Hilary Davidson's Blog, page 22

Short Story Spotlight

Remember how excited I was about the impending release of the Beat to a Pulp anthology a few weeks back? The book is out now, and it's a beaut. BEAT TO A PULP: ROUND ONE was edited by David Cranmer and Elaine Ash, with a foreword by Bill Crider, and stories by some fiercely talented writers: Ed Gorman, Patti Abbott, Chris F. Holm, Charles Ardai, Sophie Littlefield, Glenn Gray, Jedidiah Ayres… actually, every story in this collection is a winner. (My "Insatiable," which won the 2010 Spinetingler Award for best short story, is also in there.) In case you need any more convincing, Cullen Gallagher's essay "A History of Pulp" closes the anthology.

Speaking of Chris F. Holm, he's just released his own short-story collection, 8 POUNDS, which is available via Kindle. My first reaction when I saw this was "Damn! I don't have a Kindle!" It turned out that wasn't a problem; thanks to the Kindle app, which is available for various computers and handheld devices, I was able to download 8 POUNDS without a hitch. I'd already read all but two of the stories in the collection, but at a mere 99 cents, it would still be a steal if I'd read them all. Chris's stories are a joy to read (also: very scary), and if you haven't encountered his work before — he's been in Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, Thuglit, and Needle, to name a few — now's the time to get acquainted.

One more anthology I'm excited about: DISCOUNT NOIR, edited by Patti Abbott and Steve Weddle. Inspired by a flash fiction challenge a few months ago, this collection from Untreed Reads features stories by Dave Zeltersman, Keith Rawson, Sandra Seamans, Eric Beeter, Kyle Minor, Kathleen Ryan, Kieran Shea, Cormac Brown, Jay Stringer… okay, I could go on and on. You know you want it.

Finally, while I'm on the subject of short stories, I'm taking part in Christopher Grant's 600-to-700 challenge over at A Twist of Noir. I'm not sure what I was thinking, given that I've never written flash fiction before, but my 678-word story, "Sorry Bastard" will be up in a couple of weeks. This is the first time I've been inclined to write a second story with the same main character. If you've read "Cheap Bastard," published by Spinetingler in March, you've already encountered Don. I have a feeling he may be back again after this.

Bouchercon Round-Up

I'm still on the road (last stop on my West Coast tour: 10/21, noon, Mystery Ink in Huntington Beach… funny story about that soon). I know that I owe you a post about Bouchercon 2010, but since that may take some time (um, I may still owe you a ThrillerFest 2010 post… from July), I present to you some of my favorite posts about this year's convention, written by other attendees. (PS The photo above of me with three of my favorite people on the planet — Sophie Littlefield, Lauren O'Brien, and Jen Forbus — is from Day One at Bouchercon.)

"Bouchercon Day 1″ by Jen Forbus
"Bouchercon 2010 Report: Part 1″ by Pop Culture Nerd
"The Day After" by Eric Beetner
"Miscellaneous: Bouchercon, Recapped" by Vince Keenan
"A Pictorial History of Bouchercon 2010″ by Sara J. Henry
"The Hills of San Francisky" by Chuck Wendig
"All Things Bouchercon 2010″ by Jeri Westerson

Bouchercon, Mon Amour

Bouchercon 2010 in San Francisco just wrapped up. I am already pining for Bouchercon 2011 in St. Louis. Do yourself a favor and register now. Why? Because you'll get to spend four days with a crowd of people who love books as much as you do. Because you'll get to meet friends you only know online (in my case, that included Chuck Wendig and Dan O'Shea, pictured with me and the lovely Michelle Wendig). Because you'll attend panels and parties and dinners. Because you'll meet writers who make your heart beat like a tom-tom (in my case, Denise Mina). And because you'll end up hanging out with a group of wonderful friends late into the night and beyond.

Book Meets World

A mini-recap of the past two weeks: THE DAMAGE DONE launched on September 28th with a party at Partners & Crime in New York. Since then, I've traveled to the Pittsburgh and Boston areas for events, and had three more New York events (the photo is of me with Israeli playwright Joshua Sobol, author of CUT THROAT DOG; we read together at McNally Jackson last night). I've got one more New York event — a panel at NYU — before heading to San Francisco for Bouchercon. After that comes a West Coast tour: M Is for Murder in San Mateo, The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles (where THE DAMAGE DONE is the Discovery Club Selection for October!), and Mystery Ink in Huntington Beach.

More — much more — to come soon. Promise!

A Noir Education

After giving THE DAMAGE DONE a stellar review last week, Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts was kind enough to ask me to guest blog for her. In "A Noir Education," now up on her site, I write about my maternal grandmother, who turned me on to mystery novels and noir films. She was a tremendous influence on me in so many ways, and I'm thrilled to share a little bit about her and her influence on THE DAMAGE DONE. She died almost 12 years ago, but she's in my thoughts every day. (The photo at...

Jen Forbus Reviews The Damage Done… and Gives Away a Copy

It's only six o'clock on a Monday morning, yet my day has already been made. I woke up to discover that the extraordinary Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts had posted her review of THE DAMAGE DONE on her blog. Here's an excerpt:

Davidson's judicious plotting covers every angle of the story, weaving multitudinous outcome possibilities into the fibers of the plot. Questions build upon questions and everyone's a suspect. This keeps the reader turning pages; just how do all the pieces and...

"Family Man" Gets a New Home at A Twist of Noir

In March 2009, I had the good fortune to have a short story, "Family Man," published in Crimespree Magazine. Most of my stories have been published online, but "Family Man" was only seen in print by Crimespree readers… until now. Christopher Grant, editor of A Twist of Noir, agreed to republish my twisted tale about a doting father and devoted boyfriend. Here's how it begins.

"Open your eyes now," Gary said, staring at his girlfriend's face beside his in the hallway mirror. Mila's plump pink...

Publishers Weekly Reviews The Damage Done

Before Publishers Weekly reviewed THE DAMAGE DONE, I was on tenterhooks. Would they find my fiction debut interesting, or would they hate it? Those seemed like the only two possibilities. I wasn't prepared for a rave, but that's what I got. It took me a few tries to read PW's review successfully. Here it is in full:

08/02/2010 FictionThe Damage DoneHilary Davidson, Forge, $24.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2697-3In Davidson's razor sharp mystery debut, travel journalist Lily Moore, who's been...

Beat to a Pulp: Round One

I'm so behind on posting that it's embarrassing, but I have to share two things quickly. One is the absolutely stunning cover of the Beat to a Pulp: Round One anthology. James O'Barr is responsible for the artwork and John Bergin for the cover design; all I can say is that they obviously make an amazing team, because this is a knockout. Check out the names on the cover, too. I was thrilled when David Cranmer asked me to be in the anthology; seeing some of the phenomenal company I'm in is...

Welcome to ThrillerFest

One of my favorite events of the year is about to begin: ThrillerFest, a conference that has been described as "summer camp for thriller readers, fans, writers and industry professionals." It brings some of my favorite writers to the Grand Hyatt in Midtown Manhattan for four days, starting this Wednesday, July 7th. (The first two days are for CraftFest and AgentFest, targeted at writers who are working on thrillers; Friday and Saturday are for readers and writers alike). Featured authors...