Art Taylor's Blog, page 26

SinC—Local & Nationwide Too!

Two Sisters in Crime events ahead—one soon with my local chapter and the second in January with SinC National. Registration just opened for the January event, but so excited for both!

First up: On Saturday, December 11, at 1 p.m., the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime will celebrate 2021 publications by chapter authors William Ade, Ellen Byerrum, Emmie Caldwell/Mary Ellen Hughes, Karen Cantwell, Maddi Davidson, Eleanor Cawood Jones, Tara Laskowski, Millie Mack, Eileen McIntire, Susan Reiss, Misty Simon/Gabby Allan, Rosalie Spielman, Marcia Talley, Art Taylor (hey, that’s me!), Grace Topping, and Stacy Woodson. The event is free to the public and hosted on Zoom by the Fairfax County Public Library. Register here: https://librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov/event/8133476. And be sure to support the event bookseller, Scrawl Books—holiday shopping!

Further ahead: On January 11, at 3 p.m., Sisters in Crime National hosts “Short and Sweet, Part II: The Structure of the Short Story,” second segment of my four-part webinar on the writing the mystery short story. This one focuses on plotting and features special guest Barb Goffman, a great writer and a great friend too. Register here for this event—free as well!

The First Two Pages: “The Brotherhood of Tricks and Treats” 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.

Thanksgiving is behind us, but the holiday season continues! …though in this week’s First Two Pages essay with a glance back a bit to other festivities and a different brand of mayhem. Francelia Belton’s story in the new Festive Mayhem 2 anthology takes place on Halloween, as you might tell from the title: “The Brotherhood of Tricks and Treats.” And those brothers are the focus of the first two pages and of a good part of the focus of the essay as well, though Francelia talks about setting too, a place and its people tied together…. and the story’s time frame as well. Who knew Cocoa Krispies didn’t hit the market until 1958? And if you’re intrigued by that fact, do read on….

Edited and published by Marla Bradeen, Festive Mayhem 2 features “Seven Holiday Culinary Cozy Mysteries” by seven writers of color: Francelia Belton, Rhoda Berlin, Angela Henry, Barbara Howard, Stella Oni, Paige Sleuth (Bradeen’s pseudonym), and Carolyn Marie Wilkins. And the anthology does include recipes—Belton’s featuring Cocoa Krispies, as you may have guessed! (The first anthology in this series is no longer available, but you can find several of the stories—by Jennifer J. Chow, Delia C. Pitts, and Paige Sleuth—linked at Marla Bradeen/Paige Sleuth’s website.)

Francelia’s essay is below. Do also check out Rhoda Berlin’s discussion of her Thanksgiving-themed story, “Last Bite,” in last week’s post. And stay tuned for next week’s essay by Stella Oni—on her Christmas cozy!

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.

Belton-Brotherhood

A Word… at Dru’s Book Musings!

Thanks to Dru Ann Love for hosting me for her “Word with the Author” series at Dru’s Book Musings!

I enjoyed chatting there about why I write what I write, what’s next for me, and what I’ve been reading lately, including some spy stories: Lauren Wilkinson’s American Spy and W. Somerset Maugham’s Ashenden—for reasons I explain there! (The photo of American Spy is from my Instagram page.)

So grateful to have Dru Ann host me, but seeing her in person—already looking forward to the Malice Domestic reunion!

In the meanwhile, check out our chat here.

A THANKSGIVING First Two Pages: “Last Bite” by Rhoda Berlin

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 Thanksgiving week—which means… unpredictability? expectations and disappointments? awkwardness and anxiety? friction? —all of which borrows words and ideas (a bit out of context) from this week’s thoughtful and perceptive essay by marriage and family therapist and now mystery writer Rhoda Berlin, talking about her story “Last Bite.” I say “a bit out of context” because Rhoda’s essay is far from negative about Thanksgiving, as you’ll see; instead, she sees the dramatic opportunities in family get-togethers, particularly interfamilial ones. And to put even better spin on the holidays, let me focus on the title of the anthology where the story appears: Festive Mayhem 2—emphasis on the festive amidst any mayhem, right?

Edited and published by Marla Bradeen, Festive Mayhem 2 features “Seven Holiday Culinary Cozy Mysteries” (recipes included!) by seven writers of color: Francelia Belton, Rhoda Berlin, Angela Henry, Barbara Howard, Stella Oni, Paige Sleuth (Bradeen’s pseudonym), and Carolyn Marie Wilkins. (The first anthology in this series is no longer available, but you can find several of the stories—by Jennifer J. Chow, Delia C. Pitts, and Paige Sleuth—linked at Marla Bradeen/Paige Sleuth’s website.)

As you’ll see from the essay below, Rhoda Berlin is drawing from both sides of her career—each illuminating the other—in her reflections on her story, “Last Bite.” As a therapist, Rhoda is the co-author, with Harriet Cannon, of Mixed Blessings: A Guide to Multicultural and Multiethnic Relationships, and that subtitle provides a clue to some of the thematic directions of the new story. And as a mystery writer who’s recently completed her first novel, she’s also got a keen eye for dramatic possibilities: lines of conflict, both internal and external, laying them in the opening, tightening them slowly. You can find more about Rhoda and her work at her website here.

I hope you enjoy this glimpse at Rhoda’s story and at the anthology in general—and the next two weeks bring two more contributors writing about their stories: Francelia Belton and Stella Oni.

Stay tuned—and Happy Thanksgiving in the meantime!

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.

Berlin-Last-Bite

Sisters in Crime Author Extravaganza • Saturday, December 11

Each year, the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime hosts a series of Mystery Author Extravaganzas—celebrating recent works published by chapter members. On Saturday, December 11, beginning at 1 p.m., sixteen of us will be talking about our 2021 stories and novels—on Zoom and hosted by the Fairfax County Public Library. The event is free, and all are welcome!

