The 2024 Killer Shorts Competition Finalists were
announced earlier this month. SMFS list member P. M. Raymond reported this
evening that she is a finalist in the “Short Story (Prose)” category for her
tale, Things Are as They Should Be. The full list of finalists in the three categories
that make up the 2024 Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition can be
found on their website. Winners announced April 22nd.
SMFS list member John M. Floyd’s short story, The Donovan Gang, appears in Black Cat Weekly #135. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format.
Publisher Description:
I can’t let this
issue slip out without a note about our big news—starting with this issue,
famous science fiction artist, space illustrator, and author Ron Miller has
agreed to become our Art Director, which means he will be pulling future covers
from his personal treasure trove of artwork. This issue’s stunning “spider
woman” cover is one of Ron’s best, and I look forward to seeing what he comes
up with for future issues.
As
always, thanks to our authors, Acquiring Editors Michael Bracken and Barb
Goffman, and readers for making BCW a great project and a lot
of fun to prepare. We couldn’t do it without you!
Here’s
the complete lineup—
Mysteries / Suspense
/ Adventure:
Science Fiction
& Fantasy:
SMFS members are published in the recently released, Pulphouse Fiction Magazine: Issue 27. 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:
David H. Hendrickson with “A Long Shot Worth Betting
On.”
Robert Jeschonek with "Where No Furry Has Gone
Before."
O'Neil De Noux with "The Iberville
Mistress."
Annie Reed with "A Wish to Build a Life On."
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:
“The Eyeball at the End of the
Rainbow: A Dan Shamble, Zombie PI Adventure” by Kevin J. Anderson
“Where No Furry Has Gone Before”
by Robert Jeschonek
“Ready Mundane” by Rob Vagle
“Daycare of the Damned” by Nina
Kiriki Hoffman
“Some of This is True” by Ron
Collins
“Heritage” by R.W. Wallace
“The Iberville Mistress” by
O’Neil De Noux
“A Long Shot Worth Betting On”
by David H. Hendrickson
“A Wish to Build a Life On” by
Annie Reed
“Olivia’s House” by Kristine
Kathryn Rusch
“Minions at Work: AI Eruption” by J. Steven York
SMFS list members are published in Invasive
Species: Stories By Northern California Crime Writers. Edited by SMFS
list member Josh Pachter, the anthology is published by SinC NorCal. It is
available at Amazon. The SMFS members that reported their presence in the book
are:
Mary Adler with “The Hunt.”
Chandler Christie with "Too Many Santas."
Vinnie Hansen with “Coming Attractions.”
Ellen Kirschman with “The Untold Upside of a Termite
Infestation.”
Margaret Lucke with “Open House.”
Editor Josh Pachter with “Peace on Tenth Street.”
Publisher Description:
The
SinC NorCal 2024 short story anthology, Invasive Species, is
on track to be launched at Left
Coast Crime in Seattle in April. A soft launch, with authors
reading a selection from their story, will be our April 6 membership
presentation.
The call for submissions was open until Sept. 15 and,
though we didn’t get the fifty or sixty anticipated, we did have a good
selection.
Stories (blind) were sent to judges Kevin Tipple, Cheryl
Hand and Tracy Clark, read, ranked and returned and fifteen chosen. These then
went to editor Josh Pachter who worked with the authors and completed his
editing by Dec. 15.
A cover (see the art) is designed and a formatter is
working on putting together the final file.
In alphabetical order, the authors are:
·
Mary Adler, “The Hunt”
·
Daisy Bateman (writing as Stacie Grey), “The Predator”
·
Susan Alice Bickford, “Saved”
·
Laura Boss, “Feral: A Love Story”
·
Chandler Christie (pseudonym), “Too Many Santas”
·
Vinnie Hansen, “Coming Attractions”
·
William Bruce Johnson, “Déjà vu”
·
Ellen Kirschman, “The Untold Upside of an Infestation of
Termites”
·
Margaret Lucke, “Open House”
·
Susan McCormick, “I Will Take Care of It”
·
Karen Phillips, “Found Art”
·
Brian Shea, “The Cavalry on Wings”
·
Linda Townsdin, “Hyde and Seek”
·
Alanna Weaver, “Burn Piles”
·
Danna Wilberg, “A”
Rounding
out the volume is a bonus story from Josh Pachter, “Peace on Tenth Street.” His
2023 novel Dutch Threat is a finalist a
Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel at the upcoming Left Coast Crime.
Congratulations
to all our authors!
