SMFS Member Publishing News: Enter The Raven by Teel James Glenn

SMFS list member Teel James Glenn reported today that his short story, Enter the Raven, was recently published at TOUGH. You can read the piece for free online here.

SMFS Members Published in Black Cat Weekly #161

 

SMFS list members are published in Black Cat Weekly #161. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format. The list members that reported being in the issue are:

 

Teel James Glenn with “The Phantom Fear.”

 

Robert Lopresti with “Shanks’s Last Words.”

 

Shannon Taft with “Beware the Bunnyman.”

 

Publisher Description:

We have another great lineup this time, with original tales by Robert Lopresti (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken), Shannon Taft (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman), Wayne Carey, Teel James Glenn, and JM Cyrus (who gets the honor of having the story with the longest title that we’ve [yet] published!)

   As always, it’s an eclectic mix, from traditional mysteries to supernatural crimes, from space opera to a fantastic world of moving islands…and everything in between! I hope you enjoy them all.

   And special thanks to our art director, Ron Miller, who has found a terrific Steve Hickman cover for this issue (and continues to design amazing covers).

   Here’s the complete lineup—

 

Cover Art: Stephen Hickman

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

 

“Shanks’s Last Words,” by Robert Lopresti [Michael Bracken Presents short story]

    A shrewd mystery writer teams up with a rookie detective to try to solve a small-town accountant’s murder, unraveling cryptic clues.

“The Case of the Sabotaged Sloops,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]

    A small-town boat race faces sabotage threats. Can you solve the case before Detective Kelly Stone?

“Beware the Bunnyman,” by Shannon Taft [Barb Goffman Presents short story]

    A detective tries to unravels the truth behind a bizarre murder involving a giant rabbit costume and marital deception.

“The Jade Dragon of Dunhuang,” by Wayne Carey [short story]

    An expert in Chinese antiquities visits 1930s San Francisco, entangling himself in intrigue over a rare jade artifact.

The Sturgis Wager, by Edgar Morette [novel]

    A detective tackles a case of bank fraud and murder in 1890s New York, using keen observation and deductive reasoning.

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

 

“Dr. Darque and the Phantom Fear,” by Teel James Glenn [short story]

    A detective investigates mysterious deaths at Coney Island, uncovering a supernatural threat feeding on fear.

“How To Cross the Cavorting Sea’s Wandering Islands During the Fourth Dance of the Widdershins Elliptical Cycle,” by JM Cyrus [short story]

    A man’s journey across magical islands becomes a voyage of self-discovery and unexpected love in a whimsical world.

“The Return of Lancelot Biggs,” by Nelson S. Bond [short story]

    Quirky spaceship crew faces danger as efficiency expert’s mistakes pit them against the Sun’s deadly pull.

“Murderer’s Chain,” by Wenzell Brown [short story]

    A greedy son-in-law plots murder with an alien weapon, but his scheme unravels in an unexpected twist.

“Home Is the Hero,” by E.C. Tubb [short story]

    A space pioneer returns to Earth, grappling with physical challenges and the complexities of his heroic status.

SMFS Members Published in Pulp Adventures #45

SMFS list members are published in Pulp Adventures #45. Published by Bold Ventures Press, the issue is available at the publisher. The SMFS list members that reported being in the issue are:

 

C. Dan Castro with “The Night Is More Richly Colored Than The Day.”

 

Teel James Glenn with “The Dragon Lady and I.”

 

 

Publisher Description:

CONTENTS

Featured Story

• Nightmare In Ice — John S. Glasby
  Something terrifying lurked outdoors amidst the harsh snow and ice — and it desperately wanted to get inside!

Featured Story Close-Up

• John Glasby: Memories of My Father — Edmund Glasby
  Author Edmund Glasby discusses the life and stories of his prolific father.

Classic Pulp Fiction

• Episode — E. C. Tubb
• I’ll Wait for You — Shelley Smith
• Mr. Walker Sees the Show — Ernest Dudley

New Pulp Fiction

• Halo in Gold — Jack Halliday
• Maneater — Terry Wijesuriya
• The Dragon Lady and I — Teel James Glenn
• He Died Smiling — Michael A. Wexler
• The Intervention of Professor Omega — Don E. Smith, Jr.
• The Night Is More Richly Colored Than The Day — C. Dan Castro

Pulp History /Departments

• Editorial — Audrey Parente
• Rough Edges — James Reasoner
  Reviews of The Gunsharp by William R. Cox; This Is It, Michael Shayne by Brett Halliday; The Further Adventures of Zorro by Johnston McCulley.

 

SMFS Member Publishing News: Shadow Hunt by Teel James Glenn

 

SMFS list member Teel James Glenn reported that his short story, Shadow Hunt, appears in Black Cat Weekly #150. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format.

