Art Taylor's Blog, page 22

Sisters in Crime Podcast

The Sisters in Crime Podcast series has hosted some tremendously fine writers—more than 50 of them, in fact, including some of the leading lights of the mystery world, Sara Paretsky, Charlaine Harris, and Frankie Bailey, among them.

So it was a true honor when Julie Hennrikus asked me to be part of the series, and I so much enjoyed our chat.

SinC has just posted the interview on their podcast page, and you can access all the previous interviews too there—a treasure trove of entertainment and enlightenment.

The First Two Pages: “Pick a Color” by Eric Beetner

In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.

This past weekend brought the release of Volume 3 in the Low Down Dirty Vote anthology series, edited by Mysti Berry—a charity anthology benefiting Democracy Docket, “an organization that is successfully fighting against voter suppression in the United States.” The first two volumes included some terrific stories—including Faye Snowden’s “One Bullet. One Vote” from Volume 2, which selected for the Best American Mystery and Suspense anthology—and proceeds from those went to other fine causes: the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The latest edition’s theme is “The Color of My Vote,” and Mysti elaborates: “This year’s theme, the color of my vote, drew writers from around the globe: all across the US, India, Germany, and the UK. It includes award-winning writers and writers who are being published for the first time, from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. These 22 authors explore the terrifying reality of life at a global turning point: will we choose to be creatures ruled by law or by raw power? What happens to us when we measure the color of our votes?”

I’m pleased to be hosting contributors to the new anthology over the next few weeks, beginning this week with Eric Beetner—a good friend and great writer!

I started to write, “If you don’t already know Eric—and you should…” and then I popped over to his website to clip the link and saw the start of his own bio there, which made me laugh.

Eric Beetner is that writer you’ve heard about but never read. Then when you finally do you wonder why you waited so long. There are over 25 books and more than 100 short stories so you’d better get started. Books like Rumrunners, All The Way Down, Two In The Head and The Devil Doesn’t Want Me. He also hosts the podcast Writer Types and the Noir at the Bar reading series in L.A.. He’s been described as “The 21st Century’s answer to Jim Thompson” (LitReactor) He’s been nominated for three Anthony’s, an ITW award, Shamus, Derringer and 5 Emmys. Seriously, what are you waiting for?

In addition to Eric’s essay below, the First Two Pages will also be hosting Sarah M. Chen and James McCrone ahead—stay tuned!

Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.

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The First Two Pages: “El Armero” by Mario Acevedo

In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.

Wrapping up series of essays by contributors to Denver Noir, Mario Acevedo visits today to talk about his story “El Armero”—a tale which foreshadows the events and the world of the story even from the title, as Acevedo explains in the essay below. His essay follows two others in this series: Cynthia Swanson on “Pieces of Everyone, Everywhere” and Francelia Belton on “Dreaming of Ella.” And the full collection, edited by Swanson, also includes stories by Peter Heller, Barbara Nickless, Alan Brooks, D.L. Cordero, Amy Drayer, Twanna LaTrice Hill, Manuel Ramos, Mark Stevens, Mathangi Subramanian, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, and Erika T. Wurth.

I don’t believe I’ve hosted anyone at the First Two Pages whose bibliography has included a title more striking than the latest novel in Acevedo’s bestselling series featuring detective-vampire Felix Gomez; if the title of his short story for Denver Noir does some fine work efficiently and effectively, that novel title grabs you even more firmly: Steampunk Banditos: Sex Slaves of Shark Island! (The exclamation point is mine, not part of the title, I should add—and what? This is book seven in the series? I’ll get started soon to catch up.)

Acevedo is also the author of the graphic novel Killing the Cobra and the YA humor thriller University of Doom, and he co-authored the Western novel Luther, Wyoming, in addition to other work. He was a faculty member of the Regis University Mile-High MFA program and Lighthouse Writers Workshops. You can find out more at his website.

And do enjoy his preview of “El Armero” below—and pick up Denver Noir to read the full story and stories by the other great contributors here!

Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.

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The First Two Pages: “Dreaming of Ella” by Francelia Belton

In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.

