Art Taylor's Blog, page 41
June 17, 2020
Fountain Bookstore: Short Stories & Barb Goffman
Thanks to the Fountain Bookstore for hosting Barb Goffman and me for a chat on short stories and on our latest books. Kelly Justice was a terrific host and interviewer, and it was—as always—a pleasure to share the stage with Barb Goffman, one of my own favorite short story writers.
If you missed the live event, the Crowdcast replay is here.
Thanks to all who showed up, and hope others checking out the video later will enjoy!
(And thanks to Heather Weidner for the screenshot!!)
June 16, 2020
The First Two Pages: “For Elizabeth” by Christine Eskilson
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 week continues a series of essays by contributors to the new anthology Heartbreaks and Half-Truths, edited by Judy Penz Sheluk and to be published later this week (available for pre-order here now). Contributors to the new anthology include Blair Keetch, Buzz Dixon, Chris Wheatley, Christine Eskilson, Edward Lodi, Gustavo Bondoni, J A Henderson, James Blakey, James Lincoln Warren, John M. Floyd, Joseph S. Walker, Judy Penz Sheluk, Kate Flora, KM Rockwood, Paula Gail Benson, Peggy Rothschild, Rhonda Eikamp, Robb T. White, Sharon Hart Addy, Steve Liskow, Susan Daly, and Tracy Falenwolfe—and I’m pleased to host Christine Eskilson today, talking about her story “For Elizabeth.”
Christine’s stories have appeared in several anthologies from Level Best Books—Blood Moon, Rogue Wave, Red Dawn and Landfall—as well as in Pick Your Poison, Creatures of Habitat, Over My Dead Body, and Why? and through the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.
I hope you enjoy her essay on her newest short story 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.
Eskilson-Heartbreaks
June 12, 2020
Fall for the Book Trivia Night & Fountain Books Short Story Event
I’m pleased to be part of two upcoming virtual events: helping the Fall for the Book Festival kick off its new series of Trivia Nights on Tuesday, June 16, and then joining Barb Goffman for a chat on short stories hosted by Richmond, VA’s Fountain Bookstore on Wednesday, June 17. Info on each is below—and hope you’ll join the fun!
In advance of presenting virtual author events this fall, the Fall for the Book Festival is hosting a series of summer Trivia Nights on all things book-related: “If it’s been written about, we’ll ask you about it! Books, movies, sports legends, famous literary places, technology, science, and more are all fair game.” I’ll be hosting (gulp!) the first event (guinea pig!) on Tuesday, June 16, at 7 p.m.—and hopefully doing better than night than I did on the test-run with the crew. (Did I mention “guinea pig” already?) You can find out more information and register to participate here.
Then the next night—Wednesday, June 17, at 7 p.m.—Barb Goffman and I will chat about short mystery fiction, including our two recent collections: The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense, gathering sixteen of my own short stories, and Crime Travel: Tales of Mystery and Time Travel, edited by Barb and recently named a finalist for the Anthony Award for Best Anthology! I’m also thrilled that my own story for Crime Travel, “Hard Return,” was named a finalist for the Best Short Story Anthony as well. You can find out more about this event and register to attend here.
Hope folks reading this will join in for one or the other or both (!) events!
June 9, 2020
The First Two Pages: “The Greatest Secret” by James Blakey
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 is the second June in a row that the First Two Pages has devoted space to anthologies edited by Judy Penz Sheluk—testament to her hard work on behalf of the mystery community (and in that same regard, congratulations to Judy for being recently elected chair of Crime Writers of Canada). Last June, the focus was on contributors to The Best Laid Plans; be sure to check out essays by Mary Dutta on “Festival Finale,” Lisa de Nikolits on “Fire Drill,” and Chris Wheatley on “The True Cost of Liberty.” And today we turn attention to the anthology Heartbreaks and Half-Truths, to be published on June 18 (and available for pre-order here now). Contributors to the new anthology include Blair Keetch, Buzz Dixon, Chris Wheatley, Christine Eskilson, Edward Lodi, Gustavo Bondoni, J A Henderson, James Blakey, James Lincoln Warren, John M. Floyd, Joseph S. Walker, Judy Penz Sheluk, Kate Flora, KM Rockwood, Paula Gail Benson, Peggy Rothschild, Rhonda Eikamp, Robb T. White, Sharon Hart Addy, Steve Liskow, Susan Daly, and Tracy Falenwolfe.
First up with an essay is James Blakey, writing on “The Greatest Secret.” I first became an admirer of James’ stories when I read originally published in The Norwegian American and a 2019 Derringer Award Winner, and then I was pleased to meet him in person—and dapperly attired! (second from right below)—at a launch party for the anthology Crime Travel, which includes his terrific story “The Case of the Missing Physicist.”
You can find more about James’ work at his website here—and hope you enjoy his reflections on his new story below.
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.
The-First-Two-Pages-Blakey
June 8, 2020
Anthony Award Nominations—TIMES TWO!
