SMFS Member Publishing News: Emerald Love, Shifting Country Star: Urban Fantasy Short Mysteries by Elizabeth Zelvin

SMFS list member Elizabeth Zelvin reported that her short story collection, Emerald Love, Shifting Country Star: Urban Fantasy Short Mysteries, was released earlier this month. This is the second read in the series that began with Shifting Is for the Goyim. Published by Outsider Books, the eBook is available at Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

Emerald Love, shape-shifting country artist, returns in a series of urban fantasy short mysteries. Emerald pays a quick visit to New York, helps a fellow shifter in trouble, and makes a big decision in "A Shifting Plan," the sequel to Shifting Is for the Goyim. In "A Shift At the Bluebird," murder stops the music at the beloved Nashville listening room. In "House of Marble," Emerald scents trouble in a small town while judging a contest for youthful country music hopefuls. Never before published: "A Shifting Alibi." Emerald introduces her niece to the Nashville music and shifting scenes, anticipating every scenario except that young Jazz will be accused of murder. And two stories set in the 1950s, both featuring a girl named Bessie, might or might not be alternative origin stories for Emerald's mother.

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Courtesan's Pirate: A Venice Beauties Mystery by Nina Wachsman

SMFS list member Nina Wachsman reported that today is publication day for her book, The Courtesan's Pirate: A Venice Beauties Mystery. Published in digital format by Level Best Books - Level Historia, this is the third book in the series that began with TheGallery of Beauties: A Venice Beauties Mystery. The read is available at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Description:

1614. At long last, Belladonna has been reunited with Isaak, a pirate captain, on the island of Jamaica. Amidst the chaos of hurricanes and Spanish marauders, they are separated. When she discovers her beloved Isaak is captured and bound for execution in Spain, Belladonna goes back to Venice, planning to leverage her allies to save him, only to learn her influence has diminished. Now facing cunning adversaries and shifting alliances, she must navigate perilous intrigues in a high-stakes bid to rescue Isaak from a tragic fate. Belladonna risks everything, including her own safety, in a daring gambit to save the man she loves.

SMFS Member Publishing News: One of You: A Tower District Mystery by Lorie Lewis Ham

SMFS list member Lorie Lewis Ham reported that her latest book, One of You: A Tower District Mystery, has been released. Published by ‎ Mystery Rat's Books, this is the second book in the series that began in August 2021 with the release of, One of Us. The read is available at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Description:

With her life on the California Coast behind her, Roxi Carlucci is beginning to feel at home in the Tower District—the cultural oasis of Fresno, CA—where she now lives with her cousin P.I. Stephen Carlucci, her pet rat Merlin, a Pit Bull named Watson, and a black cat named Dan. She has a new entertainment podcast, works as a part-time P.I., and is helping local bookstore owner Clark Halliwell put on the first-ever Tower Halloween Mysteryfest! The brutal summer heat is gone and has been replaced by the dense tule fog—perfect for Halloween!

She just wishes everyone would stop calling her the “Jessica Fletcher” of the Tower District simply because she found a dead body when she first arrived. But when one of the Mysteryfest authors is found dead, she fears she jinxed herself! The Carlucci’s are hired to find the killer before they strike again. Will Mysteryfest turn into a murder fest? How is the local gossip website back, and what does it know about the death of Roxi’s parents?

SMFS Members Published in Malice Domestic 18: Mystery Most Devious

Malice Domestic 18: Mystery Most Devious was released by Wildside Press in April 2024. It can be purchased at the Wildside Press website. The SMFS list members that reported being in it are:

 

Mary Adler with “The Lake.”

 

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier with “Afterglow.”

 

Co-Editor Michael Bracken with the introduction.

 

Susan Live Brown with “In Kind.”

 

Joslyn Chase with “Willow, Don't Weep.”

 

Roberta Gibson with “Bodyguard of Lies.”

 

Hope Hodgkins with “Mine!”

 

Smita Harish Jain with “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose.”

 

Josh Pachter with “Woulda Coulda Shoulda.”

 

Jennifer Slee with “Zarparan.”

