An Evening with Hint Fiction

Tonight I will participate with fellow contributors of Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer, and our editor, Robert Swartwood, in a reading at the KGB bar in New York City.

An Evening with Hint Fiction, which is part of the KGB Bar Sunday Night Fiction program, runs from 7-9 p.m. According to the KGB Bar web site, this program "showcases the finest in contemporary fiction from new and emerging writers."

Joining me tonight, the guests slated to read include: Jennifer Alandy, Randall Brown, Frank Byrns, Tara Deal, Bruce Harris, Donora Hillard, Jack Ketchum, Minter Krotzer, Jason Rice, Samuel Rippey, and Robert Swartwood.

If you're in the vicinity of the KGB Bar, 85 E. Fourth Street, NYC, at 7 p.m. ~ stop in!

Before the event begins, we may be gathering at Dempsey's Pub, 61 2nd Avenue, between 3rd & 4th Street.

Hint Fiction News

I was fortunate to participate in a reading and book signing for Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, at McNally Jackson, 52 Prince Street, New York City. The recently released anthology, published by W.W. Norton, contains my story, "Playing with Matches."

The editor, Robert Swartwood, introduced the contributors who were able to attend the event, which included: Randall Brown, Frank Byrns, Tara Deal, Bruce Harris, Donora Hillard, Jason Rice, Samuel Rippey, Jess Row, and me (the photo below, from left to right: Randall, Robert, Jason, Frank, Donora, Samuel, Bruce, and Amy Cherry from W.W. Norton. Somehow, Tara, Jess, and I missed out on this group shot).

The room was filled to capacity, and the folks at the bookstore added more folding chairs to accommodate the crowd. Each author read his or her story and shared what inspired it.

Robert and the contributors signed extra copies for bookstore customers who were unable to attend the event. If you're in the vicinity of McNally Jackson and are interested in obtaining a copy, ask if they have any more signed copies.

In other Hint Fiction news, Robert conducted an interview with NPR.

This Friday night, November 19, 2010, another reading and signing will take place at The Big Blue Marble Bookstore in Philadelphia, PA., at 7 p.m.

If you'd like to order it online, the Hint Fiction anthology is available on Amazon (where it currently ranks as #1 in sales of anthologies, and #104 in book sales), and Barnes and Noble.

The Chronicles of Higher Education recently wrote about Hint Fiction. Thanks to Robert Swartwood for the photos above; you see more from the signing at the Hint Fiction page on Facebook. You can follow @Hint_Fiction on Twitter.

Monkeybicycle Lightning Round! Reading Series

I just returned from San Francisco after attending Bouchercon 2010, which was fabulous. I will certainly be blogging about the convention, things I learned, great quotes from panelists, posting photos, etc. As you may know, I also blog at Women of Mystery, and I already posted something while at Bouchercon, after attending a one-hour session hosted by the best-selling Irish authors, Declan Hughes and John Connolly, entitled: Ten Crime Novels You Must Read Before You Die. I sat in the front row and took this photo of the duo.

In the meantime, I've also blogged about tomorrow night's Monkeybicycle Lightning Round! Reading Series that will debut tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. at the KGB bar on 85 E. 4th Street, New York City. Among the participants will be author Robert Swartwood, who is also the editor of the soon-to-be-released Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer, published by W.W. Norton ~ of which I am extremely proud to have a story included.

Hope to see you at the KGB bar tomorrow night!

The Ultimate Flash Fiction Package

To celebrate the upcoming November 1st release of W.W. Norton's Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer, the editor, Robert Swartwood, is hosting a contest. From those who leave a comment with links announcing this contest (either through Twitter, Facebook, blog post, etc.), a random winner will be chosen to receive eight anthologies (flash, short, micro, hint), valued at $120.

The contest runs until midnight, October 31, 2010, EST. Five runners-up will receive a copy of the Hint Fiction anthology.

For more details, and a list of those terrific books ~ go straight to the source!

I recently received my contributor's copy of the Hint Fiction anthology, and I must say, I am impressed. What a gem of a collection. Each story is like unwrapping and savoring a piece of candy. I am thrilled to have a story in this anthology.

Good luck!

Exciting News!

What a thrill it was to read an update on the Hint Fiction Facebook page, that New York Times Best-selling author Jodi Picoult has offered the first blurb for W.W. Norton's forthcoming Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer.

My story, "Playing With Matches" is included in that anthology. It's a dream come true to be in the same book as Joyce Carol Oates, Ha Jin, Stephen Dunn, Peter Straub, James Frey, J.A. Konrath, Marcus Sakey, Tess Gerritsen, Douglas Clegg, Ken Bruen, and so many others (see the amazing list here). This is icing on the cake!

The editor, Robert Swartwood, has also announced it on his web site.

Here's Jodi's wonderful blurb:

“The perfect story collection for all of us with too little time on our hands is a brilliant reminder of the magic that happens when you string the right words together. A must-read for anyone who is or wants to be a writer.”

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More exciting news: I'm heading into NYC for a NY/Tri-State Sisters in Crime meeting, but this one's a special event: a writers workshop with Chris Roerden, the Agatha-award winning author of Don't Murder Your Mystery and the expanded version, Don't Sabotage Your Submission. Chris will be presenting a two-hour interactive seminar on The Writer's Voice.

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Even more exciting news: Stop back here tomorrow when mystery novelist and professor, Margot Kinberg, will be my guest blogger. Her topic will be "The Fine Line Between Truth and Fiction," and she'll discuss some intriguing examples of True Crime and how it has influenced crime fiction. You don't want to miss it! Be sure to visit Margot's informative blog, Confessions of a Mystery Novelist. I am honored to be hosting Margot, the author of B-Very Flat, on her blog tour. You can follow Margot on Twitter @mkinberg.