SMFS Member Publishing News: Debt Owed by Brandon Barrows and Patrick Simpson

SMFS list member Brandon Barrows’ short story, Debt Owed, was published today at Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Flash!  The story was cowritten with Patrick Simpson. You can read the flash fiction story online for free here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Outfitters and Critters by John M. Floyd

SMFS list member John M. Floyd’s short story, Outfitters and Critters, appears in the July 29th issue of Woman's World. The issue is available in grocery stores, newsstands, and at Woman’s World.

SMFS Members Published in Black Cat Weekly #151

 

SMFS list members are published in Black Cat Weekly #151. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format. The list members in the issue are:

 

Tracy Falenwolfe with “Jamming at Jollies.”

 

Teel James Glenn with “White Face/Blood Red.”

 

Veronica Leigh with “Divine Discontent.”

  

Publisher Description:

This issue, we have five mystery stories, three of which are originals—tales by Tracy Falenwolfe (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken), Veronica Leigh, and Teel James Glenn—these last two names should be familiar to regular readers from previous issues. We also have a great modern tale by Jonathan Santlofer (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman) and a classic pulp crime story set in the dark world of Las Vegas casinos by Bryce Walton. Plus, of course, a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles.

 

On the science fiction end, the Lancelot Biggs space opera series from Nelson Bond continues with “F-O-B Venus.” F-O-B was a more common term in early to mid 20th century. It stands for “Free on Board”—a term used in international shipping to indicate that the seller delivers the goods to a ship at a specified port, and the buyer assumes responsibility once the goods are on board and is responsible for shipping costs, insurance, and other expenses related to transporting the goods to their final destination. Rounding things out are a pair of novels: pulp action-adventure from Edmond Hamilton, then Lester del Rey’s classic tale of an atomic power plant heading toward meltdown. Great stuff.

 

Here’s the complete lineup—

 

Cover Art: Ron Miller

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

 

• “Jamming at Jollies,” by Tracy Falenwolfe [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
• “The Case of the Carried-off Coins,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
• “Lola,” by Jonathan Santlofer [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
• “Divine Discontent,” by Veronica Leigh [short story]
• “White Face, Blood Red,” by Teel James Glenn [short story]
• “Murderers Three,” by Bryce Walton [short story]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

 

• “F-O-B Venus,” by Nelson S. Bond [short story, Lancelot Biggs series]
• Outside the Universe, by Edmond Hamilton [novel]
• Nerves, by Lester del Rey [novel]

SMFS Member 2024 Scribe Award Nominee: Terrie Moran

SMFS list member Terrie Moran reports that her novel, Murder, She Wrote: Fit for Murder was nominated for the 2024 Scribe Award in the “Original Novel—General” category by The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. The full list of The 2024 Scribe Award Nominees is on their website.

SMFS Member Publishing News: How Low Can You Go? by Sally Milliken

SMFS list member Sally Milliken reports that her short story, How Low Can You Go?, was published at Punk Noir Magazine. You can read the piece for free online here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Heart that Fed by Bev Vincent

SMFS list member Bev Vincent’s short story, The Heart that Fed, is published in the recently released anthology, About That Snowy Evening...: Stories Inspired by Classic Poems, from Emily Dickinson to Walt Whitman & More. Independently Published, the read is available at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

Poetry has inspired writers, artists, songwriters, and other artists for eons. About That Snowy Evening... offers 16 classic poems, and more than 20 short stories inspired by these poems, written by some of the most widely-published and highly-regarded writers working today.

A true hybrid, About That Snowy Evening... provides entertainment, insight, and an education in how the compression of language that bespeaks poetry can provide inspiration and spur the creative impulse.

Each story is different: they range from humanistic dramas, to ghost stories, crime thrillers, war stories, and childhood reminiscences.

Readers who are not familiar with poetry will be delighted at the classics offered, and the inspired stories will stimulate new understanding of literature and the power of the written word — in both poetic and prose formats.

SMFS Member Winner for the 2024 Public Safety Writers Association Awards: Frank Zafiro

SMFS list member Frank Zafiro reports that he won the below recognition at the Public Safety Writers Association conference held earlier this month.

