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Optimal Solution by Dan Castro

  

SMFS list member Dan Castro’s short story, The Optimal Solution, appears at Witcraft.org. You can read it online for free here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Brought to Book by Liz Filleul

The short story collection, The Scarlet Stiletto: 30 Years of Mystery, Murder and Malice, was recently released. The book features the Scarlet Stiletto's First Prize winners from 1994 to 2023. That includes the 2004 short story, Brought to Book, by SMFS list member Liz Filleul. Published by Clan Destine Press, the books is available through the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

 

Publisher Description:

Thirty years of silver blades, scarlet stains and the most elegant of heels. Thirty years of slipping in the knife, tightening the noose, measuring out the poison. Thirty years of whispered threats and tangled plots, of murder and mayhem.

For thirty years, the annual Scarlet Stiletto women’s crime and mystery short story competition – run by Sisters in Crime Australia – has uncovered dreadful deeds, righteous revenge, deadly high-jinks and wicked shenanigans, all while shining a light on the emerging and seasoned talent of Australian women who’ve taken to a life writing crime.

Celebrate this great competition's 30th anniversary with the gorgeous pearls that are the Scarlet Stiletto’s First Prize winners, from 1994 to 2023, and discover why it's criminal what a girl has to do, to get a good read.

The winning perpetrators are:

Cate Kennedy, Christina Lee, Siobhan Mullany, Janis Spehr,
Josephine Pennicott, Roxxy Bent, Jacqui Horwood, Liz Filleul, Julie Waight,
Aoiffe Clifford, Evelyn Tsitas, Amanda Wrangles, Ellie Marney,
Angela Savage, Candice Graham, Judith Bridge, TJ Hamilton, Ruth Wykes,
Rowena Harding-Smith, Philomena Horsley, Blanche Clark,
Jessica Southern Reid, Hayley Young, Fin J. Ross, and Romany Rzechowicz

 

SMFS Member Podcast News: Christmas Cookie Caper by Margaret S. Hamilton

 

SMFS list member Margaret S. Hamilton’s short story, Christmas Cookie Caper, is featured this week at Mysteryrat's Maze podcast. Produced by Kings River Life Magazine, the podcast can be heard here.

 

Website Description:

This episode features the mystery short story Christmas Cookie Caper By Margaret S. Hamilton. It is read by local actor Donna Beavers. Christmas Cookie Caper was published in Kings River Life Magazine in 2015. This is the first of 3 Christmas mystery episodes! 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. Our theme song was written and performed by Kevin Memley. 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 our podcast newsletter.

If you would like to help support this podcast and Kings River Life financially, and get some fun rewards, check out our Patreon Page. You can also make a one time donation through Paypal and you can purchase some fun Mysteryrat's Maze merchandise on Redbubble.

You can find more mystery fun on our websites Kings River Life Magazine and KRL News and Reviews.

 

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Elizabeth Elwood

SMFS list member Elizabeth Elwood’s short story, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, is published in Black Cat Weekly #117. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format.

 

Publisher Description:

We successfully completed Thanksgiving, but now we’re trapped in the dead zone between roast turkey and roasting chestnuts. When our first December issue arrives, we’ll kick off holiday celebrations anew, though, with more great novels and short stories.

   But in the meantime, we have an original crime story by the always-masterful Elizabeth Elwood (thanks to Acquiring editor Michael Bracken), a Early Christman treat by Mark Thielman (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman), a mystery classic by Stephen Wasylyk, and part 2 of Tiger Island, the only novel from acclaimed short story author Jack Ritchie. Plus, of course, a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles.

   On the more fantastic end of things, Anna Tambour works wonders with “orms”… Tom Purdom shows there’s still a place for individualism in the future… Algis Budrys brings a detective down the mean streets of the future, in search of a missing man… A. Earley has a sugary tale of (among many things) Russian aggression in the future… And we have part 2 of Francis Jarman’s historical fantasy, The Eagle’s Wing. Good stuff!

