Tag Archive for: Alan Orloff

Celebrating the Third Virtual Mystery in the Midlands with a Matching Game

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by Paula
Gail Benson

Longing
to attend a writing conference? Here’s one that costs only $8!

On
Saturday, July 16, from 10:30 am to 3:15 pm ET, the Southeast Chapter of
Mystery Writers of America and the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime, are
proud to present their third virtual Mystery in the Midlands.

Our wonderful
participants include keynote David Heska Wanbli Weiden, who will be interviewed by Hank
Phillippi Ryan. In addition, three panels will be moderated by Dana Kaye. The
panelists are Alan Orloff, Shawn Reilly Simmons, and Joseph S. Walker, talking
about short stories; Daryl Wood Gerber, Raquel V. Reyes, and Abby L. Vandiver,
talking about cozies; and Hallie Ephron, John Hart, and Hank Phillippi Ryan,
talking about settings and suspense.

We would love for you to join us. You can register
through this
link.

If you can’t attend the broadcast, by registering, you can watch the recording.

At $8, it’s a bargain!

Following is a little game to match our
participants with fun facts about them. See how much you know about our
distinguished authors and check your results with the answers at the end.

Hope to
see you on Saturday, July 16! Don’t forget to register:

https://www.crowdcast.io/e/mystery-in-the-midlands-3/register

AUTHORS

1.
Hallie Ephron

2.
Daryl Wood Gerber

3.
John Hart

4.
Alan Orloff

5.
Raquel V. Reyes

6. Hank Phillippi Ryan

7.
Shawn Reilly Simmons

 8.
Abby L. Vandiver

 9.
Joseph S. Walker

 10.
David Heska Wanbli Weiden

 

FUN
FACTS

A. Has been to baseball games in 21 different
major league parks

B.
Edited Midnight Hour anthology

C. Cheese-phobic

D.
Considered being a professional violinist

E.
Has 2 rescue Bichon Frise dogs

F.
Grew up among writers, but only reluctantly became one after age 40

G.
In addition to a writing passion, loves riding a tractor

H. Successfully sued the CIA for information on a
sunken Russian submarine

I.
Worked as a parrot wrangler at a pet store

J.
Has made over 30 fairy gardens



ANSWERS

1. F

2. J

3. G

4. C

5. I

6. H

7. D

8. B

9. A

10. E

Short Story Month and a Diabolical Treat

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by Paula Gail Benson

In World News ERA, Ashleigh
Durden wrote an article “Why
is May Short Story Month?” that delves into the history and practices to
celebrate short fiction. She traces declaring May short story month to Dan
Wickett, the founder and editor of the Emerging Writers Network (EWN), who on
April 7, 2007, posted an article suggesting a short story month, just as April
had been designated National Poetry Month. That following May, Wickett read and
reviewed a short story a day. Due to reader enthusiasm, the next year it
increased to two stories a day and in the third year to three stories a day.

Meanwhile, writers were urged
to set a goal of the number of stories they would write during the month. StoryADay.org continues
this tradition with suggestions for short stories to read and prompts and advice
about writing short stories.  

Earlier this month, on May 9,
Malice Domestic released its latest anthology, Mystery Most Diabolical, published by Wildside Press and edited by
Verna Rose, Rita Simmons and Shawn Reilly Simmons.

Art Taylor featured three of
the stories in his The First Two Pages: “All
in the Planning” by Marco Carocari, “There
Comes a Time” by Cynthia Kuhn, and “Fly
Me to the Moon” by Lisa Q. Mathews.

In addition, Barb Goffman, winner of the Agatha Award twice as well as the Macavity,
Silver Falchion, and 2020 Readers Award given by Ellery Queen’s Mystery
Magazine, described her story, “Go Big or Go Home,” in her Sleuthsayers post “Everything
is Fodder”, where she explains how almost any irritation can lead to a
mystery short story.

Contributors to the anthology
include editor, Edgar nominee, and Derringer award winner Michael Bracken; Agatha
and Thriller award winner Alan Orloff; Agatha nominees Alexia Gordon, Cynthia Kuhn, and Keenan
Powell; Al Blanchard award winner Mary Dutta; and Margaret Lucke who wrote an
excellent craft book, Schaum’s Quick Guide to
Writing Great Short Stories.  

