SMFS Member Publishing News: The Mirror People by C. Dan Castro

SMFS list member C. Dan Castro’s short story, The Mirror People, was published in Frozen Mirrors: Issue Seven. Published by Haunted Words Press, the issue is a free read here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Breaking News: Local Heiress Dead by Charlotte Morganti

Today is publication day for SMFS list member Charlotte Morganti’s new book, Breaking News: Local Heiress Dead. Published by Halfdan Press, the novel is available at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Description:

A woman betrayed. A marriage trashed. A body in the lake.
Less than two weeks before police slap handcuffs on Olivia Mercier’s wrists.

When divers discover Shauna Wylie’s body, encased in a barrel of concrete in Donner Lake, Olivia is of two minds. The death of her former best friend traumatizes her. At the same time however, Shauna is the reason Olivia’s husband is living in a bachelor pad. And now someone has dispatched Shauna from Earth. Is it wrong to feel vindicated?

When police discover a bag of cement in Olivia’s garage and learn she stands to inherit $17.5 million from Shauna, Olivia rockets to the front of the suspect line. Positive that the police won’t look for other suspects, especially when forensic results arrive, Olivia launches her own search for Shauna’s killer. Her investigation uncovers long-buried secrets and, unknown to her, earns Olivia top billing on the killer’s hit list.

SMFS Member Publishing News: A Midnight Puzzle: A Secret Staircase Novel by Gigi Pandian

 

SMFS list member Gigi Pandian’s new book, A Midnight Puzzle: A Secret Staircase Novel, is now out. This is the third book in the series that began with Under Lock & Skeleton Key: A Secret Staircase Mystery and continued in The Raven Thief: A Secret Staircase Mystery. Published by Minotaur Books, the read is available in multiple formats at the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

 

Publisher Description:

In heroine Tempest Raj, modern-day queen of the locked room mystery Gigi Pandian has created a brilliant homage to the greats of classic detective fiction.

Secret Staircase Construction is under attack, and Tempest Raj feels helpless. After former client Julian Rhodes tried to kill his wife, he blamed her "accident" on the home renovation company’s craftsmanship. Now the family business—known for bringing magic into homes through hidden doors, floating staircases, and architectural puzzle walls—is at a breaking point. No amount of Scottish and Indian meals from her grandfather can distract Tempest from the truth: they’re being framed.

When Tempest receives an urgent midnight phone call from Julian, she decides to meet him at the historic Whispering Creek Theater—only to find his dead body, a sword through his chest. After a blade appears from thin air to claim another victim, Tempest is certain they’re dealing with a booby trap… something Secret Staircase Construction could easily build. Tempest refuses to wait for the investigation to turn to her or her loved ones. She knows the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of her, she just has to put them together correctly before more disaster strikes.

Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian and her sleuth Tempest Raj return in A Midnight Puzzle, where an old theater reveals a deadly booby trap, secrets, and one puzzle of a mystery.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Beyond The Master of Suspense: How True Crime Influenced The Films of Alfred Hitchcock by Justin Murphy

SMFS list member Justin Murphy has published his new book, Beyond The Master of Suspense: How True Crime Influenced The Films of Alfred Hitchcock. Part of his Serial Killers/True Crime series, the read is available in eBook format at Amazon.

 

Amazon Listing:

Many have seen and studied the classic films of Alfred Hitchcock, but how many know a lot of these movies were inspired by real life murders? These cases range from his native England in the 1800’s to 1950’s America. Influencing his work from The Lodger, his third directorial effort and first true suspense thriller, all the way down to Frenzy, his next to final film. Such minor details appear in his films as a woman’s necklace or being buried in a garden. Or can be so detailed that one film, about a wrongly accused musician, is based on a true story outright.

SMFS Members Published in Black Cat Weekly #133

SMFS list members are published in Black Cat Weekly #133. Published by Wildside Press, the issue is available here in digital format. The members that reported their stories are:

 

 

Veronica Leigh with "Trouble in Paradise."

 

Shannon Taft with "Pot o' Gold."

 

Website Description:

It’s the time of year when things get really crazed here at Wildside Press, as we are preparing books for the Malice Domestic mystery convention. (We usually publish the official convention book—in this case, Malice Domestic 18: Mystery Most Devious…plus release other titles there, such as the sports crime anthology Three Strikes—You’re Dead!, edited by our own Barb Goffman, with Donna Andrews and Marcia Talley). Should you wish to attend, it’s held in Bethesda, Maryland from April 26 to 28 this year. Info at malicedomestic.net.

   So it’s going to be a very brief intro this time.

   Here’s the complete lineup—

 

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

• “Ear Worm,” by Robert Jeschonek [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
• “Who Slew the Valkyrie,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
• “Pot o’ Gold,” by Shannon Taft [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
• “Trouble in Paradise,” by Veronica Leigh [short story]
• “The Scarlet Imperial,” by Dorothy B. Hughes [novel]

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

• “A Time To Die,” by Harold Calin [short story]
• “Out of Nowhere,” by E.A. Grosser
• “Star Chamber,” by H.B. Fyfe [short story]
• “Pogo Planet,” by Donald A. Wollheim [short story]
• The Kid from Mars, by Oscar J. Friend [novel]

SMFS Member Publishing News: Who Shot Goobie Morgan? by John M. Floyd

 

SMFS list member John M. Floyd’s short story, Who Shot Goobie Morgan?, appears in the March 25th issue of Woman's World. The issue is available in grocery stores, newsstands, and at Woman’s World.

SMFS Members Published in The Luck of the Irish: Cozy Mystery Anthology

Today is publication day for Luck of the Irish: Cozy Mystery Anthology. Published by Ad Astra Press Inc, the read is available at Amazon and other vendors. SMFS list members that reported being in the read are:

 

Kathleen Marple Kalb with “A Fatal St. Patrick's Day.”

 

Cheryl Phipps with "Luck of Shadows."

 

Amazon Description:

Ten Tantalising Cozy Mysteries to delight you on Saint Patrick's Day!
Sure to make you chuckle, and keep you guessing!

Includes the authors' Favorite Saint Patrick's Day Irish Recipes

Ten authors got together to bring you these super Cozy mysteries, themed around Luck, Saint Patrick's Day and — in rather surprising ways — sometimes leprechauns, too.
Some of our authors are well known to you, such as radio celebrity Kathleen Marple Kalb
and USA Today listed author C. A. Phipps.
Some are total unknowns, such as W. Jenkins.
Short stories, novellas, and all stops in between!
Enjoy dipping into this book whenever you have a few minutes when you can read.
Whatever your taste in Cozies, we hope that you will enjoy these stories, and I do not hesitate to say that there's something here for everyone...
100% of book sale proceeds go to the non-profit RAICEStexas.org who help children living in dreadful conditions.