 

   Here’s the complete lineup:

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: 

“The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” by Elizabeth Elwood [Michael Bracken Presents short story]

“What’s Wrong with this Picture?” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]

“The Wreck of the Edward FitzSimmons,” by Mark Thielman [Barb Goffman Presents short story]

“The Web,” by Stephen Wasylyk [short story]

Tiger Island, by Jack Ritchie [serial novel, part 2 of 3]

“Between the Dark and the Daylight,” by Algis Budrys [short story]

  

Science Fiction & Fantasy: 

“The Age of Fish, Post-Flowers” by Anna Tambour [short story]

“The Man Who Wouldn’t Sign Up,” by Tom Purdom [short story]

“Between the Dark and the Daylight,” by Algis Budrys [short story]

“And It Was Good,” by A. Earley [short story]

The Eagle’s Wing by Francis Jarman [serial novel, part 2 of 4]

SMFS Member Publishing News: A Bookish Christmas by Liz Pierce

SMFS list member Liz Pierce’s short story, A Bookish Christmas, appears in the recently released, Tidbits and Tinsel Tails: A Holiday Hijinks Anthology. The read is published by Camden Park Press in eBook format. Edited by SMFS list member, Lyn Worthern, the read is available at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

Pets come in all shapes and sizes, from dogs and cats to birds and goats, and more. But whether they have fins, fur, feathers, or scales, they’re part of our families – and that makes them part of our holidays!

In TIDBITS & TINSEL TAILS, it's our four-legged friends who are the stars of the show: the dogs and cats who participate in - or are challenged by - the holiday festivities in a variety of ways.

Contains stories by Rebecca M Senese, L.D.B. Taylor, Caryn Larrinaga, Liz Pierce, T.C. Ross, Jessica Guernsey, L.L. Wright, Jordan Campbell, Jennifer M. Roberts, and Kimber Lin. Edited by Lyn Worthen

SMFS Member Publishing News: Two Short Stories by Wendy Harrison

 

SMFS list member Wendy Harrison reports that she has two short stories out now in two different anthologies.

 

Today is publication day for Magick & Mystery: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology  includes her short story, Send in the Clowns. Published by Dragon Soul Press, the read is available in both digital and print formats at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Description:

Craving something magical?

Whether hiding from the law, trying to live a simple life or diving into danger, each of these witchy stories drags you along for an adventure. And when you have magic, nearly everyone wants your help. Attachments – like friendships, relationships – can be woven like threads of pretty silk, only to strangle victims later.

Featuring fifteen stories by Wendy Harrison, Robin Kelly, Nicole Walsh, Jennifer Strassel, Laura Bohlcke, Chad Barger, D.L. Lewellyn, Bethany van Sterling, Barend Nieuwstraten III, Charles Kyffhausen, Edgar Mahaffey, Helen Glynn Jones, and J.E. Feldman.

 

Her short story, From the Ashes, appears in the recently released anthology, December Tales II: A Collection of New and Encore Ghost Stories. Published by Curious Blue Press, the read is available in digital format at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

Follow-up to 2021's December Tales, December Tales II is a collection of thirty-seven chilling new and encore ghost stories, by both established and new authors. The perfect anthology of haunting tales to curl up with on a long, cold winter night.

Contents include:

Eighth Man by Liam Hogan
On the Back Roads by Jen Mierisch
The Long Piper by Kieran Marsh
The Imaginary Friend by Angela M. Sanders
The Verandah by Jay Caselberg
A Texas Christmas Carol by Matias Travieso-Diaz
The Return by Shikhandin
I, Millbrae House by Michael S. Collins
Bleak by M. L. Clock
I’ll Fly Away by LouAnn Blocker
A Necessary Kindness by Valerie Hunter
The Incomparable Rose by Peter Lundt
From The Ashes by Wendy Harrison
And Never Brought to Mind by Chris W. McGuinness
Bay Of Tears By J.J. Smith
Aftertaste by Edward Ahern
Black Velvet Ghost by HL Bernabe
The Glass Eye by Rachel Coffman
Smudges by Mike Robinson
Border Town by Logan McConnell
Nurse Nell by Andrée Gendron
Raising Jane by Kate Maruyama
The Golden Gloves by Kathryn Healy
A Walk in the Whispering Woods of Dagshai by Neepa Sarkar
Abbie and The Beatles by Nancy Lynn Jarvis
The Falling Stars By Kay Hanifen
Dash Point by Stephen A. Roddewig
Of Specters and Pianos by Charis Negley
To Smell the Chocolate by Jocelyn Sordoni
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming by J. D. Horn
The Escape by Patricia J. Esposito
Hide-and-Seek by Camden Rose
Evergreen by Jeff McCrory
This Other Night by Thomas C. Mavroudis
The Haunted Slaughterhouse of Tromleigh by Colin Leonard
A Body in Winter by Manfred Gabriel
Rain by Jay Seate

