Art Taylor's Blog, page 57
February 13, 2019
Links: Agatha Award Finalists for Best Short Story
Malice Domestic and the Short Mystery Fiction Society have each posted links to some free reading: all of this year’s finalists for the Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Glad to share these links below as well—and so pleased again to be among the finalists for this year’s Award!
“All God’s Sparrows” by Leslie Budewitz (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
“A Postcard for the Dead” by Susanna Calkins in Florida Happens (Three Rooms Press)
“Bug Appetit” by Barb Goffman (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
“The Case of the Vanishing Professor” by Tara Laskowski (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine)
“English 398: Fiction Workshop” by Art Taylor (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
Look forward to seeing everyone in Bethesda in a few months!
February 12, 2019
The First Two Pages: “Soul Mates” by Christine Otten
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 addition to being a first-class short story writer, Josh Pachter is also a distinguished translator whose work in that direction appears frequently in the “Passport to Crime” section of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.
In January, Akashic Books published Amsterdam Noir, headed up by Josh and his co-editor René Appel and bringing 14 of The Netherlands’ best authors to U.S. audiences—with a 15th story by Josh and his co-editor rounding out the set. The collection has already garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews. As CrimeReads wrote, “The latest in Akashic’s popular city Noir series heads to Amsterdam, a city whose ambivalence is on full display in the stories collected by editors Rene Appel and Josh Pachter. At once, Amsterdam is an idyllic city of orderly cafes, canals, relative abundance and safety; on the other, it’s a place that has long dealt in sex, drugs, and other activities traditionally categorized as vice. It’s a sometimes combustible combination, and the stories in Amsterdam Noir go a long way to probing the everyday noirs of Amsterdam’s many and diverse residents.”
In today’s First Two Pages, contributor Christine Otten reflects on her story “Soul Mates.” In addition to her fiction—her book The Last Poets was nominated for the prestigious Dutch Libris Literature Prize—she’s also a journalist and performer, regularly appearing at literary festivals and in theaters.
As an added bonus for readers in the Northern Virginia area, where Josh lives, there are two opportunities to meet with him this coming weekend:
On Saturday, February 16, Josh will be part of the My Bloody Valentine event at One More Pages Books, a meet-and-greet featuring members of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of Mystery Writers of America—5-7 p.m. at 2200 N. Westmoreland Avenue, Arlington, VA. On Sunday, February 17, Josh will host the North American launch of Amsterdam Noir at the Shirlington Busboys & Poets, 4251 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA—featuring local writers and performers reading selections from the anthology.
I hope folks in our area will come out for these events! And in the meantime, enjoy this introduction to the anthology, courtesy of contributor Christine Otten.
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.
Otten-Soul-Mates
February 9, 2019
Mystery Readers Journal: “Mystery in the American South”
The latest issue of Mystery Readers Journal focuses on “Mystery in the American South,” and I’m pleased to have an essay in the issue. “Look Away, Look Away” reflects on how being a native Southerner has influenced my own fiction—even stories that aren’t grounded explicitly in a Southern setting.
Here’s an excerpt from my essay:
Even if I don’t wrangle with some of the big, big themes of Southern lit, my stories inevitably concern themselves with family and relationships and community, elements central to so much of Southern tradition and Southern storytelling. Manners and morals go hand in hand with those traditions, and my own fiction obsesses over questions of morality, where the lines are, what happens when you cross one. And as for violence… well, the violence in my fiction isn’t the over-the-top kind you might find in those country/rural/redneck noir tales but instead the violence hiding too often beneath a calm surface, like I remember from Welty’s “A Curtain of Green,” with its indelible image of old woman in her garden, hefting her hoe, pondering whether to strike. My story “Parallel Play” from Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning draws on the responsibilities and the restrictions of family, for example, and poses several questions about morality, including whether a person would lay down her life for her child or would even kill for her child. (But in this case, it’s a pitchfork rather than a hoe that the main character lifts high at the end—and that’s only partly a spoiler, I should add.)
The issue also features a wide range of friends, among them Ellen Byron, John Billheimer, Elizabeth S. Craig, Ellen Crosby, Krista Davis, J.T. Ellison, Barb Goffman, Carolyn Hart, Kay Kendall, Molly MacRae, Sandra Parshall, and Tina Whittle. Find the full table of contents here, and don’t miss Donna Andrews’ essay “Making Peace with the ‘Southern Writer’ Label,” available online here. Because of the great response to this subject, Mystery Readers Journal will continue this theme in a second issue as well.
February 5, 2019
The First Two Pages: Heir of Evil by J.H. Bográn
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 first “met” J.H. Bográn back in 2015 when he interviewed me for The Big Thrill. I immediately checked out José’s own fiction, of course, and admired greatly, and we’ve been corresponding back and forth over the years since.
