SMFS Member Publishing News: The ESC Choice by Chuck Brownman

 

SMFS list member Chuck Brownman’s short story, The ESC Choice, has been published today at Kings River Magazine. The story is online and free to read at the website.

SMFS Member Publishing News: No Score by J. Michael Taylor

Today is publication day for SMFS list member J. Michael Taylor’s new book, No Score. Published by Unnerving Books, the read is available in digital format at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

From the author of Night of the Furies and Dark Heat.

Babe Ruth’s glove, a bloody shirt, a diamond-encrusted bag: the score of a lifetime.
Drowning beneath a wave of gentrification, Drew Hackett wants only to support his family and grow his weekend business. When he learns that Boston sports legend Bernie Oakes has a memorabilia collection ripe for robbery, he thinks his problems are solved. Drew puts together a daring plan that—somehow—succeeds.
But nothing is ever as it seems.
Moving the goods only sinks Drew deeper into trouble, the kind of trouble that means spilled blood and an executioner’s blade looming over his head and the heads of everyone he loves. He has one chance to make things right. He slips into a scheme that takes him from high society to a secret sex club, from a grandiose charter school to the sludge beneath the city, and finally into the relentless grip of a crime boss looking to squeeze him like a grape.
Drew must brave it all or there’ll be No Score.

SMFS Members Published in Prohibition Peepers: Private Eyes During the Noble Experiment

 

Today is publication day for Prohibition Peepers: Private Eyes During the Noble Experiment. Published by Down & Out Books in digital and print formats, the read is available at the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The anthology is edited by SMFS list member Michael Bracken. The SMFS list members that reported being in the read are:

 

Editor Michael Bracken with "Cigarette Girl."

 

David Dean with "Three Irishmen.”

 

Jim Doherty with "The Private Untouchable."

 

John M. Floyd with “River Road."

 

Nils Gilbertson with "Lovely and Useless Things."

 

Richard Helms with “West of the Ashley.”

 

Hugh Lessig with "Cloths of Heaven."

 

Steve Liskow with "Peace of Mind Guaranteed."

 

Adam Meyer with “The Dance.”

 

Joseph S. Walker with "Getting Away Clean."

 

Stacy Woodson with “Moonshine Turn.” 

 

Publisher Description:

The 18th Amendment created prohibition—a “noble experiment” that banned the manufacture, transportation, and sale of intoxicating liquors—and gave rise to criminal activity associated with bootlegging, gang violence, and more. During the 1920s and early 1930s, the police had their hands full, and private investigators were there working both sides of the law.

Prohibition Peepers stories are set during and immediately after the end of Prohibition, with private eyes serving clients of all social statuses. These hardboiled and fast-paced tales written by some of today’s hottest crime fiction short story writers will have you reaching for your own mason jar of moonshine or highball glass of bathtub gin.

Edited by Michael Bracken with stories by Michael Bracken, Susanna Calkins, David Dean, Jim Doherty, John M. Floyd, Nils Gilbertson, Richard Helms, Hugh Lessig, Steve Liskow, Leigh Lundin, Adam Meyer, Penny Mickelbury, Joseph S. Walker, and Stacy Woodson.

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Power of Evil by Alan Orloff

SMFS list member Alan Orloff’s short story, The Power of Evil, is now published in Black Cat Weekly #108. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format. 

 

Website Description: 

It seems the Halloween season starts earlier and earlier each year. I first began noticing Halloween candy in stores in July (!), and every time I turned around since then, there were more decorations, party favors, and treats at hand. Is it any wonder I’ve been wandering around the house humming “The Monster Mash” for the last few weeks?

Our 108th issue kicks off a truly epic celebration of the season, with a pair of nightmarish treats. You will never look at seagulls the same way after experiencing Adrian Cole’s “The Birds Are Back in Town.” And Lin Carter’s “Keru” is a tale that would have been right at home in Weird Tales in its heyday.