SMFS Member Publishing News: Back for Seconds by Gregory Meece

SMFS list member Gregory Meece’s short story, Back for Seconds, was published today at The Yard: Crime Blog. You can read it online for free here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: It’s Only Fair by Jane Limprecht

SMFS list member Jane Limprecht’s mystery short story, It’s Only Fair, was published at Kings River Life Magazine. You can read the piece for free online here.

SMFS Members Published in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine: Issue 23

Several SMFS members are published in the recently released, Pulphouse Fiction Magazine: Issue 23. Published by WMG Publishing, the read is available in print and digital formats from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The members that reported being in the issue are:

 

David H. Hendrickson with "Lost Balls."

 

Robert Jeschonek with "Why the Cop with a Rose for a Head Wears a Rose-Head Mask.”

 

Annie Reed with "Missing Carolyn."

 

C. A. Rowland with “A Touch of Memory.”

 

Publisher Description: 

The Cutting Edge of Modern Short Fiction

A three-time Hugo Award nominated magazine, this issue of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine offers up ten fantastic stories by some of the best writers working in modern short fiction.

No genre limitations, no topic limitations, just great stories. Attitude, feel, and high-quality fiction equals Pulphouse.

“This is definitely a strong start. All the stories have a lot of life to them, and are worthwhile reading.” —Tangent Online on Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Issue #1

 

Includes:

“Missing Carolyn” by Annie Reed

“Waiting for the Hunger” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

“Hey, Diddle, Diddle” by Christina F. York

 

“If the Shoe Fits” by Dayle A. Dermatis

“A Touch of Memory” C.A. Rowland

“Lost Balls” by David H. Hendrickson

“Francesca and the Sentient Peaches from Outer Space” by Bonnie Elizabeth

“Why the Cop with a Rose for a Head Wears a Rose-Head Mask” by Robert Jeschonek

“The Purple Side of Blue” by O’Neil De Noux

“Stolen Memories: A Spade Conundrum” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

“Minions at Work” by J. Steven York

SMFS Member Publishing News: Irish Devil by Patrick Whitehurst

SMFS list member Patrick Whitehurst’s short story, Irish Devil, was recently published at Shotgun Honey. You can read the piece for free online here.

SMFS Member Guest Post: OLD STUFF, NEW ANSWER by Kathleen Marple Kalb (SMFS Vice President)

Please welcome back our Vice President, Kathleen Marple Kalb, to our SMFS blog today…

 

 

OLD STUFF, NEW ANSWER

Guest Post by Kathleen Marple Kalb, SMFS VP

 

          Plot first or characters first?

            It’s a question mystery writers are asked – and ask themselves – just about every day.

            And almost every time, my answer is: characters first. One of my favorite things about writing is creating and living with these interesting people through their adventures. The whole reason I write, and love to read, series mysteries is the pleasure of hanging out with the characters.

            Almost all my story ideas begin that way: what could only happen to my characters, and why are they the only people who could solve the crime? It might be their job, their life experience, or some quirk of their personality, but the story always begins there.

            Or I thought it did.

            Then, last December, while I was making final arrangements for my mother, the funeral director used the phrase “the custodian of the body.” It gave me the idea for a mystery set in a funeral home: an innocent person burying a loved one stumbles into a murder in the next viewing room. Before you condemn me as a hopeless ghoul, please remember that plenty of people use writing as a coping mechanism. I’m one of them.

