As announced Saturday evening at Malice Domestic #36, SMFS list members Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski won the 2023 Agatha Award in the Best Short Story category for their short story, "Ticket to Ride." The winning tale was published in the anthology, Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Down & Out Books).
For the full list of the winners and more information,
please see the Malice Domestic Facebook Page.
Today is publication day for A Fatal Reception:
An Ella Shane Mystery by Kathleen Marple Kalb. Published by Level Best Books, LLC.,
this fourth book in the series is available at Amazon.
Amazon Description:
Gilded Age trouser diva Ella
Shane and her Duke are at long last headed for the altar…but they’ll confront a
murder, a shipwreck, a questionable Polish prince, and any number of other
complications on the way. Continuing the highly-praised series featuring a
Lower East Side orphan who found fame and fortune as a singer of male soprano
roles, this new installment follows Ella and her surprisingly diverse cast of
family and friends through mystery and misadventure…and into the greatest
challenge of all for an independent-minded woman and her Victorian swain:
matrimony!
SMFS list members are published in the Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Issue 011 - Spring 2024: The Detective Annual. Published by Full Speed Publishing, the read is available at Amazon. The SMFS list members that reported being in the issue are:
Publisher/Editor Brandon Barrows with “Personal
Business: A Sam Harrigan Story.”
Publisher/Editor Brandon Barrows with the short story
reprint, “The Only One.”
M. E. Proctor with “Flame of the West.”
Amazon Description:
Guilty
is a magazine of crime stories, of criminals, their motivations and their
beginnings and ends.
In issue eleven, the detective annual:
"Personal Business" by Brandon Barrows - Her teenage son was dead--they told her it was a
heart-attack, but she knew it was murder.
"Mapache" by Anthony Neil Smith - The cellblock's one untouchable was killed and Mapache needs
to know why.
"Flame of the West" by M.E. Proctor - A missing sword, a missing wife... where's the connection?
"Little Slices of Life" by Robb T. White - When your sister calls for help, you come--even if it means
traveling thousands of miles.
"The Only One" by Brandon Barrows - Murder is easy to understand, but sometimes motives aren't.
SMFS list member Edith Maxwell’s short story, Bye-Bye,
Jojo, appears in Black Cat Weekly #139. Published by Wildside Press, the issue
is available here in digital
format.
Please welcome our
Vice President to the blog today…
DOING GOOD AND DOING WELL
Guest Post by SMFS Vice President Kathleen
Marple Kalb
Charity anthologies are often good
career moves as well as good karma.
In the last few years, I’ve been
fortunate to have stories in several, and every time, there’ve been concrete
benefits beyond the pleasure of helping our fellow humans.
First, if you’re early in your
career, giving a story to a charity anthology can be a chance to work with an
accomplished editor. To get their comments, and their thinking on your
soundtrack for the current story, and every future project, is enough
compensation right there.
Almost all anthologies also give you
an opportunity to reach new and different readers. Even if you’re a big seller,
it’s unlikely followers of every other writer in the anthology will be familiar
with your work. And if you’re still building a readership, it’s a real chance
to widen your audience.
That’s part of any anthology.
Sharing the promotional effort is, too. Many of us don’t do as much promotion
as we should (looking in the mirror here!) but if you’re out there with a bunch
of other folks, suddenly the burden isn’t as heavy. It’s often a lot more fun,
too.
Charity projects, though, are
special. The writers, of course, care about the cause enough to give their work
and their promotional effort. Often, they’re willing to work harder because the
charity is important to them.
More, though, charity projects carry
built-in goodwill that can lead to extra positive attention. Bloggers,
reviewers, and others will often promote the project as a way to help the
cause. Or just to make sure the writers are rewarded for doing good.
All of that is good for the
anthology and the charity.
Sometimes, it’s good for you, too,
bringing in additional readers for your other projects.
And sometimes, you just get lucky.
My most recent charity anthology
story, “A Fatal Saint Patrick’s Day,” came out last month in LUCK OF THE IRISH. The story involves my
Irish-Jewish Gilded Age trouser diva Ella Shane, because she was the best fit
for the theme. When I signed on, I just wanted to raise some money to help
migrant children – and write a good story.
