Coconuts and Crime Stories

You just never know where you'll find tidbits of information that you can incorporate into a story.  My son left a copy of his Sam's Club magazine "Healthy Living" here yesterday and I found myself thumbing through it.  In their Superfood Spotlight was an article about coconuts.  "Did you know that coconut water's electrolyte composition is almost identical to human blood plasma and was used during WWII as an IV drip?"

If you're anything like me your first thought was using this to help a person you couldn't risk taking to the hospital.  At wikipedia I discovered that in India they use coconut water to euthanize the elderly.  So, of course you have a new murder weapon.  It seems that coconut water is full of potassium and an overdose can induce acute kidney failure.

Yes, I know the magazine was "Healthy Living" but who can resist such intriguing ideas for their stories?  How about you?  Any tidbits you found that wound up in one of your stories?

The Facebook Story Cupboard

Occasionally I click on the Dear Abby columns that pop up on the news page at Yahoo.  Today's letter made me think that you could get a good story out a woman who contacts you on Facebook to tell you that she's your daughter.  I mean, what a great place Facebook must be for con men or women.  You are my father, mother, brother, doppelganger.  The list of cons is endless from blackmail schemes to identity theft.  Just let your imagination wander through the possibilities.  And for you crime writers there's always room for a body to drop!

Just A Quick Note

Sorry I haven't been finding any markets the past few days.  One anthology call I came across wasn't charging any fees except to those who were accepted - they got to pay $113 to cover the cost of the copies they were getting in payment :)  Seems like everyone wants to make money without paying writers.

Another reason I've been offline is that our electric went out Saturday night and wasn't back until late Sunday.  We seem to be stuck in a cycle of rain for the past week or so and looks to be continuing on into the rest of this week.  It was some nasty high winds that got the electric lines and our Internet server Saturday.

Hopefully there won't be any more outages this week and I'll be able to find some markets, paying of course.

Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine - Open for Submissions

On their guidelines page Wildside Press has noted that their Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine is open for submissions.  There's not much there except an email query address.  You can check it out here.

The Fickle World of Publishing

I don't know about you but I'm getting pretty tired of reading guidelines that state they're looking for stories about gay (you know all those capital letters that I can never remember what they mean), people of color, and foreign (to us Americans, I assume) societies.  What bothers me most about this situation is it was created by editors and publishers in the first place.  Yep, they're bending over backwards to fix something they created.

How do I know this.  Well, I picked up a book by Les Savage, Jr. and in the about the author section it says, "Due to his preference for historical accuracy, Savage often ran into problems with book editors in the 1950's who were concerned about marriages between his protagonists and women of different races--commonplace on the real frontier but not in much Western fiction in that decade."

In the E.M. Forster collection "The Life to Come and Other Stories" I found this "...when any editor who rejected a story by E. M. Forster would have done so only for the very reason that deterred him from offering them, and caused "Maurice" to remain unpublished for fifty-seven years:  their homosexual content.".

It seems that editors and publishers always bend to the dictates of each generation's preference in reading material.  They aren't concerned with real life but the reality they believe people want to read.

The saddest thing I read was a diary entry by Forster:

"Have this moment burnt my indecent writings or as many as the fire will take.  Not a moral repentance, but the belief that they clogged me artistically.  They were written not to express myself but to excite myself, and when first--15 years back?--I began them, I had a feeling that I was doing something positively dangerous to my career as a novelist.  I am not ashamed of them...It is just that they were a wrong channel for my pen."

New writers today are told to write what excites them, what makes them cry, or laugh out loud and here is a writer who burned his own words because nobody would publish them because of their content.  I find this a very sad commentary on the publishing world both past and present.  It should go without saying that all types of characters and settings should be acceptable.  After all, that's the world we live in.

PS Books - Anthology Call

If you're a woman fifty years old and up this project might be of interest to you.  PS Books and the students from Rosemont College's Publish Program are putting together an anthology celebrating women writers 50 years and older.  Yeah, senior women would have been much easier :)  Anyhoo, they're looking for reprints of flash fiction, short stories, novel excerpts, poetry, and creative non-fiction.  The deadline is August 31 and the anthology will be published in the Spring of 2016.  You can find the details here.  There's no mention of pay.

