SMFS Member Publishing News: The Silence of the Dead: A Charlie 316 Novel by Frank Zafiro and Colin Conway

Today is publication day for SMFS list member Frank Zafiro’s new book, The Silence of the Dead: A Charlie 316 Novel. Co-written with Colin Conway, this is the sixth book in the series that began with Charlie-316. Published by High Speed Creative LLC, the police procedural is available from Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Description:

Every city has secrets. Some are evil.

A killer stalks Spokane, Washington, with his history of victims stretching back fifty years. It seems an unlikely truth, but Major Crimes Detective Wardell Clint is driven to prove it. After discovering tenuous links between many unsolved murders, Clint develops a theory which forces him deeper into the past.

He must wade through generations of cops, witnesses, and survivors to discover a truth hidden behind privilege and cover-ups. His improbable guide on this journey—retired Police Chief Robert Baumgartner—may be his greatest ally or most dangerous opponent.

No matter how long it takes, Clint won’t give up. His job—his duty—is to speak for the dead.

And they’ve been silent for too long.

 

SMFS Member Winner for the 2024 Public Safety Writers Association Awards: Frank Zafiro

SMFS list member Frank Zafiro reports that he won the below recognition at the Public Safety Writers Association conference held earlier this month.

 

Best Book Cover for Hope Dies Last (designed by Eric Beetner)

Mystery/Suspense (1st Place) for Hope Dies Last

Thriller (2nd Place - Tie) for Some Kind of Hell

Poetry (2nd Place) for When Something Slips (written as Frank Scalise... though I should have went with Zafiro, as it is a crime fiction poem...)

Short Story - Unpublished (Honorable Mention) for "The Second Degree" (written as Frank Saverio... it is science fiction/crime fiction)

Police Procedural (Honorable Mention) for All the Forgotten Yesterdays (River City #14)

SMFS Member Publishing News: Think of Laura: A Stefan Kopriva Mystery by Frank Zafiro

SMFS list member Frank Zafiro reported that his latest book, Think of Laura: A Stefan Kopriva Mystery, is now out from Code 4 Press. Part of his River City Universe, Mr. Zafiro added that, “…this title is available exclusively from the Code 4 Press Bookstore in ebook format (epub, which is for most platforms, incl. Kindle and Kobo) for the first 90 days of release.  The paperback and retail versions will be released August 28.” More information can be found at the publisher website.

 

Website Description:

“Will you find my sister?”

Those words send Stefan Kopriva, the former cop-turned-investigator, down a frustrating and baffling path after Laura Shelton.

Is she running from an embezzlement charge? Or hiding from an abusive husband? People are talking but nothing they say is getting Kopriva closer to the truth.

Who is the real Laura? Kind and caring? Desperate and guilt-ridden? Or was she ruthless and opportunistic? Kopriva won’t know until he finds her.

If she’s still alive. 

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Last Cop & Other Stories by Frank Zafiro

Today is publication day for The Last Cop & Other Stories by Frank Zafiro. Published by Code 4 Press, the short story collection is available in digital and print formats at the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

 

Description:

Imagine, if you will:

◆ The last real cop in a changing world.

 

◆ A bottom-feeder fighting rumors.

 

◆ A meticulous P.I. battling story tropes.

 

◆ A revenge story involving a hamburger.

 

◆ The bittersweet nostalgia of a mob enforcer.

 

◆ A street racer trying to escape a small town.

 

◆ The confusing last words of a rich man.

 

◆ A surprise at the shooting range.

 

◆ A familiar robber.

 

◆ An untimely traffic stop.

 

◆ The confusing nuances of contemporary policing.

These are the characters and stories you will discover in this collection from award-winning crime fiction author, Frank Zafiro! 

*Contains the Public Safety Writers Association award-winning stories "The Last Cop", "Hallmarks of the Job", and "One Fine Day."

SMFS Member Publishing News: Shades of Knight: A SpoCompton Novel by Frank Zafiro

 

Today is publication day for Shades of Knight: A SpoCompton Novel by Frank Zafiro.  This is the fifth book in the SpoCompton Series that began with At Their Own Game. Published by Code 4 Press, the read is available in digital and print formats at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

A family in conflict. A missing daughter. Secrets upon secrets. And time slipping away...

 

The Knight family is well-known in Spokane, thanks to the family patriarch, Solomon, founding a regional grocery chain. Each of Solomon's adult children seem to have gone their own way. Jocelyn is a cop. Nicky is a criminal. Susan and Harold are both striving to make it in the business, each in their own way. Marigold is an artist.

 

And Lily, the youngest and frailest of them, is missing—sucked into the dark recesses of the drug world.

