SMFS Facebook Group

We've created the SMFS Facebook Group for our members on Facebook. Please read this FAQ before you join or post on the new group:

• The Facebook group membership is totally separate from Shortmystery. You must join in order to post, and you must have a Facebook profile to join. To join the group, just go to the group and click the Join Group button. You don’t have to join, but it can be a fun way to connect with other short mystery enthusiasts. Feel free to view the newsfeed for a few days before joining.
• When you join the group, anyone can see what you post to it, and they can see that you are a member. If you have privacy concerns, please read this topic and then feel free to ask me any questions you may still have. Please know that we discussed the three different privacy settings and decided that public was the best option in order to reach the greatest number of people.
• The Facebook group is in essence promoting short mystery fiction in general and SMFS in particular. We’ll attract new SMFS members by keeping the conversations interesting, friendly, and supportive. Please keep that in mind when posting to the Facebook group. Discussions of SMFS business or relentless self-promotion tend to drive people away.
• We suggest one post when you make a sale or acquisition and one post when your short story is published—and of course any news such as awards, praise, etc. Remember that in social media, people who only post about their own work are typically not as successful as those who share fun facts or images, comment on others’ work, and in general share instead of self-promote.
• Feel free to like the group, link to it from other online locations, and invite people to join.

2016-18 Candidate for Vice President - Larry Chavis

As VP, I plan to offer whatever assistance I can to the president and Derringer coordinator, as needed.

I'd like to see us as a group come to some resolution of the self-published story issue. A number of good ideas have been mentioned in the last several days, and I'd like to see us explore them, and others, and cone up with a practical process.

I'd like to see the Society to continue to explore ways of promoting the short fiction form. Strides have been made toward that, and I, for one, will try to do more to get SMFS and its goals before the public.

At bottom, I see this position as one of service, to the Society and to the other officers. I will try to be of service.

Larry Chavis

2016-18 Society Officers

Following the May 15–30 nomination period, these members ran unopposed for office:

FOR PRESIDENT (2-year term):

• Kevin R. Tipple

FOR VICE PRESIDENT (2-year term):

• Larry Chavis

FOR DERRINGER AWARDS COORDINATOR (1-year term):

• Dan Persinger

May 31–June 4, the candidates' campaign statements to Shortmystery will be copied here on the blog.

UPDATE: On June 1, President Jan Christensen's motion to elect the unopposed candidates by acclamation was passed by second from member Gerald So. Welcome the SMFS Officials-Elect.

Short Story Month: Warren Bull, Paul D. Marks

In 2013, StoryADay.org proclaimed May International Short Story Month.

The SMFS spin on festivities is to highlight one or more members' online stories per day. Today, "Company Policy" by Warren Bull, archived at Yellow Mama, and "Nature of the Beast" by Paul D. Marks, archived at BEAT to a PULP.

Thanks to all our members who contributed links. We hope to have made new fans of crime & mystery short stories.

Here's the full month's collection of fifty stories:

