Tuesday, September 29, 2020
SleuthSayers: Who Are You? by Michael Bracken
SMFS Member Publishing News: Edith Maxwell
Today is publication day for SMFS list member Edith
Maxwell’s new book, Candy Slain Murder: A Country Store Mystery.
Writing as Maddie Day, the book is published by Kensington Publishing and
available in print, digital and audio formats. This eighth book in her long
running mystery series is available from the publisher,
Amazon,
and other vendors
Publisher
Synopsis:
Christmas
cheer has sent the griddle into overdrive at Robbie Jordan’s popular country
store and café. And this year, there’s a new seasonal special to feast on:
murder!
As
December sweeps through South Lick, Indiana, Robbie’s life seems merry and
bright like the string lights glistening around town. But strange happenings
signal a bumpy ride into the holidays. First a man raises eyebrows at Pans ‘N
Pancakes when he claiming to be the long-lost half-brother of Robbie’s
assistant. Then a fire destroys the home of a controversial anesthesiologist,
exposing skeletal remains in his attic. Helplessly intrigued, all Robbie wants
for Christmas is to stop her winter wonderland from becoming a real nightmare.
With a decades-old mystery taking shape, can she run as fast as she can in
pursuit of a killer who’s harder to crack than a stale gingerbread man?
Monday, September 28, 2020
SleuthSayers: Bam, Scam, Thank you, Ma'am by Steve Liskow
SMFS Members Published in Coast to Coast NOIR
Today is publication day for Coast to Coast NOIR. Published by Down & Out Books, the anthology is available in both eBook and print formats from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members in the new book are:
Co-Editor Paul Marks with “Nowhere Man.”
Stephen D. Rodgers with “Detour to Dolmades.”
Synopsis:
It doesn’t have to be the dark of a rainy night for it
to be noir. It doesn’t have to be shadowy rooms of Venetian blinds. It doesn’t
even have to be a femme fatale. Noir is somebody tripping over their own
faults, somebody who has an Achilles heel, some kind of greed, or want or
desire that leads them down a dark path, from which there is sometimes no
return.
No one is safe. There’s no place to hide in this
collection of twelve stories from the dark side of the American Dream.
Stories of noir from Coast to Coast.
Contributors:
Colleen Collins—Denver, Colorado
Brendan DuBois—rural Massachusetts
Alison Gaylin—Hudson Valley, New York
Tom MacDonald—Nashua, New Hampshire
Andrew McAleer—Boston, Massachusetts
Michael Mallory—Springfield, Missouri
Paul D. Marks—Venice Beach/Los Angeles, California
Dennis Palumbo—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Stephen D. Rogers—Providence, Rhode Island
John Shepphird—Los Alamos, New Mexico
Jaden Terrell—Nashville, Tennessee
Dave Zeltserman—small town Kansas
Sunday, September 27, 2020
A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 123
This week’s blog cheers short mystery & crime
fiction with links to a wicked mix of reviews, releases, free reads, and more.
Includes—Tricks of the trade: Five techniques to power
ahead and finish writing a story.
Also—All the latest free-to-read crime flash at
Shotgun Honey.
And a Mystery Scene review of the second Penzler
anthology with a bookstore or a book as the central element to a mystery.
And more.
A short walk down a dark street (#123). Celebrating
short mystery and crime fiction.
https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/09/27/short-walk-123/
Best wishes,
Peter
SleuthSayers: In the Trenches by R. T. Lawton
Saturday, September 26, 2020
SMFS Member Publication News: John M. Floyd
SMFS
list member John M. Floyd has another short story appearing in Woman’s World
Magazine. His latest tale, “The Governor’s Cup” is in the current issue (October
5, 2020) of Woman’s World
Magazine. The publication is available on some newsstands
and by subscription.
