Wednesday, January 31, 2024

SMFS Members Published in Killer Nashville Magazine: January 2024


SMFS list members are published in the Killer Nashville Magazine: January 2024 issue.  You can read the entire issue for free here. The SMFS list members that reported their essays are:

 

Rodger Johns’ essay, Timing is Your Time’s Best Friend: Calendar Management for the Soon-To-Be-Published Author. Cowritten with Kim Conrey.

 

Paula Messina’s essay, You Want Me to Spend Time withYou?

 

Judy Penz Sheluk’s essay, When “The End” is Just theBeginning.

Monday, January 29, 2024

SMFS Member Publishing News: Tethered by Marcelle Dubé

 

SMFS list member Marcelle Dubé’s short story, Tethered, is published in Black Cat Weekly #126. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format.

 

Website Description:

This time, we have an original mysteries by George Wilhite (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and Peter DiChellis (a locked-room mystery), as well as an original science fiction story by Larry Tritten and me. (It is a posthumous collaboration—Larry passed away in 2011. I acquired his copyrights some years ago and have been working on reprinting his stories, as longtime readers of BCW will realize. One particular story, with a terrible name, just didn’t work. So I rewrote it, retitled it, and am pleased to show it off here. I hope you all enjoy it.) And Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman found a great tale by Marcelle Dubé.

   We also have classic novels from British mystery author Edgar Wallace and Irish fantasist James Stephens, plus classic science fiction from Randall Garrett, J.F. Bone, and Mark Reinsberg. Good stuff.

   Here’s the complete lineup—

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

  • “Hanged By the Neck Until…,” by George Wilhite [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
  • “The Puzzle Palace Perplex,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
  • “Tethered,” by Marcelle Dubé [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
  • “Behind a Locked Door,”by Peter DiChellis [short story]
  • The Just Men of Cordova, by Edgar Wallace [novel]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

  • “Free-For-All-Way,” by John Betancourt and Larry Tritten [short story]
  • “Respectfully Mine,” by Randall Garrett [short story]
  • “The Missionary,” by J. F. Bone [short story]
  • “The Satellite-Keeper’s Daughter,” by Mark Reinsberg [short story]
  • The Demi-Gods, by James Stephens [novel]

Sunday, January 28, 2024

SMFS Members Published in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine: Issue 25

 

SMFS members are published in the recently released, Pulphouse Fiction Magazine: Issue 25. Published by WMG Publishing, the read is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members that reported being in the issue are:

 

Karen Fonville with “The Remarkable Way She Died.”

 

David H. Hendrickson with "City of Sin Stranglers."

 

Robert Jeschonek with "An Infinite Number of Idiots."

 

Annie Reed with "Little City Blues." 

 

Website 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:

“An Infinite Number of Idiots” by Robert Jeschonek

 

“What Remains of America” by Scott Edelman

 

“The Sleeping Agent” by Charlotte Munich

 

“Objects of Desire” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

 

“City of Sin Strangler” by David H. Hendrickson

 

“A Willing Lad” by O’Neil De Noux

 

“The Remarkable Way She Died” by Karen Fonville

 

“The Spirit House” by Lisa S. Silverthorne

 

“Little City Blues” by Annie Reed

 

“Unity Con” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

 

“Minions at Work” by J. Steven York

Saturday, January 27, 2024

SMFS Member Podcast News: A Scent of Murder by Paul A. Barra

 

SMFS list member Paul A. Barra’s short story, A Scent of Murder, is now featured at the Mysteries to Die For: Season 7: Games People Play podcast. Produced by TG Wolff, the podcast can be heard here.

Friday, January 26, 2024

Thursday, January 25, 2024

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Seventh Wife by Abe Margel


SMFS list member Abe Margel’s short story, The Seventh Wife, was published yesterday at BarBar. You can read the story online for free here.

SMFS Members Published in Mystery Tribune: Issue #21

 

SMFS list members have been published in the recently released Mystery Tribune: Issue #21.  It is available on their website. The SMFS list members that reported their presence in the issue are:

 

Zakariah Johnson interviews Heather Levy about her new book, Hurt For Me.

 

Jeff Markowitz with “Her Hips Were the Face of El Vizir.”

 

Alan Orloff with "The Boy with Binoculars."

 

Art Taylor with "We Keep The Wall Between Us As We Go."