SMFS Member Publishing News: The First Murder by Carol Goodman Kaufman

Today is publication day for The First Murder by SMFS list member Carol Goodman Kaufman. Published by TouchPoint Press, the read is available from Amazon.

 

Amazon Description:

 

The ME ruled her death an accident. He was dead wrong.

When Mary Jane Bennett is found dead in her bed— alone, strangled by her own scarf, and with every door in the house locked — the medical examiner rules her death accidental, the result of a sex game gone horribly awry. State police decline to investigate further, but Queensbridge Police Chief Caleb Crane doesn't buy for a minute that his good friend died this way, so he undertakes his own investigation. Facing town councilors afraid of bad publicity, an angry medical examiner, and his own personal demons, he labors to solve what he believes is the first-ever murder in his pastoral Berkshire Hills village. Complicating things: the list of suspects includes some of the people to whom he is closest — including his own wife.

SMFS Member Publishing News: A Scarlet Death: An Angela Richman, Death Investigator Mystery by Elaine Viets

Today is publication day for A Scarlet Death: An Angela Richman, Death Investigator Mystery by SMFS list member Elaine Viets. This is the eighth novel in the series that began with Brain Storm. Published by Severn House, the read is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

 

Publisher Description:

Angela’s new case is full of dark secrets and scandal, but shocking events closer to home prove to be her biggest challenge yet . . .

Nobody in Choutaeu Forest expected one of their most prominent citizens, socialite Selwyn Skipton, to be found dead in such salacious circumstances: strangled on satin bedsheets, a red letter A brutally stapled to his chest, in his private apartment above the Chouteau Forest Chocolate Shoppe.

Selwyn was a good man. He gave to charity, supported local causes, and was married to his wife for more than twenty years. What did he do to deserve such a terrible end?

As Death Investigator Angela Richman investigates, she uncovers Selwyn’s dark secret, but also faces an unexpected, chilling conundrum closer to home . . .

Genre: Police Procedural

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Courtesan's Secret: A Venice Beauties Mystery by Nina Wachsman

  

Today is publication day for SMFS list member Nina Wachsman's mystery, The Courtesan's Secret: A Venice Beauties Mystery. Published in digital and print by Level Best Books, this is the second book in the series that began with The Gallery of Beauties: A Venice Beauties Mystery.

 

Amazon Description

When an envoy from the New World comes to Venice, the elite courtesan Belladonna fears the secret of her origins may be revealed. The Spanish are after him, for he carries the map to a great treasure. When the envoy disappears, his enemies shift their pursuit to Belladonna, their only key to his whereabouts.

To avoid capture by the Spanish, Belladonna must abandon her luxurious palazzo, and take refuge in the Ghetto with her friend, Diana, the rabbi’s daughter. Hiding in plain sight behind the Ghetto walls, she must find the envoy and confront her past. Faced with terrible choices and an uncertain future, Belladonna must decide whether to sacrifice all she has achieved for a love she has always desired.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Devil Within: A Detective Nathan Parker Novel by James L'Etoile

Today is publication day for Devil Within: A Detective Nathan Parker Novel by James L'Etoile. This is the second book in the series that began last year with Dead Drop. Published by Level Best Books in print and digital formats, the book is available at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Description:

The border is a hostile place with searing heat and venomous serpents. Yet the deadliest predator targets the innocent.

A sniper strikes in the Valley of the Sun and Detective Nathan Parker soon finds a connection between the victims—each of them had a role in an organization founded to help undocumented migrants make the dangerous crossing. Parker discovers no one is exactly who they seem.

There’s the devil you know and then there’s the devil within—when the two collide, no one is safe.

SMFS Members Published in Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional Anthology

 

Numerous SMFS list members are published in the new anthology, Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Traditional Anthology. Published by Wildside Press, this is the seventeenth anthology and is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The reported SMFS members in this anthology are:

 

M. H. Callway with "Wisteria Cottage."

 

Chris Chan with "The Butlers' Anti-Defamation Society."

 

Susan Daly with "Tamsin & the Church Ladies."

 

Maurice Givens with "Foul Ball."

 

James L'Etoile with "The Parlin Fork Letters."