 “The Power of Evil,” by Alan Orloff, is not a supernatural tale, but futuristic suspense (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken), so it’s doing double duty this time. And the grisly-sounding “A Burn That Reaches Bone,” by Karen Odden is not a mad slasher tale, but a tale of a horrible crime that reaches through the generations. (Thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman for this one.) And, of course, there are traditional mysteries, too—I found a rare Victorian-era mystery by Australian writer Ernest Favenc while I was browsing issues of Australian Town and Country Journal looking for mysteries by Mary Fortune (my favorite classic Australian mystery writer) and couldn’t resist adding it to this issue. Plus we have a detective novel featuring Nick Carter and a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles.

On the science fiction and fantasy side, we have another great Norman Spinrad story, a classic by Robert F. Young, and the first entry in the Pillsworth & Toffee series by Charles F. Myers (we have more coming up). Fun stuff

Here’s the complete lineup:

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

 “The Power of Evil,” by Alan Orloff [Michael Bracken Presents short story]

“Swimming into Troubled Waters,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]

“A Burn That Reaches Bone,” by Karen Odden [Barb Goffman Presents short story]

“The Mystery of the Death Stroke,” by Ernest Favenc

The Forced Crime, by Nicholas Carter [novel]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

“The Power of Evil,” by Alan Orloff [Michael Bracken Presents short story]

“Entities,” by Norman Spinrad [short story]

“The Birds Are Back in Town” is copyright © 2019 by Adrian Cole [short story]

“The Courts of Jamshyd,” by Robert F. Young [short story]

“Keru,” by Lin Carter

“I’ll Dream of You” by Charles F. Myers [short story]

SMFS Members Published in School of Hard Knox

Several SMFS list members are published in School of Hard Knox. Published by Crippen & Landru Publishers last month, the anthology is available in a variety of formats from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS list members in the read are:

 

Editor Donna Andrews with “Not Another Secret Passage Story."

 

Toni L.P. Kelner with “Baby Trap.”

 

Marcia Talley with “The Island Boy Detective Agency.”

 

Editor Art Taylor with "Ordeals."

 

Description:

Rebels with a Cause!

Nearly 100 years ago, The Reverend Monsignor Ronald Knox of the famed Detection Club developed ten rules-a Decalogue he called them-that he felt were "necessary to the full enjoyment of a detective story." Fairness with readers seemed an author's highest calling, and-lo!-"the faculty for writing a good mystery story is rare."

Writers (those heretics!) regularly bristle at a challenge, and being told that a literary twist is forbidden makes their fingers twitch at the keyboard.

This anthology contains fourteen of today's outstanding English and American short story authors, trying their best to break one-or more!-of the good monsignor's rules. Twins, supernatural events, and sleuths not sharing their clues are all in here-transgressions in all directions.

SMFS Members Published in Thrill Ride: The Magazine #3: No W.W.M. (Western White Males)

 

Today is publication day for Thrill Ride: The Magazine #3: No W.W.M. (Western White Males). Published by Buchman Bookworks, Inc., you can pick up the issue at the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS members in the issue are: 

 

K.L. Abrahamson with "An Adventurous Nature."

 

Editor M. L. ‘Matt” Buchman with "Dead People Happen."

 

Diana Deverell with “Spooked.”

 

C.A. Rowland with “The Cost of Admission.”

 

Laura Ware with "One More Time."

 

Amazon Description:

12 Tales not led by WWMs.

Thrillers may be the last great bastion of the Western White Male. From Doc Savage to James Bond. From Dirk Pitt to Alex Cross to Jack Reacher.

Now is the time to venture into the rest of the world. Who rides to the rescue? Vietnamese magicians, female undercover operatives, Chinese assassins, and women like you never imagined.

Western White Males? Who needs them!

SMFS Members Published in Animals in Mysteries I, Volume 39, No. 3, Fall 2023

Several SMFS list members have published essays in Animals in Mysteries I, Volume 39, No. 3, Fall 2023. Published earlier this week by Mystery Readers International, the read is available in print and pdf formats on the website. The SMFS list members published in the issue are:

 

 

Elizabeth Elwood with the author essay, “Reinventing Max and Thomasina Bug.”