 

When Solomon calls his children to band together to find their sister, all of them agree to help. But each has their own struggles and their own secrets. Will they find Lily before she is too far gone to save? What will they each sacrifice to rescue her?

SMFS Member Publishing News: Hope Dies Last: A Stefan Kopriva Mystery by Frank Zafiro

Today is publication day for Hope Dies Last: A Stefan Kopriva Mystery by Frank Zafiro.  This is the fourth book in the series that began with Waist Deep. Published by Code 4 Press, the read is available in digital and print formats at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

Former cop turned investigator Stefan Kopriva has long endured the fallout from the fatal mistake that drove him from the police force fourteen years ago. Eking out his redemption one bit at a time, Kopriva has finally reached a point in his life that finds him stable and reasonably happy.

Then the mother who abandoned him when he was a toddler returns to River City and completely shakes up his world.

Though professing to be sober and seeking to reconnect with her son, Kopriva is initially suspicious of her intentions. But his own desire to fill the void that she created all those years ago urges him to accept, and perhaps even forgive, her. Not only that, but the woman seems to be sincere in every way, causing Kopriva to trust her and to believe.

What follows is a shocking betrayal and a murder that sends Kopriva on perhaps the darkest journey of his life. He seeks out the truth, even though it isn't what he wants it to be. For better or worse, Kopriva knows that hope dies last.

All The Madness In My Soul: Taking stock of 2022 - What's Done & What's Learned by Frank Zafiro

 All The Madness In My Soul: Taking stock of 2022 - What's Done & What's Learned by Frank Zafiro

The First Two Pages: “A Hazy Shade of Winter” by Frank Zafiro

 The First Two Pages: “A Hazy Shade of Winter” by Frank Zafiro

SMFS Member Publishing News: Hallmarks of the Job: Stanley Melvin P.I. Story by Frank Zafiro

Today is publication day for Hallmarks of the Job: Stanley Melvin P.I. Story by Frank Zafiro. Published by Code 4 Press, the read is available in digital format at Amazon. 

 

Synopsis:

Meticulous private investigator Stanley Melvin likes to keep his work grounded in reality, not at all like the classic detective novels he has read incessantly since childhood. But his best friend and annoying neighbor Rudy quickly points out that his routine "cheater" case is rapidly taking on all of the features that Stanley steadfastly insists are mere fictional tropes of the genre.

Stanley isn't too sure how he feels about this. But as a professional, he forges ahead, despite getting out of his comfort zone. He knows he has to solve this case even if it is taking on all of the hallmarks of the job.

Additional notes:

Stanley Melvin stories take place in the SpoCompton universe.

Hallmarks of the Job won the 2022 PSWA Award!

SMFS Member Publishing News: Live and Die This Way: A SpoCompton Novel by Frank Zafiro

Today is publication day for Live and Die This Way: A SpoCompton Novel by Frank Zafiro.  This is the fourth book in the SpoCompton Series. Published by Code 4 Press, the read is available in digital format at Amazon.

 

 

Synopsis:

Billie Jo Higgins may be small, but she is a skilled burglar, using her craft to keep her and Toby, her addict twin brother, afloat in a hard world. It is a difficult life, but the two are surviving. They take care of each other.

Then B.J. stumbles into the wrong house at the wrong time and sees something she shouldn't. The explosive secret she now holds is dangerous, and the person it threatens immediately pursues B.J. with the solitary intent of silencing her forever.

Suddenly, "survival" takes on a whole new meaning...

(*NOTE: Jack McCrae mysteries, Sandy Banks thrillers, and Stanley Melvin PI Stories also take place in the shared universe of the SpoCompton series)

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Worst Kind of Truth (River City Book 11) by Frank Zafiro

Today is publication day for The Worst Kind of Truth by Frank Zafiro. This is the 11^th book in his River City series. Published by Code 4 Press, the read is available in digital format at Amazon.

 

Synopsis:

Detective Katie MacLeod has her hands full.

It has been four years since her promotion to detective, and after paying her dues in property crimes investigations, she has made it to the Major Crimes unit. This is where the highest profile cases land—homicides, robberies, serious assaults, and sexual assaults.

Katie catches two rape cases almost back-to-back. One victim is a prostitute with an unknown suspect… who Katie fears may be gearing up for more assaults. The other victim is a college student who has accused her boyfriend, a popular baseball player, of raping her at a party.

Both cases have their own set of perils. Katie juggles her time investigating each one, encountering many obstacles—a lack of evidence in one, and wondering how to parse conflicting statements in the other.

As she battles past these difficulties, Katie faces another fact… that both cases hit home with her in very different ways. Solving them becomes more than just a job for her, but something deep-seated and personal… something that may exorcise some of her own demons from the past.