Yowsa! It’s an honor to have not just one but TWO of my short stories named as finalists for this year’s Anthony Awards! “Better Days” from Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and “Hard Return” from the anthology Crime Travel, edited by Barb Goffman, are both in contention—and dividing my own vote too, yikes!
Congrats too to Barb for having Crime Travel named a finalist for Best Anthology/Collection, to my wife Tara Laskowski, whose One Night Gone is a finalist for Best First Novel, and to all the finalists here, especially my fellow short story writers Hector Acosta, Hilary Davidson, and Alex Segura.
The full list of finalists follows—a terrific line-up!
BEST NOVEL
Your House Will Pay, by Steph Cha (Ecco)
They All Fall Down, by Rachel Howzell Hall (Forge)
Lady in the Lake, by Laura Lippman (William Morrow)
The Murder List, by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge)
Miami Midnight, by Alex Segura (Polis Books)
BEST FIRST NOVEL
The Ninja Daughter, by Tori Eldridge (Agora Books)
Miracle Creek, by Angie Kim (Sarah Crichton Books)
One Night Gone, by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House)
Three-Fifths, by John Vercher (Agora Books)
American Spy, by Lauren Wilkinson (Random House)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL**
The Unrepentant, by E.A. Aymar (Down & Out Books)
Murder Knocks Twice, by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur)
The Pearl Dagger, by L.A. Chandlar (Kensington)
Scot & Soda, by Catriona McPherson (Midnight Ink)
The Alchemist’s Illusion, by Gigi Pandian (Midnight Ink)
Drowned Under, by Wendall Thomas (Poisoned Pen Press)
The Naming Game, by Gabriel Valjan (Winter Goose Press)
BEST CRITICAL NON-FICTION WORK
Hitchcock and the Censors, by John Billheimer (University Press of Kentucky)
The Hooded Gunman: An Illustrated History of the Collins Crime Club, by John Curran (Collins Crime Club)
The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford Circle Remade the World for Women, by Mo Moulton (Basic Books)
The Trail of Lizzie Borden: A True Story, by Cara Robertson (Simon & Schuster)
The Five: The Untold Stories of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, by Hallie Rubenhold (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
BEST SHORT STORY
“Turistas,” by Hector Acosta (appearing in ¡Pa’que Tu Lo Sepas!: Stories to Benefit the People of Puerto Rico)
“Unforgiven,” by Hilary Davidson (appearing in Murder a-Go-Gos: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of the Go-Gos)
“The Red Zone,” by Alex Segura (appearing in ¡Pa’que Tu Lo Sepas!: Stories to Benefit the People of Puerto Rico)
“Better Days,” by Art Taylor (appearing in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, May/June 2019)
“Hard Return,” by Art Taylor (appearing in Crime Travel)
BEST ANTHOLOGY OR COLLECTION
The Eyes of Texas: Private Investigators from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods, edited by Michael Bracken (Down & Out Books)
¡Pa’que Tu Lo Sepas!: Stories to Benefit the People of Puerto Rico, edited by Angel Luis Colón (Down & Out Books)
Crime Travel, edited by Barb Goffman (Wildside Press)
Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible, edited by Verena Rose, Rita Owen, and Shawn Reilly Simmons (Wildside Press)
Murder A-Go-Go’s: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of the Go-Gos, edited by Holly West (Down & Out Books)
BEST YOUNG ADULT**
Seven Ways to Get Rid of Harry, by Jen Conley (Down & Out Books)
Catfishing on CatNet, by Naomi Kritzer (Tor Teen)
Killing November, by Adriana Mather (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Patron Saints of Nothing, by Randy Ribay (Kokila)
The Deceivers, by Kristen Simmons (Tor Teen)
Wild and Crooked, by Leah Thomas (Bloomsbury YA)
June 5, 2020
Shamus Award Finalists & The First Two Pages!
Earlier this week, the Private Eye Writers of America announced this year’s Shamus Award finalists—a great bunch overall, and I was particularly thrilled to see three alumni of the First Two Pages blog among the nominees.
J.D. Allen wrote about Skin Game here.
William Burton McCormick wrote about “The Dunes of Saulkrasti” here.
And Adam Meyer wrote about “The Fourteenth Floor” here.
Below is the full list of finalists—and congratulations to all!
Best Original Private Eye Paperback
The Skin Game by J.D. Allen
Behind the Wallof Sleep by James D.F. Hannah
Paid in Spades by Richard Helms
Ration of Lies by M. Ruth Myers
The Bird Boys by Lisa Sandlin
Best Private Eye Short Story
“The Smoking Bandit of Lakeside Terrace” by Chad Baker in EQMM May/June
“Sac-A-Lait Man” by O’Neil De Noux in EQMM Sept/Oct
“The Dunes of Saulkrasti” by William Burton McCormick in EQMM Sept/Oct
“The Fourteenth Floor” by Adam Meyer in Crime Travel anthology from Wildside Press
“Weathering the Storm” by Michael Pool in The Eyes of Texas anthology from Down & Out Books
Best Private Eye Novel
The Tower of Songs by Casey Barrett
Lost Tomorrows by Matt Coyle
The Shallows by Matt Goldman
Below the Line by Michael Gould
The Cold Way Home by Julia Keller
Two Weeks, Three Virtual Events!
