I Failed a Lie Detector Test

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

I’ve confessed this to only a couple of people, but I’m now making it public: I failed a lie detector lie detector (polygraph) test.

This happened in the early ’80s, when I was young and naïve—long before I began writing crime fiction. Back then, I believed lie detector tests were infallible. When I failed, I didn’t just feel embarrassed—I questioned my own sanity. Was I a chronic liar and didn’t know it?

Years later, as a mystery writer, I know better.

It started when a friend asked me to bartend Sunday nights at a pricey hotel in downtown Austin. Someone had quit without notice, and he was in a bind. I’d bartended in college, so I agreed to help.

There was just one catch: new employees had to take a lie detector test.

No problem, I thought. It might even be interesting.

It was—but not in the way I expected.

I was sent to a private company across town. My internal alarms went off the moment I saw the man who would administer the test. “Creepy” is putting it mildly. He had greasy, dyed-black hair, dirt under his fingernails, and a stained dress shirt unbuttoned halfway down, exposing a thicket of chest hair. Cheap rings crowded his fingers.

At the time, I didn’t yet have the instincts of a crime writer—but I had enough sense to feel uneasy.

When he took my hand to attach the sensors, I shivered.

The questions began.

Had I ever stolen from an employer? No.
Had I ever been convicted of a crime? No.
Had I ever taken illegal drugs? No.

Then he lingered on the drug question, circling back again and again, rephrasing it each time. Today, I’d recognize that tactic immediately—pressure the subject, unsettle them, look for physiological spikes. But at the time, I was simply confused.

Finally, he asked if I was currently using drugs. I said I’d recently taken antibiotics and occasionally used Motrin.

He moved on, then returned to the same line of questioning.

If I were writing this scene today, I’d have my detective note the repetition, the shifting language, the way the examiner controlled the rhythm of the interrogation. I’d build tension there—because that’s where it lives.

But back then, I was just irritated—and certain of one thing: I had told the truth.

The following Sunday, as I was getting ready for work, my friend called.

I had failed the test.

If this were fiction, that would be the inciting incident—the moment everything tilts. The innocent protagonist accused. The system revealed as flawed. The first crack in what’s supposed to be objective truth.

My friend told me not to worry, said I could come to work anyway, maybe even retake it later.

I told him not to bother. I wasn’t coming back.

Years later, after writing crime novels and researching investigative techniques, I learned what I wish I’d known then: lie detector tests don’t always detect lies. They detect stress.

And stress can come from many places:

  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue or illness
  • Medication
  • Confusing or manipulative questioning
  • Even the examiner’s own bias

In other words, the very conditions designed to “find the truth” can distort it.

That realization changed the way I think about interrogation scenes. In fiction, a lie detector can be a powerful tool—but not because it reveals truth. Because it reveals vulnerability. Because it can be wrong.

And wrong can be dangerous.

I recently discovered that lie detector tests were actively used in courtrooms in the 1950s—the world of my Sydney Lockhart mysteries. Which raises a delicious possibility.

What happens when Sydney—sharp, observant, and far less naïve than I was—is strapped into that chair? When she knows the machine is flawed, but the people watching believe it isn’t?

That’s not just a test.

That’s a setup.

And in crime fiction, setups are where the real story begins. I can’t wait to put Sydney in this uncomfortable situation and then watch her wiggle out of it. She’d do a much better job than her creator.

Have you ever been falsely accused?

 

Let’s Hear It for the Arts by Saralyn Richard

/in /by

One of my favorite jobs was being the Fine Arts Chairperson at Thornton Township High School, Harvey, Illinois. I came to the position in a circuitous way, since I had previously taught English. The school district had just restructured departments and consolidated the music, art, foreign language, and speech departments into a single department, labeled Fine Arts.

I was transitioning from teacher to administrator, and I was excited to step into the leadership role, even though it meant teaching speech instead of English. It also meant working in an elective instead of a core subject department, where classes were required for graduation. I had no idea of what a big difference that would make, or what challenges I would have to face, but the lessons I learned have been useful, even today as a member of the arts community.

Elective teachers have to recruit fight for students. If too few students sign up for a class (say, it’s band or choir) there will be no band or choir, no need for that teacher. While every student has a designated spot in his schedule for English every year, there are only a few elective spots allowed, and all of the elective teachers are competing for that student to choose their classes over all the other attractive ones.

Equally frustrating was the constant pressure to stay relevant in face of budget cuts for all but the four core subjects (English, math, science, social studies). Whenever the costs of equipment, materials, or small classes (meaning more teachers) became a concern, the first resort would be to cut the “frills.” All the brain-based research stating how valuable fine arts was for helping students learn was easy to ignore when state testing would be core all the way.

Part of my job was to make sure that students were aware of the enriching and engaging electives our department provided. So as a team, we instituted an annual Fine Arts Festival held right before the students signed up for their courses for the following year. Each of the fine arts teachers offered a mini-class that would allow students who signed up to “taste” what the course would be like. We had tshirts and contests and prizes and lots of creativity for the whole school to partake in.  A lot of work went into the single day’s activities, but everyone looked forward to it each year, and the festival promoted the arts better than any other single initiative we took in curriculum, instruction, or staff development.

