Bitter Tea and Mystery: Annual Book Sale 2026: My Husband's Books

Bitter Tea and Mystery: Annual Book Sale 2026: My Husband's Books: Every year in September we attend the Planned Parenthood book sale, which lasts ten days. This time we visited five times. My husband's ...

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: New Fiction in October!

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: New Fiction in October!:  Readers have reason to rejoice in October, because there are many, many, many new books coming out from popular authors! Books by Barbara K...

Lesa's Book Critiques: November Treasures in My Closet

 Lesa's Book Critiques: November Treasures in My Closet

Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of September 27, 2026

 Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of September 27, 2026 

Lesa's Book Critiques: The Ghost and the Dead Librarian by Cleo Coyle

 Lesa's Book Critiques: The Ghost and the Dead Librarian by Cleo Coyle

Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

 Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of September 20, 2026

 Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of September 20, 2026 

Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

 Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

The Rap Sheet: Criminal Comforts for the Closing Months

 The Rap Sheet: Criminal Comforts for the Closing Months

Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

 Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

Mystery Fanfare: 2026 Golden Poppy Book Awards Finalists: California Indie Booksellers Alliance

Mystery Fanfare: 2026 Golden Poppy Book Awards Finalists: Californi...: The California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA) announced the 2026 Golden Poppy Awards in recognition of the most distinguished bo...

Mystery Fanfare: Mysteries set during the Days of Awe: Rosh Hashana through Yom Kippur

Mystery Fanfare: Mysteries set during the Days of Awe: Rosh Hashana...: According to Jewish religion, the Days of Awe are the days between the beginning of the New Year (Rosh Hashana) and Yom Kippur.  There are ...

Mystery Fanfare: LABOR DAY AND LABOR UNION MYSTERIES: Updated Lists

Mystery Fanfare: LABOR DAY AND LABOR UNION MYSTERIES: Updated Lists: Labor Day Weekend! With the holiday weekend beginning, I give you my updated lists of Mysteries that take place during the holiday w...

In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Speaking of Murder

In Reference to Murder: Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Speaking of Murder: We owe many thanks to Ed Gorman and Martin H. Greenberg for the variety of collections and anthologies they've edited through the year...

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. 

Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

 Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

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

Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of August 23, 2026

 Dru's Book Musings: New Releases ~ Week of August 23, 2026 

Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

 Lesa's Book Critiques: What Are You Reading?

In Reference to Murder: The Indie Mystery/Thriller Bestseller List

In Reference to Murder: The Indie Mystery/Thriller Bestseller List: The American Booksellers Association’s specialty bestseller lists provide a current snapshot of what’s selling in indie bookstores nationwi...