Art Taylor's Blog, page 24
February 15, 2022
The First Two Pages: “Lucky Thirteen” by Tracy Clark
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.
It’s such an honor for the First Two Pages to be hosting more of this year’s Edgar Award finalists for Best Short Story—this week welcoming Tracy Clark, author of “Lucky Thirteen” from Midnight Hour: A Chilling Anthology of Crime Fiction from 20 Authors of Color. Last week, V.M. (Valerie) Burns discussed her story “The Vermeer Conspiracy” from the same anthology, and the authors of two other stories contributed essays last year—well before the nominations were announced: Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn on their story “Blindsided” from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Gigi Pandian on “The Locked Room Library” from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Next week, R.T. Lawton, author of “The Road to Hana” from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, will round out this series of essays. (Despite some best efforts, I’ve been unable to arrange an essay on the the last story on the slate, “The Dark Oblivion” by Cornell Woolrich, who died in 1968.)
Today’s essay by Tracy Clark starts out with a frank admission: “I don’t write short stories”—and then proceeds to explain how this one, a tense and twisty thriller, came to be written.
While Tracy says she finds short form fiction a challenge, she’s firmly established herself as a terrific novelist. Her Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series earned the 2020 G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award, and in addition to the Edgar nomination for short story, she’s also a finalist for this year’s Sue Grafton Award as well. She’s also been nominated for the Anthony, Lefty and Shamus Awards. Her latest book, Runner, released in June 2021, and you find out more about her work at her website.
Enjoy Tracy’s essay below, and do check out Midnight Hour to read the full story. Hope you’ll also go back to the previously published essays by the other finalists too, and stay tuned for R.T. Lawton’s essay ahead.
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.
Clark-Thirteen
February 10, 2022
SinC & CWA Events
This first couple of weeks of February has been brisk with events—fun times! And I’m looking forward to talking writing and short stories and more at two more events this week.
First, on Thursday, February 10, at 7 p.m. PST (that’s 10 a.m. where I live on the East Coast!), I’ll be chatting about short fiction with the Puget Sound Chapter of Sisters in Crime—and specifically with Alice Boatwright, who will be moderating the discussion.
And Alice is also leading the show two days later for a panel hosted by the North American Chapter of the Crime Writers Association: “Staying Published” with Cathy Ace, Sheila Lowe, Marty Wingate, and me on Saturday, February 12, at 1 p.m. PST. (That’s 4 p.m. for me, I keep reminding myself—or maybe I should just move to the West Coast?)
Looking forward to all this—and here’s a full list of upcoming events ahead too:
Thursday , February 10, 2022
Virtual Presentation: “Short, Sharp, and Suspenseful: Writing the Mystery Short Story,” Puget Sound Chapter of Sisters in Crime • Zoom, 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET)
Saturday , February 12, 2022
Virtual Event: “Fiction on the Fly—for Kids” as moderator with authors and Mason MFA alums Emily Bliss and Carol Mitchell, George Mason University Homecoming • Zoom, 10 a.m. ET
Virtual Panel: “Staying Published” with Cathy Ace, Sheila Lowe, and Marty Wingate, Crime Writers Association North American Chapter Meeting (chapter members only, I believe) • Zoom, 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET)
Saturday , March 5, 2022
Virtual Panel: “Story Road: Crafting Big Stories in a Short Story Format” as moderator with authors Teresa Inge, Jayne Ormerod, Shawn Reilly Simmons, and Heather Weidner, Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival • Zoom, 9 a.m. ET
Saturday , March 19, 2022
Panel: “Thrillers for a Wild Ride” as moderator with authors Yasmin Angoe, S.A. Cosby, and Vera Kurian, Virginia Festival of the Book • 2 p.m.
Friday-Sunday , April 22-24, 2022
Malice Domestic • Bethesda, MD
February 8, 2022
The First Two Pages: “The Vermeer Conspiracy” by V.M. Burns
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.
