Art Taylor's Blog, page 46

The First Two Pages: “The Short and Slightly Speculative History of Lavoisier’s Wife” by Amber Sparks

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.

On Saturday, February 29, Amber Sparks and I will be part of a Short Story Extravaganza at One More Page Books in Arlington, VA—celebrating each of our new short story collections: Amber’s And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories and Other Revenges and my own The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense. This is actually the launch party for my new collection, and I’m thrilled to be sharing the stage with Amber because of how much I’ve admired both her short stories and her dedication to her craft—and enjoyed knowing her as a person as well, in the times my wife Tara and I have gotten together with Amber and her husband socially over the years. (Tara is actually going to be moderating our conversation; she seems nice too.)

Amber has always been ground-breaking—visionary even—in her short fiction. Roxane Gay called her a “master of the fantastic,” and the Washington Post has praised how she “uses the surreal and fantastic in stunning, surprising ways.” In a smaller way today at the First Two Pages, Amber breaks fresh ground in two new directions. First, the title of her story is the longest I’ve ever featured here! (As I write this post, I haven’t yet checked to see how it’ll even fit on the website….) And second, in the opposite direction… well, let’s just say that she’s not analyzing the entire first two pages of her story; in fact, the passage she’s analyzing is shorter than the title itself.

See for yourself in the essay below, and check out more about Amber at her website. And for those readers and fellow writers in the DC area, please join us on Saturday, February 29, at One More Page!

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.

SPARKS-The-First-Two-Pages

Mystery Scene Essay

Thanks to Mystery Scene for including an essay of mine in the latest issue—just received this weekend!

My essay serves as a preview of the title story in my new collection The Boy Detective and the Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense, now available from Crippen & Landru. That story first appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and my essay looks at some of the elements which fed into my writing of it—from actual events in my own childhood to my later studies of Southern culture and history.

Hope folks enjoy the essay—and this whole issue of Mystery Scene. And my story too, of course!

The First Two Pages: I Know Where You Sleep by Alan Orloff

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 not sure when people first started confusing Alan Orloff and me, but it’s happened often enough that it’s become a joke. And it’s not just at conferences that people confusing us—passing in hallways, a quick glimpse, a brief hello, a moment of (mis)recognition. Even in our monthly writing meetings, our fellow group members have sometimes stumbled in referring to one of us.

The good news for me: Alan’s a good writer to be confused with. He’s dedicated to his craft, both in terms of his steady output of stories and novels and in terms of the quality of that writing. He’s earned the respect of his peers and the larger community both because of his talent and his work ethic and because of his kindness and generosity as a person. And he’s earned a wide range of honors too, from his the Agatha Award nomination for his first novel, Diamonds for the Dead, to her 2019 successes, including both a Thriller Award for Pray for the Innocent and a Derringer Award for his story “Dying in Dokesville.” One last thing: Alan is a versatile writer too, writing across genres (don’t miss a couple of horror novels under the name Zak Allen!) and widely within the mystery genre too—witness, this month, the release of his first PI novel: I Know Where You Sleep.

In his First Two Pages essay today, Alan offers a glimpse at the opening of that novel—due out next week from Down & Out Books. Congratulations, Alan!

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.

Orloff-I-KNOW-WHERE-YOU-SLEEP

February Events: Book Launch & More!

February promises big things—including the release of my collection The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense from Crippen & Landru!

The official launch for the collection is Saturday, February 29, at One More Page Books in Arlington, VA: a Short Story Extravaganza which also features Amber Sparks, celebrating the release of her new collection And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories and Other Revenges. Tara Laskowski will be moderating a discussion with us. The event begins at 4 p.m. at One More Page Books & More, 2200 North Westmoreland Street, Arlington, VA. You can pre-order books from their site here.

Another big event in February is the Northern Virginia Noir at the Bar, hosted by Josh Pachter on Sunday, February 16, at Busboys & Poets, also in Arlington. “Hearts & Daggers” is the theme of the evening, and I’ll be reading a bit of flash fiction alongside Kathleen Barber, Karen Cantwell, S.A. Cosby, Patrick Hyde, Ellen Clair Lamb, Ken Lawrence, and Shawn Reilly Simmons—a terrific line-up of authors! This event begins at 6:30 p.m. at Busboys & Poets, 4251 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA.