 

 

Website Description:

Issue Nº21 features:

  • A new “Lewis” novella by Nick Petrie
  • A curated collection of short fiction including stories by Reed Farrel Coleman, Art Taylor, Alan Orloff, Sharon Hunt, Albert Kanach, and Jeff Markowitz.
  • Essays, Interviews and Reviews by Heather Levy, Zakariah Johnson, and Dale Davis.
  • Art and Photography by Arturo Arvizu, Kseniia Nikitina, and Bade Fuwa.

This issue also features a preview of the new graphic novel “Where The Body Was” by award-winning duo Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

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 Nº21 issue will make a perfect companion or gift for avid mystery readers and fans of literary crime fiction.

Your print issue will typically arrive within 2-3 weeks after order.

Monday, January 22, 2024

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Unexpected by J. P. Seewald


J. P. Seewald’s short story, The Unexpected, is published in the recently released anthology, Automobilia: SpeKulative Stories Anthology Series. Published by Fahrenheit Books last week, the book is available at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

AUTOMOBILIA
41 stories • 9 poems

Since the first automobiles rolled down a street, the range of human emotions attached to these machines has run from love to hate, humor to horror, joy to sadness. This book is a sampling of how fiction writers have viewed the automobile, from yesteryear to tomorrow.

Famous writers, experienced story tellers, and new literary voices are mixed together between these covers.

Automobilia is the first in a trilogy of stories and poems featuring that one machine that has changed the face of the earth, for the good and for the bad…the automobile.


Sunday, January 21, 2024

SMFS Member Publishing News: Late Bus by Robert Lopresti


SMFS list member Robert Lopresti’s short story, Late Bus, is published in Black Cat Weekly #125. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format.

 

Website Description:

This time, we have a rare mystery from Hulbert Footner (whose Madame Storey mysteries I greatly enjoy). His novel Queen of Clubs in this issue is a jazz-age mystery that—well, I don’t want to spoil the surprises. Read it and see for yourself!

   Also on the mystery front, we have original tales by Andrew Welsh-Huggins and Robert Lopresti (thanks to our Acquiring Editors, Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman), a classic crime story by David Goodis, and, of course, a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles.

   On the science fiction & fantasy side, we have a recent tale by Edward M. Lerner, classic shorts from William C. Gault, Randall Garrett, and T.D. Hamm, and a rare short novel from Ward Moore—most famous for his classics Greener Than You Think and Bring the Jubilee. Moore’s Transient originally appeared in Amazing Stories magazine in 1960 and languished undiscovered for decades before a small press reprinted it in an anthology a decade ago. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. (Keep an eye out for unicorns.)

   As for this issue: here’s the complete lineup—

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

  • “The Cumberland Gap,” by Andrew Welsh-Huggins [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
  • “The Porch Pirate and the Pillow,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
  • “Late Bus,” by Robert Lopresti [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
  • “The Blue Sweetheart,” by David Goodis [short story]
  • Queen of Clubs, by Hulbert Footner [novel]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

  • “I’ve Got the World on a String” by Edward M. Lerner [short story]
  • “Burden the Hand,” by Randall Garrett [short story]
  • “Title Fight,” by William C. Gault [short story]
  • “Floor of Heaven,” by T.D. Hamm [short story]
  • Transient, by Ward Moore [short novel]

 

2024 SMFS Lefty Award Nominees

 

The nominees for 2024 Lefty Awards have been announced by Left Coast Crime. As posted on the website for the event this year, winners will be announced on April 13th. The website also has the full list of nominees. The SMFS list members that reported their nominations are:

 

Lefty Nominees for Best Humorous Mystery Novel

Wendall Thomas for Cheap Trills (Beyond the Page).

 

 

Lefty Nominees for Best Debut Mystery Novel

Josh Pachter for Dutch Threat (Genius Book Publishing).

 

 

Lefty Nominees for Best Mystery Novel

James L’Etoile for Face of Greed (Oceanview Publishing).

SMFS Members Nominated for the 2024 Edgar Awards


The nominees for 2024 Edgar Awards, so named to honor Edgar Allen Poe, have been announced by the Mystery Writers of America. Winners will be announced on May 1st, as noted on the MWA website. The website also has the full list of nominees. The SMFS list members that reported their nominations are:

 

SMFS list member Scott Von Doviak is nominated in the Best Paperback Original category for his book, Lowdown Road. The book was published by Hard Case Crime.

 

SMFS list member Gabriela Stiteler is nominated for the Robert L. Fish Award for her short story, Two Hours West of Nothing. The story was published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: September/October 2023 issue.

