A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 72

As posted by Peter DiChellis to our SMFS list….

This week’s blog dishes the straight dope with links to a devilish dose of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes: Compare notes as four reviewers converge on Tough 2: Crime Stories and Mystery Weekly magazine.

Plus: Encore! EQMM Editor Janet Hutchings discusses a recent submission trend, a type of mystery she often doesn't like, 1st vs. 3rd POV, and her view on story endings.

A short walk down a dark street (#72). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2019/09/29/short-walk-72/

Best wishes,

Peter

SleuthSayers: KDP Paperback Decisions by R. T. Lawton

SleuthSayers: KDP Paperback Decisions: by R.T. Lawton Warning. Today's offering may give you a headache. It covers number of pages, font and font size, cost of printing, cos...

SMFS Member Publishing News: Joan Leotta

SMFS list member Joan Leotta’s short story, An Ancient Recipe: Mystery Short Story, appears today in the latest issue of Kings River Life Magazine. You can read it here.

Ladies of Mystery Blog: Writing without Pen in Hand by Susan Oleksiw

Ladies of Mystery Blog: Writing without Pen in Hand by Susan Oleksiw

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Jacqueline Seewald

Each Saturday, we feature a SMFS list member whose work can be read online for free. These short stories are at least a year old.  

For SMFS Short Story Saturdays today, Jacqueline Seewald shares the 2014 published short story, “Murder and Money” archived at Over My Dead Body!  

If you would like to be included and are a member of the SMFS list at yahoo groups, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net. If you are not a member, this would be a good time to check us out at Yahoo Groups.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Debra Goldstein

SMFS list member Debra Goldstein sends word that her book, Two Bites Too Many: A Sarah Blair Mystery, was released Tuesday, September 24rth.  Published by Kensington Books, the read is available in mass market paperback, audio and digital formats from Amazon, the publisher, and other vendors.

Synopsis:

Far from a domestic goddess, Sarah Blair would rather catch bad guys than slave over a hot stove. But when a dangerous murder boils over in Wheaton, Alabama, catching the killer means leaving her comfort zone …
 
Things are finally looking up for Sarah Blair following her unsavory divorce. Settled into a cozy carriage house with her sassy Siamese cat, RahRah, she has somehow managed to hang on to her modest law firm receptionist job and—if befriending flea-bitten strays at the local animal shelter counts—lead a thriving social life. For once, Sarah almost has it together more than her enterprising twin, Emily, a professional chef whose efforts to open a gourmet restaurant have hit a real dead end …
 
When the president of the town bank and city council is murdered after icing Emily’s business plans, all eyes are on the one person who left the scene with blood on her hands—the Blair girls’ sharp-tongued mother, Maybelle. Determined to get her mom off the hook ASAP, Sarah must collect the ingredients of a deadly crime to bring the true culprit to justice. But as neighbors turn against her family, can she pare down the suspects before another victim lands on the chopping block?
 
 Includes quick and easy recipes!

SMFS Member Publication News: John M. Floyd

SMFS list member John M. Floyd has another mystery short story appearing in the Woman’s World Magazine. His latest mystery short story, “Suzie’s Special Clues” is in the current issue (September 30, 2019) of  Woman’s World Magazine. The publication is available on some newsstands and by subscription.

Members are reminded that Mr. Floyd shared in his piece at SleuthSayers Blog how he goes about writing short stories for this market. Well worth reading, especially if you are looking to break into this market.

Little Big Crimes Review: Pentecost by Eve Fisher

Little Big Crimes: Pentecost, by Eve Fisher: "Pentecost," by Eve Fisher, in  Me Too Stories,  edited by Elizabeth Zelvin, Level Best Books, 2019. This is the second appear...

SMFS Member Publishing News: Edith Maxwell

Today is publication day for SMFS list member Edith Maxwell’s new novella, Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse appearing in the three novella collection, Christmas Cocoa Murder. Writing as Maddie Day, the read is published by Kensington Books. The book is available in print, audio, and digital formats, from Amazon and other vendors.  Edith Maxwell’s novella is part of her well established Country Store Mysteries Series.

Synopsis:

'Tis the season for hot chocolate and mouthwatering treats. But sometimes too much of a good thing can be downright deadly . . .
 
CHRISTMAS COCOA MURDER by CARLENE O’CONNOR
Siobhán O’Sullivan’s hopes for a quiet Irish Christmas are dashed when the local Santa turns up dead in a carnival dunk tank of hot cocoa. Now instead of hunting down holiday gifts, she’s pursuing a heartless killer. Seems the dead Santa was no angel either, stealing neighborhood dogs to guide his sleigh. But was it his holiday antics—or worse—that led to his death by chocolate? 
 
CHRISTMAS COCOA AND A CORPSE by MADDIE DAY
When local businessman Jed Greenberg is found dead with a Chocolate lab whimpering over his body, the police start sniffing around Robbie Jordan’s country restaurant for answers. Was it something in Robbie’s hot cocoa that killed Jed, or was it Cocoa the dog? As the suspects pile as high as her holiday tree, Robbie attempts to get to the bottom of the sickly-sweet murder . . .
 
DEATH BY HOT COCOA by Alex Erickson
A Christmas-themed escape game seems like the perfect pre-holiday treat for bookstore café owner Krissy Hancock and her best friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it’s up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer—or escape before getting killed.
 
There’s nothing like a hot cup of murder to warm up the holiday season!

