The First Two Pages: “Book of Hours” by Robert Mangeot

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 read Robert Mangeot‘s work when he submitted a story for the 2015 Bouchercon anthology Murder Under the Oaks. I edited that collection, and Bob’s story “Crack-Up at Waycross” was one of the blind submissions I considered—and immediately accepted. It cracked me up too—wry humor, delightful storytelling, compelling prose, the full package.

It was great fun “meeting” Bob through that process, and then meeting him in person later. I’ve been a fan of his stories ever since, and you can find out more about his work at his website here.

Today he talked about his new story, “Book of Hours” in the July/August 2018 Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, a follow-up to a story in AHMM several years ago. I particularly enjoyed here getting a glimpse into his writing process, the thought he puts behind his craft.

Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay here to read off-line.

Mangeot Book of Hours