SMFS Members Published in Mirrors Reflecting Shadows

SMFS list members have short stories in the anthology, Mirrors Reflecting Shadows, released last week by Anxiety Press, Outcast Press, and Roi Fainéant Press. The charity anthology is available in digital and print formats at Amazon and other vendors.  The SMFS list members with short stories are:

 

Shari Held with "Lizards and Other Varmints.”

 

Bev Vincent with "Freya Goes Viral."

 

Amazon Description:

Anxiety Press, Outcast Press, and Roi Fainéant Press have teamed up to curate an anthology with proceeds going towards The Trevor Project. For 20+ years, The Trevor Project has worked tirelessly on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, who are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019, 2020).

This collection of 34 stories is as diverse as the community it supports. Comprised of personal essays, supernatural fiction, fairy tales, romance, noir, and dirty realism to name a few, Mirrors Reflecting Shadows shows MCs searching for acceptance in worlds sometimes fantastical but always relatable in its alienation, murky morals, grime and splendor.

Characters include ghosts and gods, contract killers and CPS investigators, card counters and coke dealers, palace gaurds and hen wranglers, suicidal sons and conflicted parents, priests and thieves, wizards and roadies--and that's just a flash of what resides in this pivitol looking glass.

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1. The Brief Reflection of a 46-Year-Old Queer, Thus Far by Jarrod Campbell

2. The Reaper by Sadee Bee

3. Lady in Waiting by Friedrich Sarah E. Thompson

4. Things That Might Happen On The Way There by D.W. White

5. A Dream Beyond Sorrow by Sebastian Vice

6. Champagne Moment Blown to Shit by Nathan Pettigrew

7. Unfound by Steve Passey

8. And I Shall Send Down My Vengeance Upon Thee by Jay Parr

9. The Hen Butts Out Her Cig and Says, "All Over Now" by Karen Walker

10. The Music Inside by BF Jones

11. Ate by Max Turner

12. It All Ends With A Bang by Astra Crompton

13. Ugly Missy by Andrew Rucker Jones

14. The Attic by C.N. Martin

15. Drawing Out Leviathan by Daniel David Froid

16. Like Baked Alaska by Francesca Leader

17. Freya Goes Viral by Bev Vincent

18. The Barking in Room Seventeen by Barlow Adams

19. Out Of Spark by Justin Lee

20. Lizards and Other Varmints by Shari Held

21. The Something-Whimsical of Firstname Lastname by Claire Humphrey

22. Jack the Greek by Avra Margariti

23. Deep and Dark by Kevin M. Folliard

24. If You Put It On by Die Booth

25. After You by Sophie Kearing

26. On Being Born Again by M.C. Schmidt

27. Vivien’s Heir by Alicia K. Anderson

28. EARLY RISER by David Lee Zweifler

29. I Remember Jenny Stax by Scott Laudati

30. Transfer, Emphasis On Trans by Jennifer Lee Rossman

31. Summoning Sin by Lauren Theresa

32. Anne of the In-Between by Joshuwawa Maza

33. Snow on Miami Beach by Paige Johnson

34. Out of the Earth by Cody Sexton

SMFS Member Publishing News: Psalms of The Street Sweeper by Fred Shrum III

SMFS list member Fred Shrum III’s book, Psalms of The Street Sweeper, was released last month by Open Source Publishing. Published in digital and print formats, the read is available at Amazon, Bookshop.Org, and other vendors.

 

Bookshop.Org Description

From the alleyways of Ybor City to the last train home on the Washington Metro comes a collection of poems from the scarred yet unrelenting heart. Fred explores themes of noir, addiction, mental health and broken lives through the lens of redemption. When you hit rock bottom the only way out is up. Spit blood, raise your fists and come out fighting.

SMFS Members Published in Mystery Magazine: August 2023

 

SMFS list members are published in the Mystery Magazine: August 2023 issue. The read is available in print and digital formats from Amazon. The SMFS list members that reported their presence in the issue are:

 

John M. Floyd with the solution to his “You-Solve-It” tale from last month, "Quick Stop."