Little did I realize how working on the Fine Arts Festival would help me with arts activities in my later years. The Grand 1894 Opera House, a small, historic theater in my hometown, like the Fine Arts department, is the heart of the city. Its program is filled with shows that touch people’s thoughts and emotions in unique ways. Those who elect to attend the shows and support the theater experience culturally enriched lives.

Yet, patronizing a theater requires discretionary income, and not everyone participates. The job of the theater personnel—both paid and volunteer—is to find ways to recruit and retain patrons and supporters.

The same is true for authors, whose literary works fall into the category of fine arts. A book launch is similar to a Fine Arts Festival. The author and publisher must find ways to “advertise” the book, so that readers will choose IT from among all the attractive options for a limited amount of time to read, book budget, and shelf space.

Sometimes I hear fellow authors becoming discouraged about the trials and tribulations of marketing their books, and I think of the fine arts teachers, whose travails were just as daunting and real. And yet, we still have fine arts electives, fabulous program seasons, and exciting new books to read. Nothing ever obliterates the arts, because they are the only things that nourish the human soul. For that reason alone, all our efforts matter, and fighting the battles is worth it.

Saralyn Richard is an educator and multiple award-winning author of seven mystery novels, a children’s book, and numerous short stories, poems, and essays published in anthologies and magazines. Her works include the Detective Parrott Mystery Series, the Quinn McFarland Mystery Series, A Murder of Principal, and Naughty Nana. Saralyn is an active member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers, and she has taught literature and creative writing to high school students and adults through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. 

“Just One More Thing”

/in , , , , , , , , /by

When you hear the phrase “just one more thing,” what comes to mind? If you were around in the 1970s, you probably remember Columbo, starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo of the Los Angeles Police Department. The series won 22 awards and received 68 nominations, with Falk earning four Primetime Emmy Awards. It aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 and has since been rebroadcast on numerous networks.

What I liked most about the show was its structure: viewers knew the killer from the start and then watched Columbo patiently unravel the crime. Each episode featured a guest star as the murderer—Martin Landau, Janet Leigh, Ruth Gordon, Vincent Price, Roddy McDowall, Leonard Nimoy, even Johnny Cash, to name a few.

I recently rediscovered the series after making a practical—if slightly risky—decision: changing hairdressers after fifteen years. When I learned my husband’s barber had begun cutting women’s hair for less than half what I’d been paying, I decided to give her a try. I only needed a trim—no shampoo, no styling. The first visit took less than ten minutes, and I was pleased with the result.

On my most recent visit, I didn’t have an appointment. Four people were ahead of me, and I thought about leaving—until I noticed the television was tuned to Columbo. I stayed. The episode featured Ricardo Montalban as a matador in “A Matter of Honor.”

When Columbo arrives on a scene—hair rumpled, trench coat wrinkled, cigar in hand—he’s easy to underestimate. His suspects dismiss him as absentminded, even inept. But his polite, seemingly scattered questions are deliberate. Columbo is a meticulous strategist, noting every clue and quietly assembling the truth. He wears his suspects down with persistence, circling back again and again until—almost as an afterthought—he says, “Just one more thing.”

Alfred Hitchcock also used this technique in his movies Rope, Dial M for Murder, A Shadow of a Doubt, and Frenzy. His forte was suspense rather than surprise. The audience knows what happened as they watch the story unfold. Suspense builds tension, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats as they participate in solving the crime.

Back to my barber. I waited nearly an hour that day and didn’t mind at all. I was hooked as soon as Columbo began his investigation. I knew he’d solve the mystery, and I couldn’t wait to find out how he did it. Next time I need a trim, I may skip the appointment altogether. I’ll take a seat, request Columbo on TV, and bring my writing journal. I’ll study the master detective at work and take notes for the next mystery.

Have you ever written a reverse whodunnit?

Sexy in Work Boots by TG Wolff

/in /by

Sexy in Work Boots by TG Wolff

Whether it’s in theatre, on TV, or in movies, I have always been impressed by the female dancers and actors who must do everything their male counterparts do BUT in heels. Run, jump, and turn all on cue with their weight balanced very differently than if they were doing the same movements at a sporting event. Talk about grace under fire.

While I love the look of stilettos, I gave them up a long time ago. In my day job, I’m a civil engineer. When I was in my twenties, I dressed for work—heels, skirts, and blouses for the office. Denim and boots were reserved for the field. Until…

My supervisor and I had been working to coordinate a time with a client for me to go out and document a facility as part of an operations manual. Guess who called when I was in heels (not stilettos but still) and a short but (thankfully) flowing skirt? I didn’t have time to go home (wrong direction) and wasn’t smart enough at that point to keep a change of clothes in the car. The client called, so I went. To document this facility, I had to climb around pipes as big as I was. I did the job and did it well, but it was embarrassing and humiliating. By wearing the wrong shoes, I undermined my own competency and authority and by doing that, I didn’t live up to my own standard. So…

Bye, bye stilettos.