As it turned out, though, the anthology
came out just over a month before my next Ella Shane book, A FATAL RECEPTION,
the reboot of the series at Level Best Books – due April 30th. Even better, the
editors, Kate Darroch and Jessica Thompson, as well as some of the other
writers, have different (and much larger) readerships than I do.
We told some good stories, we sold a
bunch of books, and we brought in a nice donation for kids who really need
help. And, as it happens, I introduced Ella to lots of new readers right before
the next book.
The old saw is: “It’s better to be
lucky than good,” but maybe it should be: “Look for chances to do good…and you
just might be lucky, too!”
A FATAL RECEPTION:
Gilded Age trouser diva Ella Shane and her Duke are at long last headed for the
altar…but they’ll have to handle a murder, a shipwreck, a questionable Polish
prince, and any number of other complications on the way. Continuing the
highly-praised series featuring an Irish-Jewish Lower East Side orphan who
found fame and fortune as a singer of male soprano roles, the latest
installment follows Ella and her surprisingly diverse cast of family and
friends through mystery and misadventure…and into the greatest challenge of all
for an independent-minded woman and her Victorian swain: matrimony!
Buy at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Reception-Ella-Shane-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0CXY8T735
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Kathleen Marple Kalb ©2024
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 A Fatal Reception and the Old Stuff series, 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/
Threads: @kathleenmarplekalb
Bluesky: @mysterymarple.bsky.social
SMFS list member C. Dan Castro’s short story, The
Minor, Nine-Ton Dragon Problem, is published
in the Dragon Gems: Spring 2024 issue. Published by Water
Dragon Publishing, the issue is available at Amazon and other vendors.
Publisher Description:
There’s something funny going on here …
Featuring stories
by Chase Anderson, Pauline Barmby, C. Dan Castro, P.A. Cornell, Sarina Dorie,
CJ Erick, Arvee Andaya Fantilagan, Eric Farrell, Ben Fitts, Philip Brian Hall,
David Hankins, David A. Hewitt, Hall Jameson, Pamela Love, Anne Marie Lutz, Sean
MacKendrick, Lena Ng, Kurt Pankau, Bethany Tomerlin Prince, Michael Allen Rose,
KR Samp, Clark Mark Sodersten, Gary S. Watkins, and Nemma Wollenfang
Several SMFS list members are published in the
recently released anthology, Notorious in North Texas: Metroplex
Mysteries Volume III. Edited by SMFS list member Michael Bracken and published
by the Sisters in Crime
North Dallas Chapter, the anthology is available from Amazon and other vendors. The
SMFS list members that reported their stories in the book are:
Tiffany Seitz with “A Vague Threat.”
Shannon Taft with "Bitter Cold."
Kevin R. Tipple with “Whatever Happened To…?”
Joseph S. Walker with "Citizens Arrested."
Amazon Description:
It is true that there is violent crime to be found all over
the country. But a particular brand of “Texas Noir” has taken root and
flourished within the canon of contemporary crime fiction. And the
award-winning writers included in this anthology are some of the best
illuminators of Lone Star mayhem—whether it be committed on a lonely and
far-flung cattle ranch, or in the luxurious dressing rooms of Neiman Marcus—it
has a unique flavor that is purely Texas. —from
the Foreword by Kathleen H. Kent
A Perfect Gift For Mystery Lovers!
Welcome to the third anthology by the chapter members of Sisters In Crime North
Dallas. The cities of Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding locales offer great
fodder for mystery writers—and readers. These have inspired the stories
contained in Notorious in North Texas: Metroplex Mysteries Volume
III.