            The problem was, this great story idea didn’t fit my usual short-story characters, a divorced woman remaking her life at a little Vermont radio station and her colorful pals. Nobody was a good fit for serious grief. The idea simmered in the back of my head for a while, until I stumbled across something related to THE STUFF OF MURDER, my new Old Stuff series.

            The main character is a widow, Christian Shaw, head of the Unity, Connecticut Historical Society. When we meet her in the book, it’s about two years after her husband’s car-crash death, and she’s worked through the initial devastation, building a new life for herself and her son with the help of found family and good friends.

            I’d never used her in a short story because the cast is so large it didn’t seem workable. 

            But if it were just Christian and the person she’d bring with her to make funeral arrangements, her mentor/father figure Garrett?

            Suddenly, the whole thing came together: step back in time to Christian burying her husband and stumbling across a murder in the next room – a murder only she recognizes and can solve because of her unique expertise with old household objects. Give her a little help from Garrett, his former state trooper husband Ed, and some obligingly nasty suspects, and there it was.

            The end result, “The Custodian of the Body,” was my first story in Black Cat Weekly – with the help of an amazing edit by Barb Goffman. (Important aside: anytime you get a chance to be edited by Barb, the answer is yes, thank you – it’s an incredible learning experience, and so valuable to have her on your internal soundtrack as you build a story!)

            And, after writing one short story with Christian, I’ve done several others – so expect to see her again. She – and I – are a little busy right now, though. Christian’s first novel-length adventure, THE STUFF OF MURDER, came out this week from Level Best Books. A fading movie star drops dead on a shoot in her little town, and she ends up using her knowledge of everything from pewter tankards to Colonial bayonets to embroidery to track the killer. If you met Christian in “The Custodian of the Body,” you might enjoy spending a bit more time in her world, and meeting everyone who was hovering just outside the edges of the short story.

            I’m still a characters-first writer, but the experience of writing “The Custodian of the Body” convinced me that when a plot is good enough, you can find characters to fit. One more way to up my writing game.

 

THE STUFF OF MURDER: When Hollywood comes to small-town Connecticut, it should be the stuff of dreams – but when a fading movie star ends up dead, a whole different kind of stuff hits the fan.  Unity Historical Society head and antique household items – stuff! -- expert Christian Shaw is on set when actor Brett Studebaker falls to his death from the pulpit in an old church. She, the “dads she should have had,” Garrett and Ed, her son Henry, who has a photographic memory and Type-1 Diabetes, and her colorful friends end up helping Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Poli in his investigation. Along for the ride: her giant tuxedo cat, Cookie, Ed and Garrett’s big red mutt Norm, and Joe’s tiny dog Cannoli! Woodworking, embroidery, old poisons, and vintage weapons all figure in the case, which comes together in a wild scene at the Historical Society on Fourth-Grade Field Trip Day.

 

Buy at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKWFXQ3S/

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb © 2023

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including The Stuff of Murder, and the upcoming Ella Shane mystery, A Fatal Reception, both from Level Best Books. As Nikki Knight, she writes the Grace the Hit Mom and Vermont Radio mysteries. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and others, and been short-listed for Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards. She’s currently the Vice President of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and a co-VP of the New York/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat.

 

Website: https://kathleenmarplekalb.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kathleen-Marple-Kalb-1082949845220373/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KalbMarple   

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenmarplekalb/           

SMFS Member Publishing News: Novak's Verdict: A Novel by James H. Lewis

  

Today is publication day for SMFS list member James H. Lewis’ new book, Novak's Verdict: A Novel. This is the third book in the Chief Novak police procedural series that started with Novak's Mission: A Novel. The new book is available in digital format at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

Boyleston Police Chief Karol Novak and his team investigate the murder of a real estate agent and former mayor. As they delve into the case, one suspect stands out, but Novak refuses to accept his guilt. As the investigation progresses, tragedy strikes in the form of an officer's death, sending Detective Lydia Barnwell's life into a tailspin.