 

Shannon Hollinger with the author essay. “The Terrier Takeover.”

 

Mary Reed with the author essay, “Cat Mummies and Other Feline Tales.” (Cowritten with Eric Mayer.)

 

Elena E. Smith with the author essay, “The One Percent Cat.”

 

Description:

ANIMALS IN MYSTERIES I

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLES

• Agatha’s Ark: Animals in Classic Crime Fiction by Kate Jackson

• Beastly Business: Animals in Mysteries by Martin Edwards

 

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

• No Wombats Involved by Donna Andrews

• On Horses and Drug Sniffing Dogs by Anne Louise Bannon

• Solving Crime From a Dog’s Point of View by Louisa Bennet

• Best Friends to the End by Cleo Coyle

• Dogs Are Supernatural by Jeffrey B. Burton

• Rescuing Animals Through Mysteries by Cate Conte

• What The Dog Knows by Krista Davis

• When Disaster Strikes, Dogs Answer the Call by Sara Driscoll

• How Tugger Became Boone by Darlene Dziomba

• Reinventing Max and Thomasina Bug by Elizabeth Elwood

• The Character of Creatures by Kate Fellowes

• The Making of a Hobby by Chris Goff

• Hold Your Horses by Sasscer Hill

• Beasts in the Garden by Cary Griffith

• The Strength of Animals by Elle Hartford

• I Don’t Do Goodbyes by Nancy Lynn Jarvis

• The Great (Cat) Detectives by Sofie Kelly

• The Terrier Takeover by Shannon Hollinger

• A Foot and a Half Long Bundle of Love by Syrl Kazlo

• A Writer’s Recipe for Happiness: Books and Dogs and Trees by Paula Munier

• Animals and the Mysterious Ordinary by Priscilla Paton

• Tale of a Whale by Richie Narvaez

• Chet and Me by Spencer Quinn

• Cat Mummies and Other Feline Tales by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer

• The One Percent Cat by Elena E. Smith

• Then There Was a Dog by Linda L. Richards

• Getting To Know Dogs by Leigh Russell

• Where the Wild Things Are by Wendall Thomas

• Eight Paws, Two Wings by Lois Winston

 

COLUMNS

• Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by Lesa Holstine, Kathy Boone Reel, L.J. Roberts

• Children’s Hour: Animals in Mysteries by Gay Toltl Kinman

• From the Editor’s Desk by Janet A. Rudolph 

SMFS Member Publishing News: Sleep Rough by Brandon Barrows

SMFS list member Brandon Barrows’ short story, Sleep Rough, is published at Shotgun Honey. You can read the tale for free here.

SMFS Members Published in Unnerving Magazine 18

 

SMFS list members are published in Unnerving Magazine 18. The issue was released last week as a PDF and is available for free online here. SMFS list members in the read are:

 

Michael Bracken with "Neighbor Boy."

 

J. Michael Taylor with an excerpt from his upcoming novel, No Score.

SMFS Members Published/Honored in The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023

 

Today is publication day for The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023. Published by the Mysterious Press, the book is available in a variety of formats at the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. Some SMFS list members have stories reprinted in the main section of the book and another is listed in the “Honor Roll” section. The list members that reported their presence in the book are:

 

Main Full Story Section:

 

Joslyn Chase with “Cold Hands, Warm Heart.” Originally published in Cold Cases: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem #12, published by Knotted Road Press.

 

David Krugler, with “Two Sharks Walk into a Bar.” Originally published in Mystery Magazine: September 2022.

 

Annie Reed with "The Promise." Originally published in Cold Cases: Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem #12,  published by Knotted Road Press.

 

Joseph S. Walker with "Crime Scene." Originally published in Malice in Dallas: Metroplex Mysteries Volume 1, published by the North Dallas Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

 

Honor Roll 

Michael Bracken with "Kissing Cousins." Originally published in Starlite Pulp Review #1, published by Starlite Pulp.