I’m proud and humbled to have
my story included with those of many accomplished and distinguished writers.
Here’s a complete list:

Leah Bailey · “A Killer in the Family”


Paula Gail Benson · “Reputation or Soul”

M. A. Blum · “Little White Lies”

Michael Bracken · “Locked Mesa”


Susan Breen · “The Demon Valentine”

Marco Carocari · “All in the Planning”


Mary Dutta · “Devil’s Advocate”

Christine Eskilson · “The Reunion”


Nancy Gardner · “Death’s Door”

Barb Goffman · “Go Big or Go Home”


Alexia Gordon · “Happy Birthday”

B. J. Graf · “Servant of the Place of Truth”


Maurissa Guibord · “Into the Devil’s Den”

Victoria Hamilton · “Reunion with the Devil”

Kerry Hammond · “Strangers at a Table”

Peter W. J. Hayes · “The Ice House”

Smita Harish Jain · “Keeping Up with the Jainses”

Cynthia Kuhn · “There Comes a Time”

Margaret Lucke · “The Devil’s-Work Ball”

Sharon Lynn · “The Professor’s Lesson”

Tim Maleeny · “A Cure For Madness”

Lisa Q. Mathews · “Fly Me to the Morgue”

Adam Meyer · “Crime Rate”

Alan Orloff · “There Once Was a Man Named Larue”

Keenan Powell · “Miss Millie Munz”

Graham Powell · “A Rough Idea”

Lori Robbins · “Accidents Happen”

Cynthia Sabelhaus · “Exegesis”

Nancy Cole Silverman · “The Case of the Sourdough
Starter”

Shawn Reilly Simmons · “The Devil’s in the Details”

C. J. Verburg · “A Terrible Tragedy”

Andrea Wells · “Taking Umbrage”

Here’s a little about the
background for my story, “Reputation or Soul.” When I saw the call for Mystery Most Diabolical, I looked up “diabolical”
in the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It had a note about the origins of
the term, from the Greek “diabolos” that means “slanderer.” Usually,
“diabolical” is associated with the devil. I began thinking about a trade off:
if given a choice, which might a person be willing to live with–losing a soul
or having a maligned reputation?

I started with an image
of a jilted bride, sitting in a turret room in the church, knowing with certainty
that her groom had skipped the ceremony as well as stealing a substantial sum
of money. I was certain the bride remained calm about this occurrence and
equally certain that her younger brother, the narrator of the story, was
completely puzzled about her response.

Together, they went to
visit their abusive father, now confined in a nursing home. The father berated
them, but the sister spoke kindly to him without telling him about the runaway
groom. Then, the sister asked her brother to go with her on her honeymoon trip,
to a location where she expected the groom might resurface.

Whose action will hurt
most? In a scenario where almost everyone has a reason to seek revenge, will it
occur and what will be the consequence?

There are still a few more days left in the
short story month of May 2022. Why not check out the stories in Mystery Most Diabolical? 

ITW 2021 Thriller Short Story Award Goes To . . .

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by Paula Gail Benson

Alan Orloff

I remember meeting Alan Orloff at Malice
Domestic when his first novel, Diamonds for the Dead, was an Agatha
award finalist. Since that time, he has published nine additional novels and a
myriad of short stories that have appeared in Needle: A Magazine of
Noir, Shotgun Honey Presents: Locked & Loaded, Jewish Noir, Alfred
Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly, Windward: Best New England Crime
Stories 2016, Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning, Noir at the Salad Bar, 50
Shades of Cabernet, Chesapeake Crimes: Fur, Feathers, and Felonies, Snowbound:
Best New England Crime Stories 2017, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, The Night of
the Flood, and Mystery Most Geographical.

Recently, Alan’s story, “Rent Due” (in Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir)
received the 2021 International Thriller Writers’ Thriller Award for Best Short
Story.

 

This follows the success of his novel Pray for the Innocent (Kindle Press)
which received the 2019 Thriller for Best E-Book Original.

 

“Rule Number One” (originally published
in Snowbound, from Level Best Books) was selected for the 2018
edition of The Best American Mystery
Stories anthology, edited by Louise Penny.

 

“Happy Birthday” (published on Shotgun
Honey) was a 2018
Derringer Award Finalist in the Flash Fiction category (an
award given by the members of the Short Mystery Fiction Society).

 

“Dying in Dokesville” (published in Mystery Most Geographical) won the 2019
Derringer Award in the Short Story category.

 

Currently, his novel I Know Where You Sleep (Down & Out Books) is
a 2021 Shamus Award
Finalist in the Best First P.I. Novel category.

 

Congratulations, Alan! May your writing
continue to thrive!

