SMFS Member Publishing News: Elizabeth Zelvin

SMFS list member Elizabeth Zelvin’s latest short story, “Roxelana’s Ring” now appears online at J.J. Outré Review. The story is free to read here.

SleuthSayers: Robbing Victor to Pay Shanks by Robert Lopresti

SleuthSayers: Robbing Victor to Pay Shanks: As I mentioned  here not too long ago, I think one of my writing strengths is premises and one of my weaknesses is plots.  A result of ...

SMFS Members Published in Death in the Drowned Lands: An Anthology for the World

Several SMFS members have short stories in the new book, Death in the Drowned Lands: An Anthology for the World. The read is available in eBook format at Amazon. The SMFS list members in the book are:


J. F. Benedetto with "Death is a Matter of Faith."

Kaye George with “Going Home.”

James L’Etoile with “Moldy Cash and a Getaway."

Kate Thornton with “Treasured Memory.”

Synopsis:

This is an anthology of stories inspired by the terrifying prospect of climate change and what that means—not just now, but for all the coming generations.

Fourteen bestselling and prize-winning authors have joined forces to produce this collection, contributing tales based on their original and inventive interpretation of the theme “Death in the Drowned Lands.” On these pages you’ll find stories of deaths intentional and accidental, events both comic and tragic, and settings ranging from the ancient past to the far future.
This book is a labor of love, a gift from the writers to the planet we inhabit. One hundred percent of the royalties earned will be donated to an organization at the forefront of the battle to stop global warming.

Remember—there is no Planet B.

With works by: R. C. Barnes, J.F. Benedetto, Kimmy Dee, Kaye George, Mark Hauer, Berkeley Hunt, E. E. King, Katia Kozar, James L’Etoile, Kat Parrish, Mark Rogers, Kate Thornton, Max Tomlinson, and Albert Tucher.

SMFS Member Publishing News: James Blakey

SMFS list member James Blakey’s latest short story, “How to Become a Successful 21^st Century Cybercriminal in Five Easy Steps” appears in The Dark City Crime and Mystery Magazine: Volume 5, Issue 3. The issue can be purchased at Amazon and at Magzter.

Synopsis:

The Dark City is a quarterly magazine featuring crime and mystery stories with an emphasis on stories that illuminate character and setting. In this issue we feature a wannabe cybercriminal who finds that success on the dark web is an illusive target, a guy seeking a girl in a bar who finds himself a prisoner and participant in the darkest of games, a film memorabilia collector who seeks the remains of a film femme fatale, a debt collector who has to remind his client that green is the only color that matters, and an aging grandmother who applies a failing memory to solving the disappearance of her only grandson.

The First Two Pages: “Talk to Me” by Emily Hockaday and Jackie Sherbow

The First Two Pages: “Talk to Me” by Emily Hockaday and Jackie Sherbow

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 101

As posted by Peter DiChellis to our list…

This week’s blog lauds short mystery and crime fiction with links to a crime-infested crush of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes: The Dark City Crime & Mystery Magazine posted all five stories from its April 2020 issue, free to read.

Also free to read: the anthology 101 Great Thriller Short Stories is free on Kindle.

Plus: Occult Detective Magazine is open for submissions until June 5. Check out the details. (And for the editor’s views on submissions, writing, and rejections you can click back to Short walk #62.)

And—a review of a “very entertaining” private eye anthology without a “weak tale” anywhere in it.

Also, a thoughtful essay— what will happen to public libraries, even after the pandemic?

A short walk down a dark street (#101). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/04/26/short-walk-101/

Little Big Crimes Review: One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Kathy Krevat

Little Big Crimes: One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Kathy Krevat: "One Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest," by Kathy Krevat, in Crossing Borders, edited by Lia Brackmann and Matt Coyle, Down and Ou...

2019 EQMM Readers Award

Picture courtesy of Art Taylor on Facebook

The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine: May/June 2020 issue not only features stories from several SMFS members as previously announced, it also contains the announcement of the 2019 EQMM Readers Award. This year, ten of the eleven recognized authors are SMFS list members. Our SMFS list members and their placement in the 2019 Ellery Queen Readers Award poll are as follows:

1^st Place---David Dean with “The Duelist” in the May/June 2019 issue.

2^nd Place---Paul D. Marks with “Fadeout on Bunker Hill” in the March/April 2019 issue.

3^rd Place---G. M. Malliet with “Whiteout” in the January/February 2019 issue (tie with nonmember).

4rth Place---David Dean with “Snow Boy” in the January/February 2019 issue.

6^th Place---Art Taylor with “Better Days”  in the the May/June 2019 issue and Trey Dowell with "Heat"  in the July/August  2019 issue (tie).

7^th Place---Michael Bracken with “Wishing Tree” in the January/February 2019 and O’Neil De Noux” with “Sac-a-lait Man” in the September/October 2019 issue (tie).

8^th Place---Richard Helms with “The Cripplegate Apprehension” in the July/August  2019 issue.

9^th Place---Stacy Woodson with “The Retirement Plan” in the in the September/October 2019 issue.

10^th Place---Christine Poulson with “Fiction Addiction” in the November/December 2019 issue.