 

Description:

Amor Towles selects the best mystery short stories of the year, including tales by Andrew Child, Jeffrey Deaver, and T.C. Boyle. 

Under the auspices of New York City's legendary mystery fiction specialty bookstore, The Mysterious Bookshop, and aided by Edgar Award-winning anthologist Otto Penzler, New York Times bestseller Amor Towles has selected the twenty most puzzling, most thrilling, and most mysterious short stories from the past year, collected now in one entertaining volume. The volume also contains a "bonus story" selected from the bookshop's rare book room, featuring a look into the history of this illustrious genre.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Sleep Like a Baby by Julie Hastrup

SMFS list member Julie Hastrup’s short story, Sleep Like a Baby, is published at Shotgun Honey. You can read the tale for free here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Up in Smoke by Gregory Meece

SMFS list member Gregory Meece’s short story, Up in Smoke, is now published in Black Cat Weekly #107. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format.

 

Website Description:

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly. Our 107th issue has everything you could possibly want: police detectives, spacemen, cats, boy detectives, a man (literally) fighting cancer, an abandonned mill chimney, murder in space…. I could go on and on, but that would take all the fun out of it for you!

Here’s the complete lineup:

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

“Up In Smoke,” by Gregory Meece [Michael Bracken Presents short story]

“Point Taken” by Hal Charles [short story]

“Method for Murder,” by Michael Mallory [Barb Goffman Presents short story]

“The Blue Line,” by Hal Meredith [short story]

The Mystery Hunters at the Haunted Lodge, by Capwell Wyckoff [novel]

“Earth Transit,” by Charles L. Fontenay [short story]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

“Carcinoma Angels,” by Norman Spinrad [short story]

“No Heaven Will Not Ever Heaven Be…,” by A.R. Morlan [short story]

“Earth Transit,” by Charles L. Fontenay [short story]

“Deadline,” by Walter L. Kleine [short story]

“Rockabye, Grady,” by David Mason [short story]

SMFS Member Publishing News: Stacy, Under The Sky by Joseph S. Walker

SMFS list member Joseph S. Walker’s short story, Stacy, Under The Sky, appears in the recently released anthology, So West: Wrong Turn. Published by the Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter, the read is available in digital and print formats at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description: 

Assassins ♦ Blackmail ♦ Revenge ♦ Protecting the family ♦ Redemption ♦ Escape from abuse Survival.

Surprises and twists abound in these sixteen stories set on Arizona’s city streets, highways, and in the desolate desert where the heat muddles the mind and the next turn may be your last.

Get your copy today.

Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths Chapter Contributing Authors: Paula Barr Skillicorn, Patricia A. Bonn, Lauren Buckingham, Susan Budavari, Jo Burrough, William D. Butler, Meg E Dobson, Suzanne E Flaig, Robert Gibson, Kim McCavan, Kathy McIntosh, Laura MacKenzie, Susan Cummins Miller, Claire A Murray, D.R. Ransdell, Joseph S. Walker. Lead Editor: Claire A Murray. Co-editors: Meg E Dobson, Suzanne E Flaig, Sarah Smith. Cover Designer: Maegan Beaumont.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Yellow Stars by Elizabeth Zelvin

SMFS list member Elizabeth Zelvin’s poem, Yellow Stars, was recently published at Portside. The issue is online and a free read here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Footwork by M. E. Proctor

SMFS list member M. E. Proctor, Footwork, is published at the Mystery Tribune. The story can be read for free at the website.

SMFS Members Published in Crimeucopia: Rule Britannia: Britannia Waves The Rules

Today is publication day for Crimeucopia: Rule Britannia: Britannia Waves The Rules. The new anthology includes short stories by several of our SMFS members. Published today by Murderous Ink Press, the read is available at Amazon and other vendors. SMFS list members in the read are:

 

 J. Aquino with "Murder at Elephant and Castle."

 

Edward Lodi with “The Big Dig.”