• John M. Floyd, "Saving Grace"
• Jeff Esterholm, "Closing Time at Mom's"
• Jacqueline Seewald, "The Heir Hunt"
• Michael Bracken, "Let Dead Dogs Lie"
• Sarah M. Chen, "The High Road"
• Mary Reed, "Of Equivalent Experience"
• Susan Oleksiw, "A Short Walk to Stardom"
• Paul Lees-Haley, "Flash Bang"
• Jan Christensen, "Who's Who"
• Gail Farrelly, "Revenge of the Cellphone"
• Jennifer Soosar, "The Psychic's Parlor"
• Erik Arneson, "Not My Gun"
• Benjamin L. Clark, "A Drover's Birthday"
• Anita Page, "Revelations of the Night"
• Kaye George, "This Isn't the Way"
• B.J. Bourg, "Severed Relationship"
• Jack Bates, "Worry a Line"
• J.R. Lindermuth, "A Man in a Hurry"
• Kathy Waller, "And Justice for All"
• Kevin R. Tipple, "The Tell"
• O'Neil De Noux, "Friscoville"
• Cynthia St-Pierre, "Hide and Seek for Grown-ups"
• Nina Mansfield, "Summer Reading"
• Karen L. Abrahamson, "Neutrality"
• Leslie Wheeler, "Gone, But Not Forgotten"
• B.V. Lawson, "Gun Love"
• Lida Bushloper, "Born on the 4th of July"
• Josh Pachter, "Jemaa el Fna"
• Travis Richardson, "A Bro Code Violation"
• Edith Maxwell, "A Questionable Death"
• Nancy Brewka-Clark, "Butt"
• Alan Orloff, "Seeing the Light"
• Barb Goffman, "A Year Without Santa Claus"
• Su Kopil, "The Surprise"
• Art Taylor, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"
• James S. Dorr, "The Winning"
• Mark Best, "The Safest Place on Earth"
• Terrie Farley Moran, "A Killing at the Beausoleil"
• Barry Ergang, "All in the Holster"
• Stephen Buehler, "John's Spot"
• Nikki Dolson, "George Ann"
• Michael Bracken, "To Live and Die in Texas"
• Kevin R. Tipple, "Burning Questions"
• Paul Lees-Haley, "The Good Wife"
• Bobbi A. Chukran, "The Interview"
• Debra H. Goldstein, "Violet Eyes"
• B.V. Lawson, "Wrong Side of the Bed"
• Craig Faustus Buck, "Heavy Debt"
• Warren Bull, "Company Policy"
• Paul D. Marks, "Nature of the Beast"

Short Story Month: "Heavy Debt" by Craig Faustus Buck

In 2013, StoryADay.org proclaimed May International Short Story Month.

The SMFS spin on festivities is to highlight one or more members' online stories per day. Today, 2016 Best Flash Derringer finalist "Heavy Debt" by Craig Faustus Buck, archived at Akashic Books' Mondays are Murder.

If you'd like to be included, email the link to your story to G_SO at YAHOO dot COM.

The Society Celebrating 20 Years: J.R. Lindermuth

In the first week of April 1996, the members of shortmystery-l-digest voted to become the Short Mystery Fiction Society, with goals of better representing mystery & crime short stories in the public eye.


In honor of the Society's establishment and our twenty years increasing publication and regard for the form, President Jan Christensen has invited members' reflections on joining the Society and why they've remained members and fans of the form.

From J.R. Lindermuth:

Writing can be a lonely business. Unless you're fortunate enough to live in an area where there are writers groups or have the means to attend conferences, you seldom have opportunity to discuss the process with others who will understand what you're talking about.

Joining the Short Mystery Fiction Society shortly after stumbling upon it online was one of the best decisions I made to help my writing career. One of the key advantages of belonging to an organization like SMFS is you have access to the advice and experience of peers from around the world.

And, if your preference is writing short stories, this is one of the few organizations devoted primarily to that type of writing. Beginners as well as polished professionals share advice, support and (an increasingly valuable feature these days as the number of them dwindle) marketing news.

And then there's the opportunity to submit your work in hope of winning one of the prestigious Derringer awards. Unlike with many other competitions, there's no entry fee.

Being somewhat of an introvert as many of us are, for a long period I lurked rather than participated in the discussions. Gradually, noting the friendliness and sincere desire to be helpful of the participants, that inhibition wore off.

Sometimes our discussions go off on tangents and members don't always agree, but that can be a beneficial learning experience, too.

Active participation led to my nomination and election as vice president and I felt it a real honor to be able to assist Jan Christensen, president, and other officials in making decisions vital to the future of the organization. Unfortunately, illness impeded my desire to do as much as I would have liked during my term. I would recommend any writer--especially those who love short stories--to join. You won't regret it.


J. R. Lindermuth, outgoing vice president of SMFS, has published 14 novels, including six in his Sticks Hetrick mystery series. His articles and short stories appear regularly in a variety of magazines. See his website: http://www.jrlindermuth.net

Short Story Month: "Wrong Side of the Bed" by B.V. Lawson

In 2013, StoryADay.org proclaimed May International Short Story Month.

The SMFS spin on festivities is to highlight one or more members' online stories per day. Today, "Wrong Side of the Bed" by B.V. Lawson, archived at The Cynic.

If you'd like to be included, email the link to your story to G_SO at YAHOO dot COM.