Novak works the case while preparing to assume leadership of a regional police force, but politics intervene. Meanwhile, Karol's wife Barbara battles the school district over the behavior of a teacher. As the explosive climax of the murder investigation is reached, Karol and Barbara must ask themselves if public service is worth fighting entrenched bureaucracies just to do their jobs.

If you enjoyed the tense police investigations of the Chief Inspector Gamache series, you'll also love the Chief Novak series.

SMFS Member Publishing News: A Strange Request at a Piano Bar by Wil A. Emerson

SMFS list member Wil A. Emerson’s short story, A Strange Request at a Piano Bar, appears in the recently released Dark Yonder: Issue 4. Published by Thalia Press, the read is available in digital and print format at Amazon.

Amazon Description:

Truth in the Shadows

Betrayal, compassion, dark humor, friendship, love gone wrong, and the enduring devotion of family: Issue 4 of Dark Yonder highlights the range of human emotion in ten original, unforgettable neo noir short stories.

Good People by Simon Berry

Quiz Bowl by Scott Blackburn

A Strange Request at a Piano Bar by Wil A. Emerson

Will I See the Birds When I Am Gone by Stanton McCaffery

Sweet Chin Music by Joshua Murray

Twenty-One Turquoise Beads by Estelle Phillips

No Voices in the Sky by Emilee Prado

Blunt Multiple Karma by Andrew Riconda

Burglary Down East by Austin Treat

The Least Interesting Man in the World by Mike Zimmerman

Issue 4 also features a special cocktail recipe for the Fall of 2023 — The Black Widow — along with commentary by editors Eryk Pruitt and Katy Munger.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Gladis' Revenge by James Patrick Focarile

SMFS list member James Patrick Focarile’s micro short story, Gladis' Revenge, appears online at Scribes Micro Fiction #35. The story is free to read at the website.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Riders on the Storm by Charlotte Vale

SMFS list member Charlotte Vale’s short story, Riders on the Storm, appears in Dark Highways: The Cellar Door Issue #3. Published by Dark Peninsula Press, the read is available in digital and print format at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

Dark Highways is the third issue of The Cellar Door anthology series from Dark Peninsula Press. Featuring nine stories of dark fiction exploring dangerous highways, treacherous backroads, and bloodthirsty vehicles.

With stories by: Matt Neil Hill, Scott McCloskey, Scotty Milder, SR MIller, Christi Nogle, Mary Rajotte, Darren Todd, Charlotte Vale, and Mark Wheaton. Compiled and edited by Aric Sundquist. Cover artwork by Mikio Murakami.

Keep moving forward, carried on by the thrill...

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Domino Room by Richie Narvaez

SMFS list member Richie Narvaez’s short story, The Domino Room, was published earlier this week at Vautrin. The story is online and free to read at the website.

SMFS Members Published in Crimeucopia - Crank It Up!

 

Today is the official publication day for Crimeucopia - Crank It Up! Published by Murderous Ink Press, the read is available in digital and print formats at Amazon and other vendors. SMFS list members that reported being in the read are:

 

Wil A. Emerson with “Road to Reconciliation.”

 

Robert Petyo with "The Ferrari."

 

M.E. Proctor with "Borrowed."

 

Annie Reed with "Hot August Ice."

 

Ed Teja with "Storefront Assassin."

 

Amazon Description:

Crimeucopia - Crank It Up!

To honour motor transportation in some of its many roles in the crime fiction genre, we have gathered together a fine collection of short pieces that we feel, in one way or another, will crank up your adrenaline and get your emotions racing without making you blow a gasket or strip a gear.

Featuring: Ed Teja, John A. Connor, Ruth Morgan, Jesse Aaron, Scotch Rutherford, Billie Livingston, Robert Petyo, John Elliott, M.E. Proctor, William Kitcher, R. M. Linning, Annie Reed, Wil A. Emerson, Dan A. Cardoza, Alan J. Wahnefried, Sam Wiebe, Jon Fain, and Mark James McDonough

We hope you'll find something that you immediately like, as well as something that takes you out of your regular racing line comfort zone - and puts you into a completely new one.