 

David Krugler with "Every Fire Wants to Kill."

 

William Burton McCormick with "Quelle Horreur!"

 

Amazon Description:

At the cutting edge of crime fiction, Mystery Magazine presents original short stories by the world’s best-known and emerging mystery writers.

The stories we feature in our monthly issues span every imaginable subgenre, including cozy, police procedural, noir, whodunit, supernatural, hardboiled, humor, and historical mysteries. Evocative writing and a compelling story are the only certainty.

Get ready to be surprised, challenged, and entertained--whether you enjoy the style of the Golden Age of mystery (e.g., Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle), the glorious pulp digests of the early twentieth century (e.g., Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler), or contemporary masters of mystery.

 

★ In this issue ★

In our cover feature, “Down To The Bear Bone” by C. L. Cobb, stories of loyalty are nothing new. But it's still frightening what a mother will do.

In “Every Fire Wants To Kill” by David Krugler, an arsonist-for-hire is burning down vacant homes in a 1970s Chicago slum for a crooked landlord, who pockets insurance checks. The landlord’s assistant, exposes the scheme to the fire department. But is he really trying to stop the fire?

“Quelle Horreur!” by William Burton Mccormick: When Dubois can find no other free room on a stormy night in Odessa, he must lodge at a shadowed rooming house where few last the night.

“Letter To The Archivist” by Arendse Lund: A letter arrives for the Archivist, espousing the virtues of the incredible collection in intricate and alarmingly intimate detail.

“Murder Over Easy” by Ewan A. Dougall is a noir story investigating a murder scene as two partners become increasingly suspicious of one another.

“A Diagnosis At Dinner” by Barton Paul Levenson: One of three men at a dinner at Winston Churchill's wartime retreat is a Nazi spy. But which one?

“The Containment Spell” by Pablo Patiño is a ghost story with a spell-binding twist.

“Cousin Ronald And The Dead Man” by Ryan Micheal Hines: A bootlegger in 1940s Appalachia runs moonshine to support his young orphan cousin, but the appearance of a strange and dangerous criminal known as the Dead Man threatens to destroy everything and unearth an old secret.

“A Deceased In The Dumpster” by Linda Norlander: Greta of Greta's Green Clean is asked to investigate after a body is found in the dumpster of a trailer court.

“The Felonious Feline,” A You-Solve-It, by John H. Dromey: Is a cat living one of its nine lives as a criminal? Or is the feline perhaps an unwitting accomplice in a caper that includes a home invasion

Custom Cover Art By Robin Grenville Evans

SMFS Member Publishing News: The Wizard Behind the Curtain: A Diz & Dee Mystery Novella by Annie Reed

SMFS list member Annie Reed’s new book, The Wizard Behind the Curtain: A Diz & Dee Mystery Novella was released yesterday. Published by Thunder Valley Ink in digital format, the fantasy read is available at Amazon and other vendors.

 

Amazon Description:

Diz and Dee, our favorite private investigators, are back in their longest—and wildest—adventure yet!

Dee should know better. Whenever her mom asks for a simple little favor, like tracking down who trashed her craft store and stole her yarn, things inevitably get weird. Of course, when you’re an otherwise unremarkable human with an unreliable touch of precognition, a dog who only sometimes looks like a Golden Retriever, and a long-standing secret crush on your hunky but grumpy elf partner, you measure weird on a sliding scale.

But this one takes the cake!

In a tale that involves dragons in disguise, a pissed off goblin, an annoyed halfling, a remorseful troll, and—oh yeah—a being who calls itself Crimson Death, Diz and Dee find themselves in a battle to the death for not only the fate of Moretown Bay, but the entire world!

