May is Short Story Month!

by Paula Gail Benson

Thanks to my friend, phenomenal author Art Taylor (Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Macavity award winner for short fiction and winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel for On the Road with Del & Louise: A Novel in Stories—check out his website at: http://www.arttaylorwriter.com/), I learned that May is Short Story Month. It’s a tradition that started in 2013. You can read about it at http://shortstorymonth.com/ and participate with your own contributions at http://storyaday.org/, which encourages people to complete a story each day during the months of May and September and provides writing prompts and featured guests (like Neil Gaiman) as inspiration.

Art has been celebrating this year by featuring a different story each day on his Facebook page, including one by his very talented wife Tara Laskowski (read about her terrific short story collection Bystanders at http://taralaskowski.com/). Tara is the editor of http://www.smokelong.com/, the online literary magazine devoted to flash fiction.

I began thinking about the mystery short story writers who have inspired me. I credit Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Alan Poe for luring me into the genre, but a number of current authors keep me reading and teach me the true artistry of the short story craft. Here’s a list (beginning with Art and Tara and in alphabetical order below) of a few that you may want to add to your TBR stack, if you haven’t already discovered them.

John Floyd (http://www.johnmfloyd.com/), a former Air Force captain and IBM engineer, has written more than 1,000 stories that have appeared in the Strand Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Woman's World, The Saturday Evening Post, Mississippi Noir, and The Best American Mystery Stories 2015. In addition to receiving three Derringer awards, he has been nominated for an Edgar and three times nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He blogs at http://www.sleuthsayers.org/. His books are: Rainbow's End (2006), Midnight (2008), Clockwork (2010), Deception (2013), Fifty Mysteries (2014), and Dreamland (2016).

Kaye George (http://kayegeorge.wixsite.com/kaye-george), while writing four series of mystery novels, continues to produce quality short fiction. Recently, she took on the job as editor for Day of the Dark, an anthology to be published by Wildside Press on July 21 that contains 24 stories about eclipse, to commemorate the one that will take place in August. I met Kaye as a member of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She served as treasurer, then President of the online chapter, and throughout her membership has been a consistent contributor and commenter to the short story critique group. Her insightful advice has helped many of us to improve our work.

Barb Goffman (http://barbgoffman.com/) has been nominated numerous times for the Agatha, Anthony, Derriger, and Macavity awards. She has won the Agatha and Macavity and her Don't Get Mad, Get Even won the Silver Falchion for best single-author mystery-short-story collection published in 2013. She blogs at http://www.sleuthsayers.org/ and is an accomplished editor.

Debra Goldstein (http://www.debrahgoldstein.com/), my blogging partner here at The Stiletto Gang, is an active member of the Guppy Chapter short story critique group. Recently, her "The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie's Place" appeared in the May/June 2017 edition of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Check out her mention on the cover at: https://www.themysteryplace.com/ahmm/.

Robert Mangeot (http://robertmangeot.com/) calls himself a  “Turner of Phrase, Counter of Beans, Crafter of Sandwiches” on his website.  His fine stories have been published in the MWA anthology Ice Cold and the Bouchercon anthology Murder Under the Oaks. He is a frequent contributor to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

Edith Maxwell (https://edithmaxwell.com/) has the distinction of having her short story and novel both featuring her Quaker midwife protagonist nominated for the best short story and best historical novel at this year’s Malice Domestic Agatha awards. In addition to writing four mystery series and blogging with the Wicked Cozy Authors, she continues to produce quality short fiction.

Terrie Farley Moran (http://terriefarleymoran.com/) won the Agatha Award Best First Novel winner, Well Read, Then Dead, the debut of her Read ‘Em and Eat series. Currently, her “Inquiry and Assistance,” a Depression era story published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, is a nominee for a Derringer award as best novelette. A copy of the nominated story may be accessed at: http://terriefarleymoran.com/short-stories/.