 

Daniel Marshall Wood with "Triple Crown."

 

Amazon Description:

This anthology, we hope, contains short stories that, were you to cut them in half with a knife, they would flash you their Union Jacks without a moment's hesitation.

Rule Britannia - Britannia Waves The Rules features fiction from Daniel Marshall Wood, Gerald Elias, S. E. Bailey, Alexander Frew, Kelly Lewis, Carew S. Bartley, Madeleine McDonald, Edward Lodi, Michaele Jordan, J. Aquino, David Rich, Kelly Zimmer, Sharon Richards, T. K. Howell, Maroula Blades, David William Johnson and Harris Coverley

The fiction ranges from general British cosy, through Harry Palmer and George Smiley territory, before going deep into very British Modern Noir. And as with all of these anthologies, we hope you'll find something that you immediately like, as well as something that takes you out of your comfort zone - and puts you into a completely new one. In other words, in the spirit of the Murderous Ink Press motto:

You never know what you like until you read it.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Harborville by Robert Lopresti

SMFS list member Robert Lopresti’s short story, Harborville, was published today at TOUGH. The story is free to read online here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Smooth: A Private Eye Mystery by O'Neil De Noux

SMFS list member O’Neil De Noux’s latest book, Smooth: A Private Eye Mystery is now out in print and eBook formats. This is the seventh book in the Lucien Caye Private Eye Series that began with New Orleans Rapacious. The read is available at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

SMOOTH gives 33 days in the life of New Orleans Private Eye Lucien Caye and his wife and sometimes partner Alizée in the autumn of 1952. The cases roll in: The repeated burglary of a wine distribution company; A missing person case from New York City; The systematic theft of farms in the semi-rural Florida Parishes across Lake Pontchartrain.

Alizée juggles private eye work with her songwriting career, writing a novel and modeling – she models stockings and underwear in ads for catalogs of top-line department stores. Modeling draws out her lustful, erotic nature, which she uses in her PI work.

Lucien catches the burglar in the first case but the case is not over. Across the lake he tries to build a case against the white collar gangster using his business and a shadowy government administration to misappropriate small farms from struggling farmers using the old tried-and-true crime of loansharking. As Lucien and Alizée close in on the loan shark and the missing person from New York, they are confronted by thugs with baseball bats and a murderer with a stiletto.

Lucien Caye became a private eye in 1947, after his second stint as a New Orleans Police Officer. He returned from WWII with a purple heart medal and silver star medal for gallantry, set up his office at the corner of Barracks and Dauphine Streets in the old French Quarter – office on the first floor with his apartment on the second floor of a two-story blond brick building with a black wrought-iron balcony wrapping around the second floor overlooking Barracks Street with Cabrini Park (neighbors called it Cabrini Playground) across the street.

Lucien built his PI resume catching Public Enemy #1 Lou Jacoby and the elusive marriage swindler, solved intricate cases – the Magnolia Murders, the mystery of the Red Witch, tragic cases like the Gungirl Case, the Peeschwet, the Love Pirate, the tragic Tenderless Night Case, the Erotophobia mystery, a Dreamboat Gambol case, a Kissable Cleavage case and a case known as A Jelly of Intrigue, tracking down killers in a Hard Rain case and covering a Little Iréne Escapade. He caught a killer who was guilty of dust and sin. A lone wolf, Lucien romanced pretty women along the way, some who thought him a Cary Grant lookalike, while others claimed he favored Gregory Peck. A working relationship with NOPD helped Lucien, who in turned assisted his buddy Lieutenant Frenchy Capdeville solve a number of murder cases.

In 1950, Lucien’s life changed when a seven-year-old girl was dropped off at his building with a small suitcase which included her birth certificate in the name of Jeannie Marie Caye. The result of a brief affair before the war, Jeannie was raised by her mother until her mother did not want her anymore and dropped her off to be raised by her father who did not know she existed. One look into the little girl’s eyes and Lucien knew this little girl would be in his heart forever. He would do everything he could for her. He had no idea how he would be able to raise her, but he’d find a way. Gone were the carefree days and torrid bachelor nights. Lucien had a daughter to raise. Not long after, a young woman entered Lucien’s life, a doe-eyed, auburn haired beauty named Alizée and by 1951, Lucien was married with a young daughter.