Diabolical Plots - Open for Submissions

Diabolical Plots online ezine has opened for submissions.  They're looking for stories up to 2000 words in the genres of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror.  Please note that "every story must have a speculative element".  Submissions are blind.  The deadline for this reading period is July 31 and payment is 6cents a word.  You can find the details here.  They have already published quite a few stories so you can read them to see what they're looking for.

Hardboiled Books - Anthology Call

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this one before but it never hurts to post a reminder.  Hardboiled Books has an anthology call up for "Gumshoe Mysteries".  They're looking for hardboiled mysteries of 2000 to 10,000 words.  The deadline is October 1.  This is a non-paying market.  You can find the details here.

Crime Fiction Here and There - Call for Papers

I ran across a site called Crime Fiction Here and There hosted by the University of Gdanse and found that they had listed two calls for non-fiction papers that might be of interest to those who study the crime genre.  The topics are Contemporary Crime Fiction and Holmes On Screen.  There's no mention of payment.  You can find the calls here, just scroll down the page.

Orthogonal - New Market

Orthogonal is a new ebook zine market that is looking for short stories up to 5000 words in any genre so long as "it has teeth".  Submissions must be totally anonymous (new email account) with no names in your cover letter or on your story.  Payment is $100 plus royalties.  You can find the details here.

Slice - Open for Submissions

Literary magazine Slice is open for submissions for issue #18.  The theme is "enemies".  The accept non-fiction and short stories up to 5000 words and poetry.  The deadline is August 1 and payment is $100 for shorts and non-fiction and $50 for poetry.  You can find the details here.  Submissions are through Submittable.  While their page says they're closed Submittable says they're open.  I think they might have forgotten to update their guidelines page.

JMS Books - Call for Short Stories

Gay romance publisher JMS Books has posted a call for a new line called Stocking Stuffers.  They're looking for short stories of 5000 to 10,000 words to publish as individual ebooks.  They want gay romance stories set during the Winter holidays and the heat level can be sweet to erotica.  Reprints are acceptable.  The deadline is October 1 and payment is a 50% royalty split.  You can find the details here.

Horror Anthology - Call for Submissions

Editor Fox Emm has posted a call for a Horror anthology (as yet unnamed).  She's looking for horror/splatterpunk stories of 1000 to 3500 words using the theme "Home".  And yes, crime stories will fit in this genre.  The deadline is August 13.  Payment will be an advance plus a royalty split.  She's still working out the details.  You can find the call here.

Bannerwing Books - A Caution

I ran across a press called Bannerwing Books today that is looking for novel submissions.  They claim not to be a vanity press instead they provide ala carte services for independent writers - "You purchase only the services you require" or you can go for their consignment shop model where they take a percentage of your royalties instead of an upfront payment.  If you click on the Services tab at the top of the page you'll find a listing of how much they charge for editing and cover art.  If you have to pay a press to publish your book it is a vanity press.  Money always flows to the writer.  Watch your backs out there my friends.

2015 Macavity Award Nominees

The 2015 Macavity Award nominees have been announced.  Of special interest here is the short story nominations:

 Best Mystery Short Story
“Honeymoon Sweet” by Craig Faustus Buck, in Murder at the Beach: The Bouchercon Anthology 2014, edited by Dana Cameron (Down & Out)
“The Shadow Knows” by Barb Goffman, in Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley (Wildside)
“Howling at the Moon” by Paul D. Marks, in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2014
“The Proxy” by Travis Richardson, in Thuglit #13, Sept./Oct. 2014.
“The Odds Are Against Us” by Art Taylor, in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2014

Congratulations to all the nominees, with special congrats going to friends of the blog Barb Goffman, Art Taylor, and Travis Richardson.  Way to go guys!!