A must read for Diz and Dee fans everywhere, “The Wizard Behind the Curtain” weaves aspects from Annie’s other Moretown Bay stories into a compelling page-turner you won’t be able to put down. Available as a standalone ebook or part of the Uncollected Anthology’s Diversity of Dragons issue #31.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Lorna's Hangover by Abe Margel

SMFS list member Abe Margel’s short story, Lorna's Hangover, was published yesterday at Ariel Chart. You can read the flash fiction story online for free here.

SMFS Member Publishing News: Two Books by Shannon Hollinger

Today is publication day for The Girl Who Lied: Chief Maggie Riley Series 1 and Their Angel's Cry: Chief Maggie Riley Series 2 by Shannon Hollinger. Published by Bookouture, The Girl who Lied is currently available in audio and digital formats at Amazon and other vendors.  Their Angel’s Cry is available in audio, digital, and print formats at Amazon and other vendors. The third book in the series, The Shadow Girl: Chief Maggie Riley Series Book 3 is currently scheduled to be released on September 1^st.

 

Amazon Synopsis for The Girl Who Lied

Rain hammers the earth and a vicious wind rattles the trees. Then lightning strikes, the flash illuminating a young girl staggering out of the woods, her brown eyes wide with fright, a silent scream on her lips…

There’s a storm approaching the tiny Maine town of Coyote Cove when Chief Maggie Riley comes across the body of a man, blood seeping from stab wounds into the damp forest floor. As she desperately struggles to secure the evidence before the rain hits, Heather, a local teenage girl, emerges from the woods, shivering and unable to talk.

Maggie, once a high flying big-city detective, lost everything when her four-year-old brother went missing five years ago. Heart-broken, she’s never stopped searching for him: but now she is plunged back into the world she left behind.

The victim, Maggie discovers, knew secrets about everyone in isolated Coyote Cove. It seems there are more local suspects in this case than people she can rule out. And with Heather still traumatised, Maggie struggles to unravel her strange appearance at the crime scene. Until, following a faint, bloody trail deep into the forest, she’s horrified to unearth what the terrified girl’s been hiding…

But when Heather is kidnapped, the battle to identify the killer becomes a race to save an innocent girl’s life. And with the whole town terrified, Maggie is shocked to uncover that this twisted killer is much closer to home than she’d ever imagined. Battling her own demons and memories of her missing brother, how far will Maggie have to go to save Heather? Or will another innocent young life be lost forever...?

A totally addictive crime thriller packed with suspense. If you love Lisa Regan, Louise Penny and Melinda Leigh, you’ll love The Girl Who Lied.

 

Amazon Synopsis for Their Angel’s Cry.

The little dog trembles and whimpers, but refuses to move. Maggie reaches further into the undergrowth, trying to tempt it out. But as she moves closer, she sees something that stops her heart—a tiny, shivering baby, wrapped in a thin, pink blanket, saved only by its loyal protector.

There’s a ferocious storm heading toward the isolated town of Coyote Cove when Chief Maggie Riley gets the call every cop dreads. Three bodies have been found on Rattlesnake Mountain, half a day’s hike from civilization. And when Maggie finally reaches the site, exhausted and freezing, she discovers something even more terrifying—a tiny baby girl, kept alive only by the warmth of a small dog who refuses to leave her side.

As Maggie races the baby to safety, she wonders, why on earth the family risked hiking the mountain in this weather? Who were they and who could possibly have killed them?

A former detective, Maggie may be an experienced investigator, but she’s still an unwelcome newcomer. Battling town prejudice, her fears for the orphaned baby, and the increasingly dangerous weather, Maggie soon discovers the case is far more complicated than she could have imagined. The family is not who they seemed. The mother has never had a baby, there’s no link between them at all. So whose baby is it, and where are they now?

With Coyote Cove cut off by the storm, Maggie knows that wherever the killer is, they won’t be able to leave. Stuck in town with a murderer on the loose, Maggie must race to find them before anyone else gets hurt. But she hasn’t counted on the killer taking matters into their own hands, and going after Maggie first…

An utterly compelling and addictive crime thriller, perfect for fans of Melinda Leigh, D.K. Hood and Lisa Regan.

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.