SMFS list member John M. Floyd’s short story, Retirement Plan, was published at Punk Noir Magazine. You can read the piece for free online here.
From the group keeping mystery & crime stories in the public eye since 1996
Monday, May 20, 2024
SMFS Member Publishing News: Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire by Donna Andrews
SMFS list member Donna Andrews’ short story, Cold Blue
Steel and Sweet Fire, appears in Black Cat Weekly #142. Published by Wildside
Press, the issue is available here
in digital format.
Publisher Description:
This issue we have quite an all-star
lineup. From modern masters of mystery like Donna Andrews and Andrew
Welsh-Huggins to the greatest names in science fiction like Frank Herbert and
Robert Silverberg, this is an amazing issue no matter how you look at it. As
for our featured novels, we have a Fantômas tale by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel
Allain and Metropolis by Thea von Harbou. This might possibly
be our best issue ever!
Take a look at our
contents and see for yourself—
Cover: Ron Miller
Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:
- “A Beauty All Its Own,” by Andrew
Welsh-Huggins [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
- “Death Takes the Stage,” by Hal
Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
- “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire,”
by Donna Andrews [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
- “The Murderer,” by Murray
Leinster [short story]
- The Long Arm of Fantômas, by Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
[novel, Fantômas series]
Science Fiction & Fantasy:
- “Chowhound” by Mack Reynolds
[short novel]
- “A Kiss for the Conqueror,” by
Henry Slesar [short story]
- “The Mystery of Deneb IV,” by
Robert Silverberg [short story]
- “Try to Remember!” by Frank
Herbert [short novel]
- Metropolis, by Thea von Harbou [novel]
SMFS Member Publishing News: Sacrifice by Chuck Brownman
SMFS list member Chuck Brownman’s short story, Sacrifice, was published at Punk Noir Magazine. You can read the piece for free online here.
Sunday, May 19, 2024
SMFS Member Publishing News: Wide Awake by Victor De Anda
SMFS list member Victor De Anda’s short story, Wide
Awake, was published at Punk Noir Magazine. You can read the piece for free
online here.
Saturday, May 18, 2024
SMFS Member Publishing News: The House by Ed Teja
Friday, May 17, 2024
SMFS Member Publishing News: The Woman by Merrilee Robson
SMFS list member Merrilee Robson’s short story, The Woman, was published at Punk Noir Magazine. You can read the piece for free online here.
SMFS Members Published in Detectives, Sleuths, & Nosy Neighbors
Today is publication day for the anthology, Detectives, Sleuths, & Nosy Neighbors. Published by Inkd Publishing LLC, the anthology is available from Amazon and other vendors. The SMFS list members that reported their stories in the book are:
J. F. Benedetto with “A Corpse in the Martian Sand.”
N.M. Cedeño with “The Ghostly Lady's Curse.”
Tracy Falenwolfe with “Secret Family Recipie.”
Veronica Leigh with “God's Truth.”
Tiffany Seitz with “On the Rocks.”
Amazon Description:
Do you love mystery stories? Suspense?
Do you need to know who
done it?
Detectives, Sleuths, and
Nosy Neighbors is a mystery anthology with short stories which range between
the classic nosy neighbor and detective to a space sleuth.
Curated and edited by A
Balsamo, these tales twist and turn until the very end.
Many of the authors have
published books available, so you might just find a new favorite to read.
Stories by
A.R.R. Ash
Mark Beard
L.N. Hunter
Mary Sophie Filicetti
Tiffany Seitz
J.F. Benedetto
N.M. Cedeño
Cassondra Windwalker
Joe Giordano
Kay Hanifen
Robert Richter
Tracy Falenwolfe
Veronica Leigh
Michelle Kaseler
Kevin A Davis
Thursday, May 16, 2024
SMFS Member Publishing News: Weight Unsaid by M. E. Proctor
SMFS list member M. E. Proctor’s short story, Weight
Unsaid, was published at A Thin Slice Of Anxiety. You can read the piece for
free online here.
SMFS Member Publishing News: Never Again by Jen Hartzell
SMFS list member Jen Hartzell’s short story, Never
Again, was published at Punk Noir Magazine. You can read the piece for free
online here. Jen Hartzell also reported that this is her first ever published story.
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
SMFS Member Publishing News: Guessing Games by John M. Floyd
SMFS list member John M.
Floyd’s short story, Guessing Games, appears in the May 20th issue
of Woman's World. The issue is available in grocery stores,
newsstands, and at Woman’s World.