In recent weeks, the First Two Pages has been hosting essays by contributors to Midnight Hour: A Chilling Anthology of Crime Fiction from 20 Authors of Color, but though V.M. (Valerie) Burns’ “The Vermeer Conspiracy” appears in the same anthology, her appearance here is part of a different series of essays as well—focused on this year’s finalists for the Edgar Awards! Valerie’s co-contributor Tracy Clark, whose story “Lucky Thirteen” also earned an Edgar nomination, will be writing a post as well soon, as will fellow finalist R.T. Lawton, author of “The Road to Hana” from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. As for the other finalists, the First Two Pages already welcomed the authors of two stories back when they were originally published: Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn on their story “Blindsided” from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Gigi Pandian on “The Locked Room Library” from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. The final story on the slate, “The Dark Oblivion,” is by Cornell Woolrich, who died in 1968.
I’m personally pleased to have Valerie leading off this second set of essays (second set in two series!) because she and I were hanging out in Alabama this weekend for two terrific mystery events: Murder in the Magic City in Birmingham and Murder on the Menu in Wetumpka. It was great fun to see Valerie on her panels (ask her to share her literary mash-up, a genius twist!) and also a pleasure to chat more informally between events and afterwards.
While “The Vermeer Conspiracy” is Valerie’s first and so-far only short story (what?!), she’s had great success in longer form fiction already. She writes the Mystery Bookshop Mystery series and the Dog Club Mystery series, and her newest series, Baker Street Mysteries, will be released later this year. Her debut novel, The Plot Is Murder, was nominated for an Agatha award for Best Debut Novel, and her RJ Franklin Mystery series was a Next Generation Indie Book finalist. To find out more, visit her website at vmburns.com.
Do check out the previously published essays, stay tuned for the next posts ahead, and in the meantime, enjoy Valerie’s reflections here—and congratulations to all on this great honor!
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.
Burns-VermeerFebruary 6, 2022
Mason Homecoming: Fiction on the Fly
I’ll be hosting two events this week as part of a programming partnership between George Mason University’s Creative Writing Program and this year’s Homecoming—and what an honor to be working with three great alums and one of the outstanding students currently enrolled in our MFA program!
On Tuesday, February 8, I’ll join alum John Copenhaver, MFA student Jihoon Park, and registered Homecoming participants as they write some “Fiction on the Fly”—inspired by opening and closing lines selected by the audience. And on Saturday morning, February 12, we’ll host a kids’ version of the program with two alums, Emily Bliss and Carol Mitchell.
For information, visit the Mason Homecoming page, and don’t miss more of this week’s other events—I think I’ve bit off far more than I can chew, yikes!
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Discussion for OLLI Students: “The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74” for the Literary Roundtable, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University • Zoom for registered students only
Thursday, February 10, 2022
Virtual Presentation: “Short, Sharp, and Suspenseful: Writing the Mystery Short Story,” Puget Sound Chapter of Sisters in Crime • Zoom, 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET)
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Virtual Panel: “Staying Published” with Cathy Ace, Sheila Lowe, and Marty Wingate, Crime Writers Association North American Chapter Meeting (chapter members only, I believe) • Zoom, 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET)
February 1, 2022
The First Two Pages: “The Importance of Being Urnest” by Eleanor Cawood Jones
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.
I’m pleased to welcome Eleanor Cawood Jones back to the First Two Pages today. She wrote an earlier First Two Pages essay on her story “Killing Kippers” back when B.K. Stevens was originally curating this blog series (a story Eleanor mentions in her essay below as a turning point in her career). Since that story and essay, Eleanor has continued to produce some terrific stories, and last year, she earned a Derringer Award for “The Great Bedbug Incident and the Invitation of Doom” in Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation to Murder. For today’s essay, Eleanor discusses the latest story in a series featuring Lorrie George, who has previous appeared in “Brayking Glass” in Murder by the Glass and “Cabo San Loco” in Murder on the Beach—with a fourth tale coming out later this month: “The Lyin’ Witch in the Wardrobe” in Murder in the Mountains. And that “Urnest” of the title? He’ll appear again in Murder in the Mountains too—making him a series character, of sorts, as well.
