SMFS Member Nominees for 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award

The SMFS is proud to announce that again this year members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2024 Silver Falchion Award. As stated on their homepage, winners will be announced in mid-August at the conference. The complete list of nominees is on the 2024 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalists site. The nominated SMFS list members are: 

 

Best Cozy

Peggy Rothschild with Playing Dead: A Novel (Berkley).

 

Best Historical

Richard Helms for Vicar Brekonridge: A Vicar Brekonridge Novel (Level Best – Historia).

Jessica Sly for The Art of Misdirection: Isles of Illusion Book 2 (Mountain Brook Ink). 

Nina Wachsman for The Courtesan's Secret: A Venice Beauties Mystery (Level Best Books).

Best Investigator (Includes Procedural, Serious P. I., Detective, And Noir)

Mark Troy for Splintered Loyalty: An Ava Rome Mystery (Down & Out Books)

Best Nonfiction

Judy Penz Sheluk for Finding YOUR Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide (Superior Shores Press).

 

Best Anthology (Awarded To Individual Author Or Collection Editor)

Richard Helms for Paper Walls / Glass Houses (Black Arch Books).

Art Taylor for The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions  (Crippen & Landru Publishers).

 

Best Thriller

Cathi Stoler for With a Twist: A Murder on the Rocks Mystery (Level Best Books).

SMFS Member Nominees for 2024 Killer Nashville Claymore Award

The SMFS is proud to announce that members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2024 Killer Nashville Claymore Award in numerous categories. The award recognizes the best unpublished book based on the first fifty pages of the manuscript. The winners will be announced in August during Killer Nashville. The SMFS list member finalists are:

 

Best Cozy

Bern Sy Moss with Death at Sunset.

 

Best Mystery

James L’Etoile with Lost Life.

 

Best Short Story Collection/ Anthology (Awarded To Individual Author Or Collection Editor)

Ashley-Ruth Bernier with Mayhem Can’t Stop De Mas. 

P.M. Raymond with Things Are As They Should Be and other words to live by. 

P..K. Richard with Pocket Money and Other Stories.  

Jennifer Slee with Eternal Return & Other Stories.

 

Best Supernatural

James L’Etoile with Second Sight.

 

Best Suspense

Denise Johnson with Misconception.

 

Catherine Stoler with Hear No Evil.

 

The full list of the finalists for this year is at the website.

SMFS Member Nominees for Killer Nashville’s 2023 Claymore Award

The SMFS is proud to announce that members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2023 Killer Nashville Claymore Award in numerous categories. The award recognizes the best unpublished book based on the first fifty pages of the manuscript. The winners will be announced in August during Killer Nashville. The SMFS list member finalists are:

 

Best Comedy

Axel Milens with 10,000 Girls and One Ice Pick

Erica Obey with The Riddle of the Fifth Earl.

 

Best Investigator

Jennifer and Jessica Slee with Still Life.

 

Best Literary

Jennifer and Jessica Slee with Perfect Fifth.

 

Best Mainstream/Commercial

Debra H. Goldstein for The Night for Sinners.

 

Best Short Story Collection/Anthology

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier with Naomi Sinclair Spills the (Bush) Tea.

Robert Mangeot with Parts of the Problem.

Anna Scotti with They Look Like Angels.

Jennifer Slee with Eternal Return and Other Stories.

Tom Wood with Doomstone and Other Thrilling Tales.

 

Best Suspense

Cynthia Rice with The Last Broken Girl.

 

The full list of the finalists for this year is at the website.

SMFS Member Nominees for Killer Nashville’s 2023 Silver Falchion Award

The SMFS is proud to announce that again this year members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2023 Silver Falchion Awards. As stated on their homepage, winners will be announced in mid-August at the conference. The complete list of nominees is on the 2023 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalists site. The nominated SMFS list members are: 

 

Best Cozy 

Debra H. Goldstein for Five Belles Too Many (Kensington). 

Lori Robbins for Murder in Third Position (Level Best Books). 

Peggy Rothschild for A Deadly Bone to Pick (Berkley Prime Crime).

 

 

Best Historical 

Richard Helms for A Kind and Savage Place (Level Best Books). 

Nina Wachsman for The Gallery of Beauties: A Venice Beauties Mystery  (Level Best Books).

 

 

Best Investigator 

James L'Etoile for Dead Drop: A Detective Nathan Parker Novel (Level Best Books). 

Emilya Naymark for Behind the Lie (Crooked Lane Books).

 

 

Best Mainstream/Commercial

Vinnie Hansen with One Gun (Misterio Press).

 

 

Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy 

Elle Hartford for Beauty and the Alchemist (Phoenix & Kelpie Press).