 

Jean Macaluso with "Home & Garden Gothic."

 

Michael Allan Mallory with "The Time Thief."

 

Rob McCartney with "The Missing Case of Beer."

 

Michele Bazan Reed with “The Dead Donor.”

 

Lori Robbins with "Killing It in the Catskills."

 

Cynthia Sabelhaus with “Mystery of the Midnight Fire.”

 

Gabriel Valjan with “Trash Raccoon.”

 

Arthur Vidro with "The Suspension of Mickey Hackerstein."

 

Amazon Description: 

The Malice Domestic anthology series returns with 32 original tales in the Agatha Christie tradition—this time featuring new takes on the traditional mystery. Incuded are works by:

Zara Altair, Anne Louise Bannon, Chris Chan, M.M. Chouinard, Jennifer Chow, Sherry Clitheroe, Sharon Love Cook, Susan Daly, Tina deBellegarde, Karen Dent, Carolyn Eichhorn, Eve Elliot, Maurice Givens, Kerry Hammond, Madeleine Harris-Callway, Lawrence Kelter, James L’Etoile,Jean Macaluso, Michael Allan Mallory, Rob McCartney, Tom Mead, Gregory Meece, Michele Bazan Reed, Lori Robbins, Verena Rose, Cynthia Sabelhaus, Nancy Cole Silverman, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Susan Thibadeau, Gabriel Valjan, Arthur Vidro, and Kari Wainwright

 

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Dead Of Night: An Angela Richman, Death Investigator Mystery by Elaine Viets

Today is publication day for The Dead Of Night: An Angela Richman, Death Investigator Mystery by SMFS list member Elaine Viets. This is the seventh novel in the series that began with Brain Storm. Published by Severn House, the read is available in print and digital formats, and is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

Synopsis:

When Angela Richman finds two dead bodies in a cursed crypt on Halloween, she is drawn into a spine-tingling mystery. Has a Chouteau Forest legend turned deadly, or is a dangerous killer on the loose?

Everyone in Chouteau Forest knows the legend of the Cursed Crypt. It's claimed that the restless spirit of a professor nicknamed Mean Gene Cortini, buried in Chouteau Forest University's crypt, has been causing death and destruction in the Forest for almost two centuries.

Local residents are used to disease and natural disasters striking every seven years. But not murder. When Trey Lawson outbids the wealthy Du Pres family at the university's annual Howl-o-ween Benefit Auction, he wins the chance to spend the night in the crypt with his fianc�e, Lydia. Angela Richman, Death Investigator, finds their mutilated bodies there the following morning.

As Angela investigates, she learns that Trey was threatening the established hierarchy of Chouteau Forest. Has the legend taken a deadly turn, or are Trey and Lydia victims of a vicious power struggle?

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Alchemist of Riddle and Ruin: An Accidental Alchemist Mystery by Gigi Pandian

Today is publication day for SMFS list member Gigi Pandian’s new book, The Alchemist of Riddle and Ruin: An Accidental Alchemist Mystery. Published by Gargoyle Girl Productions, the read is the sixth book in the Accidental Alchemist Mystery series. It is available in digital and paperback formats at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Synopis: 

A riddle, a game, and a clue in the garden. Don’t miss the page-turning sixth book in the award-winning Accidental Alchemist Mystery Series, perfect for fans of cozy mysteries and urban fantasy.

When Zoe Faust sees the ghost of a murdered young woman, is it really a spirit—or a flesh and blood woman who stopped aging because she’s a fellow alchemist?

Sixteen years ago, high school student Ridley Price discovered a secret she planned to reveal through a party game—but someone killed her first. The baffling crime was never solved. Zoe’s friend Heather has always wondered: which of the seven guests at the party killed Ridley? When the newly-appeared ghost turns dangerous, threatening people they love, Zoe teams up with her gargoyle roommate Dorian to unmask the supposed specter.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Death in the New Land: A People of the Wind Mystery Book by Kaye George

Today is publication day for Death in the New Land: A People of the Wind Mystery Book by SMFS list member Kaye George. This series began with Death in the Time of Ice which was followed by Death on the Trek. Published by Untreed Reads in print and digital formats, the book is available at the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

 

Synopsis:

Enga Dancing Flower and her tribe have reached a place they can stay in safety. Or have they?