To keep in touch with Eleanor, follow her on Twitter here. To read the full story “The Importance of Being Urnest,” check out Black Cat Weekly #15. And in the meantime enjoy Eleanor’s essay below, which gives a nice sample of the story—and her style and humor generally too!
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.
Jones-UrnestJanuary 29, 2022
Events Ahead!
February suddenly looks nicely busy in several directions, with both in-person and virtual events, especially in the first half of the month. Look forward to seeing everyone!
Saturday & Sunday, February 5 & 6, 2022
Guest of Honor along with my wife, Tara Laskowski, at both Murder in the Magic City, Birmingham, AL & Murder on the Menu, Wetumpka, AL
Tuesday , February 8, 2022
Virtual Event: “Fiction on the Fly,” as moderator with authors John Copenhaver (George Mason University MFA alum) and Jihoon Park (Mason MFA student), George Mason Univerity Homecoming • Zoom, 6 p.m. ET
Wednesday , February 9, 2022
Discussion for OLLI Students: “The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74” for the Literary Roundtable, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at George Mason University • Zoom for registered students only
Thursday , February 10, 2022
Virtual Presentation: “Short, Sharp, and Suspenseful: Writing the Mystery Short Story,” Puget Sound Chapter of Sisters in Crime • Zoom, 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET)
Saturday , February 12, 2022
Virtual Event: “Fiction on the Fly—for Kids” as moderator with authors and Mason MFA alums Emily Bliss and Carol Mitchell, George Mason Univerity Homecoming • Zoom, 10 a.m. ET
Virtual Panel: “Staying Published” with Cathy Ace, Sheila Lowe, and Marty Wingate, Crime Writers Association North American Chapter Meeting (chapter members only, I believe) • Zoom, 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET)
January 27, 2022
The First Two Pages: “The Bridge” by Abby L. Vandiver
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.
Last week, two stories from Midnight Hour: A Chilling Anthology of Crime Fiction from 20 Authors of Color were named finalists for this year’s Edgar Awards: “The Vermeer Conspiracy” by V.M. Burns and “Lucky Thirteen” by Tracy Clark—terrific honors not only for these contributors but everyone involved in the collection, including editor Abby L. Vandiver. And Abby joins us at the First Two Pages this week to complete a first series of essays by contributors to the book; we’ve already had E.A. Aymar on “The Search for Eric Garcia,” Faye Snowden on “Chefs,” and David Heska Wanbli Weiden on “Skin”—and both Valerie Burns and Tracy Clark have agreed to write reflections on their stories ahead too! (Coincidentally, two of the other finalists were already featured last year at the First Two Pages: “Blindsided” by Michael Bracken & James A. Hearn from Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and “The Locked Room Library” by Gigi Pandian from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Another finalist, R.T. Lawton, author of “The Road to Hana” from AHMM, will also be writing an essay ahead, but the last finalist, Cornell Woolrich, hasn’t yet answered my emails about his EQMM story, “The Dark Oblivion”…. I’ll keep watching my inbox….)
Abby L. Vandiver, who also writes as Abby Collette, is the author most recently of the Ice Cream Parlor Mystery Series, including A Deadly Inside Scoop and A Game of Cones. You can find out more about her novels and stories at her website here.
In addition to the authors already mentioned, Midnight Hour also includes stories by Frankie Y. Bailey, Callie Browning, Christopher Chambers, H-C Chan, Jennifer Chow, Rhonda Crowder, Tina Kashian, Richie Narvaez, Stella Oni, Gigi Pandian, Delia C. Pitts, Raquel V. Reyes, and Elizabeth Wilkerson.
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.
Vandiver-The-BridgeJanuary 18, 2022
The First Two Pages: “Skin” by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
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.