 

Publisher Description:

Welcome to our 150th issue.

This time, we have terrific original tales by Neil S. Plakcy, Britin Haller & Shane Gericke, Bob Tippee, and Teel James Glenn ... plus novels by Natalie Sumner Lincoln and Gans T. Field, and classic stories by Jack Williamson, Nelson S. Bond, Jack Sharkey, and Larry Tritten ... plus a solve-it-yourself mystery by Hal Charles ... all jam-packed into 521 pages! Hours of great reading await.

Here's the lineup:

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

• “The Shandiclere,” by Neil S. Plakcy [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
• “The Campground Caper,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
• “So Many Shores in Crookland,” by Britin Haller & Shane Gericke [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
• “Private Equity,” by Bob Tippee [short story]
• The Three Strings, by Natalie Sumner Lincoln [novel]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

• “Shadow Hunt,” by Teel James Glenn [short story]
• “The Bird of Time,” by Larry Tritten [short story]
• “The Second Shell,” by Jack Williamson [short story]
• “The Madness of Lancelot Biggs,” by Nelson S. Bond [short story]
• “The Man Who Was Pale” by Jack Sharkey [short story]
• The Pale Ones Shall Dance, by Gans T. Field [novel]

SMFS Member Publishing News: One Night At McGiuff’s Tavern by Teel James Glenn

SMFS list member Teel James Glenn’s short story, One Night At McGiuff’s Tavern, appears in Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #33. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is currently available in print at Amazon and elsewhere.

 

Amazon Description:

FEATURESFROM WATSON’S NOTEBOOKS, by John H Watson, M.D.
ASK MRS HUDSON, by (Mrs) Martha Hudson
SCREEN OF THE CRIME, by Kim Newman

NON-FICTION

SIX DEGREES OF TENTACULAR SEPARATION, by Elizabeth Crowens

FICTION

THE ADVENTURE OF THE DURHAM MONOGRAPH, by Robert Dawson
THE CASE OF THE DIRTY PAWS, by J.M. Walker
LONG SHOT, by Hal Charles
CAPTAIN DAYLIGHT, by Andrew Salmon
ONE NIGHT AT MCGUFFIN’S TAVERN, by Teel James Glenn
THE ADVENTURE OF THE TWO GUINEAS, by Michael Mallory
THE HOLMES IMPERSONATOR ON THE BOARDS, by Janice Law
THE MAN WHO SLIPPED BETWEEN, by Dennis Maulsby
THE ADVENTURE OF THE IRON ELEPHANT, by Jim Robb

CLASSIC SHERLOCK HOLMES

THE ADVENTURE OF THE THREE STUDENTS, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

SMFS Members Published in Pulp Adventures #44

 

SMFS list members are published in Pulp Adventures #44. Published by Bold Ventures Press, the issue is available at the publisher. The SMFS list members that reported being in the issue are: 

 

Teel James Glenn with “Notches.”

 

Veronica Leigh with "Burning Bright."

 

Website Description: 

CONTENTS

Featured Story

 

The Inevitable Conflict — E.C. Tubb

Thirty-six men were dead … that left Curt Harris, and time was running out!

Classic Pulp Fiction Close-Up

 

Room Number Twenty-Three — Judson P. Philips/Hugh Pentecost

Late evening … a scream … and a victim … but where was the victim?

Classic Pulp Fiction

 

The Wailing Hybrid — John Russell Fearn

A Comedy of Terrors — John Burke

Dagon — H.P. Lovecraft

New Pulp Fiction

 

Burning Bright — Veronica Leigh

Notches — Teel James Glenn

Worm Mother Revisited — Corky Savage

Scaramouche: A Rogue in the Hen House — Stuart Hopen

Pulp History

 

The Eliot Ness Story — Will Murray

57 Seconds and counting: E.C. Tubb — Philip Harbottle

 Departments

 

Editorial: First is first — Audrey Parente

Rough edges: Thrilling Western, January 1953 — James Reasoner

SMFS Member Guest Post: Writing violence in your stories by Teel James Glenn

Please welcome fellow member Teel James Glenn to the blog today..... 

Writing violence in your stories by Teel James Glenn

 

Since the first storyteller sat around a campfire spinning tales of gods and heroes it has been a given that a little action makes a mildly interesting story into a real grabber. Put your hero or heroine in physical jeopardy and you can have a winner.  Conflict is the key to drama in your story and physical conflict, i.e., a fight, can really seal the deal with a reader.

Of course action is not the only answer, to be sure, and emotional conflict is the real essence of drama, but the line where drama ends and adventure or melodrama begin is an iffy one. If the level of your drama is high, if the characters are convincing and we as a reader care about them then you can get a real frenzy of worry out of us by having a villain try to club our hero. Or shoot him or…you get the idea.