 

Best Book Cover for Hope Dies Last (designed by Eric Beetner)

Mystery/Suspense (1st Place) for Hope Dies Last

Thriller (2nd Place - Tie) for Some Kind of Hell

Poetry (2nd Place) for When Something Slips (written as Frank Scalise... though I should have went with Zafiro, as it is a crime fiction poem...)

Short Story - Unpublished (Honorable Mention) for "The Second Degree" (written as Frank Saverio... it is science fiction/crime fiction)

Police Procedural (Honorable Mention) for All the Forgotten Yesterdays (River City #14)

SMFS Member Publishing News: Something to Hold On To by Curtis Ippolito

SMFS list member Curtis Ippolito reported that his short story,  Something to Hold On To, is published in the recently released Dark Yonder: Issue 6. Published by Thalia Press, the read is available at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

A Single Moment.....

.... is all it takes to change a life forever. And a single life has such many such apocryphal moments in it. What will you do when the time comes for you? Stand up for yourself? Accept what fate has handed you? Or fight back against your destiny? Join us for Issue 6 of Dark Yonder as ten great neo noir authors explore the importance of life‘s turning points:

This is How it Begins by Patricia Abbott

Tooth by Steve Brewer

The Royal Court Quartet for Depression by Vince Carcangelo

Tether by Jill Haslam

Something To Hold On To by Curtis Ippolito

The Art Of Disappearance by April Kelly

Sweet Little Baby by Mike McHone

Hunting Weather by Karen Over

You Only Lose Them Once by James Queally

A Crime Story About Shit by Anthony Neil Smith

Issue 6 also features a special cocktail recipe for summer, along with commentary by editors Katy Munger and Eryk Pruitt. 

SMFS Member Publishing News: Murder Houses by Ed Ridgley

SMFS list member Ed Ridgley’s short story, Murder Houses, was published at Punk Noir Magazine. You can read the piece for free online here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Lifestyle Changes by Gregory Meece

SMFS list member Gregory Meece’s short story, Lifestyle Changes, is published in the recently released Thriller Magazine, Volume 5, Issue 1. The read is available at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

Featuring established and new literary voices comes the ninth issue of Thriller Magazine!
---
This issue features short stories that will leave readers on the edge of their seat. Showcasing a wide range of tales, everything from psychological thrillers, to brutal tales of murder, to political thrillers, and much more, this issue has it all!

Authors included are:
Arthur Davis, Peter DiChellis, Philip Kimbrough, J.B. Stevens, William J. Baker, Myrna Davis, & Gregory Meece

SMFS Member Publishing News: Shadow Hunt by Teel James Glenn

 

SMFS list member Teel James Glenn reported that his short story, Shadow Hunt, appears in Black Cat Weekly #150. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format.

 

Publisher Description:

Welcome to our 150th issue.

This time, we have terrific original tales by Neil S. Plakcy, Britin Haller & Shane Gericke, Bob Tippee, and Teel James Glenn ... plus novels by Natalie Sumner Lincoln and Gans T. Field, and classic stories by Jack Williamson, Nelson S. Bond, Jack Sharkey, and Larry Tritten ... plus a solve-it-yourself mystery by Hal Charles ... all jam-packed into 521 pages! Hours of great reading await.

Here's the lineup:

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

• “The Shandiclere,” by Neil S. Plakcy [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
• “The Campground Caper,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
• “So Many Shores in Crookland,” by Britin Haller & Shane Gericke [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
• “Private Equity,” by Bob Tippee [short story]
• The Three Strings, by Natalie Sumner Lincoln [novel]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

• “Shadow Hunt,” by Teel James Glenn [short story]
• “The Bird of Time,” by Larry Tritten [short story]
• “The Second Shell,” by Jack Williamson [short story]
• “The Madness of Lancelot Biggs,” by Nelson S. Bond [short story]
• “The Man Who Was Pale” by Jack Sharkey [short story]
• The Pale Ones Shall Dance, by Gans T. Field [novel]