Or will they consume her?

2022 Public Safety Writers Association Award Winners: Jim Guigli, Ellen Kirschman, Frank Zafiro

The SMFS would like to announce and congratulate our list members, Jim Guigli, Ellen Kirschman, and Frank Zafiro for their award wins at the Public Safety Writers Association conference held last weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 

Jim Guigli came in third place for his short story, “Looking for Mishka,” in the “Short Story Published” category. The tale was originally published in Rock and a Hard Place, Issue 7: Winter 2022 (January 2022).

Jim Guigli also came in third place for his flash fiction short story, “Listen to the Gunsmith,” in the “Flash Writing Fiction” category. It was then published online at Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Flash! and can be read for free.

 

Ellen Kirschman won second place for Answer to His Prayers (the fourth book of the Dr. Dot Mystery Series) in the “Fiction Book Published” category. Published by Hillcrest House Publishing in digital last December and then in print last March, the book also took second place in the “Fiction Book Unpublished” category in 2020.

 

Frank Zafiro won three awards in the “Short Story Published” category.

In first place, “One Fine Day” which appeared in The Tattered Blue Line: Short Stories of Contemporary Policing anthology. Independently published, Mr. Zafiro was also the editor for the anthology.

In second place, “Hallmarks of the Job.” Published by P. I. Tales, this novella was published in the book titled, Hallmarks Of The Job / Aloha Boys: A P.I. Tales Double Feature, by Frank Zafiro and Michael Bracken last August.

Mr. Zafiro also won a “Honorable Mention” for the short story, “The Last Cop,” which appeared in the To Serve, Protect, and Write: Cops Writing Crime Fiction anthology published last February. Published by Publicious Pty Ltd, the book was edited by A. B. Patterson.

 

The full list of the Public Safety Writers Association Award winners can be found here.

Publication News: Back Road Bobby and His Friends

 Today is the publication date for Back Road Bobby and His Friends, edited by Colin Conway.  Stories by members include:

Eric Beetner.  "Fletch Goes For A Ride."

Colin Conway. "The Reunion of Back Road Bobby and Transmission Jack."

Nikki Dolson. "Card Shark Molly's Last Hand."

Gabriel Valjan. "Ciro the Fox and the Treasure in the Mountains."

Frank Zafiro. "The Escape of Jimmy the Saint."

Kevin Tipple. "The Beetle's Last Fifty Grand."

Dave Zeltserman. "Robbing Banks with Gator Wilson."

Member Publication News: Frank Zafiro and Colin Conway

The Ride-Along, a new novel by Frank Zafiro and Colin Conway, was published today.

Publication News: Tattered Blue Line

Today Code 4 Press has published The Tattered Blue Line, edited by Frank Zafiro.  It includes 

Jim Doherty.  "The Weather Outside is Frightful."

Stacy Woodson.  "Zebras."

Frank Zafiro. "One Fine Day."

Member Publication News: Frank Zafiro

 

Frank Zafiro's story "The Last Cop" appears in To Serve, Protect, and Write: Cops Writing Crime Fiction.

Publication News: Frank Zafiro and Michael Bracken

Frank Zafiro and Michael Bracken have published two private eye novellas in a single ebook: "Hallmarks of the Job" (Zafiro) and "Aloha Boys" (Bracken).

Editorial Note: This post was updated on 7/20/2022 by SMFS President, Kevin R. Tipple, to fix a broken link and add missing tags. No changes were made to the text of the post or title as originally posted. 

Member Publication News: Frank Zafiro

 

Amazon's Vella is a new format for serials.  Frank Zafiro's Shades of Knight is appearing in it right now.

Criminal Minds: Devil in the Details by Frank Zafiro

Criminal Minds: Devil in the Details: How much scrutiny do you or an attorney give a contract, and have you ever realized after you signed that you left something on the table? F...

SMFS Member Publishing News: Frank Zafiro

Today is publication day for Sugar Got Low by SMFS list member Frank Zafiro. The short story collection is available in print and eBook at Amazon and other vendors. You can learn more about the book at Mr. Zafiro’s website.

 

Synopsis:

SUGAR GOT LOW contains a tale of grifters, a prequel story to the well-regarded Ania series, several trips back to River City and one to La Sombra, Texas. Enjoy a Walter Mitty homage set in San Francisco and a deadly day in Roman Britain, the heartbreaking story of a junkie and the suspenseful one of a murderer in a black car. And at the end of it all, you'll experience the dark but inspiring title story of perseverance that was only made possible because of a misunderstood lyric.Four-time Derringer finalist Frank Zafiro weaves a lucky thirteen tales drawn from throughout his career with one thing in common - characters you may love or hate, but will certainly feel.