SMFS Member Publishing News: Because the Baby by M. E. Proctor
SMFS list member M. E. Proctor’s short story, Because
the Baby, was published at Punk Noir Magazine. You can read the piece for free
online here.
SMFS Members Published in Stolen Cars: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem Book #18
Today is publication day for Stolen Cars:
Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem Book #18. Published by Knotted Road Press, the read is
available at MysteryCrimeandMayhem.Com
as well as Amazon and other
vendors. The SMFS list members that
reported being in the issue are:
Joslyn Chase with “Always Gonna Happen.”
Diana Deverell with “Cool Ride.”
David H. Hendrickson with “Dodging Bullets.”
Annie Reed with “Be Someone.”
Publisher Description
Take a
joy ride with a woman desperate to escape her past. Or maybe deal with car
thieves who keep stealing your car for an ever increasing ransom. Maybe delve
into the mystery of a car that isn’t really stolen–it just disappears for a
while. Or get into a rideshare car that appears to be driven by a zombie (if
you dare…)
These tales of stolen cars, the thieves behind them, and what these theft actually represents, are sure to delight readers of all kinds. From the twisted minds of the MCM syndicate.
SMFS Member Publishing News: The Orphan by Sylvia M. Warsh
Today is publication day for SMFS list member Sylvia
M. Warsh’s new book, The Orphan. Published by Auctus Publishers,
the read is available at Amazon
and other vendors.
Publisher Description:
Washington DC 1844: When his mother is found drowned in the
Potomac, 15-year-old Samuel Evans is devastated and falls gravely ill, saved by
an experimental drug given to him by the gruff Dr. James Pyper who developed it
from an Amazonian plant. The drug makes Samuel so sensitive to his environment
that he can communicate with animals. He sets out to prove his mother didn’t
commit suicide, helped by encounters with numerous animals.
The
doctor’s childless wife, Martha, convinces her husband to adopt Samuel. He
discovers that their house is a stop on the Underground Railroad and that
Martha helps runaway slaves.
While
investigating his mother’s murder, Samuel’s life is threatened, he falls in
love, he dispatches a bee hive to punish the man he suspects, and tragedy
ensues. He is kicked out of the Pypers’ house, with nowhere to go. During this
painful time, he uncovers lies and betrayal from people he trusts before
learning the truth about his parents.
The Orphan is set against the backdrop of slavery and the 1844
presidential election that determined whether Texas would enter the union as a
slave state.
Sunday, May 12, 2024
SMFS Members Published in Black Cat Weekly #141
SMFS list members are published in Black Cat Weekly #141. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format. The members that reported their stories are:
Vinnie Hansen “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.”
Veronica Leigh with “A Slice of Life.”
Publisher Description:
Welcome to Black
Cat Weekly.
If you
like some of the series we’ve been publishing, you’re in for a treat this time.
We have a new Smith Sisters story by Veronica Leigh, a Sexton Blake story by
Hal Meredith, a Johnny Liddell novel by Frank Kane, and a Jules de Grandin
story by Seabury Quinn.
I
don’t want to slight our non-series contents—it’s quite an all-star lineup,
with tales such modern masters as Aeryn Rudell and Vinnie Hansen (courtesy of
Acquiring Editors Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman), plus classics by Robert
Silverberg & Randall Garrett, Lester del Rey, and Gore Vidal. And, of
course, a solve-it-yourself mystery by Hal Charles.
Here’s
the complete lineup—
Cover: Ron
Miller
Mysteries
/ Suspense / Adventure:
- “A Slice of
Life,” by Veronica Leigh [short story, the Smith Sisters series]
- “Every Trick in
the Book,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
- “I Wanna Be
Your Boyfriend,” by Vinnie Hansen [short story]
- “The Clue of
the Ash,” by Hal Meredith [short story, Sexton Blake series]
- Green Light for
Death, by Frank Kane [novel, Johnny Liddell series]
Science
Fiction & Fantasy:
- “Time On My
Hands,” by Aeryn Rudel [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
- “The Girl from
Bodies, Inc.,” by Robert Silverberg and Randall Garrett [short story]
- “Whom the Gods
Love,” by Lester del Rey [short story]
- “Body and
Soul,” by Seabury Quinn [short story, Jules de Grandin series]
- Messiah, by Gore Vidal [novel]
Saturday, May 11, 2024
2024 SMFS Member Anthony Award Nominees
Earlier this week, several SMFS list members were
nominated for the 2024 Anthony Awards in various categories. The winners will
be announced at Bouchercon: Nashville
on Saturday evening, August 31, 2024. The full list of nominees and more
information can be found on the Facebook
announcement. The SMFS list members that reported on the SMFS list their nominated
books and short stories are:
Best Anthology
Here
in the Dark: Stories by Megan Lucas (Shotgun
Honey Books, July 2023)
Happiness
Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of The Beatles,
Editor Josh Pachter (Down & Out Books, October 2023).