More events ahead in March too—check out the full calendar ahead here.

The First Two Pages: “Wisest, Swiftest, Kindest” by Paula Gail Benson

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.

Looking back, I find myself struggling to remember when I first met Paula Gail Benson. At Malice Domestic almost certainly, but exactly when? exactly where? Paula has seemed so much a part of our lives for so long that it’s difficult to imagine a time before we knew her! We always look forward to seeing one another at Malice—chats, drinks, dinners—and we also try to join one another for the Agatha Awards Banquet each year, almost a tradition now. We get together at Bouchercon too (or try to, this year was a blur), we correspond throughout the year as well, and along the way, it’s been wonderful not only to see our friendship grow but also to watch Paula’s own career develop in so many directions too.

In addition to being a fine writer of short fiction herself—as you’ll see below with a preview of her story “Wisest, Swiftest Kindest” in which she steps into a new genre—Paula is a devoted reader of crime fiction, an enthusiastic supporter of the mystery community, and a regular blogger at both The Stiletto Gang and Writers Who Kill in addition to her own blog. And beyond short fiction, she contributes to productions at a local theater in Columbia, SC, and she’s been working on a novel which I’ve been fortunate to read excerpts of—and I hope that others will soon be able to read the whole book. I’m ready for the rest myself!

In the meantime, enjoy this glimpse at Paula’s short fiction below. And check out more of her work at her website 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.

Benson-Wisest

Read “Better Days”

Thanks to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, for a limited time you can read my story “Better Days” online for free.

“Better Days” was published in EQMM‘s May/June 2019 issue and has recently been named a finalist for this year’s Agatha Award for Best Short Story, alongside stories by Kaye George, Barb Goffman, Cynthia Kuhn, and Shawn Reilly Simmons. The winner of that award will be named at Malice Domestic in early May.

“Better Days” Named Agatha Finalist

Thank you to the Malice Domestic community for choosing my story “Better Days” as a finalist for this year’s Agatha Awards. “Better Days” is one of my father-and-son stories, a series originally inspired by a boat trip that my own dad and I took many years ago. Here now, just a little over seven months since my dad’s death, this stands out as a particularly poignant honor.

Congratulations to all of the finalists, both in the short story category—hello, Kaye, Barb, Cynthia, and Shawn!—and beyond, and especially to my wife Tara Laskowski, a finalist for this year’s Agatha for Best First Novel. Look forward to seeing you all in May!

And the finalists are…. drum-roll please!

Best Contemporary Novel

Fatal Cajun Festival by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books)
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur)
Fair Game by Annette Dashofy (Henery Press)
The Missing Ones by Edwin Hill (Kensington)
A Better Man by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Murder List by Hank Philippi Ryan (Forge)

Best First Mystery Novel

A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane Books)
One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House, a division of Harlequin)
Murder Once Removed by S. C. Perkins (Minotaur)
When It’s Time for Leaving by Ang Pompano (Encircle Publications)
Staging for Murder by Grace Topping (Henery Press)

Best Historical Mystery

Love and Death Among the Cheetahs by Rhys Bowen (Penquin)
Murder Knocks Twice by Susanna Calkins (Minotaur)
The Pearl Dagger by L. A. Chandlar (Kensington)
Charity’s Burden by Edith Maxwell (Midnight Ink)
The Naming Game by Gabriel Valjan (Winter Goose Publishing)

Best Nonfiction

Frederic Dannay, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and the Art of the Detective Short Story by Laird R. Blackwell (McFarland)

Blonde Rattlesnake: Burmah Adams, Tom White, and the 1933 Crime Spree
that Terrified Los Angeles by Julia Bricklin (Lyons Press)
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep (Knopf)

The Mutual Admiration Society: How Dorothy L. Sayers and her Oxford
Circle Remade the World for Women by Mo Moulton (Basic Books)
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold (Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt)

Best Children/Young Adult

Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers by Shauna Holyoak (Disney Hyperion)
Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen MacManus (Delacorte Press)
The Last Crystal by Frances Schoonmaker (Auctus Press)
Top Marks for Murder (A Most Unladylike Mystery)
by Robin Stevens (Puffin)
Jada Sly, Artist and Spy by Sherri Winston (Little Brown Books for Young Readers)

Best Short Story

“Grist for the Mill” by Kaye George in A Murder of Crows (Darkhouse Books)
“Alex’s Choice” by Barb Goffman in Crime Travel (Wildside Press)
“The Blue Ribbon” by Cynthia Kuhn in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
“The Last Word” by Shawn Reilly Simmons, Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
“Better Days” by Art Taylor in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

The First Two Pages: Maxine Unleashes Doomsday by Nick Kolakowski

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.