SMFS Member Publication News: Barry Ergang

SMFS list member Barry Ergang’s poem, “Paradise Costs” is published online today at The 5-2.  The piece appears at the long running site operated by SMFS list member and former officer, Gerald So.

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 71

As posted by SMFS list member Peter DiChellis….

This week’s blog piles it on with links to an awesome stack of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes: Free stories from Akashic Books anthologies Kansas City Noir, Mumbai Noir, and The Speed Chronicles.

Plus: Excerpts from the upcoming issue of Occult Detective Quarterly. And a Bill Pronzini review of Anthony Boucher’s best mystery stories.

A short walk down a dark street (#71). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2019/09/22/short-walk-71/

Best wishes,

Peter

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Lisa de Nikolits

Each Saturday, we feature a SMFS list member whose work can be read online for free. These short stories are at least a year old.  

For SMFS Short Story Saturdays today, list member Lisa de Nikolits shares her November 2017 published short story, “Burning Bridges” archived at Open Book.

If you would like to be included and are a member of the SMFS list at yahoo groups, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net. If you are not a member, this would be a good time to check us out at Yahoo Groups.

Something Is Going To Happen Blog: “The Secret Lagoon” (by Josh Pachter)

Something Is Going To Happen Blog: “The Secret Lagoon” (by Josh Pachter)

Lev Raphael's Blog: How Should Women Authors Write About Crimes Against Women? by Elozabeth Zelvin

Lev Raphael's Blog: How Should Women Authors Write About Crimes Against Women? by Elozabeth Zelvin

Little Big Crimes Review: Stumped by Gary Pettigrew

Little Big Crimes: Stumped, by Gary Pettigrew: "Stumped," by  Gary Pettigrew, in Mystery Weekly Magazine, September 2019. A charming historical mystery this week.  Let's...

A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 70

As posted by SMFS member Peter DiChellis to our list…

This week’s blog treks bad-ass back roads with links to a fearsome clan of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.

Includes: A review of a Daniel Woodrell collection and two rural noir free-reads from Tough.

Plus: Make your characters more interesting with lies.

A short walk down a dark street (#70). Celebrating short mystery and crime fiction.

https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2019/09/15/short-walk-70/

Best wishes,

Peter

SMFS Member Publishing News: Joe Walker

SMFS list member Joe Walker’s short story, “Gnat” appears in the new anthology, Life Is Short And Then You Die: Mystery Writers of America Presents First Encounters with Murder. Published by Macmillan, the read is available in both print and digital formats from Amazon and other vendors.

Synopsis:

Life Is Short and Then You Die is the Mystery Writers of America's first teen anthology, edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.

Adolescence is a time of “firsts.” First kiss. First love. First loss. First job. The first taste of adult responsibilities, and the first look at an independent life away from both the restrictions and the security of home.

And in this case, a very different type of “first”: murder.

This short story collection of murder mysteries adds a sinister spin to the joy and pain of firsts that have always been a major part of life, whether it be high school cliques who take the term “backstabbing” too seriously, stumbling upon a body on the way home from school, or receiving a Snapchat message that promises something deadly.

Contributors include Barry Lyga, Caleb Roehrig, Emmy Laybourne, Jonathan Maberry, R.L. Stine, Rachel Vincent, Y.S. Lee, and more!

SMFS Member Publishing News: Frank Zafiro

SMFS list member, Frank Zafiro, writing as Frank Saverio, has a short story in the new anthology, The Wand That Rocks The Cradle: Magical Stories Of Family. Published by Lagrange Books, the read is available in both print and digital formats at Amazon. Mr. Zafiro’s short story is titled,  “To Find A Peach.”

Synopsis:

Warm, heartbreaking, tender, poignant—eight fantasy stories of the family.Family is filled with magic. It can be the warm magic of love, with bonds that can never be broken; it can be the bitter magic of old resentments and keen disappointments. It can be achingly beautiful or terrifyingly cruel.Explore the hidden depths of family in this anthology of stories from celebrated and award-winning authors. Transport yourself to dazzling settings like an isolated lake cottage watched over by a mysterious protector, a reality-TV show about a family of witches, a world besieged by dragon-wielding terrorists, an oddly relaxing coffee shop, and New Orleans after the rise of the unquiet dead.Experience the wonder and magic of family.The Wand that Rocks the Cradle features the following stories:“Bellwethers Know Best,” by Marion Deeds“Legacy,” by Joanna Michal Hoyt“Coffee Break,” by W.O. Hemsath“She That Was So Proud and Wild,” by Misha Burnett“Dead in First Grade,” by P.L. Sundeson“The Dragon Detector,” by Elana Gomel“The Lake Cottage, by Michelle F Goddard“To Find a Peach,” by Frank SaverioWith an introduction by editor Oren Litwin.

SMFS Short Story Saturdays: Richie Narvaez

Each Saturday, we feature a SMFS list member whose work can be read online for free. These short stories are at least a year old.  

For SMFS Short Story Saturdays today, list member Richie Narvaez shares his May 2018  published short story, “Withhold the Dawn” archived at CrimeReads.

If you would like to be included and are a member of the SMFS list at yahoo groups, email the link to your story to KevinRTipple at Verizon dot net. If you are not a member, this would be a good time to check us out at Yahoo Groups.

Writers Who Kill: Writers and Mistakes by Warren Bull

Writers Who Kill: Writers and Mistakes by Warren Bull: Writers and Mistakes by Warren Bull Image by Daniela Holzer on Upsplash To be human is to err. Authors are people too. Y...