11/23/2017 1 Comment Short Story Reviews: Thanksgiving ThemeShort fiction seems particularly suited to fun holiday themed stories. This week, I read about deadly pumpkin pie in the Kings River Life story Surviving the Feast: A Thanksgiving Mystery Short Story & Recipe by Joan Leotta (November 18 issue). You can read it free, while you're preparing the recipe, or fixing your own special desserts. I have a favorite pumpkin pie recipe. It comes on the back of every can of Libby's pumpkin, but I do add a secret ingredient to make it uniquely my own. We are hosting Thanksgiving on Friday instead of Thursday. Several friends and family will have the traditional feast the day before. Hopefully our gathering will focus more on conversation and board games than on food, but we are planning to have all the fixings. My family is full of health nuts, but we won't go so far as Tofurky. Not this year. Lessons learned. We're preparing an organic free range turkey. I find my food tastes better when it lived a happy life. Happy food comes from family ranches like Rafter W Ranch in Colorado. They didn't raise turkeys for sale this year, so we bought ours from the Natural Grocers health food store. Rafter W does raise chickens. I have enjoyed amazing roasted chicken from Rafter W Ranch. You have to try homegrown meat to believe how different it is from factory farm meat. Back to fiction. I am still reading my way through The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fifth Course of Chaos. Last week I talked about the first story in the anthology. This week I read The Capo-Clipped Capon Caper by Arthur Carey. Mediocre private detective Sam Spad is approached by two FBI agents. The turkey the President of the United States plans to pardon in the well-known annual ceremony has been snatched. The President can't miss this photo op, and so the FBI is keen to retrieve the bird. Their request seems unusual, but they seek out Sam due to a clue left by the perpetrators. Both of the Thanksgiving themed stories I read this week were light-hearted, fun reads. If you haven't had enough leftovers yet, or if like us, the feasting has only just begun, I recommend you check these out.
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11/16/2017 1 Comment Short Story Review: Three StoriesI wanted to round out the typical Thanksgiving festivities with themed reading, so I got an e-copy of The Killer Wore Cranberry - A Fifth Course of Chaos. The first story in the anthology, Chicken Little by Barbara Metzger, features Chuck, a private detective with Walter Mitty tendencies. He imagines himself as a hard-boiled detective. It appears from the start that he often gets things wrong, so will he be able to solve the mystery? (Language alert for my readers - there are a few f-bombs.) Each story in the anthology must include Thanksgiving and cranberries. I look forward to reading more as we approach the holiday. Susan Oleksiw - A Slight Deviation from the Mean - Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine November / December 2017 How does an expat American mathematician wind up a homeless nun in India? Oleksiw reveals part of Shanti's story, at least as it relates to a mystery in A Slight Deviation from the Mean. Anita Ray hires Shanti to clean rooms at her small Hotel Delite, against the wishes of her Auntie Meena. Shanti is a holy woman, and Meena thinks the housecleaning job would be demeaning for the woman. Quite the contrary. Shanti has been expelled by her guru. She is barely making her very modest ends meet. An interesting ethical dilemma is revealed after Shanti begins working for Anita. I was pleasantly surprised by the resolution of the story. Joseph D'Agnese - Her Father's Killer - Mystery Weekly Magazine November 2017 D'Agnese creates a compelling tale in the 2,000 word range. Setting, characters, and plot unfold at a rapid pace. Priscilla Mae Gregson has returned to her small home town for her father's funeral. When she sees his body, she suspects he was murdered, and sets out to enact revenge. I enjoyed reading three stories in three different venues. Each had a different tone and setting. That's the fun in reading short. You can sample a variety of writing styles and genres without making a novel-length commitment. 