David Heska Wanbli Weiden‘s debut novel, Winter Counts, was named finalist for last year’s Edgar Awards for Best First Novel and went on to win an entire resume’s worth of additional honors, including the Anthony, Thriller, Lefty, Barry, Macavity, Spur, High Plains, Tillie Olsen, and Electa Quinney Awards—a testament to the book’s substantial power. While he admits in the essay below that his years working on the novel had left him wondering if his short story skills might have gone rusty, he seems to be hitting many high points there too, with stories published or forthcoming in anthologies including Denver Noir, This Time for Sure, and The Perfect Crime. And it’s truly an honor to host him here today writing about his recent story “Skin” in Midnight Hour: A Chilling Anthology of Crime Fiction from 20 Authors of Color.
Edited by Abby L. Vandiver, Midnight Hour also includes stories by E.A. Aymar, Frankie Y. Bailey, Marla Bradeen, Callie Browning, V.M. Burns, Christopher Chambers, H-C Chan, Jennifer Chow, Tracy Clark, Rhonda Crowder, Tina Kashian, Richie Narvaez, Stella Oni, Gigi Pandian, Delia C. Pitts, Raquel V. Reyes, Faye Snowden, Elizabeth Wilkerson, and Abby L. Vandiver herself—and I’ve been honored to host two of these contributors over the last couple of weeks writing on their own stories: Ed Aymar on “The Search for Eric Garcia” and Faye Snowden on “Chefs.”
In addition to sampling David’s story below, please do check out his website here for more information about him and his work—and if you haven’t already, pick up Winter Counts as well!
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.
Weiden-Skin-2January 16, 2022
Murder in the Magic City/Murder on the Menu
My wife, novelist Tara Laskowski, and I are thrilled to be sharing the stage as Guests of Honor at Murder in the Magic City and Murder on the Menu—respectively on Saturday, February 5, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Sunday, February 6, in Wetumpka, Alabama. This is our first time at these events—and honestly, our first time in Alabama—so we’re thrilled on several counts. And pleased to be sharing the program with so many great authors, including the following—linked to webpages where possible!
Mary Dutta
Tara and I will be interviewing one another at Murder in the Magic City, with me interviewing Tara at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and Tara interviewing me at noon. I’m hoping she asks softball questions!
Looking forward to seeing everyone there. Thanks to Margaret Fenton and to Tammy R. Lynn for everything they’re doing to organize and coordinate—especially in such trying and challenging times. And if you want to attend and haven’t registered already, please do check out Murder in the Magic City here and Murder on the Menu here!
January 11, 2022
The First Two Pages: “Chefs” by Faye Snowden
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.
In the New York Times review of Midnight Hour: A Chilling Anthology of Crime Fiction from 20 Authors of Color, Sarah Weinman spotlighted two stories: E.A. Aymar’s “The Search for Eric Garcia” and Faye Snowden’s “Chefs.” I was pleased to host Ed at the First Two Pages last week, talking about his story, and this week, Faye offers some glimpses at how her story came together, including a look at the original draft of the opening paragraph and some background on how and why the story was rejected by other publishers (persistence pays off, both in terms of craft and submissions).
While Faye admits in her essay below to being primarily a novelist, she’s got a keen sense of what it takes to write a short story, and an earlier story—”One Bullet. One Votes” from the anthology Low Down Dirty Vote—was selected for the 2021 Best American Mystery and Suspense, edited by Alafair Burke and Steph Cha. Faye’s novels include Spiral of Guilt, The Savior, Fatal Justice, and A Killing Fire—the latter the first in a planned four-book series, with A Killing Rain scheduled for release this June. You can find out more about Faye at her website here.
Edited by Abby L. Vandiver, Midnight Hour also includes stories by Frankie Y. Bailey, Marla Bradeen, Callie Browning, V.M. Burns, Christopher Chambers, H-C Chan, Jennifer Chow, Tracy Clark, Rhonda Crowder, Tina Kashian, Richie Narvaez, Stella Oni, Gigi Pandian, Delia C. Pitts, Raquel V. Reyes, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Elizabeth Wilkerson, and Abby L. Vandiver herself.
And stay tuned for more essays ahead by Abby L. Vandiver and David Heska Wanbli Weiden!
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.
Snowden-First-Two-Pages