Saturday, January 20, 2024

SMFS Member Winners: 2023 WPA Golden Donut Short Story Contest

 

SMFS list members won and placed third in the annual Writers’ Police Academy Golden Donut Short Story Contest. Using the photo prompt, contestants entered stories that were exactly two hundred words. The stories are free to read online at the WPA website. The members that reported their success are:

 

Winner:

Sally Milliken with "Adam-13."

 

Third Place:

Pat Remick with “Cemetery Justice.”

Thursday, January 18, 2024

SMFS Member Publishing News: Rodger by S. B. Watson


S. B. Watson’s flash fiction tale, Roger, appears at ScribesMICRO: Issue 37. Published online by Fairfield Scribes, it can be read for free here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Romantic Concerto for Strings and Brass by David H. Hendrickson


David H. Hendrickson’s book, Romantic Concerto for Strings and Brass, has been published by Pentucket Publishing. The read is available at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Description:

Already one of the world’s great concert violinists, Julia Chu strives for ever greater perfection. Nothing else matters. Especially not romance. She learned the hard way years ago that romance threatens to derail her career. Now, she loves only her Stradivarius.

Slavko Novak earns accolades every year as the top tuba player in the world of polka, but accolades don’t pay the bills. His band perpetually teeters on the brink of bankruptcy despite touring almost all year round, leaving him no time for relationships.

One night of anonymous, no-strings-attached passion throws their carefully guarded worlds into chaos. In bed, they make beautiful music together.

But a single night makes them realize they yearn for more than one perfect song. They want the entire symphony.

For these two musicians, creating harmony out of dissonance proves more complicated than expected.

Master of steamy romance David H. Hendrickson delights his readers once again with 
Romantic Concerto for Strings and Brass

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

SMFS Members Published in Crimeucopia - Say It Again


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

 

Brandon Barrows - "What Goes Around."

 

John M. Floyd with “Wanted.”

 

Nikki Knight with "Owl Be Damned."

 

Michele Bazan Reed with “Sweet Revenge.”

 

Kevin R. Tipple with "Visions of Reality."

 

Andrew Welsh-Huggins, with “A Smith & Wesson With A Side of Chorizo.”

 

Martin Zeigler with "Wave To Me."

 

 

Amazon Description:

Crimeucopia - Say It Again

Ever Get A Feeling Of Déjà Vu?

There are many things which can be said of the Modern World, and one of those is the amount of 'noise' when it comes to finding something - anything - that makes you sit up and say I like that. And sometimes, by the time that happens, the 'item' has passed by and gone, washed out of sight by the riptide of The Next New Thing to surf across your attention.

Which is why, whenever we open the doors to new projects and submissions, we also see pieces passed to us with the offer of reprinting them.

Some may only have a paper history, some may only have been up on a webzine site - placed for a short period of time before being archived into the depths of an ISP's hosting server.

And there are also those pieces which, quite rightly, authors may have a fondness for - the joyful offspring of their creative minds, regardless of how twisted they might be (the offspring that is, rather than the minds of their creators), and which they feel are deserving of a second read.

Hopefully by presenting these pieces here, you'll start looking at various magazine and webzine archives, in search of something that may have passed you by, or that you missed the first time around.

And, as always with all of these anthologies, we hope you'll find something that you immediately like, as well as something that takes you out of your regular comfort zone - and puts you into a completely new one because, in the spirit of the Murderous Ink Press motto:

You never know what you like until you read it.


Sunday, January 14, 2024

SMFS Members Published in Black Cat Weekly #124


SMFS list members are published in Black Cat Weekly #124. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format. The members and their stories are: 

 

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier with “Rise.”

 

Diana Deverell with "Payback is a Bitch."

 

Robert Lopresti with “When the Aliens Left.”

 

Publisher Description:

This issue, we are happy to reprint Earl Derr Biggers’ third entry in the classic Charlie Chan detective series, Behind That Curtain. But the highlights don’t stop there! We have an original mystery by Travis Richardson (thanks to acquiring editor Michael Bracken), a great modern mystery by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier (thanks to acquiring editor Barb Goffman), an original science fiction story from Robert Lopresti (best known as a mystery writer), and Diana Deverell’s “Payback is a Bitch,” which was named a Distinguished Mystery Story of 2018 by Otto Penzler. And, of course, we have our usual assortment of classic science fiction, as well as a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. Good stuff!