 

 

Best Western 

Gerald Elias with Roundtree Days: A Jefferson Dance Western Mystery (Level Best Books). 

 

Additionally, An Element of Mystery: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of Intrigue (Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC.) is a Silver Falchion Award finalist in the Best Short Story Collection / Anthology category. SMFS list member Debra H. Goldstein’s short story, Death in the Hand of the Tongue, is included.

SMFS Member Nominees for Killer Nashville’s 2022 Silver Falchion Award

The SMFS is proud to announce that again this year members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2022 Silver Falchion Awards. As stated on their homepage, winners will be announced in mid-August at the conference. The complete list of nominees is on the 2022 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalists site. The nominated SMFS list members are: 

 

Best Comedy

Chris Chan for Sherlock's Secretary (MX Publishing, December  2021)

 

Best Investigator

Emilya Naymark for Hide in Place (Crooked Lane Books, February 2021)

 

Best Juvenile / YA

William Burton McCormick for A Stranger From the Storm (Independently Published, October 2021)

 

Best Nonfiction

Chris Chan for Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter (Level Best Books, September 2021)

 

Best Suspense

Jeffrey James Higgins for Furious: Sailing into Terror (Black Rose Writing, May 2021)

 

Best Attendee Thriller Finalists

James L’Etoile for Black Label (Level Best Books, July 2021)

 

Additionally, Lies Along the Mississippi: A Memphis Mysteries Anthology (Malice in Memphis, A Killer Writing Group, July 2021) is a Silver Falchion Award finalist in the Best Short Story Collection / Anthology category. SMFS list members Jackie Ross Flaum and Lynn Maples have short stories in the book. 

2020 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Readers’ Choice Award SMFS Members Finalists

The SMFS is proud to announce that list members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2020 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Readers’ Choice Award. Winners will be announced later this month during the virtual Killer Nashville conference. The full list of the nominees is on the website. The nominated SMFS list members are:

Debra H. Goldstein with Two Bites Too Many: A Sarah Blair Mystery Book Two, published by Kensington Books.

Peter W. J. Hayes with The Things That Are Different: A Vic Lenoski Mystery, published by Level Best Books.

Sharon Marchisello with Secrets of the Galapagos, published by Sunbury Press.

Laura Oles and Manning Wolfe with Last Call, published by Starpath Books.

Judy Penz Sheluk with A Fool’s Journey, published by Superior Shores Press.

Judy Penz Sheluk with the anthology, The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, published by Superior Shores Press.

Killer Nashville’s 2020 Claymore Award SMFS Member Finalists

The SMFS is proud to announce that members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2020 Killer Nashville Claymore Award. The award recognizes the best unpublished book based on the first fifty pages of the manuscript. The top three finalists and the winner will be announced on August 22, 2020 during the virtual Killer Nashville event. The two SMFS list member finalists are:

William Burton McCormick with Ghost.

J. B. Stevens with The Red Exit.

The complete list of finalists for the Claymore and more information can be found on the website.

Killer Nashville’s 2020 Silver Falchion Award SMFS Member Finalists

The SMFS is proud to announce that again this year members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2020 Silver Falchion Awards. As stated on their homepage, winners will be announced later this year as the 2020 conference has been canceled due to the pandemic.  The complete list of nominees is on the 2020 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalists site. The nominated SMFS list members are:

Cozy Category:

Debra H. Goldstein for Two Bites Too Many (Kensington Books)

Procedural or P.I. Catgory:

Peter W. J. Hayes for The Things That Are Different (Level Best Books).

Richard Helms for Paid In Spades (Clay Stafford Books).

Killer Nashville: I Have Become the Timebound by Robert Mangeot

Killer Nashville: I Have Become the Timebound by Robert Mangeot

Killer Nashville: Please, Turn Off the Idea Faucet! by Alan Orloff

Killer Nashville: Please, Turn Off the Idea Faucet! by Alan Orloff

Killer Nashville’s 2019 Silver Falchion Award SMFS Member Finalists

The SMFS is proud to announce that again this year members of the SMFS have been nominated for the 2019 Silver Falchion Awards. Winners will be announced at the 2019 Killer Nashville Guest of Honor & Awards Dinner in late August.  The complete list of nominees is on the 2019 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Finalists site. The nominated members are:

In the Mystery category, the nominee is Ann Parker for A Dying Note.

In the Procedural category there are two nominees. They are:

Bruce Robert Coffin for Beyond the Truth.

James Doherty for An Obscure Gave.

In the Young Adult category, the nominee is Alison McMahan for “Kamikaze Iguanas” in the anthology, Scream & Scream Again.

In the Short Stories category, the nominee is Marianne Donley for “The Roman Coin” in the anthology, Untethered: Sweet, Funny, and Strange Tales of the Paranormal.