SMFS Members Nominated for the 2023 Agatha Awards

Established in 1989, Malice Domestic™ is an annual fan convention in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area that celebrates the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie, containing no explicit sex, excessive gore, or violence. 

Malice Domestic #36 will take place April 26-28, 2024. Again this year, numerous SMFS list members are nominated in several categories. The full list of the 2023 Agatha Award nominees and more can be found here on Facebook. The categories and nominated SMFS list members that reported their nominations are:

 

Best Contemporary Mystery Novel

Gigi Pandian for The Raven Thief: A Secret Staircase Mystery (Minotaur Books).

 

Best First Mystery

Josh Pachter for Dutch Threat (Genius Book Publishing).

 

Best Short Story

Barb Goffman for the short story, Real Courage, in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #14.

Dru Ann Love and  Kristopher Zgorski for the short story, Ticket To Ride, in the anthology, Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Down & Out Books).

Richie Narvaez for the short story, Shamu, World's Greatest Detective, in the anthology, Killin' Time in San Diego: Bouchercon Anthology 2023 (Down and Out Books).

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: Nowhere, Going Somewhere Else by Stephen D. Rogers

 

SMFS list member Stephen D. Rogers’s short story, Nowhere, Going Somewhere Else, was recently published at TOUGH. The story is free to read online here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Rideshare by J. M. Taylor

 

SMFS list member J. M. Taylor’s short story, Rideshare, was published yesterday at TOUGH. The story is free to read online here.

SMFS Members Nominated for the 2022 Agatha Award Nominees

 

Established in 1989, Malice Domestic™ is an annual fan convention in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area that celebrates the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie, containing no explicit sex, excessive gore, or violence.

Malice Domestic #35 will take place April 28-30, 2023. Again this year, numerous SMFS list members are nominated in several categories. The full list of the 2022 Agatha Award nominees and more can be found here. The categories and nominated SMFS list members are:

 

Children's/ YA Mystery 

Fleur Bradley for Daybreak on Raven Island (Viking Books for Young People).

 

Best Contemporary Novel 

Annette Dashofy for Fatal Reunion: A Zoe Chambers Mystery (Level Best Books).

 

Best First Novel 

M. A. (Mary) Monnin for Death in the Aegean: An Intrepid Traveler Mystery (Level Best Books). 

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

  

Best Short Story 

Barb Goffman for the short story, Beauty and the Beyotch, in Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #29. 

Lisa Q. Mathews for the short story, Fly Me to the Morgue, in the anthology, Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Diabolical (Wildside Press). 

Richie Narvaez for the short story, The Minnesota Twins Meet Bigfoot, in the book, Land of 10,000 Thrills: Bouchercon Anthology 2022 (Down & Out Books). Read for free at his website. 

Art Taylor for the short story, The Invisible Band, in the anthology, Edgar & Shamus Go Golden: Twelve Tales of Murder, Mystery, and Master Detection from the Golden Age of Mystery and Beyond (Down & Out Books). Read for free at his website. 

 

In addition, the recently published book, Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction, is nominated in the Best Non-Fiction category. Published by Sisters in Crime, it includes essays by numerous SMFS list members.

SMFS Member Publishing News: McGraw: The Complete Series by Eric Beetner

 
Today is publication day for McGraw: The Complete Series by Eric Beetner. Published by Rough Edges Press, the collection includes the never before published novel, Sideswipe. The read is available in digital format at Amazon.

 

Synopsis:

Meet the McGraws. They’re not criminals. They’re outlaws. They make a living by driving anything and everything for the Stanleys—a criminal family who has employed them for decades.

In Rumrunners, Tucker McGraw wants to go straight, much to the disappointment of his father, Webb. But when Webb goes missing after a job—with a truck load of drugs—and the Stanleys want their due, Tucker is forced to enlist the help of his grandfather, Calvin, the original lead-foot McGraw. In a dash to save his father, Tucker learns a whole lot about the family business in a crash course that might just get him killed.

Going back in time, Leadfoot centers on Calvin as he grooms his 19-year-old son, Webb, to uphold the family name. When a delivery goes wrong, Calvin steps knee-deep in a turf war between the Stanley’s and a rival Midwestern crime syndicate.

In Sideswipe—the never-before-published third book in the McGraw trilogy—Calvin is on the sidelines with a broken leg. But when he finds out he was a pawn in someone else’s set-up to fix a race, he makes it known that he doesn’t play that game. Webb, on the other hand, is sent on a simple job: pick up a car and drive it back. Unfortunately, the pickup goes sour, and he finds himself at risk of missing the birth of his son and losing his life.

