Thursday Treats: 9/10/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week.

 

SMFS list member Norman Birnbach announced that his short story, Bad Drivers & Careless People, was published online at Bull magazine. Billed as a “…  noir retelling of The Great Gatsby…” you can read it, for free, here.

 

SMFS list member Edith Maxwell’s short story, Labor’s Peril, appears online in the latest installment of Kings River Life Magazine. You can read it online, for free, here.

 

Black Cat Weekly #262 is out and includes the short story, Sugar and Spice and a Spoonful of Vice, by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier of the SMFS. You can pick up the latest issue here.

 

SMFS list member Elizabeth Zelvin announced that her latest short story collection, Rifts & Reprisals: Collected Stories II, is now available in digital form at Amazon. The fifteen tales were previously published between 2017 and 2025 in EQMM, AHMM, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and online at Yellow Mama. This book joins her previously published short story collection, Breaches & Betrayals: Collected Stories, released in 2016 and also available on Kindle Unlimited.

 

Punk Noir Press announced on Twitter that FAFO—A Punk Noir series had started. The first group of four stories are online, and free to read here. Had 138 submissions. Word count limit of 300 words. The results should be highly entertaining.

 

A reminder that quite a few SMFS list members are in the new anthology, Hooked on Urban Legends—and Murder! The members are Editor Barb Goffman (Into the Woods), Shari Held (The House of Blue Lights Revisited), Kathryn Holland (A Knocking at Fairweather Hall), Smita Harrish Jain (Poison Maidens), Jane Limprecht ( Alan Orloff (Face to Face), Pat Remick (Screaming Jenny), KM Rockwood (They Lurk In The Lake), Daphne Silver (A Curse to Remember), Shannon Taft (The Cave Man), and Joseph S. Walker (The Things We Remember). Published by Wildside Press, the read is available in digital and prints formats at Amazon.

 

SMFS list member, and editor, Michelle Kubitz announced that Shotgun Honey Books will be releasing the new anthology, Daydream Believer: Crime Stories Inspired by the Songs of the Monkees!. The book includes a short story by fellow SMFS list member Alan S. Orloff as well as tales by numerus other folks. Proceeds go to American Library Association. You can preorder the book now at the publisher or at Amazon.

 

I have been a fan of author Frank Zafiro for quite a few decades now. His latest read in his River City police procedural series, The Quick of the Night, is coming out on September 15^th. Published by Code 4 Press, the read is available now for preorder at Amazon and will be part of the Kindle Unlimited program at time of publication.

 

Also out on September 15^th is the latest read from author C. W. Blackwell. The Cold Dark Forever: A Novel, published by Shotgun Honey Books, is a crime fiction read set in 1942. The read is now available for preorder at Amazon.

 

Also out on the 15^th is the young adult read, It Should Have Been You: A Novel by Lynn Slaughter. Now published by Picarones Press, an imprint of Misti Media Publishing, the book is available for preorder at the White City Press.

 

 

Back last June, professor and author John A. Tures did a guest post here on the blog about his book, Branded, published by Huntsville Independent Press. His next book, Independent Thought, is now up for preorder at the same publisher. This sequel deals with the possibility of a third-party presidential candidate and more. 

 

 

Until next time…. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

The First Two Pages: “The Cave Man” by Shannon Taft

 The First Two Pages: “The Cave Man” by Shannon Taft

Update on Santa Rage 2

Submissions closed last Monday night. I received nearly three dozen submissions for twelve slots. All the stories have been read once.

 

My plan is to let things sit and then read everything a second time, starting early next week. Once that is completed, hopefully by the middle of the week, I will start reaching out to folks to make absolutely sure their stories are still available as well as letting other folks know their status.

 

If you submitted, and wish to now withdraw for whatever reason, please let me know so I can remove your story from consideration.

 

Please and thank you.

Thursday Treats: 9/03/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week.

 

SMFS list member Pam Ebel announced that her short story, Happy Hour at the Holy Grail Bar, was published online at The Yard: Crime Blog. You can read it for free here.

 

Pistol Jim Press has announced their published short stories for their most recent call. “Doors, Gates, & Portals” was edited by M. E. Proctor of the SMFS. You can read, for free, the ten stories as well as vote on them at the Substack.