11/9/2017 2 Comments Short Story Review: AHMMThe current issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine is another I know I will read cover to cover. The short stories I've read so far have been entertaining and well-written. R. T. Lawton appears with Black Friday - number ten in the Holiday Burglars series, where mildly inept burglars attempt to commit larceny on major holidays. This time, they nearly receive a dose of their own medicine. Lawton has gathered previously published stories into e-book collections you can find here. You can read about the inspiration for a character in the tale here, at the SleuthSayers website. Last month's AHMM listed a short story, Night Flight to Bali by Jane K. Cleland, that used multiple points of view. This month's issue again flaunts the established short fiction conventions successfully. Damsels in Distress, by S. L. Franklin, tells the story of a missing person case from the point of view of the detective, his wife, the missing girl's roommate, and a couple other characters I won't mention because that will give away too much. The "damsels" are both the missing girl and her roommate. What unwinds is a dual-plot story that winds up in an entirely satisfactory ending. Happy reading! 11/7/2017 0 Comments Progress!Does anyone actually like Daylight Saving Time? Why is it we seem permanently stuck with this disruptive assault on those of us who struggle with the concept of time? It will take me days to adjust. And it cuts off the daylight where I need it most - after work. Despite my determination to simplify my life, I have been buried with projects and activities. Last week, the company I work for hosted a customer audit. We were attempting to acquire an important environmental certification. Things look hopeful, although there is more work to complete before we are fully approved. In the meantime, I received welcome news from the publisher of The Secrets of the Castleton Manor Library. My first entry in the multi-author series was enthusiastically approved. I now have a revision to complete, per the editor's comments. I am so happy to be a part of this very cozy mystery venture. These are sweet stories with lovable characters, and a mystery (often murder) to be solved. I'm also working on a short story. This has been slow going, but this morning I had bit of a breakthrough. The plot threads are coming together. Often, when creating a story, the author doesn't envision every element. At some point in the writing, connections are made, and the plot elevates from a point A to point B telling, into something deeper. I'm on a roll again with my fiction, and I don't want to take too much time away from writing, but I will be trying to post a short story review on Thursdays. I received the new AHMM in the mail, and purchased The Killer Wore Cranberry Thanksgiving-themed short fiction collection, so I have lots to read! I hope you are enjoying time this fall curled up with a cup of coffee or cocoa, and a good book. 11/2/2017 0 Comments Until Further NoticeI've encountered the perfect storm of busyness. Between deer hunting season, a big project at the day job, and dental work, I had to make a decision with the time I had left: blog or write fiction. I hope to return to reviewing short stories next week. Until then, I'll be using whatever "spare" time I can find to work on a new short story and two novel drafts. Happy NaNoWriMo to all the writers participating this year. I won't be joining you this time around, but my thoughts are with you as you create your 50,000 words. 10/26/2017 0 Comments Thoughts on MoviesInstead of reviewing a short story today, I'm sharing my thoughts on movie adaptations of fiction. As a mystery author, this is a bit of a confession. I had dental work done yesterday, and was in no state to do anything constructive. I checked out a dvd from the library. One of my first fictional loves was Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. I thought I had picked up the 2011 film version, but it is the 2006 BBC version. There is considerable mystery involved in Jane Eyre, although it is classified as gothic romance. Who is Grace Poole, and why does Mr. Rochester tolerate the gruff housekeeper? I enjoyed the 2006 adaptation more than the 2011 version. Central to my enjoyment of the movie was that both Jane and Mr. Rochester are supposed to be physically unappealing. Actor Toby Stevens was, in certain scenes, too handsome, but he mostly carried off his role by means of his accurate portrayal of Rochester's gruff, at times cruel, personality. Actor Ruth Wilson captured Jane well, showing the feisty person under the mousiness. Here's an evaluation and list of film adaptations, by Jessica Winter. 