SMFS Member Publishing News: In The End by Jacqueline Freimor

SMFS list member Jacqueline Freimor reported that her short story, In the End, was published in Rock and a Hard Place: Issue 11, Summer 2024. Published by Rock and a Hard Place Press, the read is available at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

You realize you've kidnapped a baby . . . And you're the good guy

You thought you knew the story of Ken McElroy and Skidmore, MO

The world or your family. Choose

You've spent your life not getting involved, but now you're faking it for your life and hers

Rock and a Hard Place Magazine returns with issue 11, featuring more of the most breathtaking, sweltering, realest fiction around, featuring some of the world’s finest writers at their grimiest and most unforgiving, including:

Joshua Murray, Colin Brightwell, Stefen Styrsky, Mary Thorson, Jay Bechtol, Jacqueline Freimor, Jason Allison, Christine Blackwicks, Jane Hertenstein, Anthony Neil Smith, John Weagly, and Casey Woolfolk

Rock and a Hard Place is the literary magazine that knows that when you go 11 out of 10, you’re bound to get 86’d.

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Ghost Drinking My Gin Wasn’t the Worst of My Problems by Lynne Curry

SMFS list member Lynne Curry’s short story, The Ghost Drinking My Gin Wasn’t the Worst of My Problems, was recently published at Flash Fiction Magazine. You can read the piece for free online here.

SMFS Members Published in Black Cat Weekly #149

SMFS list members are published in Black Cat Weekly #149. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format. The list members in the issue are:

 

Joslyn Chase with “A Killer View.”

 

Eve Fisher with “Sophistication.”

 

Mark Thielman with “Dramatis Personae.”

 

Publisher Description:

This issue, we have original mysteries by Mark Thielman (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and Joslyn Chase, plus a modern classic by Eve Fisher (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman). Our novel is a Golden Age tale by Isabel Ostrander. Of course, there’s also a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles.

   On the more fantastic side of things, we have a dark fantasy from British master Edmund Glasby, plus a classic tale by Allen Kim Lang...who, at age 95, is still with us. (His most recent story appeared in Analog in 2020.) Plus we have a Lancelot Biggs story by Nelson Bond, a classic SF story by Randall Garrett, and a fantasy novel by Manly Wade Wellman. Good stuff!

   Here’s the complete lineup—

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

• “Dramatis Personae,” by Mark Thielman [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
• “The Black Bandana Kid Rides Again,” by Hal Blythe Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
• “Sophistication,” by Eve Fisher [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
• “A Killer View,” by Joslyn Chase [short story]
• Ashes to Ashes, by Isabel Ostrander [novel]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

• “Something About Spiders,” by Edmund Glasby [short story]
• “Lancelot Biggs Cooks a Pirate,” by Nelson S. Bond [short story]
• “The Price of Eggs,” by Randall Garrett [short story]
• “I, Gardener,” by Allen Kim Lang [short story]
• Fearful Rock, by Manly Wade Wellman [novel]

SMFS Member Publishing News: Tubthumping by Tom Andes

SMFS list member Tom Andes’ short story, Tubthumping, was recently published at TOUGH. You can read the piece for free online here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Ol’ Switcheroo by C. Dan Castro

SMFS list member C. Dan Castro’s short story, The Ol’ Switcheroo, was recently published at The Saturday Evening Post. You can read the piece for free online here.

SMFS Member Nominees for 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award

The SMFS is proud to announce that again this year members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2024 Silver Falchion Award. As stated on their homepage, winners will be announced in mid-August at the conference. The complete list of nominees is on the 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalists site. The nominated SMFS list members are: 

 

Best Cozy

Peggy Rothschild with Playing Dead: A Novel (Berkley).

 

Best Historical

Richard Helms for Vicar Brekonridge: A Vicar Brekonridge Novel (Level Best – Historia).

Jessica Sly for The Art of Misdirection: Isles of Illusion Book 2 (Mountain Brook Ink). 

Nina Wachsman for The Courtesan's Secret: A Venice Beauties Mystery (Level Best Books).