 

SMFS list member David Hendrickson announced that his short story, If Only I Were Pretty, appears in the recently released Mystery, Crime, and Mayhem: Spring Break. Published by Knotted Road Press, you can pick it up at the publisher and Amazon.

 

Black Cat Weekly #261 is out and focuses more on short stories this week. You can pick up the latest issue here. The cover made me snicker as I think somebody was thinking fire ants on steroids. The only good thing I can see here that the drought has done has it has seemingly killed off a lot of the hideous fire ants in the yard here at Casa Tipple and Home Eatery Library.

 

 
SMFS list member by Liz Filleul announced that her new book, Sentenced Beyond the Seas, is now available for preorder. The read features her signature character, convict constable Will Grafton investigating crimes in 1830s Van Diemen's Land. Published by Clan Destine Press, it is available in paperback and digital formats at the publisher.

 

 

Quite a few SMFS list members are in the new anthology, Hooked on Urban Legends—and Murder! The members are Editor Barb Goffman (Into the Woods), Shari Held (The House of Blue Lights Revisited), Alan Orloff (Face to Face), KM Rockwood (They Lurk In The Lake), Shannon Taft (The Cave Man), and Joseph S. Walker (The Things We Remember). Published by Wildside Press, the read is available in digital format now at Amazon with the print version coming out on September 8^th.

 
As I mentioned last week, also coming out on September 8^th is the new anthology, Crimeucopia presents Canadian Chronicles. Published by Murderous Ink Press, edited by John Connor, the anthology features stories written by Canadian authors. That also means the read includes several short stories by SMFS list members. They are Susan Daly (Borderline Illegal), Abe Margel (A Passion for Mining), Rosemary McCracken (The Millennium Project), donalee Moulton (Étoile Rouge), and Judy Penz Sheluk (Murder in the Marsh). The read is available through Amazon and other vendors.

 

I have been a fan of author Frank Zafiro for quite a few decades now. His latest read in his River City police procedural series, The Quick of the Night, is coming out on September 15^th. Published by Code 4 Press, the read is available now for preorder at Amazon and will be part of the Kindle Unlimited program at time of publication.

 

Also out on September 15^th is the latest read from author C. W. Blackwell. The Cold Dark Forever: A Novel, published by Shotgun Honey Books, is a crime fiction read set in 1942. The read is now available for preorder at Amazon.

 

Also out on the 15^th is the young adult read, It Should Have Been You: A Novel by Lynn Slaughter. Now published by Picarones Press, an imprint of Misti Media Publishing, the book is available for preorder at the White City Press.

 

 

 

Until next time….

  

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

The recent lunar eclipse photographed by another Dallas area resident. I could not see it at all in my part of NE Dallas. 

In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Ethnic Detectives

In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: The Ethnic Detectives: The Ethnic Detectives , edited by Martin Greenberg and Bill Pronzini (Dodd, Mead & Company, 1985) is an anthology of seventeen stories w...

Thursday Treats: 8/27/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week...

SMFS list member Terena Elizabeth Bell reported that her short story, As We Go Along, was recently published by Americana UK. You can read it, for free, at their online site.

 

SMFS list member Lynne Bronstein reported that her short story, The Bite That Hurts, was published at the Literary Garage. You can read the flash tale, for free, at their online site.

 

SMFS list member John Timm reported that his short story, Jazz Cafe, appears in WayWords Issue 23: Time. Available for purchase at Amazon, it is also part of the Kindle Unlimited program. 

 

SMFS list member Abe Margel reported that his short story, It Was No Stroll in the Park, appears in the recently published anthology, Legends: Monsters that Go Bump in the Night. Published by Wordcrafter Press, the read is available at Amazon and numerous other vendors.

 

SMFS List Member M.A.B. Lee reported that her short story, Taking the Plunge, was published at Literally Stories. You can read it, for free, at their online site.

 

 

SMFS list member James T. Bartlett announced publication of his book, True Crime Burbank. Published by The History Press, you , can pick it up in paperback format at the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors.

 

Black Cat Weekly #260 is out and one of the larger issues in some time. The cover story is by SMFS list member Josh Pachter (The Stone Stairs of Death). You can pick up the latest issue here. I have long though that often the covers remind me of the old OMNI Magazine and such is the case here.