It's clear the groups of other settlers in the area do not want more neighbors, and this is made even more evident when a male of Enga's tribe is murdered, and a baby is kidnapped.

The future of the tribe is immediately put into question. Can Enga and her people find the killer and rescue the baby? Or will the security and bright future the tribe has dreamed of fall to pieces?

SMFS Member Publishing News: Late for His Own Funeral: Angela Richman, Death Investigator Mystery by Elaine Viets

Today is publication day for Late for His Own Funeral: Angela Richman, Death Investigator Mystery by Elaine Viets. This is the sixth novel in the series that began with Brain Storm. Published by Severn House, the read is available in print and digital formats, and is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

 

Publisher Synopsis:

Death Investigator Angela Richman suspects foul play when a disgraced resident of Chouteau Forest survives one car crash only to then be involved in another.

Until his Porsche careened off the road killing him instantly and not leaving much of him behind, Sterling Chaney was an influential member of Chouteau Forest - home of the one percenters. As the eulogies at his funeral commence, an unexpected guest interrupts . . . Sterling.

The story attracts widespread media coverage. Sterling's the man who showed up late for his own funeral. He revels in the spotlight, until it's revealed he earned his fortune via sordid means and exploiting the women who worked for him. It leaves him vilified and shunned by Chouteau society. Then there's another fatal crash.

This time, Death Investigator Angela Richman is tasked with confirming that Sterling has perished. But her investigation reveals more questions than answers. Were both crashes merely accidents, or was someone doubly determined to kill Sterling?

SMFS Member Publishing News: Two Tofu Tacos, a Taurus TX22, a Taycan, and a Ton of Trouble by Alan Orloff

 

Yesterday was publication day for Two Tofu Tacos, a Taurus TX22, a Taycan, and a Ton of Trouble by Alan Orloff. This is the latest installment of Season Four of the Guns + Tacos series edited by Trey R. Barker and SMFS list member Michael Bracken. Published by Down and Out Books, the read is available at the publisher, Amazon, and elsewhere.

 

Publisher Synopsis:

Blackmail is such an ugly word. Even uglier when it’s happening to you, especially when you don’t know who’s behind it, and defense lawyer Jefferson Bell doesn’t have a clue. Disgruntled client? Current mistress? One of a handful of pissed-off ex-mistresses? An opportunistic co-worker? A team of blackmailers looking for a big payday?

If the truth comes out, however, it will destroy his career and cause the end of Bell’s marriage. And he can’t let that happen, not after all the hard work he’d put in, not after all sacrifices he’d endured over the years. So following the advice of a friend, Bell visits a multi-purpose taco truck and procures what he needs to bring the extortionist down, and hard. Now he just has to find him. Or her. Or them.

With the help of his buddy and former client Rags Richland, Bell follows the trail through Chicago. When the blackmailer sets up an exchange, Bell attempts to seize the opportunity and spring a trap. But things go sideways, and Bell is no closer to learning his tormentor’s identity. To complicate matters, Bell’s situation has attracted the attention of the managing partner at his law firm, who gives Bell an ultimatum: fix things and make sure there’s no blowback on the firm. The ultimatum comes with a veiled part: Or else.

The more Bell searches, the more things come unraveled, and the more his desperation grows. And keeps growing, right up to the snapping point.

Then blows right past it.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Liz Pierce

SMFS list member Liz Pierce’s short story, “Of Cats and Lost Socks” appears in the recently released anthology, The Year of the Cat: A Cat of Heroic Heart. This seventh book in the series is published by WMG Publishing and is available in print and digital formats at the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

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Guest Post: From Short Story to Continuing Series by Edith Maxwell

Please welcome member Edith Maxwell to our blog today… 

From Short Story to Continuing Series

I don’t know how common it is to turn a short story into a long-running series. Let me share the tale of how I did it. And I’ll give away a signed copy of Charity’s Burden to one commenter here.