B.K. “Bonnie” Stevens (http://www.bkstevensmysteries.com/) has become a beloved friend and confidant. I first met her when I contacted her to tell her how much I loved reading “Thea’s First Husband” (now included in Wildside Press’ Her Infinite Variety: Tales of Women and Crime). In addition to her novel, Interpretation of Murder, a traditional whodunit, and her YA martial arts mystery Fighting Chance, Bonnie has written over fifty short stories, most published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. She won a Derringer and has been nominated for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. In addition to blogging at http://www.sleuthsayers.org/, her own blog features authors describing the first two pages of their work, both novels and short stories. Check it out at:

http://www.bkstevensmysteries.com/category/the-first-two-pages/

Please indulge and celebrate May as Short Story month by taking time to enjoy these wonderful authors’ stories. Then, why not write one or two of your own?

The Facebook Post is BS - I Want a Mother's Day Gift!

The Facebook Post is BS – I Want a Mother’s Day Gift! by Debra H. Goldstein

Dear Mom,

On Facebook this week, the unknown writer cut and paste post tied to Mother’s Day is:

Every year my children ask me the same question. After thinking about it, I decided I'd give them my real answer:
What do I want for Mother's Day? I want you. I want you to keep coming around, I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell me about your job, your worries. I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me. I don’t care. Hearing you laugh is music to me.

I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work.

Raid my refrigerator, help yourself, I really don’t mind. In fact, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family. I have the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Mother’s Day, I say “nothing” because you’ve already been giving me my gift all year. I want you.

I think the posters have it wrong. I want a gift. I’d like the opportunity to spend another day with you. A day when we talk for more than a few moments. A day when I ask you about you instead of ranting about my life or getting annoyed because I’d rather be doing something for work or with my family rather than making my daily telephone call to you. A day when we go to lunch or take a drive or laugh at a joke.

Thank goodness you were with us for Jen’s wedding, but I’m so sorry you missed Beth’s. It was special, too. You’d be thrilled at how your grandchildren and great-grandchildren are doing and you’d be patiently listening, and silently praying, over the antics of your playboy grandson.

So, I want a real gift this Mother’s Day. Memories aren’t the same.

                                                                    Love,

                                             Debbie                                                 

A Poem for Mother's Day

by Linda Rodriguez

Paffi Flood was unable to post today, so Linda Rodriguez is substituting for her.

As we approach Mother's Day, the airwaves are filled with commercials for gifts for mothers and suggestions for special ways to "spoil Mom" and celebrate this May holiday. You can't escape them. So, this poem is for all those who, like me, have lost their mothers and find the day's celebrations bittersweet. 

CONVERSATION WITH MY MOTHER’S PICTURE

You and Dad were entirely happy here—

you in purple miniskirt, white vest and tights

(you always wore what was already too young

for me), Dad in purple striped pants,

a Kansas State newsboy’s cap

made for a bigger man’s head.

You both held Wildcat flags and megaphones

to cheer the football team who,

like the rest of the college, despised you

middle-aged townies, arranging for their penicillin

and pregnancy tests and selling them

cameras and stereos at deep discount.

But you were happy

in this picture, before they found

oat-cells in your lungs.

After the verdict, he took you to Disneyland,

this man who married you and your five children

when I was fifteen. He took you cross-country

to visit your family, unseen

since your messy divorce.

He took you to St. Louis

and Six Flags Over Texas and to Topeka

for radiation treatments.

I don’t think he ever believed

you could die. Now he’s going

the same way. And none of us

live in that Wildcat town with the man

who earned his “Dad” the hard way

from suspicious kids and nursed

your last days. For me, this new dying

brings back yours, leaving me only this image

of you both cheering for lucky winners.

Published in Heart's Migration (Tia Chucha Press, 2009)

The Fairy Tale Ending

by Bethany Maines

I have a co-project coming up revolving around sci-fi fairy tales. I think this is a great idea.  Unfortunately, I'm having a hard time finding the right fairy tale or even pieces of a fairy tale I want to use.  So I sat down with a compendium of Hans Christian Anderson and gave it a flip through to see if it would spark anything.  It did. 

Rage.

From the obtuse, dense writing that wandered around with no particular plot and introduced characters that were totally pointless, to the fact that half of the stories either revolve around cutting bits of a girl off or expounding on how the suffering of these peope was deserved because they weren't Christian enough, the whole thing made me want to throw the book against the wall. 

