Sunday, March 16: The A.D.D. Detective
21 STORIES in the NAKED CITY
by Leigh Lundin
Sisters in Crime is an organization dedicated to promoting women mystery writers. They didn’t invent the all-female blog, but they strongly support them. This week, I draw from one of the leading edge trend-setters that has the wonderful name Women Of Mystery. That’s WomenOfMystery.net, which ends with a ‘dot net’, as in fishnet, hairnet, internet, net worth. (Not so incidentally, we also mention our pals at Poe’s Deadly Daughters.)
Terrie Farley Moran retired from a career that spanned more than twenty-five years as an Administrative Manager in the service of the people of the City of New York. When not reading very cool stories to her five pre-school aged grandchildren, she attempts to write very cool stories that may appeal to folks a generation or so older. The story “Strike Zone” which appears in Murder New York Style is her first published work. Note that in the boroughs, no Rs are heard in the pronunciation of her name, Terrie Farley Moran.
by Terrie Moran
Terrie Farley Moran here. Leigh was kind enough to invite me over from Women of Mystery to tell you about the anthology Murder New York Style, how it came to be and the good things happening right now. So settle in. Here’s the tale.
“A long time ago when the Earth was green…” Oops, sorry. That’s the Unicorn Song. I’ve been practicing for the inevitable Saint Patrick’s Day song fest. The words carried me off, as they say. I’ll try again.
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SinC Sisters in Crime is an organization dedicated to promoting female mystery writers. You don’t have to be a woman to belong to SinC; I was invited to join last year. Indeed, the recent president of the SinC-IC (internet chapter) was a ruff-tuff male. Not long ago, he even delivered a couple of spankings: Following a recent a vacation, he returned to find flames had broken out in an on-line cat fight that he had to put to rest. ’nuff said. |
A couple of years back, the board of directors of the New York Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime decided to bring together the talent of the chapter members in a short story anthology. They put out a call for submissions, asking for short stories filled with the essence and fervor that only New York can provide. (No bias here.) The board entrusted story selection to three chapter members who are well established and highly respected in the mystery field: Gammy Singer, author of the Landlord’s Tale series, Robin Hathaway, author of the Doctor Fenimore and the Doctor Jo Banks series, and Cynthia Baxter, author of the Reigning Cats and Dogs series. At the end of a meticulous selection process, twenty-one stories emerged.
All of the writers at Women of Mystery are members of the New York Tri-State SinC chapter and two of us have stories in the anthology, so we manage to bring Murder New York Style into our blogging conversations frequently because we are exceedingly proud of the compilation of stories that touch every aspect of life in and around The Big Apple, past and present.
Whether you want to delve the ins and outs of bargain shopping in Chinatown, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or have dinner in a Turkish Restaurant while watching gorgeous women perform traditional belly-dance, Murder New York Style provides a story sure to entertain.
Ask yourself, what do you really know about the effect the House Un-American Activities Committee had on the cultural community of New York way back when? And what else was going on in the Bronx the year Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth’s home run record? Here’s a hint, you’ll find answers in Murder New York Style.
Now to our grand news. We are delighted to announce that, along with Rhys Bowen and Donna Andrews, Woman of Mystery, Nan Higginson and Elizabeth Zelvin of Poe’s Deadly Daughters have been nominated for the 2007 Best Short Story Agatha Award to be presented at Malice Domestic XX, 25-27th April.
If you would like a preview, read Nan’s Agatha nominated story, “Casino Gamble” and Liz’s Agatha nominated story, “Death Will Clean Your Closet”.
So there you have it. I hope I’ve caught your interest. I’m not going to ask you to buy Murder New York Style, although if you really, really want to, I certainly won’t stand in your way. But we are bumping up against National Library Week, 13-19 April and in honor of the Fordham Branch of the New York Public Library, which provided the reading material that fueled the dreams of my childhood, I am suggesting that you go to your local library and ask them to order the anthology for you.
Here is the information they’ll require: Murder New York Style, L & L Dreamspell, ISBN: 978-1-60318-032-0
The Women of Mystery and all the authors of Murder New York Style sincerely thank James Warren and Leigh Lundin and all our friends at Criminal Brief for allowing us to post this bit of Blatant Self Promotion.