Best Mystery Short Story
“Honeymoon Sweet” by Craig Faustus Buck, in Murder at the Beach: The Bouchercon Anthology 2014, edited by Dana Cameron (Down & Out)
“The Shadow Knows” by Barb Goffman, in Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley (Wildside)
“Howling at the Moon” by Paul D. Marks, in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2014
“The Proxy” by Travis Richardson, in Thuglit #13, Sept./Oct. 2014.
“The Odds Are Against Us” by Art Taylor, in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2014 - See more at: http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2015/06/macavity-award-nominees-2015.html#sthash.wU3oYuhR.dpuf

Best Mystery Short Story
“Honeymoon Sweet” by Craig Faustus Buck, in Murder at the Beach: The Bouchercon Anthology 2014, edited by Dana Cameron (Down & Out)
“The Shadow Knows” by Barb Goffman, in Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley (Wildside)
“Howling at the Moon” by Paul D. Marks, in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2014
“The Proxy” by Travis Richardson, in Thuglit #13, Sept./Oct. 2014.
“The Odds Are Against Us” by Art Taylor, in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov. 2014 - See more at: http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2015/06/macavity-award-nominees-2015.html#sthash.wU3oYuhR.dpuf

Akashic Books - Open for Flash Submissions

I don't remember posting this one from Akashic Books, but they're looking for flash fiction up to 750 words for "Duppy Thursdays".  The stories should be set in a Caribbean location and incorporate some aspect of folklore.  They also publish flash for "Mondays are Murder" and "Terrible Twosdays".  This is non-paying and published on their online site.  You can find the details here. 

Yellow Mama - New Issue

The June issue of Yellow Mama has gone live.  Check it out here.

Angie's Desk - Anthology Calls

Angie has posted her June list of open anthology calls.  Thanks, Angie!!

Mystery Tribune

For some reason I don't recall ever hearing about this online magazine.  It's called Mystery Tribune - Online Magazine for Mystery and Suspense.  They have all kinds of author interviews and reviews of all types of books in the mystery genre.  Sadly, there's no short fiction.  You can check it out here.  There's no submission calls but I thought you mystery folks might find the site interesting.

Hot Tree Publishing - Anthology Calls

Hot Tree Publishing is an adult romance publisher who has two holiday anthologies open.  Both have an August 1 deadline for stories of 8000 to 22000 words.  Contract offers will be made by September 1.  The anthologies are "Tempting Scrooge" and "A Very Werey Christmas".  You can find the details here.

Uncanny Magazine - Open for Submissions

Uncanny is a speculative fiction magazine that will open for submissions tomorrow June 16 and close on June 23.  Yep, you only have one week to get those stories polished and submitted.  Stories should be 750 to 7500 words in length.  Payment is 8cents a word.  You can find the details here.

And yes, today (Tuesday) is the 16th.  For some reason I kept thinking it was the 15th today.  Sorry for the mistake!

The Title Story Cupboard

Do you ever run across a title that sparks a story idea?  Today I ran across a literary magazine called "Rain, Party, & Disaster Society" and  ideas began to percolate.  An actual Society that meets once a month to plan disaster themed parties?  Perhaps the disaster is a crime at a party?  Perhaps a wedding in the middle of a tornado?  Perhaps an arson fire during a party and the rain help extinguish the flames?  Four little words and the way they're grouped created those ideas.  Okay, not all of them are great, but you can find ideas for a story everywhere from a title to a group of words.  You just have to open your imagination.

Prose 'n Cons - Open for Submissions

There's a link to Prose 'n Cons over there on the right, but still it's good to post a reminder that this quarterly online zine is looking for short fiction for their next issue.  They pay $50 for short stories of 2000 to 3000 words, $30 for short shorts (flash) up to 1000 words, and $10 for mini-mysteries up to 100 words.  I'm linking to their home page as the guidelines come up in pdf form on the submissions link.  They are also looking for non-fiction articles and poetry.

BritCrime Festival - Online Mystery Convention

Over on the Mystery Fanfare blog Janet Rudolph has posted news about the online BritCirme Festival being held July 11 to 13.  If you can afford a plane ticket to England this might be the way to attend.  Check it out here.  I nearly forgot - It's Free!!