Best Investigator (Includes Procedural, Serious P. I., Detective, And Noir)

Mark Troy for Splintered Loyalty: An Ava Rome Mystery (Down & Out Books)

Best Nonfiction

Judy Penz Sheluk for Finding YOUR Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide (Superior Shores Press).

 

Best Anthology (Awarded To Individual Author Or Collection Editor)

Richard Helms for Paper Walls / Glass Houses (Black Arch Books).

Art Taylor for The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions  (Crippen & Landru Publishers).

 

Best Thriller

Cathi Stoler for With a Twist: A Murder on the Rocks Mystery (Level Best Books).

SMFS Member Nominees for 2024 Killer Nashville Claymore Award

The SMFS is proud to announce that members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2024 Killer Nashville Claymore Award in numerous categories. The award recognizes the best unpublished book based on the first fifty pages of the manuscript. The winners will be announced in August during Killer Nashville. The SMFS list member finalists are:

 

Best Cozy

Bern Sy Moss with Death at Sunset.

 

Best Mystery

James L’Etoile with Lost Life.

 

Best Short Story Collection/ Anthology (Awarded To Individual Author Or Collection Editor)

Ashley-Ruth Bernier with Mayhem Can’t Stop De Mas. 

P.M. Raymond with Things Are As They Should Be and other words to live by. 

P..K. Richard with Pocket Money and Other Stories.  

Jennifer Slee with Eternal Return & Other Stories.

 

Best Supernatural

James L’Etoile with Second Sight.

 

Best Suspense

Denise Johnson with Misconception.

 

Catherine Stoler with Hear No Evil.

 

The full list of the finalists for this year is at the website.

Election of New Officers

The SMFS membership is pleased to congratulate our new officers. Their terms begin, today, July 1^st.

 

President: Joseph S. Walker

 

Vice President: Linda Kay Hardie

 

Derringer Coordinator:  Paula Messina

 

Assistant Derringer Coordinator: Mark Schuster

 

Both the President and Vice President serve two-year terms while the Derringer Coordinator and Assistant Derringer Coordinator each serve a one year term. More information about the duties and responsibilities of the officers can be found here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: One Infant Girl by Abe Margel

SMFS list member Abe Margel’s short story, One Infant Girl, was published at Freedom Fiction Journal. You can read the story online for free here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: What Were the Chances by Gregory Meece

SMFS list member Gregory Meece’s short story, What Were the Chances, was published today at Fabula Argentea. Bristol Noir. You can read it online for free here.

SMFS Members Published in Black Cat Weekly #148

SMFS list members are published in Black Cat Weekly #148. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format. The list members in the issue are:

 

 Greg Herren with “Housecleaning.”

 

R.T. Lawton with “Leonardo.”

 

 

Publisher Description:

This issue, we have original mysteries by Christina Hoag and Greg Herren (both courtesy of Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken), plus a crime tale by Greg Herren (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman). Our mystery novel is Annihilation by classic American mystery novelist Isabel Ostrander, whose detective fiction was influential in the early 20th century. Of course, there’s a solve-it-yourself puzzler by Hal Charles, too!

   On the science fiction and fantasy front, we have a real treat—Phyllis Ann Karr has been going through her files and found the previously unpublished short-story version of her novel Wildraith’s Last Battle for us. Plus, we have classics by David Mason, Cordwainer Smith, and Allen K. Lang. Our science-fantasy novel is Lin Carter’s sword-and-planet tale, Under the Green Star (the first of the Green Star series, very much in the Edgar Rice Burroughs tradition).

   Here’s the complete lineup—

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

• “Travis and Wilbur,” by Christina Hoag [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
• “The Antique Caravan Caper,” Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
• “Housecleaning,” by Greg Herren [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
• “Leonardo,” by R.T. Lawton [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
• Annihilation, by Isabel Ostrander [novel]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

• “Wildraith’s Last Battle,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story]
• “Farewell Message,” by David Mason [short story]
• “Box-Garden,” by Allen K. Lang [short story]
• “Scanners Live in Vain,” by Cordwainer Smith [short story]
• Under the Green Star, by Lin Carter [novel]