"The Replacement" by Nikki Dolson

I've published the latest Nikki Dolson (ALL THINGS VIOLENT, LOVE AND OTHER CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR) short story called "The Replacement" over at the BEAT to a PULP webzine. If you've never read Ms. Dolson, you are in for a treat. The rest of you, I'm positive, have already clicked away to read. 

Angel Luis Colón at BEAT to a PULP

"Last Call" by Angel Luis Colón at the BEAT to a PULP webzine.

Mel Odom's "Neighbors"

Mel Odom's latest short story is live at BEAT to a PULP.

Chris F. Holm's The Lizard’s Ardent Uniform

"The Lizard’s Ardent Uniform" by Chris F. Holm is online at Cole Montegue's The Fall Creek Review. This short story is from Veridical Dreams, Vol. I that I had the pleasure to edit.

"Hollow" by Neliza Drew at BEAT to a PULP

In the hours between late and dawn, I stroked Ray lazily. Neither of us was feeling much of anything, what with my rebuilt hand full of fresh scars and screws and his newly-built penis created from a strip of thigh and some other spare parts. It was just as well, a metaphor maybe for how little we felt on the inside, both of us numb from the things that broke us. Both of us awake because we couldn't bear to sleep.

He was my only remaining client; I'd stopped turning tricks. Again. But I couldn't give him up. And he wouldn't stop paying me. We couldn't go back to normal. Maybe I'd never known it—or couldn't remember it—but I'd gotten close enough to see it through the glass. To normal, we were both repulsive, some reminder of what could be. I joked that at least he got a few thanks along with the stares, but that wasn't him, wasn't what he wanted.  

Read more of "Hollow" by Neliza Drew at BEAT to a PULP.

Fragments

We’ve pretty much settled into our new apartment a little farther up the Eastern seaboard. The new job assignment is good as new day job assignments go. (Hell, I’m just happy to be gainfully employed these days and thankful Hurricane Sandy wasn’t any worse for us than she was. Continuing thoughts go out to those still without power.) But the employment does nip into the publishing and writing game. Specifically, the writing. For someone like myself who could nail Jack London’s 1k a day with ease, I was lucky over the last month to even type, “Once upon a time.” Now the republic could probably stand it if I slowed down a bit. The latest Cash Laramie collections remain steady sales. So, it’s not product (cold word, but true) I’m worried about; it’s the worry about becoming razor-dull with my own chicken scratches. You understand, keeping the creative spark lit.

Enter James Bond.

Yeah, 007. Secret agent, License to Kill, and all that nifty Skyfall jazz. Always been a fan of Ian Fleming’s short stories. Not so much the full-length novels that have taken on iconic status, but the moodier, pithier pieces like “007 in New York,” “The Hildebrand Rarity,” and the Somerset Maugham homage, “Quantum of Solace.” You learn more about the famous spy and what makes him tick away from the gadgets and babes and villains with crazy names. So what does that have to do with me and writing?

Well, I have gotten this question several times—which side of the American Civil War did Cash Laramie (my anti-hero) fight on (or champion since he was only a tyke in 1861)? So, in little bursts over the last few nights I answered that question in a flash piece called “On the Death of President Grant.” Also, I found time to whittle a scene of Cash and Miles playing chess and discussing Twain’s take on Cooper’s literary offenses. These lil’ bits and two more flowed from fingertips to keyboard with zest. Kinda sorta my characters off the clock and, well, being normal Joes.

I’m sure a few of these will turn into longer pieces and others will be discarded. I am calling them fragments because that’s what they amount to at the moment. But they have served this writer well by keeping the blade sharp and, more importantly, just being fun to create. I have shaken and stirred the mojo. So for that, I say, thank you, Ian.

Stephen King Discusses Short Stories

It Began Life as a Short Story

Read The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Cash Laramie at Dark Valentine Magazine

The Macy men studied Cash who stood in the center of Mill Street, feet spread shoulder-wide, hands hanging naturally at his sides. The cold blue eyes staring from under the brim of a black Stetson pulled low. A flint arrowhead hanging from a leather thong around his neck. Square jaw. Thin cheroot that no longer smoked. Colt Peacemaker at the ready.

"Spread out,” Mike said, holding his voice to a loud whisper.