After all the kind attention he gave my own novel several years back, I’m pleased to help spotlight Heir of Evil, his new novel, here today—a special First Two Pages in that it deals with two specific challenges: one about continuing a series and the other about writing against the backdrop of recorded history, in this case, the history of Adolf Hitler.
Check out the essay below for a preview of these challenges and an excerpt from Heir of Evil. And check out José’s other work at his website here, on his Facebook page, at Twitter, or on Goodreads—and be sure to sign up for his newsletter 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.
Bogran-Heir-of-Evil
February 3, 2019
House of Clues Valentine’s Contest!
My novel On the Road with Del & Louise is part of the grand prize at a Valentine’s Day contest hosted by House of Clues—along with ebooks and signed books by eleven other Henery Press authors!
How to enter? Just upload a photo showing your love of books—and posting earlier is better to give voters more opportunities to bump your entry to the top!
Check out the complete rules and the full list of novels here. Good luck to all—and Happy Valentine’s Day ahead!
January 29, 2019
The First Two Pages: My Darkest Prayer by S.A. Cosby
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.
S.A. Cosby’s My Darkest Prayer kicked off the new year with a bang—and has already been earning killer reviews. Praising its “earthy blend of southern-fried crime noir,” Dan Malmon at Crimespree called the book “a bold, confident debut from a natural storyteller.” At Tough, Rusty Barnes wrote that it’s “a solidly-written and compelling journey into the backroads and sin joints of Virginia.” And at Unlawful Acts, Jim Cain concluded that the book is “a sharp debut novel that will grab you by the throat and not let you go.”
Before this debut, Shawn had already established a fine track record of short fiction, including stories in both magazines and anthologies—and his story “Slant Six” from Thuglit: Last Writes was named among “Other Distinguished Stories” in the Best American Mystery Stories 2017
anthology.
Shawn and I have crossed paths (in a good way!) at Bouchercon and at Noir at the Bar, and I’m pleased to welcome him here today with a preview of his new novel.
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.
Cosby-My-Darkest-Prayer
January 28, 2019
“English 398: Fiction Workshop” Named Agatha Award Finalist—AND…!
I’m thrilled that my story “English 398: Fiction Workshop” has been named a finalist for this year’s Agatha Award for Best Short Story—but importantly, that’s not the biggest news of the day.
Even more thrilling: I’m pleased to be making history with my wife Tara Laskowski for what I understand is the first time a husband and wife have been named finalists for competing works in the same category at Malice Domestic! Tara’s story “The Case of the Vanishing Professor,” first published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, is also on the slate for Best Short Story along with short fiction by our good friends Leslie Budewitz, Susanna Calkins, and Barb Goffman.
Congratulations to everyone in this category, and to the entire list of finalists for this year’s Agathas!
Look forward to seeing everyone at Malice Domestic in early May!
January 22, 2019
“English 398: Fiction Workshop” Named Edgar Award Finalist
I’m not sure how I’m writing this, between my fingers trembling and then also trying to keep them crossed (for the next three months), but….
My story “English 398: Fiction Workshop,” originally published in the July/August 2018 issue of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, has been named a finalist for this year’s Edgar Award for Best Short Story. A first for me, and I’m stunned and thrilled and honored in equal measure.
Congratulations to all the other finalists for short story and to all the finalists up and down this year’s list—full slate here! Looking forward to toasting you all in New York in April.
The First Two Pages: Hemlock Needle by Keenan Powell
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.
As I was preparing this post for publication, Left Coast Crime announced the finalists for this year’s Lefty Awards, including Keenan Powell‘s Deadly Solution for Best Debut Mystery Novel. What fun to help celebrate that success by also celebrating the second novel in the Maeve Malloy series, Hemlock Needle, released today by Level Best Books.
Keenan and I have been friends for a long while now, spending time together at Malice Domestic and also interacting regularly on Facebook. It’s been a thrill to watch her career grow and evolve—and to be some small part of that myself, having been part of the editorial committee that helped select her fine story, “Velvet Slippers,” for the Malice anthology Mystery Most Historical.
I hope you’ll admire and enjoy Keenan’s work as much as I have. The essay below offers a glimpse at Hemlock Needle, the inspirations behind the novel and the world that Keenan writes about. And find out more about the Maeve Malloy series and all of Keenan’s 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.
Powell-Hemlock
January 20, 2019
Hosting at House of Clues
I’ll be hosting the discussion at House of Clues on Monday, January 21—partly with a focus on Civil Rights Era crime novels in commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