Strap in and hold on tight. These outlaw drivers are about to take you on the ride of your life.

SleuthSayers: Real or Nonreal? by John Floyd

SleuthSayers: Real or Nonreal?: I was asked an interesting question a few weeks ago, about writing. First, a quick story. Years ago a writer friend of mine had just publish...

SMFS Members Published in The Mystery Readers Journal: Art Mysteries, Volume 38, No. 3, Fall 2022

Several SMFS list members have published works in The Mystery Readers Journal: Art Mysteries, Volume 38, No. 3, Fall 2022. Published 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:

 

Vinnie Hansen’s article, “The Mystery of Art.”

 

Ron Katz’s article, “The Mystery of the Misplaced Mona Lisa.”

 

Terry Shames’ article, "Samuel Craddock's Art Collection."

 

Nina Wachsman’s article, “Art…Beauty…Poison.”

 

 

Website Synopsis:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

Why I Write Art Mysteries by Jennifer S. Alderson

Some Artists Need Killing by Donna Andrews

Art: A Criminal Passion by Ann Aptaker

When My Art Became Fiction by Anne Louise Bannon

Art Mysteries— from Nazi-Looted Art to Antiquities Trafficking by S.L. Beaumont

The Collector: Passion or Obsession? by Connie Berry

The Mystery of Real Desire by Rona Bell

Deepening the Mystery by Juliet Blackwell

Hop, Hop, Hopper! by Lawrence Block

The Sinister Attractions of the Art World? by Ruth Brandon

The Beauty of Holiness/The Holiness of Beauty by Kate Charles

The Fascination With Art & Art Mysteries by Rich DiSilvio

Folk and Outsider Art, and Scandal Mountain Mysteries by Trish Esden

The Power of Art by Laurie Fagen

My Love Affair with Vermeer by Susan Fleet

The Mystery of Art by Vinnie Hansen

A Deadly Art by Betty Hechtman

Inspiration from the Art Museum by Russell Hill

When Art Meets Crime by Stephanie Kane

The Mystery of the Misplaced Mona Lisa by Ron Katz

Art Will Have Its Way by J K Kennedy

Art and Crime Down Under by Katherine Kovacic

Light as a Sidekick by Kathryn Lasky

Telling the Stories I See (and the Joys of Research) by Joan Leotta

Small, Tender Art by Claudia Long

Escape From the Life Room by Peter Lovesey

Art Appreciation—a Dangerous Business by Adrian Magson

Research in the Days of Covid by Peter May

Our Art Adventures by Rosemary and Larry Mild

Searching for Mona Lisa by Carson Morton

Write Like an Artist by Radine Trees Nehring

Art, Then Mysteries by KC Nelms

Why I Was Inspired to Write Art Heist Novels by Carol Orange

Georgia O’Keeffe Was My Co-Author by Mike Orenduff

My Writing Forays into the Art World by Dale T. Phillips

Ekphrastic Fiction by Neil S. Plakcy

Plotting a Killer Inside Job by Martha Reed

Mixed Media: Art, Crime, and Romance by Claudia Riess

What If You Found a Florida Highwayman Painting? by Laura Kelly Robb

Art Thrillers and Me: My Love/Hate Affair by Jonathan Santlofer

Samuel Craddock’s Art Collection by Terry Shames

When the Hammer Falls by Susan C. Shea

The World’s Biggest Art Heist by Nancy Cole Silverman

Ten Clues for Art and Writing by Sue Star

Art…Beauty…Poison by Nina Wachsman

Art Cops and Weeds by David Wagner

Walking and Talking: Bringing Art and Artists to Life by Alana White

Who Tried to Kill France’s First Painter? by Judy Willmore

 

COLUMNS

Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by Jay Gertzman, Aubrey Hamilton, Lesa Holstine, Joan Ramirez, Kathy Boone Reel, L.J. Roberts, Lucinda Surber, Benjamin L. Clark

Children’s Hour: Art Mysteries by Gay Toltl Kinman

In Short: Art and the Mystery by Marv Lachman

Real Art Crimes by Cathy Pickens

Crime Seen: Moving Pictures by Kate Derie

From the Editor’s Desk by Janet A. Rudolph

SMFS Member Publishing News: A Burning Man by Susan Kuchinskas

SMFS list member Susan Kuchinska’s short story, A Burning Man, appears online at TOUGH. You can read it for free here.

