2012 Derringer Award Winners Announced

I am deeply honored that my story, "Heat of Passion" was among the finalists for the 2012 Derringer Award for Best Flash Fiction Story. The results have just been announced by SMFS President (and awesome short story writer) Sandra Seamans. Eligible voting members of the Short Mystery Fiction Society read the stories and cast their votes. 


Congratulations to the winners:

Best Flash Story: "Lessons Learned" by Allan Leverone

Best Short Story: "Touch of Death" by B.V. Lawson

Best Long Story: Tie "A Drowning at Snow's Cut" by Art Taylor and "Brea's Tale"
by Karen Pullen

Best Novelette: "Where Billy Died" by Earl Staggs


Congratulations to all of the nominees as well. Your stories are outstanding and the judges did a terrific job in narrowing down the choices. I'm grateful for the efforts of 2012 Derringer Coordinator Gwen Mayo, the judges, and the voting members of SMFS who took the time to read the stories and make the tough decisions.


Thanks, also, to Editor Christopher Grant for having accepted and published "Heat of Passion" on A Twist of Noir on February 14, 2011 ~ and to the dedicated readers who took the time to read and comment about my story. The feedback has been a tremendous gift. 


A special shout-out to the publishers/hosts of the winning stories: Shotgun Honey; Absent Willow Review(currently closed); Untreed Reads; Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine; and to the dozens of bloggers (and those who promoted on Facebook and Twitter, too) ~ who announced the 2012 Derringer Award Finalists throughout March 2012 and wrote so many kind words. Thanks for your faithful support of short mystery and crime fiction!

Veterans Day 2010

Today is Veterans Day, the day we honor the men and women who have served and currently serve in the Armed Forces of the United States. I am grateful to each and every veteran for the freedom we enjoy because of the sacrifices they have made.

I am proud to know several authors (fellow members of Sisters in Crime and the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and my blog-mate at Women of Mystery, Terrie Farley Moran) who have donated their stories in the recently released crime fiction anthology, "Murder to Mil-Spec." The publisher of this fine collection of stories that involve veterans or current soldiers, Tony Wolfmont, is donating all its profits to Homes for Our Troops, a charity that assists severely disabled veterans by either retrofitting their homes so the vet can use them (elevators, wider doors, etc). or building them a new home.

Why not purchase several copies to give as gifts this holiday season?

Considering today is Veterans Day, and there's no time like the present, I know of one more incentive for you to make your purchase now. Blogger and author Karen Cantwell of "Fiction for Dessert" has offered to personally donate an additional $5 to Homes for Our Troops for each copy purchased through her site this week. In this post, she interviews one of the contributors of Murder to Mil Spec, the two-time Agatha award-nominated mystery short story writer, Barb Goffman.

Karen is also giving away a copy of Murder to Mil Spec this week; just leave a comment on this blog post and either a link or email address for her to reach you in case you win.

If you've arrived at this site well past the date of this blog post, you can also order Murder to Mil-Spec via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and The Digital Bookshop.

The Homes for Our Troops site contains several inspirational stories, videos, and articles about the fine work this organization does. You can follow @HomesForOurTrps on Twitter and Facebook. Remember to thank a veteran ~ each and every day!