 

 

SMFS list member Robert Lopresti announced that his short story, Catch as Cat Can, is in the just released anthology, Midnight Mousers: 12 Original Cat Tales. This is the second volume in Thalia Press’ Nine Lives Library. Yu can pick it up in digital or paperback formats at Amazon.

 

  

There are series that I keep meaning to start and then the author gets yet another book out. Such as the Detective Nathan Parker series by James L'Etoile. The fifth book in the series, Darkness Falls: A  Detective Nathan Parker Novel, is out at Amazon. Published by  Level Best Books.

 

I mentioned last week, that the latest read from prolific author, D. V. Berkom, False Dawn: A Mackenzie Reynolds Thriller, had been released. The second book in the series, published by Duct Tape Press, is scheduled to come out in the middle of September. It is up for preorder at Amazon. It will also be part of Kindle Unlimited when it comes out on September 16^th.

 

Canada is the focus of at least two different upcoming anthologies. You have to wait until September 8^th for Crimeucopia presents Canadian Chronicles. Published by Murderous Ink Press, Edited by John Connor, the read includes several short stories by SMFS list members, Susan Daly (Borderline Illegal), Abe Margel (A Passion for Mining), Rosemary McCracken (The Millennium Project), donalee Moulton (Étoile Rouge), Judy Penz Sheluk (Murder in the Marsh), and other authors. The read is available through Amazon and other vendors.

 

A reminder that the upcoming new anthology, Capital Crime Writers Presents: A Capital Mystery (Volume 2) is coming later this month. Edited by Bernadette Cox and Mike Martin, these short stories take readers back to Ottawa, Canda, and follows the first book, A Capital Mystery. Available at Amazon now for preorder, it will also be on Kindle Unlimited when it releases on August 31^st.

 

Also out later this month, The Tipping Floor. This is the latest in the 509 Crime Stories series by Colin Conway. Published by High Speed Creative, LLC., the read is available for preorder on Amazon

 

 

Until next time…. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Thursday Treats: 8/20/2026

Some reading opportunities of interest this week. Yes, it is a little light this week as that is the way of publishing. 

The new issue of the online publication Yellow Mama is now out. Yellow Mama #117 includes short stories by SMFS list members Armand Rosamilia (Breaking the Chains), John A. Tures (Eureka), and Marty Zeigler (Dinner Plate Writer). You can read the issue online, and for free, here.

 

Black Cat Weekly #259 is out and includes short stories by SMFS list members Teel James Glenn (The Gift of Song), Paula Messina (Once Hot, Always Hot), and A.L. Sirois (Paul Is Dead) . You can pick up the latest issue here.

 

A reminder that that my short story, A Plan Comes Together, is in issue 254. Folks seem to have really enjoyed it too. If you have not read it yet, go here, and grab a copy. I am very proud of this tale which was partly inspired by real life events here and what Sandi believed. It also stands as proof of a basic fact that many writers know in their bones---  a rejection just means that you have not yet found the right market. When it hits the right market, and is read, and liked, you know you have done good.

 
There are series that I keep meaning to start and then the author gets yet another book out. Such as the Detective Nathan Parker series by James L'Etoile. The fifth book in the series, Darkness Falls: A  Detective Nathan Parker Novel, is now up on Amazon for preorder. Published by Level Best Books, the read is scheduled to be released on August 25^th.

 

The latest read from author, D. V. Berkom, False Dawn: A Mackenzie Reynolds Thriller, was released earlier this week by Duct Tape Press. You can pick up this first book of the planned three book series at Amazon and other vendors.

 

A reminder that the upcoming new anthology, Capital Crime Writers Presents: A Capital Mystery (Volume 2) is coming later this month. Edited by Bernadette Cox and Mike Martin, these short stories take readers back to Ottawa, Canada, and follows the first book, A Capital Mystery. Available at Amazon now for preorder, it will also be on Kindle Unlimited when it releases on August 31^st.

 

Also, later this month, The Tipping Floor, comes out. This is the latest in the 509 Crime Stories series by Colin Conway. Published by High Speed Creative, LLC., the read is available for preorder on Amazon.

 

 

Until next time….

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026