10 Days of Madness Begins

Over at the Leaky Pencil blog, which is hosted by Chris Allinotte, the 10 Days of Madness extravaganza kicked off today.  Benjamin Sobieck and Angel Zapata kick things off. This is the 3rd year of  "the madness",  and  I was very thrilled to be included in the inaugural offering with a story called "Heart Shaped Hammer".

Anyway....head on over to the Leaky pencil, give the story's a read, and let the authors know what you think. Click HERE to be transported to a world of madness.

9 Days of Madness: R.S Bohn's "RECORDING"

Over at the Leaky Pencil blog, host Chris Allinotte kicked of his 9 DAYS OF MADNESS special on March 18th.  It's a 9 day event, with a new story by a diferent author being featured each day. The theme had to be  "Unsettling" and the word count max was 1,500.

Because of my father's ongoing heath issues, work, famil and lacrosse commitments, the only story I have read so far is by one of my favorite short story authors, who also seems to be a very cool person....R.S BOHN

You can check out R.S's excellent, and yes, very unsettling story "Recording"  HERE 

I will certainly be reading the stories that have already appeared and the one's coming next

9 Days of Madness

It's that time of year again. Following on the success of Chris Allonotte's EIGHT DAYS OF MADNESS contest last year, he has graciously decided to do it again this year. The theme is "unsettled", max word count 1,500, and you can find out all the deets HERE

Charles Gramlich is over at Novel Spaces ( a great site) talking about the element of  "surprise" in writing. Charles has a great way of breaking things down so they are easily understandable. Check it out HERE

The Beat On The Street

- Col Bury has shared some good news. His collection of crime stories "Manchester 6" has been published in eBook format. Col fills you in on all the exciting deets HERE

- Col is also the featured guest over at Richard Godwin's place HERE

- Over at BlogTalkRadio, Paul Brazill, Darren Sant, B.R. Stateham, and Luca Veste are talking about International Hard Boiled and Noir. Check out what they have to say HERE

- Chris Allinotte has a very good story, "Temping Morsels" over at Lily Childs' blog HERE

- The Blackwatertown blog has a couple worthy posts.  A very entertaining and well written recap of an encounter with the Queen of England HERE.  And there's  a lot more to visting Northern Ireland than wall murals ("Kid in the Gasmask" is  fav of mine) Find out about the many excellent alternatives HERE

- Charles Gramlih has an excellent post on the "psychology of fear"  HERE

- My feeble attempts to keep you up-to-date on whats happening in the crime writing webshpere pale, in comparison with the service Sandra Seamans provides on her blog. Sandra is also a fine writer as well, and has a great Halloween treat on display over at the Flash Fiction Offensive, "The Painter" HERE

- Declan Burke's tremendous new novel "Absolute Zero Cool" is up for an Irish Book Award. Find out more and how to cast your vote HERE

- Ken Bruen is now blogging. Stop in, check it out, and say hello HERE

- And finally, John McFetridge is one of a handful of writers that pen the exact kind of stories I love. If you have not read any of his novels or shorts, you do not know what you're missing.  I was pumped to hear that his next one "Tumblin' Dice" is coming out in March 2012. John fills you in HERE

Happy St.Patrick's Day & A Heart Shaped Hammer

I was jumping for joy when Chris Allinotte emailed me, informing that the story I sent him, "Heart Shaped Hammer" would be included in his Madness in March challenge. Even better, it worked out that it would be featured on St. Patricks Day! My sincere thanks to Chris for the opportunity, and all the other writers who's stories have entertained me, and others all week.

You can read Heart Shaped Hammer HERE


HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY TO EVERYONE!!!!

The Beat On The Street

When I was a kid Lost in Space was my favorite show and man did I hate Dr. Smith. I always wondered when Don was going to give him the beat down he earned and deserved every episode. This guy was the definition of a scoundel. Anyway, lot's going on in the blogsphere.

- Julie over at the Gone Bad blog has just released a collection of her crime stories. I have it on my nook and it is awesome. Details HERE

- Alan Griffith has chosen Anonymous-9's "Hard Bite" as his crime fiction choice at Col Bury's blog. What a story it is. A-9  (way cool name) is my kind of writer for sure. Find a link to the story HERE

- Glenna has a great review of Adrian McKinty's new novel "Falling Glass" HERE

- Chris Allinotte's Madness in March stories start on March 13th. Find them HERE

- Thanks to the always entertaining Nerd of Noir, I found out about a free PDF collection that features great stories by some big-time writers. Downloaded it HERE

- Richard Godwin's novel "Aposte Rising" is now for sale. Paul Brazill can tell you about it HERE

- The A Twist of Noir's 600-700 challenge resumes en force on Monday HERE

- Chris Rhatigan had a cool flash piece published at Michael Solender's blog HERE

- If you have a great 200 word opening to a short story, the American Pop Lit blog is having a contest. deadline is March 21. Check it out HERE

- R.S Bohn has a really moving flash story at her blog HERE

- If there is a better source for what's going on in the world of publishing opportunities than Sandra Seaman's blog, I have not found it. These 3 items came from her.

- Allen Guthrie's writing rules HERE

- If you have a Bigfoot story. You can submit it HERE

- A riotous essay on the evolution of the use of shit and fuck in literature and film HERE

- Lastly, Dave Barber has done such a good job as the new editor of the Flash Fiction Offensive that submissions have been put on temporary hold. Details HERE

Madness In March Story Challenge

Over at the Leaky Pencil blog, host Chris Allinotte is sponsoring a story challenge that sounds very interesting. I swore I would hold off on the shorts for a while, but I don't think I can resist this one. I'm finally realizing that the stories that give me the most problems are the ones where you have to include certain aspects or items in the story. Besides a crime theme, I like to freewheel it and find that required items in a story, while good for brain exersize, end up getting in the way of the story. Check out the details HERE

Highlights from the challenge include:

*2000 word max

* The best of the runners' up to be featured on Chris' blog on every second Wednesday at thirteen o'clock following the contest.

*If your story is the best of the bunch, Chris will feature the book of your choice, and its purchase link on this site for 30 days.  (There may be a little something else for the winner as well, but that's t.b.d.) 

*For all the entries, Chris will be putting together a PDF chapbook that includes featured stories, as well as any other entries received, to be sent out after everything's finished.

A Good'n Over At FFO

Over at the revitalized Flash Fiction Offensive, which seems to be getting stronger with every story, Chris Allinotte's "Heisting Miss October" is a great read. I'm a child of the Seventies and Chris did a great job of capturing the vibe 'o the times. Check it out HERE