·
THE UNTITLED GUNFIGHTER BALLAD, by Mark Thielman
·
DON’T GET CAUGHT, by Karen Harrington
·
OLIVER KOWALSKI, by Terry Shepherd
·
AMARILLO BY MORNING, by Dänna Wilberg
·
GRAVE NEWS, by Cindy Martin
·
LONGSHOT AT LONE STAR PARK, by ML Condike
·
TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY, by Pam McWilliams
·
A VAGUE THREAT, by Tiffany Seitz
·
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO…?, by Kevin R. Tipple
·
HIGH WINDOW, by Amber Royer
·
BITTER COLD, by Shannon Taft
·
CITIZENS ARRESTED, by Joseph S. Walker
MICHAEL
BRACKEN (www.CrimeFictionWriter.com),
who edited this anthology, is the Edgar Award and Shamus Award nominated,
Derringer Award winning author of more than twelve hundred short stories,
including crime fiction published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery
Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Best
American Mystery Stories, The Best Mystery Stories of the Year, and
many other publications. Additionally, Bracken is the editor of Black
Cat Mystery Magazine, associate editor of Black Cat Weekly, and
editor or co-editor of thirty-one published or forthcoming anthologies,
including the Anthony Award-nominated The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes
from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods. In 2024, he was inducted into the
Texas Institute of Letters for his contribution to Texas literature.
Today is publication day for The Mystery Patrons
Present Mystery Most International. Published by Level Best Books, the
anthology is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other
vendors. The SMFS list members that reported their stories in the book are:
J. F. Benedetto with “The Canadian: Death at a Ghost's
Hands.”
Peter W. J. Hayes with “White Elephants.”
Aimee Kluck with “Murder in the Wine Cellar.”
Deborah Lacy with “Sweet Revenge Hotline.”
Robert Lopresti with “No Escape.”
Jeffrey Marks with “Death on the Nile.”
Rob McCartney with “Tent City.”
Alan Orloff with “Dragos and Son.”
Josh Pachter with “The Last Dance.”
Merrilee Robson with “A Farmhouse in Provence.”
J.R. Sanders with “Hangry in Hungary.”
Bev Vincent with “The Voynich Manuscript.”
Kristopher Zgorski with “Reynisfjara.”
Publisher Description:
THE MYSTERY PATRONS PRESENT:
MYSTERY MOST INTERNATIONAL
We are pleased to present this anthology of 34
stories, all with an international setting or theme. All proceeds from this
anthology will go to sponsor registrations, travel, or accommodations to a
dedicated mystery convention.
Included Stories:
The Canadian: Death at a
Ghost's Hands by Joseph Benedetto
The Devil and Idle Hands by Jared Cade
The Far Shore by Susan Daly
The Road to Limerick by Chris Dreith
Grave Expectations by Marni Graff
Sins of the Father by Kerry Hammond
White Elephants by Peter W.J. Hayes
The Package by Anne Hillerman & David Tedlock
Murder in the Wine Cellar by Aimee Kluck
Sweet Revenge Hotline by Deb Lacy
Stranger on the Train by Kate Lansing
No Escape by Robert Lopresti
A Warm Moscow October by Nina Mansfield
Arsenic and the Shepherd by Nev March
Death on the Nile by Jeffrey Marks
Tent City by Rob McCartney
Death at Dunarven: A Jane
Bennett Mystery by Annie McEwan
Swan Song by donalee Moulton
Big Vuto in Lusaka by Lorraine Sharma Nelson
Dragos & Son by Alan Orloff
The Last Dance by Josh Pachter
Death at Dunarven by Maureen Patrick
Thin Air by Katherine Ramsland
From Hunger by Robin Ray
French Fried by Lori Robbins
A Farmhouse in Provence by Merrilee Robson
The Diamond Caper: An
Alternate History by Verena Rose
Hangry in Hungary by J.R. Sanders
Death Comes to Coakley by Shawn Reilly Simmons
Lost at Sea by Cathi Stoler
Maj de Ojo by Liz Milliron
The Last Fado of Ricardo Reis by Gabriel Valjan
The Tears of the Trophy Wife by Elaine Viets
The Voynich Manuscript by Bev Vincent
Reynisfjara by Kristopher Zgorski
Editors: Rita Owen, Verena Rose, and Shawn
Reilly Simmons
The Mystery Patrons