I’ve lived north of Boston in the northeast corner of Massachusetts for thirty years. For all that time I’ve been a member of Amesbury Friends Meeting (Quaker) but lived in other towns and drove to church on Sunday mornings.

In the summer of 2012 we downsized and bought a house in Amesbury. I already had friends here and loved the historic town full of brick mill buildings and a river that runs right through downtown. And now I could walk to Meeting. I was interested in antique houses, since renovating them (including the ones we live in – while we’re living in them…) is what my beau does for work. But I didn’t know much about Amesbury’s history before moving to town.

The next spring I read a newspaper article about the Great Fire of 1888 in Amesbury. The town was world-famous for its graceful well-built carriages, and the fire on the night before Good Friday burned down most of the factories on Carriage Hill. It was a huge disaster and was only saved from being worse by rain that fell during the night.

After I read that article, I was strolling to the lovely simple Meetinghouse built in 1851 one First Day morning when a short story popped into my head about the Quaker mill girl who solves the mystery of the arson. Historically the Great Fire wasn’t arson, but hey, I dream up fiction for a living. I wrote that story, and “Breaking the Silence” was published in Best New England Crime Stories 2014: Stone Cold (Level Best Books, November 2013).

As happens with writers, the setting and characters refused to go away, so I invented the girl’s midwife aunt Rose Carroll, wrote Delivering the Truth, and sold the series to Midnight Ink. The first three books have been nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel, including Turning the Tide this year.

I’ve also written several subsequent short stories featuring Rose, her quirky postmistress friend Bertie Winslow, and other mysteries in 1880s Amesbury, two of which were nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Short Story. (All my short fiction is listed on my web site.)

I love delving into all aspects of life in the late nineteenth century, learning about historic figures in town, and studying maps from the era. It’s a fascinating time to write about, being on the cusp of so much cultural change.

The new book, Charity’s Burden, treats the topic of birth control, which was hugely controversial at the time. Midwife Rose Carroll’s clients come to her with pregnancies, but they also seek her help when they don’t want to have another baby – whether before or after they have conceived yet again.

The highly restrictive Comstock Laws were passed in the 1870s, which made even speaking about preventing pregnancy a crime. Herbalists and others turned to evasive wording in the advertisements for their products, calling them products to regularize women’s cycles and improve their health. Certain practitioners also offered abortions, which of course were life-threatening at the time. I wanted to explore these issues – in the context of a murder mystery, of course. 


Here’s the book blurb:

The winter of 1889 is harsh in Amesbury, Massachusetts, but it doesn’t stop Quaker midwife Rose Carroll from making her rounds of her pregnant and postpartum mothers. But when Charity Skells dies from an apparent early miscarriage, Rose wonders about the copious amount of blood. She learns that Charity’s husband appears to be up to no good with a young woman. The woman’s mother, who goes by the mysterious name of Madame Restante, appears to offer illegal abortions and herbal birth control. A disgraced physician in town does the same. Charity’s cousin mistakenly thinks he will take control of his father’s estate, part of which was to go to Charity. Rose, who suspects Charity’s death was from an abortion either incompetently or maliciously performed, once again works with police detective Kevin Donovan to solve the case before another life is taken.

I’m excited Quaker Midwife Mystery #4 is out, and I am happy to announce the series is moving over to Beyond the Page Publishing with book five. Look for Judge Thee Not to release this fall! There will be at least two more in the series after that. My next short story, “Sushi Lessons,” releases in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible, and my next Country Store mystery, Strangled Eggs and Ham (written as Maddie Day) comes out in June.

Readers: Do you know of other short stories that have led to series? Writers, do you ever cross over? I’m happy to answer questions, too, and I’ll give away a signed copy of Charity’s Burden to one lucky reader.

Edith Maxwell © 2019

Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Maxwell, with seventeen novels in print and four more completed, has been nominated for an Agatha Award six times. She lives north of Boston with her beau and two elderly cats, and gardens and cooks when she isn’t killing people on the page or wasting time on Facebook. Please find her at edithmaxwell.com, on Instagram, and at the Wicked Authors blog.

SleuthSayers: A Series Conversation by John M. Floyd

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