Well said, Terrie!
And to be clear, Sisters In Crime supports women in who touch all parts of mystery including publishing and bookselling, agents and librarians and editors. However, there have always been Brother Sisters among these industry professionals and they’re warmly welcomed, too.
Thanks, Terrie and Leigh and all the folks at Criminal Brief for not just mentioning but linking to both my Agatha-nominated short story, “Death Will Clean Your Closet,” and the blog I share with my wonderful blog sisters Sandy Parshall, Lonnie Cruse, Sharon Wildwind, Julia Buckley, and Darlene Ryan at Poe’s Deadly Daughters. I’m hip deep in BSP (or rather, trying to walk the tightrope between “reasonable” and “blatant” SP, with publication of my debut mystery, DEATH WILL GET YOU SOBER, only a month away. It’s heaven when someone else does the talking.
Liz
http://www.elizabethzelvin.com
Hi Clare,
Thanks for that clarification. SinC is a valuable organization for writers, readers and everyone who has a strong interest in the mystery genre.
Hi Liz,
It was a pleasure to link to both your short story and to Nan Higginson’s. I wish you both the best of luck at Malice.
Terrie
Terrie
No need to thank me, Liz! I had no idea that Leigh had invited you to be his guest contributor until your column appeared on line.
Every Criminal Briefer has autonomous control over what appears in his or her weekly column, although I will occasionally edit columns for style and spelling — but never for content.
Of course, we’re all glad to have you.
Great article and congratulations on your book!
Thanks, James, I am grateful to feel so welcomed.
Alisa, I read your comments here on CB all the time, so I am doubly pleased that you enjoyed my article.
Terrie
Congratulations! Not just to those in the anthology, but also all of us who will get to read it! Long live the short story!
Deborah,
“Long Live the Short Story.”
Both as a reader and a writer, I have to agree. The short story is an under-appreciated art form but there is nothing as wonderful as having only twenty minutes or so available for pleasure reading and being able to meet unforgettable characters at a critical junction in their lives and have it all sorted out in a satisfying way in just that time frame. The reader can put down the story with a sigh of pleasure and get on with may well be an otherwise hectic day.
Terrie
Terrie,
Applause for all for keeping the short story alive and creatively significant.
Melodie,
Thanks so much. Criminal Brief is a boon to short story writers everywhere.
Terrie
Terrie,
I wanted to add that in a moment I went from being a writer slogging along to being a published author, thanks to MURDER NEW YORK STYLE. You and all the other SinC sisters involved in the NY/TriState Chapter made all the difference. With the opportunity to contribute to the anthology came an encouragement to write more and hope more. It took me a month to realize that I had made the cut and was going to be an author of mystery. WOW! And now my story’s Agatha Nominated for BEST Short Story? How much better can it get? I’ve already won! The closer we get to Malice, the more amazed I am.
And I’m glad to have Criminal Brief now at the head of my bookmarks as a place to plunder – I mean read! Insider scoops, here I come!
Write On, One and All!
Nan
Terrie,
Leigh mentioned the girls at SinC-IC (internet chapter) recently received a couple of spankings from their President. I was wondering…how does a girl get in on the action? *wink*
“Strike Zone” sounds like a fascinating read for a prairie girl from Alberta.
Nan,
I have to agree, we are lucky to be members of NY/Tri-State SinC. The support is steadfast and amazing.
Sheena,
I don’t belong to the Internet chapter.
I have friends in rural Alberta and I love the stories they tell, they love my New york stories as well. I guess there is always a curiosity about unfamiliar geography.
Terrie
I adore New York, but I love L.A.
SinC chapters all over the country publish anthologies of their members, so I just wanted to plug those published by the local SinC chapter here in the City of Angles [sic].
James,
Thanks for this information. I think that support for any mystery anthology is support for all. Go L.A. Go!
Terrie
Fancy meeting you here Terrie.
Hi Travis,
It’s always nice to “see” you. I hope you had a great vacation.
Terrie