John A. Hoda Podcast: Edith Maxwell | My Favorite Detective Stories Episode 167

 John A. Hoda Podcast: Edith Maxwell | My Favorite Detective Stories Episode 167

2020 Agatha Award Nominees

Established in 1989, Malice Domestic™ is an annual fan convention in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area that celebrates the traditional mystery, best typified by the works of Agatha Christie, containing no explicit sex, excessive gore, or violence. This year, instead of the annual in person convention, MORE THAN MALICE will take place entirely online from July 14-17, 2021. There are twelve SMFS list members up for an Agatha Award in six different categories. The awards will be presented on July 17^th.

 

In the “Best Short Story” category there are four members that are nominated. Those members are:

Barb Goffman for "Dear Emily Etiquette" in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine: September/October 2020. You can listen to the podcast for this story here.

Art Taylor for “The Boy Detective & The Summer of ‘74" in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine: January/February 2021. You can read Art’s essay on how the story came together here.

Gabriel Valjan for “Elysian Fields” in the anthology, California Schemin’: The 2020 Bouchercon Anthology, published by Wildside Press.

James W. Ziskin for “The 25 Year Engagement” in the anthology, In League with Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon, published by Pegasus Crime. You can read James’ essay on how the story came together here.

 

Our members up for Agatha Awards for longer works are:

Donna Andrews is up for the Agatha Award in the “Best Contemporary Novel” category for Gift of the Magpie, published by Minotaur.

Tina deBellegarde is up for an Agatha Award in the “Best First Novel” category for Winter Witness, published by Level Best Books.

Mary Keliikoa is up for the Agatha Award in the “Best First Novel” category for Derailed, published by Epicenter Press, Inc.

Edith Maxwell is up for the Agatha Award in the “Best Historical Novel” category for Taken Too Soon: A Quaker Midwife Mystery, published by Beyond the Page Publishing.

Leslie Brody in the “Best Non-Fiction” Category for Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy, published by Seal Press.

Martin Edwards in the “Best Non-Fiction” Category for Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club, published by Collins Crime Club.

Fleur Bradley in the “Best Children’s/YA Mystery” Category for Midnight at the Barclay Hotel, published by Viking Books for Young Readers.

Richard Narvaez in the “Best Children’s/YA Mystery” Category for Holly Hernandez and the Death of Disco, published by Piñata Books.

 

SMFS salutes our members on this honor and wishes them the best as they represent SMFS at Malice Domestic. The full list of nominees can be found at the Malice Domestic website.

The Dillydoun Review: Visitation at Nine by Bobby Mathews

 The Dillydoun Review: Visitation at Nine by Bobby Mathews

SMFS Member Publishing News: John M. Floyd

SMFS list member John M. Floyd’s short story, “Fools Gold” is the featured fiction in The Saturday Evening Post: March/April 2021 issue. The bicentennial issue is available at their website and on newsstands. Interested readers can also watch a video preview of the issue on YouTube.  

TOUGH: The Good Life, fiction by Richie Narvaez

TOUGH: The Good Life, fiction by Richie Narvaez:  Reimagining Ernest Hemingway’s Indian Camp C hibenashi was out of breath from running with the dogs. The dogs followed Chibenashi all the w...

TOUGH: The Ballad of John Rider, fiction by Jeff Esterholm

TOUGH: The Ballad of John Rider, fiction by Jeff Esterholm: T he flight was under four minutes, a trick of levitation at eleven at night, up Market Street and then Portola Drive to Diamond Heights. Je...

SMFS Members Published in The Mystery Readers Journal: Environmental Mysteries

Several SMFS list members have published works in The Mystery Readers Journal: Environmental Mysteries (Volume 36, No. 1, Spring 2020) published and available from Mystery Readers International. The read is available in print and pdf formats on the website. The SMFS list members published in the issue are:

Vinnie Hansen with “Fruit of the Devil.”

Robert Lopresti with “Saving the Planet, One Novel at a Time.”

Michael Allan Mallory with “Wolf Man.”

Josh Pachter with “Stork Trek’—The Story Behind the Story.”

Website Synopsis:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHOR! AUTHOR!