 

Here’s the complete lineup:

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

“Last Stop, Cozyville!” by Travis Richardson [Michael Bracken Presents short story]

“The Poker Chips Clue” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]

“Rise” by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier [Barb Goffman Presents short story]

“Payback Is a Bitch” by Diana Deverell [short story]

Behind That Curtain, by Earl Derr Biggers [novel, Charlie Chan series]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

“When the Aliens Left,” by Robert Lopresti [short story]

“Nightmare Tower,” by Sam Merwin [short story]

“Travelogue,” by Roger Dee [short story]

“Requiem,” by Edmond Hamilton [short story]

Mating Center, by Frank Belknap Long [novel]

SMFS Member Publishing News: Like Two Ornaments On Far Sides of A Tree by Brigitte McCray


SMFS list member Brigitte McCray’s short story, Like Two Ornaments On Far Sides of A Tree, is published online at the Mystery Tribune. The story can be read for free at the website.

SMFS Member Publishing News: A Tough Break for Mary by Andrew Riconda

 

SMFS list member Andrew Riconda’s short story, A Tough Break for Mary, is published online at the Mystery Tribune. The story can be read for free at the website.

Saturday, January 13, 2024

SMFS Member Podcast News: Plan D by Judy Penz Sheluk


SMFS list member Judy Penz Sheluk’s short story, Plan D, is featured at SAM Magazine. The podcast can be heard here.

 

Podcast Description:

Today, I have the pleasure of reading the short mystery story Plan D, written by Judy Penz Sheluk. Plan D first appeared in The Whole She-Bang 2 (Sisters in Crime Toronto) in 2014 and was reprinted in The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense in June 2020 (Superior Shores Press). 

A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the bestselling author of Finding Your Path to Publication and Self-publishing: The Ins & Outs of Going Indie, as well as two mystery series: the Glass Dolphin Mysteries and Marketville Mysteries, both of which have been published in multiple languages. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including the Superior Shores Anthologies, which she also edited.

With a passion for understanding the ins and outs of all aspects of publishing, Judy is also the founder and owner of Superior Shores Press, which she established in February 2018.

Judy is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she served on the Board of Directors for five years, the final two as Chair. She lives in Northern Ontario. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com.

Friday, January 12, 2024

SMFS Members Published in Ill Winds and Wild Weather

 

Multiple SMFS list members appear in the new anthology, Ill Winds and Wild Weather.  Recently published by Smoking Pen Press, the anthology is available at Amazon. The SMFS members in the book are:

 

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier with “A Lesson on Fronts.”

 

Alan Orloff with "Stormy, With a Chance of Murder."

 

S. B. Watson with "Overpass." 

 

Amazon Description:

These eighteen short stories address all the different elements of weather and weather forecasting, from a variety of different angles. Some of them are dark, some of them are funny, some of them are sweet, many of them are a bit weird. We begin with A Lesson on Fronts, a lesson on weather, entwined with some life lessons. We work our way through some weather-assisted murders, a sweet story of loss, some funny takes on 'routine' weather forecasting, and a few tales of truly wild weather. And we conclude with a wonderful story entitled The Nefarious Gray Comma, that is not to be missed.

Whether you take the "Read on the Run" title to heart and read these stories while waiting for the doctor's appointment, or eating lunch, or as a quick bed-time story before going to sleep, or you sit down and consume the entire anthology in one sitting, these eighteen short stories are worth your time, and worth reading.

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Case of the Fallen Cragsman by Martin Hill Ortiz


SMFS list member Martin Hill Ortiz’s, The Case of the Fallen Cragsman, appears in the recently released book, Steel True, Blade Straight 2023 Annual: The Belanger Books Journal of SHERLOCK HOLMES and SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE-Inspired Stories, Poems and Scholarship. Published by Belanger Books, the read is available at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

This all new jumbo sized journal is divided into two sections. The first half includes all new stories, poems, and scholarship focused on the writings and life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The second half of the journal features all new Sherlock Holmes centered stories, poems, and essays. The Sherlock Holmes stories are traditional and written in the Watsonian voice.

Steel True, Blade Straight has been endorsed by the Arthur Conan Doyle Society.


Steel True, Blade Straight features entries by:

Hassan Akram · Anna Behrens · Derrick Belanger ACDS · Paul Chapman ACDS · David N. Cisler · Carla Coupe BSI, ACDS · Ross E Davies BSI, ACDS · Margie Deck ACDS · Nicole Eutsler · Kay Hanifen · Dr. Martin Hill Ortiz · Thomas Hébert · Stephen Herczeg · Mark Jones · Ngo Binh Anh Khoa · Naching T. Kassa · Sabrina Kim · David Marcum ACDS · Will Murray · Louis Nagot · Lorraine Sharma Nelson · DJ Tyrer · William Allen Veselik · Jeffrey N. Weiss, M. D.

The journal is edited by Derrick Belanger, ACDS