On Writing - The Fractalization of Fiction by Fran Wilde

"The Fractalization of Fiction" is an excellent essay by Fran Wilde that gives us a totally different way of looking at how to write a short story.  I never thought about breaking each scene, paragraph, and sentence into a beginning, middle, and end.  Like most everyone else I always thought that applied to the entire story not each part of it.  But I can see where her advice will make the story as a whole much more powerful.

Amazing Stories - Gernsback Science Fiction Short Story Contest - No Fees

Amazing Stories has announced the first annual Gernsback Science Fiction Short Story Contest.  There is no fee to enter.  They're looking for stories up to 2000 words with the theme of "What will our solar system look like 250 years from now?"  Please note that your stories must have a positive outlook on the future.  The top ten finalist will receive 6cents a word and publication in an anthology.  Submissions open on July 1 and they're only taking the first 100 submissions.  You can find the details here.

Sirens Call Publishing - Anthology Call

Sirens Call Publications has posted an anthology call for "Witches, Warlocks, Demons, & Evil Doers".  They're looking for stories of 4000 to 8000 words that "tell of wrong doings perpetuated by someone or something with supernatural abilities".  There is more of what they want and don't want in the guidelines.  The deadline is September 1 and payment is $25.  You can find the call here, I've linked to their blog because it's easier to read but there is a link to their website and more guidelines at the bottom of the post.

Evidence Press - Open for Novel Submissions

Totally Entwined Publishing has been in business since 2006.  This year they've added several new imprints including Evidence Press which is seeking Crime, Thriller, Horror, and Mystery novels of 30,000 to 100,000 words.  They publish in both ebook and print.  There is no advance just a royalty split.  You can check them out here, just scroll down the page for Evidence Press.  Links to the left will take you to the submission guidelines and other information about the press.

Riding Light - Call for Special Mystery Issue

Riding Light is a literary magazine but they're looking for "Mysteries in the City" for their Summer 2015 issue.  "We want mystery and suspense.  We want crime/detective fiction, hardboiled or cozy.  If there is a weird element, even better.  Think Alfred Hitchcock or Dashiell Hammett with a dash of Rod Serling."  They need flash fiction of 300 to 1000 words and shorts of 1000 to 1500 words.  The deadline is July 15.  You can find the details here.  This is a non-paying market.

Robot Cowgirl Press - Anthology Call

Robot Cowgirl Press has posted and anthology call for "Lovecraftian Visions".  They want stories of 3000 to 8000 words that "build on the existing Lovecraft cannon".  The deadline is August 31 and payment is $50.  You can find the details here.

And Then There Was Why: The Mystery in Mystery Fiction by Tim L. Williams

Over at the Ellery Queen blog "Something is Going to Happen" there's an excellent essay by Tim L. Williams about writing mysteries and understanding the why.

How to Help Book - Non-fiction Anthology Call

Editor Krista Houstoun has posted a call for submissions to the anthology "How to Help Book".  She's looking for non-fiction essays from cancer patients and caregivers detailing how people have meaningfully aided during your illness.  Phoenix Haus Press is the publisher attached to the project.  The deadline is September 31 and payment is $100.  A portion of the proceeds from the book will be donated to a cancer charity.  This link will take to you to the home page for this project where you'll find a link to the guidelines and the online submission page.

Ulthar Press - Anthology Call

Ulthar Press has posted an anthology call for "A Lonely and Curious Country".  They want stories up to 6000 words that explore the Lovecraft idea of taking the wrong fork in the road and ending up someplace weird.  They explain it much better in the guidelines :)  The deadline is July 1 and payment is 1cent a word.  You can find the details here.

Weird City - New Market

Weird City Press is launching a new magazine called "Weird City".  They're looking for stories of 1500 to 7500 words that follow their general theme of "strange things in dense places".  You can interpret that in any way you choose.  The deadline for the first issue is October 1 and payment is $50.  You can find the details here.

When is a Crime Story not a Crime Story?

I haven't found any markets the past couple of day so I thought I'd throw a question out here and maybe start a discussion.

Here's the question - Are literary/mainstream writers given greater leeway in writing crime stories than mystery writers?