And even in the stories where the girl wins out and doesn't end up dismembered the author seems to go out of his way to note that she's a bit selfish and not overly bright.  All of which ended in my poor husband having to listen to a rant about the Princess and the Pea, Victorians and how Republicans seem to think ovaries are a pre-existing condition.  That last one may not have been entirely related, but it wasn't that far removed.  Kissing cousins at the very minimum.

Anyway, I'm not sure what my sci-fi fairy tale will be, but I think it will involve blood. Blood of the sanctimonious spilled in copious ways. Hans Christian Anderson has sealed your fate fairy tale characters.  Your time is coming.

***

Bethany Maines is the author of the Carrie Mae Mysteries, Wild Waters, Tales from the City of Destiny and An Unseen Current.  You can also view the Carrie Mae youtube video or catch up with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Obamacare, Trumpcare, Personal Care

By AB Plum

Ignorance is bliss.

Too many facts confuse us.

Time changes everything.

Sometimes, we know more than is good for us.

Life is a mystery; we can’t know everything.

Waiting and patience are virtues.

Lately, these platitudes and clichés have claimed too much prime real estate in my brain. And, I know why. (The Obamacare/Trumpcare debate plus some reflections about personal health care have made an impact).

My husband and I spent a lot of time over the past six months poring over different medical opinions before we and his docs detected a pattern:  Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus. (NPH). 

We then had to weigh treatment options (Do nothing.  Start with a spinal tap. Go for brain surgery. Wait and see; come back in three months). Next, what were the risks of the brain surgery? What was the best-case outcome? When would we see improvement? How painful was the procedure? What kind of recovery might we expect?

So we made the go-with-surgery decision—with a high degree of optimism—in December. The procedure, scheduled for February 6, was postponed. Time—and a very nasty and persistent sinus infection changed those best-laid plans. Patience became stretched. Waiting involved weekly lab tests and several x-rays to satisfy two doctors that the infection had responded to treatment. March 7, my husband went into OR asking “enough questions so I can do this myself the next time.”

Recovery brought its own challenges, and sometimes we longed for ignorance. But now, we are grateful for his ability to walk normally again. The hard part, as the cliché goes, is behind us. 

Now, we are trying to share the best of our experience with a long-time friend. Her husband has just been diagnosed with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP). Wow! Is that a mouthful.

Like us with NPH, she’d never heard of ITP. The mountain of info is overwhelming. The possibility that the cause may not be found for his extremely low red platelet count is scary. The need to wait and see, to sit by a hospital bed patiently waiting for one more test result is exhausting. Googling every vaguely related keyword is tempting, but too often results in being confused by too many contradictions and not enough hard evidence. Going home without a definitive cause for the drop in red blood cells carries both relief and anxiety.

My husband and I had to wait almost a week to say with certainty that his surgery achieved our goal of normal walking. Our friends may have to wait much longer to see if this 5-day stay in the hospital is a one-time occurrence or the first of many stays.

In their case, the cliché, time will tell, keeps popping up. Right now, I’m offering a different heartfelt cliché: Be grateful for every moment and get back to your normal life as quickly—and safely—as possible.

************

AB Plum lives and writes in Silicon Valley, where amazing innovations in medical practice and technology meet.

How Long is a Chapter?

A writer on one of the loops I follow recently asked how long a chapter in a mystery should be.

It was a topic that generated a surprising amount of discussion.

Someone cited James Patterson and his two page chapters. Another writer cited PD James, who has long chapters. Still another writer said she wrote until the chapter was done.

For me, it’s a math equation. If I want to write a book that’s 75,000 words long, I need 25 chapters that are 3,000 words long or 30 chapters with 2,500 words. My math teachers, if they’re reading this, are smirking (math—not my strong suit) – after claiming I’d never use math (loudly, repeatedly), her I am.

As important as those simple equations for length is content. A chapter should advance the plot, reveal character, and, in a mystery, offer a clue. A chapter should have an arc just like a novel.

The first chapter of my upcoming release begins with the lines:

There were Mondays—burnt toast, no cream for the coffee, a body in the swimming pool—and there were Mondays.

            This was one of those Mondays.

            The morning began auspiciously enough—golden toast, plenty of cream, no bodies—but it went sideways quickly.

