Art Taylor's Blog, page 45
March 12, 2020
The Thrill Begins: “How It Happened”
Thanks to Ed Aymar for inviting me to reflect on “How It Happened” at The Thrill Begins—though the question of what “It” is posed some problems… and the length of time over which “It” happened, as you’ll see in my essay.
Here’s an excerpt:
To circle back to the question underlying this essay series: How did “it” happen? Well, surveying those last 25 years, I’m not even sure what “it” might be: the first story in 1995? My first book, in 2015 (twenty years later)? That first award in 2011? The Edgar last year?
In the introduction to my just-released collection The Boy Detective and the Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense, I write about that first story for Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine—“Murder on the Orient Express” in the December 1995 issue—and my surge of confidence that I’d broken through. My career had begun! More stories would roll out ahead, a book and more books, fame and fortune and…you name it, I dreamed it!
“It.” Many “its,” in fact—many that might well have happened.
But then my second submission to EQMM earned a rejection. And my third too. Ultimately, nearly 12 years blinked past before I’d appear in those pages again.
March 11, 2020
Coronavirus & The Calendar
The past few days has brought the cancellation of many events, with more cancellations looming on the horizon.
Two great festivals on the calendar—for me and for my wife, Tara Laskowski, as well—have announced that they will not take place: the Virginia Festival of the Book, originally scheduled for March 18-22, and the High Road Festival of Poetry and Short Fiction, originally scheduled for March 28. These are hard decisions to make, of course, especially after so many months and months of planning and investment. We respect so much the organizers of each event for their work and for those decisions.
Tara and I are still currently scheduled for a conversation at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC, on Sunday afternoon, March 29, at 2 p.m.—and we’ve heard from the staff at QRB that we’ll be proceeding with this event. Quail Ridge Books is located at 4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road in Raleigh, and you can find out more about the event at the Facebook Event Page here.
Stay tuned for any updates ahead—and best wishes to all to stay safe and healthy.
March 10, 2020
The First Two Pages: “Chasing the Straight” by Trey R. Barker
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.
The last three weeks at the First Two Pages have featured contributors to the anthology The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods, edited by Michael Bracken. James A. Hearn wrote on his story “Trip Among the Bluebonnets,” Mark Troy on his story “Shaft on Wheels,” and Bev Vincent on his story “The Patience of Kane.” Wrapping up the series today is Trey R. Barker on “Chasing the Straight,” and as he explains in his essay below, he had some very definite ideas about what the story’s opening needed—and what it didn’t need—even as he admits, “I’m an organic writer and I usually just jump in.” (The two aren’t incompatible, of course; pre-thoughts or diving in without them, then reading, reflection, revision—many stages to the process.)
Trey R. Barker is the author of the Jace Salome novels, as well as the Barefield Trilogy. He also wrote The Unknowing, No Harder Prison, The Cancer Chronicles, and Hostage, as well as hundreds of short stories spanning every genre from horror to crime. A native of west Texas, Barker was once a journalist and now works with the Bureau County Sheriff’s Office in north-central Illinois, as a patrol sergeant and an investigator for the Illinois Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Hope you enjoy this glance at Trey’s fiction here—and check out more of his work at his website 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.
Barker-Chasing-Straight
March 3, 2020
The First Two Pages: “The Patience of Kane” by Bev Vincent
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.
The first of Bev Vincent’s stories featuring Benjamin Kane appeared in 2004: “Kane’s Mutiny” in Fedora III, edited by Michael Bracken. The story he discusses here today, “The Patience of Kane,” appears in the anthology The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods, also edited by Michael Bracken. It’s much fun to see author, editor, and character reunited in this way—and as you’ll see in Bev’s essay below, Michael had a strong reaction to the new story when read it. (But you’ll need to check out the essay to see what that reaction was—and the story itself too, of course, for the experience yourself.)
Bev Vincent is a prolific short story writer—with nearly a hundred stories that have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and two MWA anthologies, among other venues—and he’s also a noted writers of nonfiction, particularly on the subject of Stephen King. His books include The Road to the Dark Tower and The Stephen King Illustrated Companion, and he and King also co-edited the anthology Flight or Fright. Since 2001, he has been a contributing editor with Cemetery Dance magazine, where his column News from the Dead Zone appears in every issue and online.
For more information on his work, visit his website at bevvincent.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook. His book review blog is OnyxReviews.com and his online Stephen King news site is NewsFromTheDeadZone.com.
In the meantime, enjoy his essay below on “The Patience of Kane”—and check out essays by two previous contributors to the anthology as well: Mark Troy on “Shaft on Wheels,” and James A. Hearn on “Trip Among the Bluebonnets.” One more contributor still to come! Stay tuned 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.
Vincent-The-Patience-of-Kane
March 1, 2020
Upcoming Events!
Thanks to everyone who came out for the book launch at One More Page for The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense—such a great crowd (standing room only!) and such a fun conversation on short fiction with Amber Sparks and Tara Laskowski.
So much appreciate everyone who helped celebrate the new collection—and looking forward to more events ahead, with bookstore appearances and festival programs on the schedule in the coming months. Mark your calendars for the events below! Hope to see many friendly faces at each stop.