Participants at the December 11 event include : William Ade, Ellen Byerrum, Emmie Caldwell/Mary Ellen Hughes, Karen Cantwell, Maddi Davidson, Eleanor Cawood Jones, Tara Laskowski, Millie Mack, Eileen McIntire, Susan Reiss, Misty Simon/Gabby Allan, Rosalie Spielman, Marcia Talley, Art Taylor (hey, that’s me!), Grace Topping, and Stacy Woodson. 

You can register here: https://librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov/event/8133476. Registration closes at 1 p.m. on Friday, December 10. After registration closes, all registrants will receive the Zoom link for the event.

Scrawl Books will be the bookstore sponsor for the event. Always support your local independent bookstore—and especially for holiday shopping!

SINC UP!

Thanks to Nicolette Lemmon, on the Education Committee at Sisters in Crime, for inviting me to be part of the SINC UP video series, with short, two-minute tips on writing—and all aspects of writing, from inspiration to craft to publication to marketing… you name it!

For my spot, I talked about the challenges of endings, with an eye specifically on the short story, and suggested looking at the beginnings of your draft for answers to how to end it.

You can find my video here, and check out the full series at Sisters in Crime’s YouTube page!

The First Two Pages: Straight Up by Cathi Stoler

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.

Earlier this week, I hosted Maggie King talking about her story from the anthology Murder by the Glass, and today, a special week’s-end post welcomes Cathi Stoler with Straight Up, the latest novel in her Murder on the Rocks series, releasing on Tuesday, November 10. Is there something in the air about bars and drinking? (I promise no underlying intentions on my own part in hosting these back to back… though Friday happy hour does sound nice, and don’t you want some reading to go with that cocktail?)

Cathi is a great writer and a fine friend—both a talented short story writer (a Derringer Award winner and boasting several additional nominations) and a distinguished novelist. In addition to this current series—which also includes Bar None and Last Call—she’s the author of the suspense novels Nick of Time and Out of Time and the Laurel and Helen New York Mysteries. Find out more at her website, and be sure and connect with her on Twitter too!

In the meantime, enjoy at preview of the new novel—and get your pre-order in now!

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.

Stoler-Straight-Up

“Cycling with Sherlock” at the Pratt

I’m so excited to be taking part in this year’s “Saturday with Sherlock Holmes” at Baltimore’s Enoch Pratt Library on Saturday, November 6—info here. The event is presented by The Six Napoleons of Baltimore, The Sherlockians of Baltimore, and Watson’s Tin Box of Ellicott City—local Sherlockian scion societies.

The theme for this year’s talks builds off of a line from “The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge”: “He held up his candle before an extraordinary object….” What extraordinary objects will be under discussion? Vampires, violins, Gramophones, photographs, and—my own choice—bicycles… even as bicycles might seem more ordinary than extraordinary. I’ll do what I can to explain my point! The stories under discussion will be “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist” and “The Adventure of the Priory School.”

The presentations will also be simulcast online. Click through for more info!

The First Two Pages: “How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?” by Maggie King

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.

Cheers to the new anthology Murder by the Glass. Released earlier this fall, the collection was edited by Teresa Inge and Yvonne Saxon and features stories by Betsy Ashton, Frances Aylor, Mary Dutta, Eleanor Cawood Jones, Diane Fanning, Debra H. Goldstein, Libby Hall, Maria Hudgins, Teresa Inge, Maggie King, Kristin Kisska, Allie Marie, K. L. Murphy, Alan Orloff, Josh Pachter, Shawn Reilly Simmons and Heather Weidner—so many fine writers and fine friends there!

Representing that line-up, I’m pleased to welcome Maggie King today, discussing her story “How Do You Mend a Broken Heart?” In addition to short stories in a wide range of collections—the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Death by Cupcake in addition to the new anthology—Maggie is also the author of the Hazel Rose Book Group mysteries, including Murder at the Book Group, Murder at the Moonshine Inn, and the upcoming Laughing Can Kill You. You can find more about Maggie at her website, and please do connect with her on both Facebook and Instagram.

And in the meantime, enjoy at glimpse at her new story here—an opening laying the groundwork for much trouble 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.

Maggie-King-Mend

The First Two Pages: “A Trailer on the Outskirts of Town” by J.B. Stevens

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 at the First Two Pages, James D.F. Hannah talked about his story “Temptation is a Gun” from the new anthology Trouble No More, edited by Mark Westmoreland and published by Down & Out Books. The full list of contributors to that collection is a wonder, also including Bill Baber, C.W. Blackwell, Jerry Bloomfield, S.A. Cosby, Nikki Dolson, Michel Lee Garrett, Curtis Ippolito, Jessica Laine, Brodie Lowe, Bobby Mathews, Brian Panowich, Rob Pierce, Joey R. Poole, Raquel V. Reyes, Michael Farris Smith, J.B. Stevens, Chris Swann, N.B. Turner and Joseph S. Walker—and yours truly, too! And this week at the blog, I’m pleased to welcome J.B. Stevens, introducing his story “A Trailer on the Outskirts of Town.”

J.B. is a terrific writer—both a short story writer and a poet and with books in both directions. His poetry collection The Best of American Cannot Be Seen was published by Alien Buddha Press; several of his short stories are linked from his website and his short story collection This Will Not End Well is available for free there as well; and another fiction collection, A Therapeutic Death, will be coming out next year from Shotgun Honey. You can read more about J.B. and his work at his website—and be sure to follow him on Twitter 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.

Stevens-Trailer