With a few lines, the reader knows poor Ellison is going to find another body. Soon.

At the halfway mark:

            Khaki lay on the Henry’s heinous carpet and stared at the ceiling.

            Well, not stared. She wasn’t actually looking at anything. Not with a bullet hole between her eyes.

Ellison’s problem has arrived. And how. She’ll spend the rest of the chapter dealing with the fall-out. Right up until then end.

            “Mrs. Russell is fine, but there’s been a murder.”

            “What?” Hunter’s bark positively boomed from the phone. “Who?”

            “Mrs. White in the study with a revolver.”

I am of the opinion that chapters should end with hooks. Hooks so strong the reader must turn the page. This is not the strongest of hooks but I simply couldn’t pass up the chance for the Clue reference.

I rinse and repeat (or multiply) until the book’s as long as it should be.

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders. 

She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean--and she's got an active imagination. Truth is--she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Her latest book, Watching the Detectives, releases on May 23rd from Henery Press.

Getting a Life

by Linda Rodriguez

Yesterday I just crashed. I slept late. I couldn’t get myself moving on anything I had to do, not this blog post or another guest blog that’s due, not my usual stint on the WIP, not any of the several business emails I needed to take care of, not trying to clear some of the clutter and mess that have collected in my house as I’ve launched and promoted two books while writing yet another, taking care of a slew of freelance commitments, and preparing and teaching several workshops. Usually I rise early, take a deep breath, gird my loins for the day’s battle with the endless to-do list, and kick into overdrive, but yesterday I couldn’t muster the energy or the will to do much of anything productive. This is not like me.

While driving with my husband past Kansas City’s Plaza, which is a premier pedestrian shopping mall/outdoor art gallery full of fountains, intricate and colorful Spanish tiles, ornate buildings, and beautiful sculptures, I reminisced sadly about the good times we used to have walking the Plaza and sitting on one of the many benches to watch the parade of people. I reminded my husband of the fun we had taking picnic lunches to some of Kansas City’s many great parks to enjoy after a refreshing walk. I waxed nostalgic over the weekend day trips we used to make to explore lovely small towns all around the Kansas City area—I’ve given many of their best features to my fictional town in my Skeet Bannion series of novels. The strange thing is that, though we don’t do any of those things any longer due to lack of time, we used to do them when I had an ultra-demanding, 60-70-hour per week university job. Now that I’m a full-time writer, however, I have no time to enjoy leisure activities with my husband or any of the other things I used to do to make a real life—cooking, fiberart, gardening, going to Shakespeare or concerts in the park, lunches with friends, etc.

How did this terrible imbalance in my life occur? Isn’t one of the joys of being a full-time writer supposed to be the flexibility of time that allows you to lead a fuller, richer life? How did I manage with that old job and all its hours and responsibilities to weave in time for recreation and fun, time with family and friends, time to feed the creative well inside me, yet now I can hardly find time to even wash dishes or do laundry, the minimal tasks required to keep us from sinking into total chaos?

If I were just writing my books, I would have time to enjoy some of these activities still, but I have to promote those books in an effort to constantly increase sales. Publishers are dumping, left and right, amazing writers who have received impressive reviews and award nominations because their sales are just not spectacular enough. So I have to work harder to try to get the word out about my books and persuade new people to try them. The writing and publishing (with its line edits, copy edits, and page proofs) when combined with the promotion and marketing (with its touring, social media, conferences, and events) are two full-time jobs. Since my writing career is still not earning enough to support me, I must take on freelance writing/editing/evaluating/judging/teaching contracts, yet another full-time job. It’s no wonder I’m so tired!

I’m hardly the only writer in this predicament. Writers who are far more successful and have been doing this for far longer than I have are facing the same dilemma. The Sisters in Crime listserv periodically rings with the cries of authors who have run out of steam trying to do all of this. Some are even seriously thinking of giving up writing, which they love, because they just don’t think they can do all of it any longer.

As a country, we are moving more and more to a freelance or independent contractor environment, where we don’t have paid vacation and sick days and where we can find ourselves working all the time—or feeling as if we ought to be. How do we make a go of this kind of career and still have any kind of life outside of work?