 

W. C. Fields Was Right

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by Shari Randall

Last weekend, I attended my first writers’ festival – the Local
Authors Fair at the New London (CT) Public Library. To clarify, I attended for
the first time as an author. I met lots of great folks, fellow authors, and
dedicated librarians. And I learned the secret to sales at writers’ events:
Adorable dogs and cookies.
It’s been a month of firsts – my first novel, my first book
signing, my first blog interviews. In each, I’ve had fun, but I know I’ve made
rookie mistakes. For example, at the authors’ festival appearance I showed up
with books. Just books. No cookies. No candy. No dog.
Bottom line? I sold two books. The author with the adorable
dog? She had a constant line of buyers!
Don’t let this happen to you.
If you haven’t written an uplifting story of a dog that
beats the odds, or don’t have an adorable dog to accompany you to events, here
are some out of the box ideas for selling books at signings and fairs from my
favorite writers, the Sisters in Crime of the Chesapeake Chapter.
Sherry Harris swears by a basket of chocolates to “lure
people in. Even though that sounds creepy.”
Barb Goffman suggested that authors offer to take off an
article of clothing for every book sold.
Maya Corrigan warned that this might work best only during
the warmer months. Libby Klein disagreed, saying that this strategy might work
better if the author offered to put on an article of clothing for every book
sold.
Donna Andrews suggested that you have stuffed animals do the
talking. During one Barnes and Noble group book signing, where customers either avoided
making eye contact or asked the authors where to find the bathroom, Donna liberated some stuffed reptiles from the
children’s department and used them to entice, er sorry, entisssse, customers
to visit the authorssss. The result? The rest of the signing was a resounding
successssss.
Other advice? Grace Topping said don’t sit down – remaining
standing is more welcoming.
Alan Orloff said something about offering to wrestle an alligator, but
then, that’s Alan Orloff.

Do you have any advice for author events?

Shari Randall is the author of CURSES, BOILED AGAIN, the
first of the new Lobster Shack Mystery series from St. Martin’s Press. At her
next signing, she’ll be the one standing at the signing table with a basket of
chocolates, fully clothed, thank you very much.

A Town Called Malice

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This past weekend, I had the pleasure of traveling down the
New Jersey Turnpike into Maryland with the lovely and talented Laura Bradford
to the annual Malice Domestic convention. 
(And for any of you ‘80s-music devotees out there, does anyone else
think of The Jam song, “A Town Called Malice”? 
I do.)  As always, it was a
wonderful time, filled with the nicest mystery writers and the most wonderful
readers, people who are so devoted to the genre as to have encyclopedic
knowledge of every book every written, it would seem.
Laura and I couldn’t be more compatible as roommates:  she likes the room cold like I do, goes to
bed early like I do, and is always willing to listen to my latest hare-brained
idea concerning a new book or plot twist. 
Oh, and she loves pretzels, just like I do!  I couldn’t have asked for a better person to
share the experience with, right down to our delightful Burger King meal at a
rest stop on the Turnpike, which she managed to make enjoyable.
Sara J. Henry, a debut novelist who won the Mary Higgins
Clark Award—an award for which I was a judge—at the Edgars prior to the
convention for her novel LEARNING TO SWIM, also won the Agatha for Best First
Novel.  If you haven’t read this book,
get it.  It’s fantastic.  It begins with a woman on a ferry who sees a
little boy being thrown overboard and it takes off from there.  A fantastic read.
I was on a panel that was geared toward sports-related
mysteries, a result of my last book—PHYSICAL EDUCATION—being set in the world
of women’s college basketball.  Alan
Orloff made a fine moderator—or shall we say “referee”—for the panel which
included Beth Groundwater, Sasscer Hill, and Laura DiSilverio.  Although I didn’t have much to say about my
less-than-illustrious CYO basketball career, I was able to relive the moment
that I hit a walk-off grand slam in our town’s softball playoffs.  Good times.
Laura crafted a panel moderated by Aimee Hix that exposed
the “dirty little secrets” that writers have including who they model their murder
victims on, what the eat when they are on deadline, and how they come up with
their ideas.  For the record, my
answers:  1) no one you know (not that I
would ever tell); 2) pretzels; 3) while driving.
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand
times:  writing is a solitary, sometimes
lonely profession.  To be around five
hundred people who all love the same thing—mystery—is exhilarating and
fulfilling.  I leave Malice every year
energized to finish that first draft or start something new and to everyone who
attended and contributed to that feeling, I say “thank you.”
Maggie Barbieri