The
Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions by
Art Taylor (Crippen and Landru, February 2023).
School
of Hard Knox: Stories That Break Father Ronald Knox's Commandments for Crime
Fiction. Edited by SMFS list members Donna
Andrews, Greg Herren, and Art Taylor (Crippen and Landru, August 2023).
Best Short Story
Barb Goffman for “Real Courage” (Black
Cat Mystery Magazine #14, Wildside Press, October 2023).
James D.F. Hannah for “Knock” (Playing
Games, Editor Lawrence Block, Subterranean Press, July 2023)
Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski for “Ticket To
Ride.” (Happiness
Is a Warm Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of The Beatles,
Editor Josh Pachter, Down & Out Books, October 2023).
Best Hardcover Novel
James L'Etoile for Face of Greed: A Novel
(Oceanview Publishing, November 2023)
Best Paperback Original
James D.F. Hannah for Because the Night: A Henry
Malone Novel (Down & Out Books, June 2023)
Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition 2024 Winner: Olga Popova by Susan Breen
SMFS congratulates SMFS list member Susan Breen for
her win in the Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition 2024. Per the
website, “CWA and the Margery Allingham Society have jointly held an
international competition for a short story of up to 3,500 words. Our mission
is to find the best unpublished short mystery, and not only that, but one which
fits into Golden Age crime writer Margery Allingham’s definition of what makes
a great mystery story.” Susan Breen’s winning story is titled, Olga Popova.
More information can be found at The
Crime Writers’ Association.
Thursday, May 9, 2024
SMFS Member Publishing News: Pushing Joe Carter by John Floyd
SMFS list
member John Floyd’s short story, Pushing Joe Carter, appears in the just
released Strand Magazine: Spring 2024 issue. The issue is available at
the website
and from other vendors.
Description
Strand Magazine: Unpublished Rod Serling Short Story
(Strand Magazine: Featuring an unpublished Rod Serling
short story, fiction by Adam Hamdy, John Floyd, Vasa Clarke, and exclusive
interviews with Robert Littell and Laurie R. King)
Rod Serling’s unpublished short story “First Squad, First
Platoon” headlines The Strand Magazine’s
latest issue. Written after Serling returned from World War II, the story
preceded his television career and draws from his experiences fighting with the
511th Airborne in the Philippines, where he witnessed some of the most intense
combat of the entire conflict and the horrific deaths of many of his fellow
soldiers. Serling wrote this story in his early twenties, yet it carries a
maturity beyond his years. In terse prose, he delivers the immediacy, sense of
place, and cutting dialogue you’d expect from Hemingway, Crane, or Dos Passos.
It’s a powerful, unvarnished look at war in all its brutality—an unforgettable
study of ordinary people in extraordinarily hellish situations. This unique
issue also includes forewords to the story by Rod Serling’s daughters, Jodi and
Anne, who provide context to the story and deeper insight into the man behind
the words.
Also in this issue, as coincidence would have it, the
inimitable John Floyd offers us “Pushing Joe Carter,” a Twilight Zone-esque
tale of man’s inhumanity to man with—you guessed it—a twist at the end. Adam
Hamdy and Emily Fox show us the psychological toll a life in law enforcement
can take on the psyches of those sworn to serve and protect in “The Fear in
Their Eyes.” And Vasa Clarke has turned Holmes and Watson’s attention to an
unlikely case involving veterinary medicine and national security in “The Adventure
of the Ayrshire
We have an exclusive interview with espionage novelist
Robert Littell. In a career spanning over half a century, Littell has elevated
the genre into the realm of serious literature with scores of novels that have
earned comparisons to the works of John le Carré, Graham Greene, Len Deighton,
and Eric Ambler. He is indisputably the modern-day master of the literary spy
novel. Throughout his writing career, Littell has used the genre of espionage
fiction to explore and say something about the human condition. One of the
hallmarks of his novels are his character-driven plots. He has a keen
understanding of the men and women who live in the shadows where moral
ambiguity reigns, and his complex characters often find themselves struggling
to hold onto the last vestiges of their humanity amid the deception required by
their work, as they fight for or against the inexorable, heartless tide of the
realpolitik.