Francelia Belton returns to the First Two Pages as part of a series of essays by contributors to Denver Noir, edited by Cynthia Swanson and out in the world… today! Happy Pub Day to Cynthia, Francelia, and all the contributors: Peter Heller, Barbara Nickless, Mario Acevedo, R. Alan Brooks, D.L. Cordero, Amy Drayer, Twanna LaTrice Hill, Manuel Ramos, Mark Stevens, Mathangi Subramanian, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, and Erika T. Wurth. And for any readers in Colorado, Tuesday, May 3, is also a pub day party at Tattered Cover on Colfax Avenue in Denver, with Cynthia joining contributors R. Alan Brooks, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, and Mark Stevens; find out more here.

Francelia last appeared at the First Two Pages late last year with an essay on her story “The Brotherhood of Tricks and Treats” from the anthology Festive Mayhem; that story was later named a quarterfinalist in the 2022 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition. Last year Francelia also published a collection of her own short fiction: Crime & Passion: Three Short Stories. You can find more about that book and all Francelia’s work at her website.

In addition to checking out Francelia’s story below and her work generally, check out the essay that launched this series of contributors to Denver Noir: editor Cynthia Swanson on her own story, “Pieces of Everyone, Everywhere.” And stay tuned as well for one more contributor ahead: Mario Acevedo next week!

Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.

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The First Two Pages: “Pieces of Everyone, Everywhere” by Cynthia Swanson

In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.

Like many readers of short crime fiction, I’ve long been a fan of the Akashic Noir series, with volumes celebrating new stories set in specific places—cities, regions, countries. Next week brings a new edition to the series with Denver Noir, edited by Cynthia Swanson and featuring stories by Peter Heller, Barbara Nickless, Cynthia Swanson, Mario Acevedo, Francelia Belton, R. Alan Brooks, D.L. Cordero, Amy Drayer, Twanna LaTrice Hill, Manuel Ramos, Mark Stevens, Mathangi Subramanian, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, and Erika T. Wurth. The book will be published on May 3.

Several Denver Noir contributors have appeared at the First Two Pages before, including Francelia Belton, Mark Stevens, and David Heska Wanbli Weiden. When Francelia reached out to ask if I could help celebrate this new book with essays by a few contributors, I jumped at the chance, and I’m thrilled to be hosting her, Mario Acevedo, and editor Cynthia Swanson today and over the next two weeks.

First up, Cynthia Swanson shares a bit about the anthology generally and about her own story “Pieces of Everyone, Everywhere”—a title so chilling and thrilling I found myself drawn in even before the opening lines.

You’ll get more glimpses into the story in Cynthia’s essay below, but first an introduction to the author herself. Cynthia’s first novel, The Bookseller, was an Indie Next selection, became a New York Times bestseller, and won the 2016 WILLA Literary Award for Historical Fiction. Her follow-up, The Glass Forest, became a USA Today bestseller as well. You can find out more about each of these books at Cynthia’s website, and be sure to connect with her as well on Instagram (cynswanauthor), Twitter (cynswanauthor), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CynthiaSwanson).  

Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.

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The First Two Pages: “The Yellow Crown” by Carol Gyzander

In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.

Way back in the “before times”—in August 2018, in fact—I attended the Deadly Ink Mystery Conference for the first time, and it was a pleasure to spend much of the weekend with writers who’ve developed into fine friends, including Teel James Glenn, Carol Gyzander, James McCrone, and Christopher Ryan. Since that weekend, all of them have appeared at the First Two Pages (each linked here: Teel’s, Carol’s, Jamie’s (and a second!), and Chris’s), and I chose—from blind submission—Chris’s wild story “Hellhounds: Hollywood Demons” for California Schemin’, the 2020 Bouchercon anthology I edited. In more recent news, Teel has been named a finalist for this year’s Derringer Award for Best Long Story for “A Study in Death” in Mystery Weekly Magazine, Jamie has a story forthcoming in the volume three of the Low Down Dirty Vote anthology series (he’ll be back here for that too!), and Carol has been named a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in Short Fiction for her story “The Yellow Crown”—which is what brings her here today!