A couple of years back, Nick Kolakowski contributed one of my favorite essays to the First Two Pages—some reflections on his ThugLit story “A Nice Pair of Guns.” It’s an essay I’ve referred to often in terms of thinking about story structure, about story openings and pacing, and about listening to your own instincts (instead of following conventional wisdom) as you write and revise. So when Nick asked to write an essay on the opening pages of his latest book, Maxine Unleashes Doomsday, I said yes immediately; I felt sure he’d be delivering again some thoughtful insights on craft and storytelling—and I was right, as you’ll see below.

In addition to the new book, Nick is also author of the crime thriller Boise Longpig Hunting Club; both that book and Maxine are published by Down & Out Books. His short crime fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Shotgun Honey, Mystery Tribune, and various anthologies. Find out more about his work at his website, and connect with him on Twitter at @nkolakowski.

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.

Kolakowski-Maxine

Updates—in several directions!

What a busy stretch of announcements last week brought!

Two days after the cover reveal for The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense, BOLO Books also premiered the cover of The Swamp Killers, a novel in stories edited by Sarah M. Chen and E.A. Aymar, including my story “A Close Shave.” Additional contributors include Hilary Davidson, Alex Dolan, Rebecca Drake, Gwen Florio, Elizabeth Heiter, J.J. Hensley, Susi Holliday, Shannon Kirk, Tara Laskowski, Jenny Milchman, Alan Orloff, Tom Sweterlitsch, and Wendy Tyson. That book is due out March 16 from Down & Out Books.

Also announced: The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Joni Mitchell, an anthology edited by Josh Pachter. This one includes the first literary collaboration by my wife Tara Laskowski and me—our story is “Both Sides Now”—and also features stories by Donna Andrews, Abby Bardi, Michael Bracken, David Dean, Brendan DuBois, John Floyd, Barb Goffman, Sherry Harris, Greg Herren, Matthew Iden, Edith Maxwell, Alison McMahan, Adam Meyer, Alan Orloff, Kathryn O’Sullivan, Christine Poulson, Marilyn Todd, and Stacy Bolla Woodson, plus another first: a fiction collaboration between Dell Magazines editors Jackie Sherbow and Emily Alta Hockaday. This one is forthcoming from Untreed Reads—no pub date yet, but hoping summer or fall of this year.

Even sooner on the calendar: Josh Pachter just announced the line-up for the next 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, alongside Kathleen Barber, Karen Cantwell, Shawn Cosby, Patrick Hyde, Ellen Clair Lamb, Ken Lawrence, and Shawn Reilly Simmons.

More news ahead—stay tuned!

The First Two Pages: The Glass Forest by Lisa Lieberman

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’s First Two Pages essay is markedly different from previous essays in the series. While Lisa Lieberman reflects on the opening of her new novel The Glass Forest, she also analyzes the opening of Graham Greene’s 1955 novel The Quiet American—examining not only the resonance between the two stories but the explicit interrelationship there, a series of comparisons and contrasts that help to illuminate each text.

The Glass Forest is the third in Lieberman’s Cara Walden Mystery Series, after All The Wrong Places and Burning Cold—historical mysteries which, in novelist Clea Simon’s words, hit “the sweet spot between Casablanca and John Le Carré.” Lieberman brings solid background to these historical mysteries—drawing both on her interest in classic films (she’s a critic for Noir City and the founder of blog deathlessprose.com) and her training as a modern European cultural and intellectual historian (her nonfiction books include Dirty War: Terror and Torture in French Algeria and Stalin’s Boots: In the Footsteps of the Failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution).

I hope you’ll appreciate the essay here as much as I did, and check out The Glass Forest and more of Lieberman’s work.

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.

Lieberman-Glass-Forest