Friday, September 25, 2020
SMFS Member Publishing News: Curtis Ippolito
SMFS list member Curtis Ippolito’s short story, Tonight’s Got to be the Night appears online at the Bristol Noir and is free to read.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
SleuthSayers: Let's delve into some word usage issues by Barb Goffman
Monday, September 21, 2020
Kensington Publishing: Modifying the Hook in Cozy Mystery Writing by Debra Goldstein
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Little Big Crimes Review: The Cough by Lynn Chandler Willis
A Short Walk Down A Dark Street: Issue 122
As posted by Peter DiChellis to our SMFS list…
This week’s blog commends short mystery & crime
fiction with links to a sinister selection of reviews, releases, free reads,
and more.
Includes, free-to-read: A Treasury of
Sayers Stories comprises a dozen stories by Dorothy L. Sayers.
Also—Tricks of the trade: A three-step,
three-minute brainstorming technique to fix a scene that isn’t working.
Plus, a review of the Michael Connelly
collection Mulholland Dive: Three Stories.
And more.
A short walk down a dark street (#122). Celebrating short mystery and
crime fiction.
https://shortwalkdarkstreet.wordpress.com/2020/09/20/short-walk-122/
Best wishes,
Peter
SMFS Members Published in Mystery Readers Journal: Senior Sleuths, Volume 36, No. 3, Fall 2020
Several SMFS members are published in the recently released Mystery Readers Journal: Senior Sleuths, Volume 36, No. 3, Fall 2020. The read is available in both hardcopy or a PDF at the website. The members in this issue are:
Jim Doherty with “Just the Facts: A Cop for Three
Quarters of a Century!”
Ron Katz with “Where Age is an Edge.”
Ellen Kirschman and Terry Shames cowrote “Senior
Sleuths and Older Writers: A Conversation.”
Ang Pompano with “Senior Sleuths: Not Dead Yet!”
Rabbi Ilene Schneider with “Why My Protagonist Is a
‘Woman of a Certain Age.’”
CJ Verburg with “Edward Gorey, Detective.”
Synopsis:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ARTICLES
§ I
Want to Be Mrs. Pollifax When I Grow Up by Patricia Cook
§ Marlowe’s
Last Bow by Jonathan Woods
§ Supreme
Senior Sleuths by Robert J. Stern
AUTHOR! AUTHOR!
§ Difficult
Endings by John Harvey
§ Yooper
Sleuthing in the Golden Years by Deb Baker
§ Senior
Sleuths Can Be Geezers or Geezerettes by Mike Befeler
§ The
Silvering Sleuth by Baron R. Birtcher
§ Cat
Caliban and M.J. Smith by D. B. Borton
§ My
Senior Sleuth by Garry Disher
§ Observations
Lead to Older Detective Duo by Carl Brookins
§ Sixty
is the New Forty by Robert Dugoni
§ Write
the Age You Know by Kaitlyn Dunnett
§ How Quickly Does Your Detective Age? by
Martin Edwards
§ Subjected
to History’s Judgment by Daniel Friedman
§ A
Conversion with Bronson by L.C. Hayden
§ Detectives
of a Certain Age by Richard Helms
§ A
Different Kind of Sleuth by Russell Hill
§ Confronting
Golden Ageism by Helen Jacey
§ From
the Golden Girls to Jessica Fletcher: The Road to Poppy Harmon by
Lee Hollis
§ Where
Age Is an Edge by Ron Katz
§ Senior
Sleuths and Older Writers: A Conversation by Ellen Kirschman
and Terry Shames
§ Rancho
de Taos by Gay Toltl Kinman
§ White-Haired
Love by Chris Knopf
§ Who
You Calling Senior? by Vicki Lane
§ Why
I Wrote the Gladdy Books by Rita Lakin
§ “See
You Later” But Not “Goodbye” by Gayle Leeson
§ The World’s Oldest Working Cop by
Peter Lovesey
§ My
Senior Sleuths Are Still on the Case by Ed Lynskey
§ Sleuths
of a Certain Age by Annette Mahon
§ Old
Age Can Be Deadly, Unless You Are the Fog Ladies by
Susan McCormick
§ A
Senior Author Tries Sleuthing by Rosemary Mild
§ Molly
and the Inspector by Larry Mild
§ Sneaking
Into the Life of My Protagonist by Radine Trees
Nehring
§ Better than a Homicide Detective by
Richard Osman
§ Considering
Writing a Senior-Themed Cozy Mystery? I Did. Here’s What I Learned by