10/24/2017 0 Comments B. K. Stevens HonoredI wrote about author B. K. Stevens in previous posts. This wonderful writer passed away unexpectedly this year. Her short story The Last Blue Glass won the Anthony Award for Best Novella at the mystery fiction convention Bouchercon this month. I had met Bonnie, and enjoyed reading her excellent short stories. The Anthony was well-deserved. Below are links to The Last Blue Glass, and articles by Art Taylor about the award, and Bonnie's life and career. Bonnie talks about her winning story, and provides a link to read it: here. Art Taylor at the awards ceremony on the SleuthSayers blog: here. Art Taylor's tribute to Bonnie, and remembrances from friends and family: here. The Smuggler of Samarkand by Martin Limon, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine September / October 2017 I have enjoyed previous tales in this series of short stories by Martin Limon featuring Il-yong, a Korean-American private detective plying his trade in China. In this story, a Muslim Chinese mother named Iparhan seeks to reunite with her adult son. Released after 40 years in a Chinese prison, she is dying. Her fervent wish is to see her son one last time. Iparhan's son is a smuggler on the China-Kyrgystan border. Approaching him will be dangerous. Il-yong meets his guide, a tall woman named Fu Fei-fei, with hair like "a silky black river". They quote Mickey Spillane lines back and forth when they first meet. A dicey situation turns even worse when Il-yong tries to convince Iparhan's son to visit his mother before she dies. I don't want to give away too much, so you'll have to trust me - the story is thoroughly entertaining. For something outside the realm of short fiction, I attended a play with my two granddaughters, ages 12 and 16. Baskerville is a comedy take on Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. Both girls are active in school theater, and jump at any chance to see live theater. Baskerville opened with slapstick humor and belly laugh inducing wordplay. I wondered whether this frenetic pace could be sustained. With occasional lulls in the hilarity, the play carried through to its climactic ending. The Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs hosts this production through October 30. I finished my first Secrets of the Castleton Manor Library novel. I have been assigned two books in the 24 book series - number 14 and number 23. I just sent #14, tentatively titled A Whale Tale, to my agent. Now I anxiously await feedback from the editor. I am excited about this opportunity, which is a departure from my Rock Shop Mystery series, and the traditional publishing route that has been my journey to date. Typically, an author writes a book, then seeks publication. In this series, different authors are assigned books in the series. My name will be on the books I write. Each must have a literary theme, and use existing characters and setting. Another difference is that readers subscribe to a series, much as one subscribes to a magazine, receiving a new novel every month or so. Readers may subscribe to either hardcover or electronic versions. Have you ever been frustrated waiting for the next book in a favorite series, or been disappointed when a series ended abruptly, without completing the entire story? There is no danger of that happening with the various Annie's Attic series. Here's a little more about the Castleton Manor series, from the publisher's website: Faith is happy to close the book on her hectic life in Boston -- unscrupulous boyfriend included -- and enjoy a fresh, peaceful start in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts. The opportunity to work in the grand library at Castleton Manor, the luxury resort that caters to booklovers and encourages guests to unwind with their beloved pets, is a dream come true! Even better, the new job brings Faith closer to her family, offers free lodging in the charming on-site gardener's cottage, and her cherished rescue cat, Watson, is welcome everywhere Faith is. Just as Faith and Watson settle into their soothing, sophisticated seaside surroundings, a rough tide of horrific events rolls in, leaving a series of lies, deceit and murder in its wake! Caught in the middle of this whirlwind, Faith is shocked to learn she is the main suspect in a murder investigation. Will she be able to clear her name before the true culprit succeeds at keeping her quiet at all costs? Find out how the story unfolds when you send for your copy of A Novel Murder! My Castleton Manor novel has the literary theme of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Faith's cat becomes obsessed with finding a whale, which throws him into the middle of a murder mystery. In other writing project news, I have plans for a fourth Rock Shop Mystery, more short stories, and a stand-alone novel. 10/10/2017 0 Comments Author EventWoodland Park Public Library 218 E. Midland Ave. Woodland Park, CO 80863 October 11 - 2pm This Wednesday, October 11, I am joining other local authors at the Woodland Park Library. For an inside peek at what authors think of library events, author Maris Soule recently blogged on this topic. Are author events worth the time and effort? She lists the pros and cons of participating here. |
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