Any physical violence, however, has to serve the purpose of the story so you have to use the same criteria for its inclusion as any other story element. Ask yourself, ‘is this fight necessary?’ That is when you ask yourself the six questions your journalism teacher used insist you ask: Why, Who, How, Where, What and When?

 

Why?

Why is this fight the solution to this moment of the story, instead of a dialogue scene?  After all, Shakespeare put the fight at the end of Hamlet for two very strong reasons. It was the dramatic climax that brought together several plot threads, and it was used as a device to reveal the true personalities of the major participants:  Laertes regrets using the poison, Hamlet is proud of his swordsmanship, Claudius reveals his cowardice etc. Even Conan Doyle threw in action scenes in his intellectual puzzlers—albeit in brief, intense moments.

There are four chief reasons to have a fight in a story, though often a fight (or action scene) can and should serve more than one of these reasons.

1: To amaze or confuse a character (in a mystery particularly as misdirection)

2:  To scare a character (to raise the stakes in a story)

3: To conceal/reveal some plot point within the smoke and mirrors of an action scene (see #2)

4. To reveal or accentuate a character trait (is he a coward, a hero, a fool?)

 

Who?

Who is involved in the action; the principal? A secondary character?  If so, what is their stake in the confrontation (their personal why)?

 

How? 

How did the fight come about? How does it end? And in what state are the participants when it is all over? Will there be lingering effects? And will the effects be physical or mental or both? There is also the mechanical how of a fight; that is, how to plan it out. You can’t build a house without a plan and just as you would plan out a book or story by making an outline you must do the same thing with the ‘story’ of a fight.

You can write a fight to be specific in these details--to reveal some of the traits above--or make it an impressionistic (i.e. shaky camera) description, this is especially useful when you want to obscure some plot point. And, of course, in first person POV stories the ‘combat literacy’ of the main character can determine a lot of these factors—i.e. a suburban housewife will not be able to describe a martial technique with any accuracy but a boxer might use specific terms.

 

Where? 

Where does the action take place? Is it an interesting enough place, i.e. a kitchen, a garage, a spaceship port? What makes that place of particular interest? Does it add color to the story, or is it just a drab background, a diorama in front of which the action takes place?

 

What? 

What is involved, physically in the fight? A sword fight; if so, what style? Or styles. Do they use the objects at hand or did they bring the ‘death dealers’ with them. (Jackie Chan movies are especially good at finding clever things to do with found objects in action scenes—you don’t have to be ‘clever’ funny but you should clever smart.).

 

When? 

       When is it appropriate to have a fight instead of a non-physical solution? I know I keep stressing this, but that cuts to the heart of the situation of many literature snobs who will not deal with any ‘action’ because they feel it cheapens the purpose of a story. I refer you back to Hamlet on this point—sometimes you need a good dust up!

 

                                                               

                                                         ****

 

Flavors of violence and the ‘ouch’ factor:

Fights, like dramatic styles, come in a variety of flavors, each suited to the overall tone of the story.

A grim, down and dirty knife fight might be fine for a thriller, but wrong for a romantic comedy.

Once you understand that it hurts you can think about the ‘ouch factor’: that is, how much damage and how much recovery time.

This is where the flavors come in— how you balance these elements: how real, how much pain, and to what end the action in the scene in the story determine if the fight is farce or frightening

So how does it break down—what makes a fight funny or scary or realistic?

 Not everyone is a fight choreographer, but every one can choreograph a fight. Really.

The first thing you do is to decide the type of fight. For argument’s sake we will assume you want to design a sword fight. Short swords.

I know, you don’t have any short swords sitting around the house. No problem. Get some rolled up newspaper and a congenial friend/mate/sibling. Now slowly, as in really slow like an old Six Million Dollar Man episode, walk through five or six moves.

Just like a slow motion dance. Then write it down; but in the writing the newspapers become real swords and you are moving at breathtaking speed.

Now this may not be possible; you might not be able to physically execute the moves, or have a long suffering conspirator to collaborate with.

No problem. Just let the inner child out and get a couple of movable action figures. Even the art store pose-able figures with no features. Tape some short swords made out of pop sticks into their hands and let them do your fighting for you.

Then write it all down. 