The reason I'm asking is that I started reading "Best Friends Forever" by Jennifer Weiner and four chapters in I'm about ready to toss this book in the corner.  Chapter one has a guy being tricked into dropping his pants then having his picture taken.  He comes to on the ground bruised and bleeding and promising to seek revenge.  In chapters two and three an old friend shows up on a woman's doorstep with blood on her coat.  We have numerous flashback and the woman answers the same door to the same woman three times.  We still don't know why there's blood on the friend's coat.  Then with chapter four we have a new character.  A cop dealing with a woman who can't unlock her car.

Now if a crime writer did this to their readers they'd catch hell.  So why are other writers given such leeway?

Crossed Genres Publications - Anthology Call

I might have posted this call before but the deadline has been extended to July 31.  Crossed Genres Publications is looking for stories of 2000 to 8000 words for their anthology "Hiden Youth:  Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History".  Stories must be set before 1935 and the protagonists must be young people who are marginalized in their place and time.  Stories should be for a general audience not just a YA audience.  Payment is 6cents a word.  You can find the details and the submission for here.

Fey Publishing - Anthology Call

Fey Publishing has posted a submission call for a Horror Halloween Anthology.  They're looking for horror stories up to 10,000 words.  The deadline is June 30 and payment is $5.  You can find the details here.

Stache Publishing - Call for Comic Charity Anthology

Stache Publishing is seeking short works for a horror-themed comic collection.  The submission period is July 10 to July 31.  No pay as this is a charity anthology.  You can find the details here.  They're also open for graphic novels - check their submission page.

The 2015 Shamus Award Finalists

The Private Eye Writers of America have announced the 2015 Shamus Award Finalists.  Thanks to B.V. Lawson who posted the list on her wonderful In Reference to Murder blog!

Haunt Jaunts Books - Anthology Call

Haunt Jaunts Books has posted an anthology call for "Shadow People and Cursed Objects".  They want stories up to 5000 words in any genre as long as there is a ghost or a haunted object in the story.  The deadline is July 31 and payment is $50 plus 10 print copies.  You can find the details here.  The submission form is at the bottom of the page.

Scarlet Galleon Publications - Anthology Call

Scarlet Galleon Publications has posted an anthology call for "Fearful Fathoms:  Collected Tales of Aquatic Terror".  They're looking for horror stories of 2000 to 5000 words set in and around water.  You have plenty of lead time here as the submission period begins on August 1 and runs to August 31.  Payment is 1cent a word with a maximum payment of $50.  You can find the details here.

Bete Noire - Open for Submissions

Bete Noire has opened submissions for their next issue.  They're looking for stories of 50 to 4000 words in any genre (except sword and sorcery) as long as it has a dark bend to it.  The deadline is June 30 and payment is $10.  They also accept reprints.  You can find the details here.

Arrrgh!

It always surprises me the "balls" that some publishing companies have.  This is just a portion of their let's-look-down-on-the-writers-who-are-submitting-to-us guidelines:

"For now, all proceeds from sale of these anthologies will belong to Misch Masch Publishing, so we can keep the machine churning. This also implies that we pay for the editing, marketing, and other publishing costs (which is good news to most authors). We therefore also retain the rights to all decisions in these areas, because we’re the ones paying for those things."

And that's just a tiny portion, you should read the entire list of you're-just-writers-and-we're-doing-great-things-for-you guidelines.  I wonder if we should be bowing down before our publisher overlords? 

One Eye Press - Call for Novellas

One Eye Press Singles is open for submissions until their 2015 - 2016 lineup is full. They're looking for novellas of 25,000 to 45,000 words in the genres of Crime, Western, and Horror.  You must query first.  You can find the details and submission form here. 

Some Market Updates

Going through the links over there this past weekend I found that:

The Red Penny Papers has disappeared into the ether.
 Dead Gun Press has a new url.
Untied Shoelaces of the Mind has closed submissions until January 2016.
Angelic Night Press has merged with Ragnarok Publications.
Needle Magazine isn't planning to publish a new issue for 2015.
Comet Press has closed submissions for their novella line.