Carol Novis
§ Senior
Sleuths: Not Dead Yet! by Ang Pompano
§ A
Much Younger Sleuth by Cynthia Riggs
§ Murder
and Mayhem in a Modern Noir Style by M. Glenda Rosen
(aka Marcia Rosen)
§ Old
Folks Are Just Neat by Nancy Swing
§ Why
My Protagonist Is a “Woman of a Certain Age” by Ilene Schneider
§ Edward
Gorey, Detective by C J Verburg
§ Mysteries
After Sixty by Livia Washburn
COLUMNS
§ Mystery
in Retrospect: Reviews by Sandie Herron,
Lesa Holstine, L.J. Roberts, Lucinda Surber
§ In
Short: You’re Never Too Old by Marvin Lachman
§ Just
the Facts: A Cop for Three Quarters of a Century! by
Jim Doherty
§ Real
Italy Mysteries by Cathy Pickens
§ Crime
Seen: Miss Marple and Beyond by Kate Derie
§ POV:
The First Hundred Years Are the Hardest by Rita Lakin
§ From
the Editor’s Desk by Janet A. Rudolph
Saturday, September 19, 2020
SleuthSayers: Who Are Those Short People? by John Floyd
SMFS Member Publication News: Stacy Woodson
SMFS list member Stacy Woodson’s mystery short story “Butter Late Than Never” appears is in the current issue (September 28, 2020) of Woman’s World Magazine. The publication is available on some newsstands and by subscription.
Friday, September 18, 2020
SleuthSayers: Steinbeck's Writing Tips by O'Neil De Noux
Thursday, September 17, 2020
SMFS Member Publishing News: Rosemary McCracken
SMFS list member Rosemary McCracken’s latest book, Uncharted Waters, was published in eBook format by Carrick Publishing last month. The novel, which is the fourth book in the Pat Tierney Mystery Series, is now out in paperback format as well. The read is available from Amazon and other vendors.
Synopsis:
It’s Pat Tierney’s chance to run her own business, the way she wants to run a business. Without anyone breathing down her neck. She’s done her homework, and she’s found a small financial planning practice that looks like a good fit. Its purchase means taking out a large loan to finance the deal, and she has no idea whether the clients she will acquire will stay with her. It’s risky, but she’s willing to proceed.The one thing she hasn’t factored in is a murder. Dean Monaghan, the business’s vendor, is found stabbed to death in his office shortly after the sale document is signed. Attempting to maintain her business’s good reputation, Pat searches for Dean’s killer—and the reason why he was killed.When Dean’s son, Lukas, tries to put her out of business, Pat finds herself living her worst nightmare. She’s ventured into uncharted waters that are teeming with sharks.
SMFS Member Publishing News: David Goudsward
SMFS list member David Goudsward’s book, Sun, Sand, and Sea Serpents was published last March by Anomalist Books. Available in both print and digital formats, the read is available from Amazon and other vendors. An excerpt from the book is available in the September 2020 issue of Fortean Times.
Synopsis:
Ever
since Columbus spotted mermaids, sea monsters, and mystery lizards in the New
World, sightings of a diverse array of marine cryptids have continued unabated
in the waters of Florida, the Southeastern coast, and the Caribbean. Dinosaurs,
mermaids, and sea serpents in a range of colors and lengths, along with monster
sharks, mystery seals, and giant penguins, all seem to have made the
tourist-friendly waters of the region their home. In Florida, it became a
running joke that the tourist season officially started when the first sea
serpent report appeared in the newspapers.
What's
behind all the reports? Hoaxes? Some certainly are. Yellow journalism? Yes,
sometimes. Misidentifications? It's pretty common. A way to drum up business?
Shocking, but true. But in that mix, there are probably some
unidentified animals as well. David Goudsward digs up the original sources and
interviews to sort fact from fiction, and tells some fascinating stories along
the way.
