Bloody Signorina now on sale

Now that the 2014 Derringer Awards have concluded, I’m releasing an “official” paid version of my short story, “Bloody Signorina.”

This edition comes with the full story, an alternate ending, and an excerpt of my upcoming novel featuring the detective I introduced in the original Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine story. I don’t normally think it’s worth doing a paper edition of short stories, but I did one for this title, just because.

The e-book’s only 99 cents. But readers of this blog can snag a free copy via Smashwords, using code LL86C upon checkout. The freebie ends in 7 days, so grab it now. (Please note: Coupon has expired.)

By the way, the cover for “Bloody Signorina” was done by designer James at GoOnWrite.com, who is a writer in his own, um, right. I read two of his "Humble Nations" shorts on the beach in SC recently, and enjoyed the hell out of them. They’re definitely unusual stories that don’t fall into a particular genre.

"Bloody Signorina" is available here:

Smashwords

Amazon USA - ebook & paperback

Amazon UK - ebook & paperback

Apple

Nook

* * *

News—about an upcoming novel and life in general—coming soon. 

See my new story at Shotgun Honey today

I have a short short story up on Shotgun Honey today, entitled How Lil’ Jimmie Beat the Big C. The piece was inspired by a scene I witnessed when I accompanied a family member to her chemotherapy session. Check it out, why don’t you?

Thanks to everyone at Shotgun Honey.

Quick 'n' Dirty News

I promised myself that this blog wouldn’t be so Denise-centric this time around, but I feel I ought to mention that her paperback hit the same three bestseller lists (NYT, NPR, Indie) in its second week. She was home this past weekend, but left quickly after for the great Midwest. She’ll be back Friday.

Meanwhile, our agent was able to sell the ghostwriting project I was working on to a Big 5 publisher. So it looks like I’ll have a paying gig for 2014, after all. They’re excited, and so is our Author. It’s his first book and he’s really itching to get started. We’re shooting for a September 1 delivery date.

For me, that means hammering out just how I’ll arrange my schedule to incorporate interviews with the Author, writing and research time for his book, and of course writing time for my own projects. Nevertheless, knowing I have a project on deck means a lot, believe me. Sometimes I just look forward to the predictability of journalistic research and interviews.

They announced the winners of the 2014 Derringer Awards early this morning, and my shortlisted story, “Bloody Signorina,” was not among them. (It remains free here for the time being. I hope to publish it more formally soon, with an alternate ending and some other extras.)

Even so, being nominated has been a beautiful experience, and I’m happy to see the work of some of my new friends—among them longtime short story writer Robert Lopresti—among the winners.

Free Copy of My Derringer Finalist

If you’re curious about reading “Bloody Signorina,” that story of mine which made it to the Derringer Award finals, you can download it free at this Smashwords page.

You’ll be able to choose the format that best fits your device—epub, mobi, or plain old PDF. Heck, you can also just read it on the screen.

If you are a Derringer Group voter, you should probably read the RTF  version of this story via the official Derringer Voting Group site.

The story will remain free on Smashwords until midnight of March 31, the last day of voting.

Read it online.

Download a free PDF.

Download a free mobi file.

Download a free epub file.

Nominated for Derringer Award

Woke up this morning to discover that one of my short stories has been nominated for the Derringer Award for Best Long Story. The Derringers are one of the top prizes for mystery short fiction. The announcement is here.

Sort of shocked right now.

The story, “Bloody Signorina,” ran in the September 2013 issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Magazine. It’s the story of young, spoiled expat American woman living in Rome who acts out, to put it mildly.

Feel really…proud. Considering I ignored my fiction for such a long time, this feels good. Today, cake and beer.

Nominations rock.

Look for my short story "Nighthawks" in Hitchcock’s Mystery Mag!

Look for my short story in Hitchcock’s Mystery Mag!

Almost forgot. One of those short stories I was telling you about appears in the April 2014 issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (AHMM), on newsstands now.

The story is called “Nighthawks,” after Edward Hopper’s famous 1942 painting of the same name. It’s probably the most parodied painting on the planet after the Mona Lisa. Four people sit in an oddly shaped diner in the middle of the night. What’s going on there? Well, my story offers just one scenario.

The artist Hopper said the painting was inspired by a diner on Greenwich Avenue in New York, but no one has ever located the original site. Some years ago, blogger Jeremiah Moss investigated the mystery, and has written about his search in the New York Times, the Financial Times, and on his blog. Great reading, if you’re fascinated by the painting.

You can find a hard-copy version of AHMM wherever magazines are sold. (My local B&N tends to carry it.) Failing that, in a few days you can download a single digital issue via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes, Zinio, Magzter, Sony, and Google Play. Just make sure you are downloading the April 2014 issue shown above.

"The Sweatergeist" in Hitchcock's Magazine!

Look for my short story in Hitchcock’s Mystery Mag!

I have a new short story in the December 2013 issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (AHMM), on newsstands now. Got another cover mention!

I’m frankly surprised that they bought this story, which is entitled “The Sweatergeist.” I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a PI story with a cross-genre twist. I thought it would be a long shot for a straight mystery magazine, but it definitely fits what AHMM is billing as their Halloween issue.

A friend wrote last time to ask how long AHMM took to respond to my submission. I just checked. I submitted the piece 28 July 2012, was notified of its acceptance 27 February 2013 (214 days), and it’s appearing on newsstands 1 October 2013. So figure a 14-month wait from submission to publication. As always, responses vary from publication to publication, but this kind of response time is typical with AHMM. 

You can find a hard-copy version of AHMM wherever magazines are sold. (My local B&N tends to carry it.) Failing that, in a few days you can download a single digital issue via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes, Zinio, Magzter,Sony, and Google Play. Just make sure you are downloading the December 2013 issue shown above.

New short story at Plots With Guns!

I have a new short story up at the crime ‘zine, Plots With Guns. This story was inspired by the sound of a woman’s voice. It’s an Appalachian story. Real Cackalacky.

What else?

Spent the last two days chasing around DC. Denise did some meetings yesterday, a signing at the Smithsonian’s American History Museum today, and a TV interview with The PBS Newshour this afternoon. That clip will probably run next week. Awesome to hear people come up to her saying they had heard of the book on NPR, or were already reading it. Tomorrow she’ll be signing at the International Spy Museum starting at 2 pm in DC, if you’re around.

The New York Times has posted the Bestseller List containing Denise’s book online at this link. The post says it’ll be printed in the March 24 issue of the book review, but they probably will only do the Top 15. So if you’re Denise’s mom, please hold off buying that issue.

Still kind of shocked by David B. Silva’s death. I located posts talking about him here, here, here, and here.

That’s about it. Really beat. Still trying to shake this head cold. Beginning to hate these trips. More tomorrow, maybe, on our last day in DC. Head to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Sunday.