Tag Archive for: Capitol Crimes Chapter

Anthologies (and Ghost Stories) for the Holidays

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by Paula Gail Benson

For today’s short story post, I want to tell you about two new short story anthologies and an annual “Drabble” (100-word story) tradition that celebrates the “haunted” aspect of the holidays!

Two new short story anthologies have been recently released. The Capitol Crimes chapter of Sisters in Crime featured fifteen authors in FARM TO FOUL PLAY. The Bethlehem Writers Group’s holiday-based SEASON’S READINGS has twenty-one stories from its members and from winners of its 2023 and 2024 short story contests.

Here’s the information about these anthologies from their Amazon descriptions. Please consider adding them to your “to-be-read” lists!

Farm to Foul Play: 2024 Capitol Crimes Anthology

 

Edited by Jennifer K. Morita. Forward by Tori Eldridge: “. . . if you want to understand a community, home cooking and agriculture is often the best place to begin.”

 

Sacramento, California, lies at the heart of the largest agricultural producer in the nation. Known as the Farm-to-Fork Capital of America, this beautiful region produces hundreds of crops each year and has become recognized as a great restaurant city thanks to the chefs who use locally-grown, locally-sourced ingredients.

 

Fifteen amazing authors — William Bishop, Sarah Bresniker, Chris Dreith, Susan Egan, Elaine Faber, Karen Harrington, Debra Henry, Virginia V. Kidd, Karen A. Phillips, Brian Shea, Linda Joy Singleton, Darrell Smith, Joanna Vander Vlugt, Nick Webster, and Dänna Wilberg — have captured the bounty of all Sacramento has to offer … with a little mayhem thrown in.

 

Expert judges selected fifteen stories by Capitol Crimes members, who captured the bounty of all Sacramento has to offer … with a little mayhem thrown in.

 

 

Season’s Readings: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales (A Sweet, Funny, and Strange Anthology)

Edited by Marianne H. Donley and Carol L. Wright.

 

In this new addition to the “Sweet, Funny, and Strange”(R) series of anthologies, the multi-award-winning Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC, returns to its roots. As denizens in and around Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (also known as “Christmas City, USA”), we were happy to make our first anthology a collection of holiday tales. But one volume just wasn’t enough. Now, in our eighth anthology, we’re returning to the theme to bring you twenty-one new stories that span the holidays from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve.

 

Emwryn Murphy’s sweet tale tells about a chosen family’s “Friendsgiving,” crashed by a blood relative who might, or might not, be happy with what he sees in “As Simple as That.” Jerome W. McFadden once again reveals his humorous side in his story about a would-be Santa who gets into trouble in “Flue Shot.” A. E. Decker shares an intricate Christmas fantasy about “The Goblin King’s Music Box.” And Paula Gail Benson gives a new twist to a traditional symbol for the New Year in “Star of the Party.” Beyond these holidays, Diane Sismour writes about Krampusnacht, Debra H. Goldstein about Pearl Harbor Day, and Peter J Barbour about Hanukkah. Other favorite BWG authors, including Jeff Baird, Ralph Hieb, D.T. Krippene, Christopher D. Ochs, Dianna Sinovic, Kidd Wadsworth, and Carol L. Wright, also share their holiday musings.

 

In addition, this volume includes the 2023 and 2024 award-winning stories from the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story Awards. Sally Milliken, the 2023 first-place winner, presents “The First Thanksgiving.” From 2024, we have our top three winners with first-place winner Rhonda Zangwill’s “Oh! Christmas Tree,” second-place winner Bettie Nebergall’s “Just Ask Santa,” and third-place winner Mary Adler’s “Narragansett Nellie and the Transferware Platter.”

One more note: Loren Eaton is again hosting his Advent Ghosts 100-word stories beginning on Saturday, December 14 and connected through his blog I SAW LIGHTNING FALL. If you are interested in contributing, here are the rules:

  1. Email Loren at ISawLightningFall [at] proton [dot] me if you want to participate. (Please note that this is a different email address from previous years.)
  2. Pen a story that’s exactly 100-words long—no more, no less.
  3. Post the story to your blog anywhere from Saturday, December 14, to Friday, December 20. Hosting on ISLF is available for those without blogs or anyone who wants to write under a pseudonym. (Don’t worry, you’ll retain copyright!)
  4. Email the link of your story to me.
  5. While you should feel free to write whatever you want to, know that Loren reserves the right to put a content warning on any story he thinks needs it.