 

Teel James Glenn ©2022 

Teel James Glenn has killed hundreds and been killed more times, as he has traveled the world for forty-plus years as a stuntman, swordmaster, storyteller, bodyguard, actor, and haunted house barker. His poetry and short stories have been printed in over two hundred publications including Weird Tales, Mystery Weekly, Pulp Adventures, Space & Time, Mad, Cirsova, Silverblade, and Sherlock Holmes Mystery. His novel A Cowboy in Carpathia: A Bob Howard Adventure won best novel 2021 in the Pulp Factory Award, the winner of the 2012 Pulp Ark Award for Best Author and he was a finalist for the Derringer short mystery award in 2022. Learn more at Theurbanswashbuckler.com 

SMFS Member Publishing News: Golgotha Unreliable by Teel James Glenn

SMFS list member Teel James Glenn’s mystery novelette, Golgotha Unreliable, has been published by Lucky Comics. The read is available as a PDF at DriveThruComics.

Synopsis:

Golgotha - Unreliable

Golgotha, Wisconsin. A tough city with an even tougher history.

In this Novelette: Illusionist and magician Chant McKenna unravels a murder mystery or has he?

A Pulp Noire Mystery novelette by Teel James Glenn.

Cover Art by Joshua 1:9 Holley

Pages:16

Format: Prose

Member Publication News: Teel James Glenn

 

Teel James Glenn's article "Magick and Mayhem" has been published at Horrortree.com 

Member Publication News: Teel James Glenn

 Issue #40 of Pulp Adventures has arrived and features "Blood Debt" by Teel James Glenn.

Publication News: Mystery Magazine

The October issue of Mystery Magazine features several stories by Short Mystery Fiction Society members:

Joslyn Chase: "Chamber of Vengeance."

Peter DiChellis: "Lost in Time."

Kate Fellowes: "The Missing Train."

John M. Floyd: "The King's Island."

Teel James Glenn: "A Study of Death."

CJ Verburg: "Scandal at the Savoy: The Monocle Murder."

Publication News: Mystery Magazine

The October double issue of Mystery Magazine is all pastiche and parody.  Among the featured tales are:

Joslyn Chase: "Chamber of Vengeance"

John M. Floyd: "The King's Island"

Teel James Glenn: "A Study of Death"

Bruce Harris: "Doctor Watson Knows Noses," and "The Savile Row Mystery"

Edward Lodi: "I, Montresor"

CJ Verburg: "Scandal at the Savoy: The Monocle Murder"

 

SMFS Member Publishing News: Teel James Glenn

SMFS list member Teel James Glenn’s new novel, Killing Shadows, is now out. Published in print and eBook formats by Airship 27 Productions, the read is available at Amazon.

 

Synopsis:

SHADOWS OF THE PAST • Jon Shadows is a freelance bodyguard and investigator. When his ex-lover, Maria, tells him her billionaire husband, William Carter, is trying to kill her, he can’t help but come to her aid. Shadows’ plan is to attend an annual corporate employee meeting on Carter’s private island and do some digging. •He soon discovers the eccentric computer mogul has ominous ties to the Japanese crime syndicate known as the Yukaza and is already being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. But before Shadows can make sense of the data, a close friend is brutally murdered and it looks like he is slated to be the killer’s next target. •In Jon Shadows, award winning pulp scribe, Teel James Glenn, has created a terrific new hero with echoes of the classics avengers. In the end, Jon’s enemies soon learn “Killing Shadows” is no easy matter.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Teel James Glenn

SMFS list member Teel James Glenn’s new short story, “The Occurrence of the Kali Curse” appears in the Pulp Adventures Magazine #35. The issue is available at Bold Ventures Press in both eBook and print editions and at Amazon in print. 

Publisher Synopsis:

CLASSIC PULP FICTION

• "Home for Killers!" by Charles Boeckman
  A man can run just so far before facing the devil in pursuit.
• "Thubway Tham’s Baggage Check" by Johnston McCulley
  Detective Craddock tags along to the pickpocket’s hometown.
• "Space Burial" by Lew Merrill
  His enemy challenged him five astronomical units from earth.
• "The Robbers" by E.C. Tubb
  A new breed of soldier from the ashes of the pioneers ...
• "The Colour Out of Space" by H.P. Lovecraft
  Had Death descended from the stars?
• "Theft of the Crown Jewels" by John Clemons
• A Dastardly Swindle in Stones Takes Shape!

NEW PULP FICTION

• "Sniffing Out the Rain Shadow" by Robert W. Walker
  A cadaver dog goes forth on a rescue mission ...
• "Give ’Em Hell, Helen" by Adam McFarlane
  The race was on, but was Helen racing to or from something?
• "The Occurrence of the Kali Curse" by Teel James Glenn
• "Great Caesar’s Ghost" by Jack Halliday

DEPARTMENTS

• Editorial Rich Harvey 2
• “Remembering E.C. (‘Ted’) Tubb” by Philip Harbottle
• "Retro Review: The Big Fix by Ed Lacy" by Rich Harvey