Left Coast Crime 2024 is in Seattle, Washington, this
year and begins Thursday, April 11th. Numerous SMFS members will be attending
and actively participating on panels, book signings, and more. The list below
features just some of the many activities featuring SMFS list members. As
always, the schedule, locations, participants, and other particulars are
subject to change before and during the event.
For the posted conference schedule go to the website.
Please note that the posted panels have a separate
page and are listed here.
Several members are doing Author-Reader Connections.
The full list is here.
SMFS meetup is in Evergreen E-I 7:15-8:45, Saturday,
for breakfast and conversation.
Various Events
Thursday
9:00 AM “Author Speed- Dating” in Evergreen D-I. Judith Mathison will attend.
12:00 PM Stephen D. Rogers is the moderator for “TL;DR Won’t Be a Problem Here: Satisfying Short Reads” panel in Grand EF.
1:15 PM Robert Lopresti moderates “Twenty Panels in One! YOU choose the Topics” panel in Grand EF.
2:30 PM Margaret Lucke is a panelist for "Unexplainable vs. Unexplained: Paranormal Elements in Mysteries” in Grand EF.
2:30 PM Charlotte Morganti is a panelist for "Debut Authors: First Time Authors Share Their Stories" in Grand G.
Friday
9: 00 AM Judith Mathison is a panelist on “This Ain‘t Perry Mason: Getting Legal Details Right in Fiction” panel in Grand C.
4: 00 PM M. H. Callway is a panelist for “Mix it Up: Writers Who Bend Genres” in Grand G.
Saturday
10:15 AM Michael Bracken is a panelist for “Not Just Stock: Creating Secondary Characters with Dimension” panel in Grand C.
10:15 AM Vinnie Hansen is the moderator for “The Whole Story in a Single Sitting: Short Fiction that Satisfies” panel in Grand G. SMFS members Chris Dreith, Smita Harish Jain, and Merrilee Robson are also panelists.
4:00 PM Ellen Kirschman is a panelist for “Not Dead Yet: Older Sleuths in Mystery" panel in Grand EF.
7:00 PM Banquet Dinner
Michael Bracken cohosts a table with Chris Dreith.
Robert Lopresti cohosts a table.
Merrilee Robson cohosts a table with Charlotte
Morganti.
Sunday
9:00 AM Stephen D. Rodgers is a panelist on the “Setting
as Character” panel in Grand C.
10:15 AM Vinnie
Hansen is on the “Is It Indie, or Is It … ” panel in Grand EF.
SMFS list members are published in the recently released book, Motel: An Anthology. Published by Cowboy Jamboree Press, the book is available at Amazon.
Nils Gilbertson with "The Morningstar."
M.E. Proctor with "A Redhead and a Green
Car."
Amazon Description:
On lost, lonely highways,
deep in the American heartlands and skirting the shady edges of cities, once
ubiquitous motels have faded, some into ruin, others transformed from way
station to permanent residence. MOTEL captures the heartbreak, desperation and indeed magic of motels.
Think Paris, Texas. Fool for Love. Wild at Heart. Even Bonnie and Clyde. This anthology is full of stories that pay homage to the essence of
motels in all their beauty and pathos. Characters and stories of grit and
glory, the brutal and banal.
As motels fade from popularity and even existence, this volume attempts to
capture them before they’re gone altogether...and all their stories with them.
Of the twenty-eight stories in MOTEL, there’s no two stories that are similar. Like a motel, these stories are
neighboring rooms. None in them are the same, but here they are, together.
Cowboy Jamboree Press
good grit lit.
The recently released Dark Yonder: Issue 5 contains short stories by two of our SMFS list members. Published by Thalia Press, the read is available at Amazon. The SMFS list members that reported being in the read are:
Tom Andes with "You Still There."
James D.F. Hannah with "Nothing More and Nothing
Less."
BV Lawson with "Family Matters."
Amazon Description:
It's a Fine Line....
.... between love and hate.... loneliness and sex.... loyalty and revenge....
kinkiness and power.... grief and guilt.... and just about every other emotion
driving the human condition. Explore those lines and the people who cross them
through these ten provocative neo noir short stories:
You Still There by Tom Andes
Like a Good Irish Catholic by
Colin Brightwell
The Return by K.A. Burks
Nothing More and Nothing Less by
James DF Hannah
Family
Matters by BV Lawson
Bartender Blues by Dana King
Rebirth by Nick Kolakowski
The Unfolding of Sam Lipton by
Barbara Kumari
Pop by Ed Kurtz
The Playroom by Wolfgang Wright
Issue 5 also features a special cocktail recipe for The Hemingway Daiquiri, along with commentary by editors Katy Munger and Eryk Pruitt.