If you haven’t read the collected stories, here’s the link to check them out: https://isawlightningfall.blogspot.com/

A Tale of Two Chapters: Sisters in Crime Across the Country, Part One

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by Paula Gail Benson

During 2020, the year of the pandemic, when so many meetings
went from being in-person to virtual, I had the good fortune to meet Sonja
Hazzard-Webster online. Sonja was the President of the Capitol Crimes Chapter
of Sisters in Crime (based in Sacramento, California) and I was the President
of the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime (based in Columbia, South Carolina).
When Palmetto Chapter had to convert its annual Mystery in the Midlands program
to an online format, we sent the information out on the Sisters in Crime
Presidents’ List Serv. We were lucky. With Charlaine Harris as our keynote and
people anxious to attend writing conferences, we had over 900 people to
register.

What meant a great deal to me in 2020 was that Sonja reached
out to me with encouragement. She had links to South Carolina and registered to
support us. Our friendship was online only, but very genuine. I remember “meeting”
her in person at a virtual cocktail hour hosted by then SinC President Lori
Rader-Day. I witnessed Sonja’s vivacious charm, which captured everyone’s
heart.

Sonja Hazzard-Webster

Sonja passed away suddenly on June 15, 2020, but her happy
spirit continues to guide the Capitol Crimes Chapter. Because Sonja’s kindness
meant so much to me, I decided to join the Capitol Crimes Chapter. Penny Manson,
who succeeded Sonja as President, became another friend. As Presidents of two
chapters, Penny and I began talking about a joint program, sponsored by both Capitol
Crimes and Palmetto, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Sisters in
Crime.

This year, with Sarah Bresniker as President of the Capitol
Crimes Chapter and Carla Damron as President of the Palmetto Chapter, the two
chapters are working together on a Killer Workshop to be presented on Saturday,
May 14, 2022. This unique program combines two events in one: (1) if you are in
or near Sacramento, you can attend a day-long in-person workshop featuring
authors, forensic and publishing professionals, and an exciting keynote, and
(2) if you can’t get to Sacramento, you can join us virtually for three panels
of authors and an exciting keynote.

Both the in-person and virtual events will share the
exciting keynote, who is Gregg Hurwitz, the New York Times #1 internationally
bestselling author of 23 thrillers, including the ORPHAN X series. His novels
have won numerous awards and been published in 33 languages.

Gregg Hurwitz

The ORPHAN X novels are part of what got me through the pandemic.
Hurwitz’ protagonist, Evan Smoak, is the rumored “Nowhere Man,” a person who
can rescue anyone from the most dire of circumstances. Evan was trained as a
government assassin, but left the program to use his skills for individuals
whose troubles seem unresolvable. DARK HORSE, the seventh novel in the series,
has just been released. In addition to the ORPHAN X novels, Hurwitz has written
screenplays, comics, poetry, and articles.

Early bird registration rates are available for the Killer
Workshop through March 31, 2022. For the in-person event, members pay $65 and
nonmembers $80. After March 31, members pay $75 and nonmembers $90.

For the virtual event, the early bird rate is $25. After
March 31, the virtual event rate is $35.

Here’s a link to register for the Killer Workshop (in-person
or virtual): https://capitolcrimes.wildapricot.org/Workshop

By checking out the information about the Killer Workshop, you
can sign up for a dream editing giveaway at: https://capitolcrimes.wildapricot.org/Dream-Editing-Giveaway (Those who register for the Killer Workshop are automatically eligible for the giveaway!)

During our planning for this in-person/virtual joint chapter
event, I’ve felt Sonja Hazzard-Webster’s continuing enthusiastic influence. She
would have loved the opportunity to bring writers together.

Please consider joining us. Mark your calendars for
Saturday, May 14, 2022. If you can’t attend during the event, the virtual program
will remain available to registrants until July 31, 2022.

And,
please check out tomorrow’s post on Writers Who Kill for more information about
how our two chapters planned the Killer Workshop and selected its participants!