Shanks in Retreat

 

The new issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine features "Shanks in Retreat," Leopold Longshanks' 12th appearance in those pages.

I Saw Her Standing There

 

Speaking of happiness, I am delighted that my story "I Saw Her Standing There" is the lead-off hitter in Happiness is a Warm Gun, published tomorrow.  This is my fourth appearance in one of Josh Pachter's themed anthologies.  Looking forward to reading it.

Harborville at Tough

 My story "Harborville" is up at TOUGH today, my first appearance there.  Read it for free.

Bouchercon 2023: What Librarians Wish... RESOURCES

 

 Here are some tips and resources librarians wish writers and readers knew about, courtesy of the panelists...

 Better Google Searches

Sometimes .com or .net is what you want. But if you want to cut through the commercial overload, try Google Advanced Search:

Search by type of site. Example: “police procedures” site:.gov   Except for the “Sponsored” sites, all your returns will be government sites. You can do the same with your search terms + site:.edu or site:.org. 

Search boxes allow you to search by “exact phrase” and “none of these words,” etc.


Library Help

*   WorldCat is a searchable, worldwide library catalog. If you find something you want there, ask your librarian to order it through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

*    Many states and regions now have library consortia that share resources among the consortium’s members. They’re often faster at delivering than ILL.  Here’s Wikipedia’s (incomplete) list of library consortia. If you can’t find one in your state, ask your librarian.   

 *   Libraries have searchable databases and digital back issues of newspapers (cold-case info?) for those with library cards.

 *   If you can’t find what you’re looking for, ask a librarian.


Writing Mysteries

How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America. Lee Child, Laurie R. King, et al. Scribner, 2021.

Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot. Jane K. Cleland. Writers Digest Books, 2016. Cleland also offers free monthly webinars on mystery-writing topics, information available at her website.

Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club. Martin Edwards, ed. Collins Crime Club, 2020. “…it will appeal not only to would-be writers but also to a very wide readership of crime fans.”

The Howdunit series, unrelated to the above and published by Writers Digest Press, includes approximately 15 books on various aspects of crime fiction: poisons, CSI, forensic medicine, weapons, deception, etc.

Websites

In Reference to Murder BV Lawson, 2019. Hundreds of alphabetized links on everything from cybercrime and police procedural resources to forensics and weapons. “For writers, readers and fans of mystery and crime fiction.” A well-organized site: her mother was a librarian.

Resources for Writers Sisters in Crime – NorCal, 2023

Mystery Writing References, Gotham Writers, 2023.

Writing a Query, Finding an Agent Paper Lantern Writers, 2023

Small Presses & Hybrid Publishing, Paper Lantern Writers, 2023

A Textbook Case: Advice for Fiction Writers. Robert Lopresti, 2023.

 
Fascinating Free Resources You May Not Know About...

Lantern.mediahist.org  Nearly 3 million pages of public domain magazines about media.  Need a review of an Agatha Christie movie from 1931? (Spoiler: They hated it.) How about an ad for a 1937 Perry Mason flick?

Google Ngram Viewer.  Search millions of books and journals for words and phrases. Great for writing historicals. When did the phrase “the jig is up” start appearing in print?  When did it become popular?

Hathi Trust.Digital Library. 18 million publications, collected from academic libraries.   Many full-text. Look up "private detective" and find a report on crime in New York, written in 1873.

Etymonline.  Free online etymology dictionary. "Murderer's Row" is much older than the New York Yankees.

 Flickr: British Library.  Over a million public domain illustrations from British Library collections.  To take full advantage: Click on the magnifying glass on the lower right.  Do a search. Click on Advanced. Click on  Content  and select all boxes.  Click on All.
 

 

 

Librarians at Bouchercon 2023

 This is the other panel I will be on at Bouchercon in San Diego.

Bouchercon 2023

 I will be moderating this panel at Bouchercon next week in San Diego.  Should be fun.

My Newsletter Begins.

 I just put out the first issue of my quarterly newsletter. If you are interested sign up here. 

Law of the Jungle at Trace Evidence

 

I have an essay at Trace Evidence today about the research that went into "Law of the Jungle."

Memorial at SleuthSayers

 

Today at SleuthSayers I wrote about what inspired my story "Memorial."

Memorial at Black Cat Weekly

 

My story "Memorial" is in issue 95 of Black Cat Weekly.  I'm glad to be on the cover but I should warn you there are no cats or dinosaurs in my story.

Law of the Jungle at AHMM

 The July/August issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine is out.  It features "Law of the Jungle," my historical mystery about railroad hoboes.

Hypnagogia at SleuthSayers

 

Today at SleuthSayers I wrote about the inspiration for my story "Hypnagogia."

Hypnagogia

 I have a short short story in the May issue of Mystery Magazine, "Hypnagogia."

The Accessories Club at SleuthSayers

 Today at SleuthSayers I write about my story in the current AHMM.   

The Accessories Club at Trace Evidence

 
Today I have an essay at Trace Evidence, the Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine blog, about the subgenre to which "The Accessories Club" belongs.

Please Pass the Loot at SleuthSayers

 Somehow I forgot to mention this last year when it came out.  I wrote a piece at SleuthSayers about "Please Pass the Loot," the second Delgardo novella to appear in AHMM.  I am depighted to report that they just purchased the third Delgardo adventure.

Eligible for Anthony Awards

 Bouchercon 2023 has sent out the ballots for Anthony Award nominations.  If anyone is pondering the short story category these tales of mine are eligible.  In many cases I have included a link to an essay about them which may help you remember them...

• "Please Pass the Loot," Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. May/June 2022. (And a second essay about it at Trace Evidence.)
  
• “The Lord of Falling Objects.” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, July/August 2022.
• “Lambs and Wolves,” Death of a Bad Neighbour: Revenge is Criminal. 2022.
• “The Dance of Love and Hunger,” The Book of Extraordinary Femme Fatale Stories, 2022.
  
  
  
• “The Man From Topeka,” Black Cat Mystery Magazine. #11. 2022.
• “Murder in Mudville,” Mystery Magazine, October 2022.
• “Kill and Cure,” Mystery Magazine, August 2022.
• “The Suicide Club.” Black Cat Weekly. #43. 2022.
• “The Man in the Quarry.” Black Cat Weekly. #29. 2022.

The Accessories Club

 

My 38th appearance in my favorite magazine hits the newsstands (what's a newsstand?) today: "The Accessories Club."

Murder in Mudville at SleuthSayers

At SleuthSayers I write about "Murder in Mudville."