Cash Laramie returns in "Justice Served" (written under my Edward A. Grainger pseudonym). I hope everyone gets a chance to drop over to Dark Valentine Magazine and let me know what you think. The tale is a pithy one but when The Adventures of Cash Laramie & Gideon Miles is eventually released many years from now, Cash's actions in "Justice Served" will be a turning point for my oddly named anti-hero.

Special thanks to Katherine Tomlinson and all the superb talent at DV for making my story look so good.

The Latest

While I'm working on a story, I leave little notes in the Word document for my own history's sake. This latest one reads:

Cash Laramie and the Painted Ladies
By David Cranmer writing as Edward A. Grainger

(I began writing this as a flash fiction piece on June 9, 2010 in Maine and finished the initial rough draft in 24 hours. I continued to work on it in Montenegro before finally finishing back in Maine on 11/19/10. Cleaned up of the raunchier aspects with the idea this could be sent to AHMM or EQMM.) 2,198 words.

So now I will send PAINTED LADIES off to a whiz-at-editing friend and wait for the results. How about you? Do you make notes on your story's history? And, do you send them out for a second opinion or maybe just fling them into orbit?

The Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles stories thus far: "Cash Laramie and the Masked Devil" in A Fistful of Legends | "Miles to Go" | "Kid Eddie" | "The Bone Orchard Mystery" (out for submission) | "The Wind Scorpion" in the Round One anthology | "Justice Served" | "Cash Laramie and the Painted Ladies."

Two Sentence Tuesday

I have previously mentioned my short story titled "Justice Served" and my reluctance to let it go. Well, yesterday, I did just that and it will be appearing in the outstanding Dark Valentine's Winter issue. Two lines:

A word from Cash to the saloon owner had gotten Misun the job and the much-needed money to keep his family from starving. He was an honorable man who didn’t deserve to be shot in the back by a hateful, rich kid like Brant Macy.

This story is pithy clocking in at 1,200 plus words but is pivotal in the Cash Laramie canon. Why? Well, you will have to check out the DV issue. I'll keep you informed when it has been released. Thanks to Charlie Whipple, Scott D. Parker, and Little d on this one. Special thanks to Katherine Tomlinson.

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As soon as I arrived back in the states, I picked up a copy of Chris F. Holm's 8 Pounds: Eight Tales of Crime, Horror, & Suspense. Mr. Holm is one of the finest writers around and this short story collection deserves a huge following. Here's a paragraph from "The Toll Collectors."

As he walked, though, he began to sense something, something at the periphery of his awareness. Elusive, disquieting. The trees gathered tight to the road, splitting the edges of the pavement and encroaching on the night sky above. And from somewhere within them, he sensed... attention.

I've had a hell of a time with jet lag this past week and 8 Pounds kept me going with its edge of the proverbial seat tales. C'mon check it out. It is only $0.99! You will not be disappointed.

And head over to check out the Women of Mystery and more TwoFers.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Jodi MacArthur read my short story "The Great Whydini" and mentioned how much she enjoyed magician tales. That, in turn, reminded her of this old Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode titled "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" starring Brandon de Wilde and Diana Dors. I hadn't seen this episode before and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story was written by the incomparable Robert Bloch.



Part 2 | Part 3

The Great Whydini

The submission guidelines at All Due Respect read:

We are interested in crime fiction. That means fiction about crime. Not solving crime. Not bemoaning crime. Fiction about people who are criminals and maybe a little bit about why they are criminals, so long as you don't go Dr. Phil on it.

Well, I've had a tale collecting dust that met the criteria. ADR editor Alec Cizak mentioned that this story of mine, "The Great Whydini," reminded him of the old EC Comics. I've been immersed in EC of late and took it as a great compliment. This pithy story involving a marriage gone wrong, shackles, and a lack of oxygen is pretty straightforward but I believe it turned out well. I'm appreciative Alec chose it as his second story at All Due Respect and please drop by and leave a comment for or against. Ladies and Gentleman, the man being lowered to his possible death, "The Great Whydini."

Evan Lewis reviews Whydini here.

Rikki Tikki Tavi

I spent part of my day off indulging in another childhood memory, watching the cartoon version of "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" from the mid 1970's. At the time, I remember being scared for the little mongoose and the family he was protecting from a pair of scheming cobras, and that was the extent of my curiosity. But now, as I watch it again through wizened eyes, I'm interested in finding out how a non-fictitious mongoose tangles with a cobra -- I see he does so quite deftly.



Part 2 | Part 3