§  Can Snakes Be Heroes? by Glynn Marsh Alam

§  We Are the Wild by Sandi Ault

§  Toss in a Bear or a Snake by Pamela Beeson

§  Environmental Mysteries and Public Debate: Can One Enhance the Other? by Dave Butler

§  Wild and Commanding Settings: Striking the Right Balance for Readers by Christine Carbo

§  Calypso Saves the Climate by D. Z. Church

§  From Addiction to Fiction—in the African Bush by Jenny Carless

§  Why the Road Is Dark by Philip Cioffari

§  A Background in the Birding World by Ann Cleeves

§  The Man in the Doorway and Other Writing Mysteries by Donna Cousins

§  Mysteries With A Climate Change Message by Charlene D’Avanzo

§  The Old-Fashioned Way by William Deverell

§  Write What You Know: Wilderness Thrillers by Karen Dionne

§  Natural Crimes by Janet Dawson

§  It’s All About the Birds… and Murder by Jan Dunlap

§  The Mystery of the Missing Mountain by Toni Dwiggins

§  Natural Inspiration by Gerald Elias

§  The Common Threat by Kate Fellowes

§  The Heart of the Matter by Christine Goff

§  Murder and Mayhem For Our National Parks by Scott Graham

§  Fruit of the Devil by Vinnie Hansen

§  Boots in Dirt: Protecting Wildlife and Natural Resources by Joseph Heywood

§  Wildfire and Murder in the Woods by Dave Hugelschaffer

§  Shark Allure by Sara Johnson

§  A Captivating Story by Diane Kelly

§  The Mystery as Environmental Soapbox by William Kent Krueger

§  Does the Message Overshadow the Murder? by Stephen Legault

§  Saving the Planet, One Novel at a Time by Robert Lopresti

§  Wolf Man by Michael Allan Mallory

§  Burying the Evidence by Larry Maness

§  Novels from the Garden of Good and Evil by Keith McCafferty

§  The Bright Side of Environmental Devastation by Jon McGoran

§  A Caution on Environmental Research by Skye Moody

§  I Never Intended to Write Environmental Mysteries, But… by Michael Norman

§  “Stork Trek”—The Story Behind the Story by Josh Pachter

§  A Thrilling Environment by Katherine Prairie

§  Murder in a Damaged Environment by Kwei Quartey

§  Resolving to Write Novel by Ben Rehder

§  Off Road by Kirk Russell

§  Is Any Refuge Certain? by Carolyn J. Rose

§  On the Trail of a New Environment by Mark Stevens

§  Finding My Voice in Wildlife by Jessica Speart

§  Writing from the African Bush: What a Pleasure! by Stanley Trollip

§  Writing About the Environment in the West by Judith Van Gieson

§  When Cozies Can’t Be All That Cozy by Betty Webb

§  The House of the Monk’s Spring by Robert Wilson

§  Partners in Crime: My Link to the EPA by Kenneth Wishnia

§  Interesting Times for Mystery Writers by John Yunker

§  Nature and Mystery by Gregory Zeigler

§   

COLUMNS

§  Mystery in Retrospect: Reviews by L.J. Roberts

§  Real Environmental and Wildlife Crimes by Cathy Pickens

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

SleuthSayers: How It All Happened For Me by Jan Christensen

SleuthSayers: How It All Happened For Me: After work and dinner one night, I sat down in my bedroom, door closed, and wrote in longhand for one hour on a novel I’d begun years earl...

TOUGH: Walker's Hollow, fiction by John Floyd

TOUGH: Walker's Hollow, fiction by John Floyd: It was cold in the cab of the truck. Three of us were aboard—my older brother Lewis driving, me in the middle, my older sister Rosemary on m...

SMFS Members Published in Mysterical-E: Summer 2019

The Mysterical-E: Summer 2019 issue has been released and is now available to download and read for free at Mysterical-E. SMFS members have fiction as well as nonfiction pieces in this issue.

Fiction

Heidi Hunter with “Granny Livvy’s Secret.”

Robert Petyo with “Manic Mystery Society.”

Cathi Stoler with “That’s My Story (And I’m Sticking To It)

Nonfiction

Christine Verstraete with her “Author Snapshot” feature on SMFS list members Kaye George, Terrie Farley Moran, and other authors and their news of upcoming books.

Kaye George’s new feature titled, “What’s Your Process” is back in this issue. Fellow members Madeline McEwen and Pam De Voe are two of the four authors interviewed for this column.

In her “Take Another Look: Ironweed” Anita Page considers the movie and how weather became a major character in the film.

Gerald So is back in this issue with his long running feature, “Mysterical-Eye.” This time he talks about various classic television shows as well as some new ones on various platforms.

Also included in the issue is an interview with Paul D. Marks.