In other words, in the spirit of the Murderous Ink Press motto: 

You never know what you like until you read it.

SMFS Members Published in Winter Mysteries: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem Book #16

Today is publication day for Winter Mysteries: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem Book #16. Published by Knotted Road Press, the read is available in digital format at MysteryCrimeandMayhem.Com and Amazon.  The SMFS list members that reported being in the issue are:

 

Joslyn Chase with "Silver Secrets, Crimson Ties."

 

Diana Deverell with "Ristras, Luminarias, and Las Posadas."

Robert Jeschonek with "Not Just Another Saturnalia."

 

Annie Reed with "The White Whale."

 

MCM Website Description:

Winter time reminds readers of the holidays, getting together with family, and frequently, cold snowy weather.

All that “cheer” can drive people to murder, though.

What other mysteries occur in the winter? The wonderful syndicate of MCM answers that question.

With stories from guest authors Nick Andreychuk and Dayle A. Dermatis.

SMFS Members Published in Amber Waves of Graves: Unearth the darker side of rural life

Today is publication day for Amber Waves of Graves: Unearth the darker side of rural life. Published by the Speed City Sisters in Crime, the read is available in digital format at Amazon and other vendors. The SMFS list members that reported being in the new anthology are:

 

Shari Held with "The Perfect Martini."

 

Joseph S. Walker with “Last Seen Heading West.”

 

Amazon Description:

RURAL INDIANA - A PLACE WITH ACRES AND ACRES OF FARMLAND TO HIDE DEAD BODIES

The rural Indiana landscape seems so bucolic, from the gently rolling hills of the south to the easy sway of cornfields in the north. Who knew those picturesque barns could hide criminal activity as well as livestock, or those rustic cemeteries be rife with murder victims as well as those who died of old-age? The members of the Speed City Sisters in Crime chapter, that's who! In these seemingly peaceful rural settings, our authors uncover criminal deeds, unearth long dead secrets, provide justice for the wronged, and thwart the plans of the wicked. Sixteen tales testify that from the wide-open farmland to the small farming towns, the opportunity for mayhem and mischief is ever-present. Come along with authors Leanne Edelen, Roberta Barmore, Diana Catt, Joseph Walker, Andrea Smith, Ramona Henderson, Shari Held, Jon Burroughs, P.K. Richard, Mary Bischoff, Carol Paddock, Elizabeth San Miguel, Ross Carley, Norm Campbell, Stephen Terrell, and Elizabeth Perona as they explore the dark and deadly mysteries hidden within the fertile soil of rural Indiana.

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Stuff of Murder: An Old Stuff Mystery by Kathleen Marple Kalb

 

Today is publication day for The Stuff of Murder: An Old Stuff Mystery by Kathleen Marple Kalb. Published by Level Best Books, LLC., this first book in the new series is available in digital format at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

When Hollywood comes to small-town Connecticut, it should be the stuff of dreams—but when a fading movie star ends up dead, a whole different kind of stuff hits the fan.

Unity Historical Society head and antique household items—stuff!—expert Christian Shaw is on set when actor Brett Studebaker falls from the pulpit during a streaming service shoot in an old church. She, the “dads she should have had,” Garrett and Ed, her son Henry, who has a photographic memory and Type-1 Diabetes, and her colorful friends end up helping Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Poli track the killer. Along for the ride: her giant tuxedo cat, Cookie, Ed and Garrett’s big red mutt, Norm, and Joe’s tiny dog, Cannoli. Woodworking, embroidery, old poisons, and vintage weapons all figure in the case, which comes together in a wild scene at the Historical Society on Fourth-Grade Field Trip Day.

SMFS Members Published in Malice, Matrimony, and Murder: A Limited-Edition Collection of 25 Wedding Cozy Mystery and Crime Fiction Stories

 

Today is publication day for Malice, Matrimony, and Murder: A Limited-Edition Collection of 25 Wedding Cozy Mystery and Crime Fiction. The anthology contains numerous short stories by SMFS list members. Published through Draft2Digital, the book is currently available in digital and print formats at Amazon and other vendors. The numerous SMFS list members that reported their presence in the book are:

 

J. Aquino with "Death, the Uninvited Wedding Guest."

 

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier with “Chill.”