More information can be found in the May/June 2020 issue available now.

SMFS Member Publication News: C. W. Blackwell

SMFS list member C.W. Blackwell’s short story, “We Take Care Of Our Own” is now online at Shotgun Honey. The story is online and is free to read here.

SMFS Member Podcast: Frank Zafiro Interviews James L’Etoile

SMFS list member Frank Zafiro has a long running podcast titled “Wrong Place, Write Crime.” One of the things he does on that is interview folks. This week he interviews SMFS list member James L’Etoile. This episode can be heard here.

SMFS Members Published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine: May/June 2020

Several SMFS list members are published in the Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine: May/June  2020 issue. The issue is available from Dell Magazines as well as at Amazon and other vendors. The SMFS list members published in this issue are:

Michael Bracken with “Sleepy River.”

Eve Fisher with “Brother’s Keeper.”

Robert Lopresti with “Shanks Saves The World.”

Joseph S. Walker with “Etta at the End of the World.”

Elizabeth Zelvin with “Reunion.”

SMFS Members Published in The Faking Of The President: Nineteen Stories of White House Noir

Several SMFS list members have stories in the new anthology published today, The Faking Of The President: Nineteen Stories of White House Noir. Published by Three Rooms Press, the book is available in print and eBook formats from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members in this book are:

Sarah M. Chen with “In Mother We Trust.”

Nikki Dolson with “Services Rendered.”

Danny Gardner with “Old Pharaoh.”

Gary Phillips with “Y2 Effin’ K.”

Travis Richardson with “The Event That Never Happened.”

Synopsis:

A literary coup d'etat, that ponders "What would the White House be like if U.S. Presidents of the past were not restricted by the time-honored hallmarks and traditional behavior of the office, leaving them free to do whatever they wanted, anytime and anywhere?" THE FAKING OF THE PRESIDENT: Nineteen Stories of White House Noir pulls back the curtain on the “new norm” for America’s highest office, with a collection of bizarre new stories by a diverse group of renowned authors that take readers across the chasm of reality into an alternate universe—where Nixon takes a wacky psychedelic trip with Elvis Presley; where a time-traveling renegade targets members of the George Bush administration with disastrous results; where a spy seizes a sudden opportunity for power after Woodrow Wilson’s stroke. The stories are outlandish but—when it comes to the White House of today—no longer implausible.



The line-up of award-winning authors includes Eric Beetner, Peter Carlaftes, Sarah M. Chen, Angel Luis Colón, S. A. Cosby, Nikki Dolson, Mary Anna Evans, Adam Lance Garcia, Danny Gardner, Alison Gaylin, Christopher Chambers, Kate Flora, Greg Herren, Gary Phillips, Alex Segura, Travis Richardson, S. J. Rozan, Abby Vandiver, and Erica Wright.

TOUGH: Dirty Laundry, fiction by MIchael Bracken

TOUGH: Dirty Laundry, fiction by MIchael Bracken: Julia Calloway Poe sat at a table outside Starbucks and stared at her cellphone, much like the coffee drinkers occupying the surrounding tab...

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 100

As posted by SMFS list member Peter DiChellis to our list…

This week’s blog hits the century mark with a bunch of links to bad-ass reviews, releases, free reads, and more—all of them about short mystery & crime tales.

Includes: More free stories from the Akashic Books anthologies Kansas City Noir and Staten Island Noir.

Plus: Switchblade Magazine editor Scotch Rutherford’s views on what crime fiction editors want (and don’t want) and differences between submitting to established mystery magazines and indie crime ‘zines. Reminder: Switchblade is open for submissions until April 25. Check out the details.

A short walk down a dark street (#100). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/04/19/short-walk-100/

Best wishes,

Peter

Little Big Crimes Review: Free Man in Paris by Brendan DuBois

Little Big Crimes: Free Man in Paris, by Brendan DuBois: "Free Man in Paris," by Brendan DuBois, in The Beat of Black Wings, edited by Josh Pachter, Untreed Reads, 2020. On occasion I ...

Gerald So Interviews: Lissa Marie Redmond, 2020 Derringer Finalist

Gerald So Interviews: Lissa Marie Redmond, 2020 Derringer Finalist

Gerald So Interviews: Chris Chan, 2020 Derringer Finalist

Gerald So Interviews: Chris Chan, 2020 Derringer Finalist

Jacqueline Seewald: How to Create Fiction That Readers Can’t Put Down

Jacqueline Seewald: How to Create Fiction That Readers Can’t Put Down:   Readers need both emotional and intellectual connection to fiction or they won’t continue reading. If this connection isn’t created, re...

Writers Who Kill: An Interview with Art Taylor by E. B. Davis

Writers Who Kill: An Interview with Art Taylor by E. B. Davis: “’Influence is the definition of leverage,’ my father said.” Art Taylor, “A Necessary Ingredient,” Kindle Loc. Page 533 The Boy Det...

SMFS Member Podcast: Frank Zafiro Interviews Paul D. Marks

SMFS list member Frank Zafiro has a long running podcast titled “Wrong Place, Write Crime.” One of the things he does on that is interview folks. This week he interviews SMFS list member Paul D. Marks. This episode can be heard here.