I’m the first to admit I don’t have the answers to that question. I will be spending my next few days trying to find some, however. How we spend our time is our actual life, even if we think we’re just doing it until we bring in enough money or reach a certain level of success. I intend to find a way to bring those elements of a real, lived life back into mine. Can I do it without shortchanging the efforts I need to put into my writing and promotion of my work to create a successful career? I’ll have to find a way.

How do you manage that career-personal life balance that can be so difficult to get right?

Linda Rodriguez's Plotting the Character-Driven Novel, based on her popular workshop, and The World Is One Place: Native American Poets Visit the Middle East, an anthology she co-edited, are her newest books. Every Family Doubt, her fourth mystery novel featuring Cherokee campus police chief, Skeet Bannion, will appear in autumn, 2017. Her three earlier Skeet novels—Every Hidden Fear, Every Broken Trust, and Every Last Secret—and her books of poetry—Skin Hunger and Heart's Migration—have received critical recognition and awards, such as St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic Best First Novel, International Latino Book Award, Latina Book Club Best Book of 2014, Midwest Voices & Visions, Elvira Cordero Cisneros Award, Thorpe Menn Award, and Ragdale and Macondo fellowships. Her short story, “The Good Neighbor,” published in the anthology, Kansas City Noir, has been optioned for

film.

Rodriguez is past chair of the AWP Indigenous Writer’s Caucus, past president of Border Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime, founding board member of Latino Writers Collective and The Writers Place, and a member of International Thriller Writers, Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers and Storytellers, and Kansas City Cherokee Community. Visit her at http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com

Mesmerized by British TV

by Sparkle Abbey

Since we read and write cozy mysteries, there was a high probability that we’d also like 
British mystery shows. We do. And not just the mysteries, but also the cooking, drama, and comedy shows. In fact, British TV has been popular for a while—well before the smash hit Downton Abbey. Did you know American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Wife Swap, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? were based on hit British shows?  Obviously, we’re not the only ones who like British TV. 



Since the arrival of Netflix, Acorn TV, Amazon Prime, and Hulu, there are more and more opportunities to stumble over shows that are just the bee’s knees! 

Why are we so drawn to them? It’s pretty simple: British TV is heavily character driven. The characters quirky, eccentric and still vulnerable, have a dry wit, are sarcastic, and some aren’t even likable. These are flawed, non-cookie-cutter characters who find themselves in extreme situations, whether drama or comedy, yet feel so realistic you find yourself rooting for them to get their act together and succeed. Plus there’s the fun English accent. 

Of courses there’s the food. Most of the time we have no idea what the Brits are eating unless it’s a delicious pastryIn . Crumpets, scones, buns, tea cake sandwiches, biscuits. Our stomachs are growling just writing this blog!

We’ve definitely binged on our share of British TV. What happens when you watch too much? Well, you start using words like lovely, bollocks, bugger, nutter, daft, gobsmacked, tosser, dodgy, and cheers. You crave scones, fish and chips, Victoria sponge, shepherd’s pie, and pasties. You take drinking tea seriously, even going so far as to buy a lovely porcelain pot and loose leaf tea, and begin to hone the perfect cuppa tea (that would be pouring boiling water over the tea in the pot, let it steep for 2-5 minutes, remove the tea, adding a splash of milk and then sugar.) And sometimes, you accidentally-on-purpose slip into a really great American version of an English accent.

Here are a “few” of the shows we’ve enjoyed over the years:

The British TV Place

Midsomer Murders
Death in Paradise
Father Brown
Poirot
Murdoch Mysteries Movies
Sherlock
Downton Abbey
The Crown
Very British Problems
Call the Midwife
Broadchurch
Happy Valley
Doc Martin
Vera
Doctor Who
The Great British Baking Show (all versions)

What about you, luv? Did we miss your favorite? If so, let us know. We’re always open to recommendations.

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets--Sparkle (Mary Lee's cat) and Abbey (Anita's dog). If you want to make sure you're up on all the Sparkle Abbey news, stop by their website and sign up for updates at sparkleabbey.com.

photo credit: adactio Tea and scones via photopin (license)