 

Joslyn Chase with "The Groom's Club."

 

Wil A. Emerson with “Marriage, Neighbors and Best Friend.”

 

Margaret S. Hamilton with “Til Death Do Us Part.”

 

Lynn Hesse with “Sabotage and A Murder Mystery.”

 

Shari Held with "Wedding Vows and Vipers."

 

Teresa Inge with “What’s a Little Murder Between Friends.”

 

Nikki Knight with "Second Chances are...Murder."

 

Sharyn Kolberg with “We Haven't Had Cake.”

 

Karen McCullough with “The Other Wedding Crasher.”

 

Charlotte Morganti with "A Wedding Planner's Nightmare."

 

Sally Milliken with "Icing on the Cake."

 

Rebecca Olmstead with "Love and Death in Madison, Georgia."

 

Robert Petyo with "Better Late Than Murdered."

 

P.M. Raymond with "Cinderella at Midnight."

Stephen D. Rogers with "Goes Around."

Elaine Togneri with "Jilted."

 

Amazon Description:

The bride wore an orange jumpsuit...

Everyone loves a good wedding--and a good mystery. Combine the two and what do you get? Malice, Matrimony, and Murder!

Over two dozen authors have teamed up to offer you this wedding-themed collection of brand-new cozy mystery and cozy crime fiction stories that will keep you wondering whodunit and what's next from the first page to the last. Between bad bridesmaids, conniving caterers, greedy guests, ill-mannered in-laws, savvy sleuths, and vengeful villains, this anthology has it all! All of the stories are clean and fun, with a general feel-good tone. If you read to be entertained, surprised, and uplifted, then this collection is for you!

Plus, the anthology as a whole contains an overarching wedding whodunit woven throughout. As you're reading, collect the clues, identify whodunit, and access a special ebook filled with bonuses and extras. Inside you'll find recipes, character interviews, bonus stories, and more!

If you're drawn to shorter mysteries that are light on gore and language, and high on humor, entertainment, and happy endings, then you don't want to miss out on Malice, Matrimony, and Murder. But this collection is only available for a limited-time, so grab it now before it's gone forever!

Our stories:

- "The Groom's Club" by Joslyn Chase.

- "A Wedding Planner's Nightmare: A Persimmon Worthing Mystery" by Charlotte Morganti.

- "Cinderella at Midnight" by P.M. Raymond.

- "Ring Robbery: A Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Short" by Paige Sleuth.

- "What's a Little Murder Between Friends" by Teresa Inge.

- "Icing on the Cake" by Sally Milliken.

- "Love and Death in Madison, Georgia" by Rebecca Olmstead.

- "Second Chances Are...Murder: A Vermont Radio Mystery" by Nikki Knight.

- "Wedding Vows & Vipers" by Shari Held.

- "The Bride Wore Death" by Barbara Howard.

- "Chill: A Naomi Sinclair Short Story" by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier.

- "A Bit of a Do" by KD Sherrinford.

- "Goes Around" by Stephen D. Rogers.

- "Jilted" by Elaine Togneri.

- "Sabotage and a Murder Mystery" by Lynn Hesse.

- "Til Death Do Us Part" by Margaret S. Hamilton.

- "A Wedding Most Bitter: A Lara's Detective Agency Series" by Stella Oni.

- "Better Late Than Murdered" by Robert Petyo.

- "Charm City Wedding" by Pamela Kyel.

- "The Other Wedding Crasher" by Karen McCullough.

- "Marriage, Neighbors and Best Friends: A Wally and Ollie Series" by Wil A. Emerson.

- "The Wedding Dress in the Middle of the Road" by Jack Bates.

- "Death, the Unwanted Wedding Guest" by J. Aquino.

- "We Haven't Had Cake" by Sharyn Kolberg.

- "To Have and To Scold" by Becky Clark.