Crimes Against Nature is Published

Happy publication day to my first anthology.

The way we treat the world is a crime—fifteen of them, in fact. Some of the best and most honored mystery writers today have written new stories for this book dealing with environmental issues including pollution, wildfire, invasive species, climate change, recycling, and many more.

Authors include Michael Bracken, Susan Breen, Sarah M. Chen, Barb Goffman, Karen Harrington, Janice Law, R.T. Lawton, Robert Lopresti, Jon McGoran, Josh Pachter, Gary Phillips, S.J. Rozan, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Mark Stevens, and David Heska Wanbli Weiden. Half of their royalties will be going to ecological nonprofits they chose.

The stories cover a wide variety of styles including noir, comic, caper, psychological, police procedural, and even a tale inspired by comic books.

https://downandoutbooks.com/bookstore/lopresti-crimes-against-nature/

Memorial is DIstinguished

 Wow. Otto Penzler listed "The Accessories Club" in his distinguished list and now Steph Cha has done the same for "Memorial," which appeared in Black Cat Weekly #95. My name is spelled wrong but, hey, you can't have everything.

Shanks's Last Words in BLack Cat Weekly

 
"Shanks's Last Words" has appeared in #161 of Black Cat Weekly. It is his 21st tale, the fourth this year.

The Accessories Club is Distinguished

 

Otto Penzler listed ten stories in the Honor Roll in his Best Mystery Stories of 2024.  One of them is "The Accessories Club," which appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, March/April issue.

Robert Lopresti, Authorfella, Spring Newsletter

 

Okay, don't nag.  It's still spring until June 22, right?  Summer solstice and all that.

Here's the news!

I think this is the first time I have had stories in four consecutive issues of my favorite periodical, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.  "Professor Pie is Going to Die" is in the May/June issue but I predict a long drought before my next appearance there.  

This tale is about the host of a 1960s children's TV show who returns to the city of his fame only to discover that someone is NOT a fan. I wrote pieces about my inspiration at Trace Evidence and SleuthSayers.

 

My story "No Exit," in Murder Most International was inspired by a trip to Barcelona.   Oddly enough, it is my second story to include a phony fistfight on the Ramblas.

 

And speaking of world travel, I have a story in the June ish of Mystery Magazine.  "The Gate of Hades" was inspired by a trip to Greece.  In the Peloponnese you can see the hole which is supposed the exit from which Heracles dragged Cerberus.  

Here is a picture I took of it.

My biggest news is set in  the future tense.  Down and Out books has revealed the cover of Crimes Against Nature: New Stories of Environmental Villainy, which will be published on October 7th.  This is the first anthology I have ever edited and it includes 15 stories by some of the biggest names in the biz.  More on that next time.

Finally, see below a new song.  

Have a great summer!

 

 

 

 

 

Gate of Hades in Mystery Magazine

 I am delighted that my story "The Gate of Hades" is appearing in the June issue of Mystery Magazine.

Professor Pie at Trace Evidence

 I have an essay today at Trace Evidence explaining the origin for "Professor Pie is Going to Die" which appears in the May/June issue of AHMM.