We also have an exclusive with Laurie R. King, known for
her Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, among others. Throughout a
prolific three-decade career, King has leveraged her extensive knowledge of
history and literature to produce some of the most authentic historical novels
of our time, not to mention several bestsellers set in the modern day, winning
over legions of readers around the world.
As the weather warms, and benches and beaches beckon, you’ll no doubt need the best new books. Storm Watch by C. J. Box, Independence Square by Martin Cruz Smith, and The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen are but a few of the many gems you’ll find in our reviews section.
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
SMFS Member Publishing News: Devil in the Rearview by Stephen D. Rogers
SMFS list member Stephen D. Rogers’s novella, Devil
in the Rearview, was published last week. This is the fifth novella in
the Chop Shop series created and edited by SMFS list member
Michael Bracken. Published by Down
& Out Books, the eBook is exclusively available at Amazon.
Publisher Description:
Synopsis … Car thieves and the chop shop that buys from
them combine to create high-octane stories of hot cars, hot crimes, and hot
times in Dallas, Texas.
Some vehicles are too expense to steal. By the
time you figure that out, it’s too late. In “Devil in the Rearview,” Liza Lee
escapes one monster only to find herself running from a worse one, wondering
all along whether she will become a monster herself.
Monday, May 6, 2024
SMFS Members Published in Black Cat Weekly #140
SMFS list members are published in Black Cat Weekly
#140. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format. The
members that reported their stories are:
M.A. Blume with “Pretty Is As Pretty Does.”
Steve Liskow with “The Grifted Age.”
Publisher Description:
This
time, we have a pair of original mysteries—tales by Steve Liskow (courtesy of
Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and M.A. Blume, plus a terrific tale by Steve
Hockensmith (which typography nuts like me will enjoy, courtesy of Acquiring
Editor Barb Goffman). The mystery novel is by Avery Gaul, and of course we have
a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles.
On
the science fiction side, we have a novel by Golden Age author Arthur Leo
Zagat, an early—and quite silly—fantasy from Harlan Ellison, space opera from
Edmond Hamilton, and straight-up SF tales from John Victor Peterson and Manly
Bannister. Lots of fun.
Here’s
the lineup:
Cover: Ron
Miller
Mysteries
/ Suspense / Adventure:
- “The Grifted Age” by Steve Liskow [Michael Bracken Presents short
story]
- “Deadly Reunion” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
- “i” by Steve Hockensmith [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
- “Pretty Is As Pretty Does,” by M.A. Blume [short story]
- Five Nights at the Five Pines, by Avery Gaul [novel]
Science
Fiction & Fantasy:
- “Classified Object,” by John Victor Peterson [short story]
- “The Annals of Aardvark,” by Harlan Ellison [short story]
- “The Great Illusion,” by Manly Bannister [short story]
- “The Star-Stealers,” by Edmond Hamilton [short story]
- The Two Moons of Tranquillia, by Arthur Leo Zagat [novel]
SMFS Members Published in Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies
Today is publication day for the anthology, Private Dicks and Disco Balls: Private Eyes in the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies. Published by Down & Out Books, the anthology was edited by SMFS list member Michael Bracken. The read is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members that reported their stories in the book are:
N.M. Cedeño with "A Woman's Place."
Alan Orloff with "Stayin' Alive."
Gary Phillips with "The Darklight Gizmo
Matter."
Stephen D. Rogers with "An Eye for an Eye."
Bev Vincent with "Houston, We Have a Problem."
Andrew Welsh-Huggins with "Cold Comfort."
Amazon Description:
The Sixties were a time of great cultural upheaval, and that
upheaval continued into the 1970s. In the midst of all this, private eyes
worked with clients across the generations, from those still clinging to the
social mores of Nixon's "silent majority" to those who embraced the
rapid societal changes that began in the 1960s.
From old-school private
eyes to the Baby Boomers coming of age and entering the trade, these private
eyes will take readers on a funky frolic through the Dyn-O-Mite Seventies.
Contributors include Ann Aptaker, N.M. Cedeño, Bill Fitzhugh, James A. Hearn, Laura Oles, Alan Orloff, Gary Phillips, Neil S. Plakcy, William Dylan Powell, Stephen D. Rogers, Mark Thielman, Bev Vincent, and Andrew Welsh-Huggins.