Thursday-Sunday, March 18-22
Virginia Festival of the Book, 212 Ridge McIntire Road, Charlottesville, VA
Panel (as moderator): “Crime Finds a Way” with Ellen Crosby, Sara E. Johnson, Jon Sealy, and John Vercher • 2 p.m.Panel: “Watching the Detectives” with Cara Black, Deborah Crombie, and Meredith Doench, Ballroom B • 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
Seminar: “Something Is Going to Happen,” High Road Festival of Poetry and Short Fiction, Embassy Suites, 460 North Cherry Street, Winston-Salem, NC • 3:45 p.m.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Quail Ridge Books, with Tara Laskowski, North Hills, 4209-100 Lassiter Mill Road, Raleigh, NC • 2 p.m. (Facebook Event Page)
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Conversations and Connections, George Mason University, Arlington, VA
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Readings on the Pike, Arlington, VA • 7 p.m.
Friday-Sunday, May 1-3, 2020
Malice Domestic, North Bethesda, MD
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Fountain Bookstore with Barb Goffman, 1312 East Cary Street, Richmond, VA • 6:30 p.m.
February 25, 2020
The First Two Pages: “Trip Among the Bluebonnets” by James A. Hearn
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.
Most often at the First Two Pages, I’m hosting veteran writers sharing insights not only with readers but also with aspiring authors—”how to” tips for new writers struggling to open their own tales. But it’s been a great joy as well to feature newer authors here, offering fresh perspectives about how to make your fiction stand out—something that James A. Hearn specifically discusses in his essay on “Trip Among the Bluebonnets,” his first professional sale as a short story writer. The story was featured in the anthology The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods, edited by Michael Bracken.
As you’ll see from James’s essay, this is also his debut PI tale—having been a writer across other genres as well: science fiction, fantasy, and horror, for example. But for this story being his professional debut, he’s already forging a clear path ahead, with several publications already under his belt or slated for the near future: “A Beretta, Burritos and Bears” in Guns + Tacos (Down & Out Books, 2019), “Tunnel Visions,” forthcoming in Monsters, Movies, & Mayhem (WordFire Press, 2020), and “The Hard Luck Case,” forthcoming in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir (Down & Out Books, 2020).
This is the second essay in a series featuring contributors to The Eyes of Texas. Last week, Mark Troy kicked things off with a piece on his story “Shaft on Wheels,” and the next two weeks will feature Trey Barker and Bev Vincent—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.
Hearn-Bluebonnets
February 23, 2020
Book Launch—Saturday, February 29
On Saturday, February 29, One More Page Books in Arlington, VA, will host the book launch for my new collection, The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense—hooray!
The program starts at 4 p.m. and includes Amber Sparks, celebrating her new collection And I Do Not Forgive You. Tara Laskowski, author of One Night Gone and of two story collections of her own (and my wife, of course!), will be in conversation with us—both about our new collections and about short fiction in general.
Hope you’ll come out and join the fun!
February 21, 2020
10% Discount from Crippen & Landru
I’m fortunate to have events planned at two fine bookstores over the next month—bookstores that have felt like my hometown stores for long periods of my life: a book launch at One More Page Books in Arlington, Virginia on Saturday, February 29 (along with Amber Sparks and Tara Laskowski) and then another shared event with Tara at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina on Sunday afternoon, March 29. As always, I encourage friends and fans to shop indie, buy local—and looking forward to signing books at each event!
But for those outside these local areas, I wanted to share a week-long discount on books ordered direct from my publisher. Beginning today—Friday, February 21—and continuing for a week, Crippen & Landru is lopping 10% off any orders through the website—to commemorate the demise of one of the publisher’s namesakes: Henri Landru, who went to the guillotine on February 25, 1922. (It’s a gruesome tie-in, I know, but hey, 10% is 10%—and honestly the man deserved it.)
Visit the C&L website and use the code Landru10 to earn 10% off the price of any book there—including my collection The Boy Detective and The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense!
February 18, 2020
The First Two Pages: “Shaft on Wheels” by Mark Troy
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.
Not only is Michael Bracken one of the finest short story writers I know—and a prolific one too, with more than 1300 published short stories to his name!—but he’s also a distinguished editor, with several anthologies under his belt, plus the new Guns + Tacos series from Down & Out Books, and he’s recently taken the helm of Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and…. And in the spotlight today and for the next few weeks, we have another of his recent projects: The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods. Four contributors to the anthology will be sharing reflections on their stories at the First Two Pages in this small series of essays, beginning today with Mark Troy.
While Texas is the order of the day here, Mark Troy specializes in Hawaiian Noir. He’s the author of two private eye novels: Pilikia Is My Business, nominated for a Shamus Award, and Game Face, both featuring PI Val Lyon, who also appears in a number of Mark’s short stories. A second short story series features PI Ava Rome. Mark’s novella “Dos Tacos Guatemaltecos Y Una Pistola Casera” will be published in 2020 in the Guns + Tacos series.
Check out the essay below for a preview of Mark’s work and his approach to writing. And stay tuned for essays ahead from Eyes of Texas contributors Trey Barker, James A. Hearn, and Bev Vincent.
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.
Troy-Shaft-On-Wheels
February 12, 2020
Sunday, Feb. 16: Noir at the Bar, Arlington, VA
Very much looking forward to this weekend’s Northern Virginia Noir at the Bar—Sunday, February 16, 6:30 p.m. at Busboys & Poets in Shirlington. I’m pleased to be on the line-up for this “Hearts and Daggers” evening, hosted by Josh Pachter and also featuring Kathleen Barber, Karen Cantwell, Shawn Cosby, Patrick Hyde, Ellen Clair Lamb, Ken Lawrence, and Shawn Reilly Simmons.
…and, of course, Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck… pictured above.
I’ll be reading “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”—the first story in my collection The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense.
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