Several SMFS list members were recently published in Thrill
Ride: The Magazine #5: Sisters-in-Arms. Published by Buchman Bookworks,
Inc., you can pick up the issue at the publisher,
Amazon,
and other vendors. The SMFS members that reported being in the issue are:
Editor M. L. Buchman with "It Takes Three."
James Patrick Focarile with "The Fallen."
Teel James Glenn with “The Little Sureshot Affair.”
Annie Reed with "Bomb Busters."
Anne Swardson with "Parisian Woods."
Ed Teja with “Backpacker Incursion.”
Amazon Description:
Women who put it all on the line when the shit hits the fan.
Military, family, or thrown together by chance doesn’t matter. They join, they
cooperate, and, when they run out of options, they fight.
Tales from feudal Japan to modern day Angola. A slink through
the Parisien woods and a strut along the Seattle streets. A Babylon that we
never knew to a war-torn hell we should all fear.
A baker’s dozen of stories about
women owning their place in the world.
Several SMFS list members have published essays in the
Mystery Readers Journal: Southern California Mysteries, Volume 40, No. 1,
Spring 2024 issue. Published earlier this week by Mystery Readers
International, the read is available at the website.
The SMFS list members that reported they were published in the issue are:
Curtis Ippolito with the author essay, "San
Diego: Where Paradise and Crime Meet."
Sybil Johnson with the author essay, "Sand, Surf,
Murder."
Gary Phillips with the author essay, "Through a
Lens Brightly."
Jennifer Slee with the author essay, "If At First
You Don't Succeed..."
Website Description:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLES
·
Vintage Hollywood Crime by Aubrey Ney Hamilton
AUTHOR! AUTHOR!
·
Why I Love Writing About L.A. by Anne Louise Bannon
·
The Mysteries of True Crime by James T. Bartlett
·
California, the Origins of Reckoning, and the Ty Dawson
Series by Baron Birtcher
·
The Lighter Side of SoCal Mysteries by Sally Carpenter
·
Where Rick Cahill Lives by Matt Coyle
·
Technology, AI and Murder Collide in L.A. by Art Chester
·
A Mystery in More Ways than One: A Fascination with
Southern California by Elizabeth
Crowens
·
Los Angeles Ninja Lily Wong by Tori Eldridge
·
San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter—Come for the History, Stay for
the Mystery by Sara Driscoll
·
California in Black and White by Terence Faherty
·
A Different Perspective on Southern California by Earlene Fowler
·
Los Angeles: City of Dreams by Lee Goldberg
·
Kesey & Me by Chuck Greaves
·
The Monkey in Venice by Russell Hill
·
Wendy Stays Home by Wendy Hornsby
·
L.A.’s Mr. Goodbar by Georgia Jeffries
·
San Diego: Where Paradise and Crime Meet by Curtis Ippolito
·
Sand, Surf, Murder by Sybil Johnson
·
Changing Coast Changed My Life by John Lansing
·
The OC, Baby by D. P. Lyle
·
Like So Many Before Me by Larry Maness
·
Mysteries of Southern California by T. Jefferson Parker
·
You’re Right— That’s Exactly What Southern California is
Like by Thomas Perry
·
Finding Your Place When You’re Writing About Place by Eugenia Parrish
·
Through a Lens Brightly by Gary Phillips
·
Beach Noir by James Preston
·
Beached by D. R. Ransdell
·
Don’t Give Up the Day Job by Clive Rosengren
·
That Screwy, Ballyhooey SoCal by Robert Rotstein
·
Los Angeles: Boundless, Disturbing, Inspiring by Elizabeth Sims
·
After-Hours by Lida Sideris
·
If At First You Don’t Succeed… by Jennifer Slee
·
Limitless Los Angeles by Patricia Smiley
·
Location, Location, Location by Elena E. Smith
·
Dwelling in the Southern Region of the Soul by David Unger
·
Hollywood, My Exuberant Muse by Halley Sutton
·
The Lair of the Bear by Duane Swierczynski
·
Making a Reader Feel the Character of a Setting by Carl Vonderau
·
What Do You Know? by Pamela Samuels Young
·
Safe, Hope, and Always by Mark Zubro
COLUMNS
·
Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by Jay Gertzman, Aubrey
Hamilton, Lesa Holstine, Dru Ann Love, Lucinda Surber, and Kristopher Zgorski
·
Children’s Hour: Southern California Mysteries by Gay Toltl Kinman
·
The Trunk Murderess by Cathy Pickens
·
Crime Seen: Southern California Noir by Kate Derie
· From the Editor’s Desk by Janet A. Rudolph