“The Yellow Crown” was published in the anthology Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign, edited by James Chambers and published by Hippocampus Press—and the anthology is also a finalist for the same award in the category Superior Achievement in an Anthology. The awards are presented by the Horror Writers Association. Congratulations to all!

The last time Carol appeared here, she wrote about her story “Stars the Color of Hope,” inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft, and this time, she’s writing about a story inspired by the work of Robert W. Chambers, who was himself an influence on Lovecraft! Connections, influences, inspirations—great to see all those levels and layers being explored here, both in the fiction itself and in the essays.

Enjoy this fresh look into Carol’s work, and be sure to check out more about her and her work at her website.

Congratulations and good luck again to Carol and everyone associated with Under Twin Suns. The awards will be officially presented May 14 in Denver, Colorado—keeping fingers crossed for you all!

Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.

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Malice Domestic!

After two years without an in-person Malice Domestic, I’m thrilled we’ll all be coming back IRL (as the kids say) April 22-24—next week, as I write this!

I’ll so grateful to be part of two panels at Malice, moderating one and appearing on the second, with an author signing too:

Panel: Agatha Finalists for Best Short Story, as moderator, with finalists Barb Goffman, Richie Narvaez, and Gigi Pandian • Friday, April 22, 2 p.m.Panel: “Last Night, I Dreamt I Went to Malice Again: Romantic Suspense Influences,” with Connie Berry, DonnaRae Menard, and Darcie Wilde, moderated by Judy Cater • Saturday, April 23, 11 a.m.Author Signing • Saturday, April 23, Noon

And look forward to seeing folks between times too, of course—from the Opening Ceremonies right through Dame Agatha’s Tea!

Find the full schedule of programs here.

The First Two Pages: “Cardigans” by Wendy Hornsby

In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.

Wendy Hornsby‘s Depression Era tale “Nine Sons” won the 1992 Edgar Award for Best Short Story, establishing her reputation as a writer of great skill and keen sensibilities; it later became the title story in her collection from Crippen & Landru in 2002. At the time of her Edgar win, Wendy had published two books in her Kate Teague Mystery Series, and her subsequent series featuring documentarian and amateur sleuth Maggie MacGowen now numbers 12 novels, including most recently 2019’s A Bouquet of Rue. Along the way, she also taught ancient and medieval history at Long Beach City College for many years—and has now claimed the title of professor emerita.

But though she’s focused on both novel writing and teaching, she hasn’t left behind short-form fiction. Her latest story, “Cardigans,” appears in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine‘s March/April 2022 issue, and I’m honored to welcome her here today to talk about it—with an essay that proves she’s as thoughtful and precise in her analysis and reflection as she is in her fine storytelling.

Do check out the full story in EQMM before this current issue leaves newsstands—and check out Wendy’s website for more about her and her work. A joy hosting her this week!

Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.

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My Spring Newsletter!

What was meant to be a March newsletter became an April newsletter—but the good news is there’s actual… news!

A new short story recently, a new anthology ahead I co-edited, and a lot of events… almost as if the world is coming back to normal again?

Check out all that and more here—including recent reads and giveaways too!

Short & Sweet, Part 3 • Tuesday, April 12

I’m thrilled to be teaming up with E.A. Aymar for the third session of my four-part webinar series “Short and Sweet,” focused on crafting fine short fiction in the mystery genre.

This next session—scheduled for Tuesday, April 12, at 3 p.m.—concentrates on prose, with an eye toward economy and efficiency at the line-level and with tips on revision strategies to wrangle your own writing into shape.

I’ve recently struggled a bit with a story of my own in that regard, and I’ll plan to draw on that experience as part of the talk. And I’m looking forward to Ed’s thoughts too. While he may be more widely known for his fine work as a novelist, he’s also a terrific short story writer, both in terms of the storytelling itself (humor and seriousness in perfect balance, shifts in tone, surprises in plot and in character) and at the line-level, with keen concentration on his craft.

Register here for this free session. Look forward to seeing folks there!