After having been in so much over the last couple of months, I’m looking forward to getting out—virtually!—with three events in the next two weeks!
On Tuesday, June 9, I’ll be joining fellow mystery writer Ellen Crosby for a lunchtime (Eastern time lunch time!) event as part of the Virginia Book Festival’s new Shelf Life series. Register here to join the chat.
The following Tuesday, June 16, I’ll help another local literary festival—Fall for the Book—kick off its new series of trivia nights, part of the lead-up to its own virtual festival later this year. That event starts at 7 p.m. EDT, and you can sign-up here.
And on Wednesday evening, June 17, The Fountain Bookstore in Richmond will host Barb Goffman and me for a chat on short stories. That event also begins at 7 p.m. EDT, and registration is here.
Hopefully some fun things here for readers—and easy to join in from home!
June 2, 2020
The First Two Pages: The Blues Don’t Care by Paul D. Marks
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 week marks the publication of Paul D. Marks‘ new novel, The Blues Don’t Care, set in Los Angeles during World War II and focused on a white jazz musician in an all-black swing band—a musician who steps up as detective when one of his band members is falsely accused of murder. Advance praise on the novel is already strong, with novelist Michael SEars noting, “Paul D. Marks finds new gold in 40’s L.A. noir while exploring prejudices in race, culture, and sexual identity. There’s sex, drugs, and jazz and an always surprising hero who navigates the worlds of gambling, music, war profiteers, Jewish mobsters, and a lonely few trying to do the right thing. Marks has an eye for the telling detail, and an ear that captures the music in the dialogue of the times. He is one helluva writer.”
I first “met” Paul when he and I were fellow bloggers at Criminal Minds, and then later at SleuthSayers as well, and it was his blog posts that first made me a fan of his writing: thoughtful, reflective, carefully constructed, regularly digging deep into whatever subject they tackled. Those same qualities are the hallmark of his fine fiction, and in addition to his novels (his White Heat won the Shamus Award), he’s a tremendously talented short story writer as well, with “The Ghosts of Bunker Hill” earning the top spot in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine‘s 2016 Readers’ Poll.
I’m looking forward to Paul’s new novel, and I hope you’ll enjoy this glimpse below at The Blues Don’t Care 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.
Marks-Blues-Dont-Care
May 27, 2020
VA Festival of the Book: Shelf Life with Ellen Crosby
It was a heartbreaker when the Virginia Festival of the Book decided to cancel for 2020; it’s such a fine festival, the organizers work so hard, the community is terrific, and who can beat Charlottesville for a beautiful and hospitable venue? But despite that disappointment, what a thrill to see how quickly the organizers jumped into plans for virtual events with authors originally planned for those in-person festivities.
The Shelf Life programming began April 21, with virtual lunchtime events each Tuesday and Thursday. And I’m pleased to be part of the schedule for June—joining fellow mystery writer Ellen Crosby on Tuesday, June 9, at noon EDT.
You can find out more about our event and register here. And here’s the full schedule of June events as well—check out the great line-up throughout the month!
May 26, 2020
The First Two Pages: “Rage Warehouse—Ire Proof” by Toni L.P. Kelner
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 keep wondering what’s the best way to introduce Toni L.P. Kelner here. Should I start with her first two terrific mystery series—the eight Laura Fleming mystery novels or the three “Where Are They Now?” books? Or should I begin closer to the present, with her delightful Family Skeleton Series under the name Leigh Perry (and should I add a mention of my own cameo in the latest novel, The Skeleton Stuffs a Stocking)? Or given the subject of this post, perhaps it would be best to focus on her commitment to short-form suspense fiction, both as a short story writer herself (and Agatha winner for “Sleeping with the Plush”) and as a co-editor with Charlaine Harris of a series of top-notch urban fantasy anthologies. Or hey, how about I start with a personal angle and note that Toni and I are both native North Carolinians and that both of us migrated northward and maybe in the process earned some additional perspectives on our home states?
Or maybe it’s better to start with the story that’s the subject of Toni’s essay here: “Rage Warehouse—Ire Proof,” which—as she points out in her essay—was more than two decades in the making and which also takes her back to those N.C. roots. (I’m feeling some resonance here as well, given one of my own recent stories….)
Check out the essay below and then the full story in the latest issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. And check out more of Toni’s work at her websites here and here. She’s a terrific storyteller and a fine friend too—not just to me but to so many of us throughout the mystery community.
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.
Kelner-Rage-Warehouse