The cases keep coming as Jeannie’s precocious nature emerges and Alizée initial shyness fades. A songwriter, Alizée’s songs are picked up by top performers – Lena Horne, Fats Domino, Doris Day, Dina Shore, Tony Bennett, Patti Page and Frank Sinatra. She decides to write a novel, becomes a lingerie model and a part time private eye, bringing her sharp mind to the Caye Detective Agency. Alizée’s erotic past and Lucien’s acceptance of her sexy nature spices up Lucien’s life.

Lucien Caye novels NEW ORLEANS RAPACIOUS, ENAMORED, HOLD ME BABE, DAME MONEY, WALKIN' THE BLUES, and THE SPY WHO USED MY LOVE.

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Last Request by Brandon Barrows

Today is publication day for for the digital version of The Last Request by Brandon Barrows. Published by Bloodhound Books, the read is now available in both digital and print formats at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Description:

Sixty million dollars. Five potential heirs. One house in remote rural Alaska. It’s a recipe for murder . . .

Summoned by letter, Holly Shaw and five of her cousins—virtual strangers to each other—have gathered at a grand house in the rugged wilds of Alaska. Equally unfamiliar to Holly is her great-aunt Lydia, who has called the family together and is dangling a massive inheritance before them. Her condition: they must remain in the house, with Lydia and her butler and caregiver, until she passes. Anyone not in residence at that time is out of the will, and their share of the money is split among the others. That night, everyone settles in. And the following day, the murders begin . . .

From Mustang Award finalist and 2022 Derringer Award nominee Brandon Barrows, this is a twisting, atmospheric mystery and an utterly compelling tale of guilt, greed, and temptation.

SMFS Member Publishing News: The New York Goodbye by Niki Knight

 

SMFS list member Niki Knight’s short story, The New York Goodbye, is now published in Black Cat Weekly #106. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format.

 

Publisher Description:

For our 106th issue, we seem to have developed a television theme, with a pair of great speculative fiction stories about TV: Norman Spinrad’s “Prime Time” and Henry Slesar’s “The Show Must Go On.” Spinrad’s tale is a look at a future where people can retire to relive television. And Slesar’s is a darkly cynical look behind the curtain of television production. Jack Vance, H.B. Fyfe, and Joseph Payne Brennan round out our SF and fantasy contributors this issue. “Prime Time,” incidentally, is Norman Spinrad’s fiction debut in Black Cat Weekly, and it won’t be his last story for us. He kindly went through his short fiction and selected 10 favorite stories for us to reprint in coming issues, so you’re in for a real treat.

And speaking of treats, our editors are already working on some special Halloween surprises for October. I know you’ll be thoroughly spooked by some of them. Something to look forward to, as we approach my favorite holiday season. (There’s a reason we have a black cat for a mascot.)

Our novel this issue is a mystery: Scarhaven Keep, by Golden Age British author J.S. Fletcher. Also in mysteries, we have an original from Nikki Knight (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman) and a terrific crime story by Brendan DuBois, who remains a mainstay of short mystery fiction. Of course, no issue is complete without a solve-it-yourself short from Hal Charles.

Great stuff indeed.

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

“The Road’s End,” by Brendan DuBois [Michael Bracken Presents short story]

“Last Shot,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]

“The New York Goodbye,” Nikki Knight [Barb Goffman Presents short story]

Scarhaven Keep, by J.S. Fletcher [novel] 

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

“Prime Time,” by Norman Spinrad [short story]

“The Show Must Go On,” by Henry Slesar [short story]

“The Visitor in the Vault,” by Joseph Payne Brennan [short story]

“The Night of No Moon,” by H.B. Fyfe [short story]

“The Men Return,” by Jack Vance [short story]