In MURDER ON SITE, the first book of my new Rizk Brothers Legal Mysteries, our victim is Lucy Torok. Sharp, bold, ethical, and uncompromising, Lucy’s reputation was born out of success managing construction contracts to protect the state’s bottom line. She was hard-nosed and, yes, her high standards made her enemies (otherwise, it wouldn’t be a murder mystery). Lucy’s position and character were born from my own experiences and the many female engineers, operators, and superintendents I have worked beside over my career.

The Rizk Brothers Legal Mysteries are that rare blend of whodunnit mystery, legal-based cases, and warmth and humor. The detectives, twin brothers Jakob and Seth Rizk, hit their cases from two angles. Jakob, the interim attorney general for Indiana, takes on the legal aspects. He dives into the world of public contracts and bidding to determine if rules have been broken. A cop on leave, Seth is the man on the ground, investigating the people that surrounded Lucy for motives and opportunities for murder. Through other people’s eyes, Seth sees the different sides of a complex woman who defined her own brand of femininity while working in a hard-hitting field.

Lucy was a hero, a hard-ass, a lover, and a friend—all while wearing steel-toed boots.

Obviously, she is fictional, but women work in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, the trades, and beyond — where their work boots are an outward sign of their skill and capability. Faces may be tanned or hands dirty, but these outstanding women show us we all wear stilettos … just some of them have laces and steel toes.

TG WOLFF
Storyteller | Podcaster | Reader

Tina@tgwolff.com 
www.tgwolff.com

Rizk Brothers Legal Mystery: Murder on Site – https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Site-Brothers-Legal-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0G33HXG8Y/
De La Cruz Casefile Series
Diamond Mystery Series
Mysteries to Die For, The Podcast
Mysteries to Die For, The Anthologies

Meeting the Agatha Nominated Authors for Best Debut Novel and Best Short Story

/in /by

by Paula Gail Benson

It’s that wonderful time of year again when writers and readers who love Agatha Christie style mysteries gather in Bethesda, Maryland, for Malice Domestic. Next weekend, the Agatha Awards will be presented. Please help us begin the celebration with some brief interviews with the Agatha-nominated authors in the categories for Best Debut Novel and Best Short Story.

Best First Novel

Whiskey Business by Adrian Andover

Murder in the Crazy Mountains by K. L. Borges

Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku

Player Elimination by Shelly Jones

Voices of the Elysian Fields by Michael Rigg

 

QUESTION: Why did you decide to be a writer?

Adrian: I don’t feel like I ever made a conscious decision to be a writer. I feel like I’ve always been writing in one way or another since I learned how to write. Music was my first passion, and I began writing original songs as early as elementary school. I dabbled in fiction and creative nonfiction throughout high school and college, but always saw myself as a songwriter first. It wasn’t until the pandemic in 2020 that I decided to give writing a novel a try. Without needing to commute to an office for my day job, I used the time I got back to develop a daily writing routine, and I’ve stayed pretty consistent ever since.

K.L.: Becoming a writer was a surprise, post-retirement development in my life. I came up with the plot for Murder in the Crazy Mountains while on an extended road trip during my first fall that I wasn’t busy in a high school classroom. I had begun working in animal rescue after retiring and saw an online post about a real-life dog who had been brought in with gunshot wounds. This dog became the inspiration for my story. By the end of the road trip, I was on fire to write a murder mystery woven around that dog.

Sandra: I’ve wanted to be a writer as far back as I remember, even in my pre-literate childhood. When I was three years old, Frank London Brown, a neighbor wrote Trumbull Park, a notable novel rooted in Chicago literature. He fictionalized five Black families, including mine, who desegregated an infamous Chicago housing project. I was so impressed that I went around scribbling in the flyleaves of books, convinced that I too was writing a novel.

Shelly: This might sound trite but I don’t think I had much choice. I’ve always loved reading and writing and I’ve been writing stories from a very young age. My bookcase was lined with Nancy Drew mysteries and I was absolutely the kid who read under the covers with a flashlight every night. Somewhere I still have a form rejection letter from Dell that they kindly sent eight-year-old me for some story I typed up (yes, on a typewriter back in ye olde times) and submitted. When I went to grad school, my creative writing took a backseat for a few years. But eventually stories bloomed again and I had to write them down.

Michael: The short answer is that I’m just a guy trying to impress a girl. Some backstory… I’ve been an attorney since 1981, so writing was/is part of “the life.” Of course, the expectation for an attorney is that, at least in your professional life, you’ll write non-fiction—the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. (Although some of my opponents and clients would likely tell you that I wrote a lot of nonsense/fiction in my briefs, motions, and memoranda. But that’s a story for another day.) My wife is the reader in our family—a trait she instilled in our kids as well. She puts me to shame with the number of books she reads, mostly fiction but a lot of non-fiction as well. Occasionally, I would look through some of the novels she was reading. A little over a decade ago, as I started thinking about retiring from my day job, I decided that maybe I could write a novel as well. What a great way to impress an avid reader, right? I mean, how hard could it be? After one published novel (it took quite a while) and a second about to be published, the jury’s still out on how much of an impression I’m making. I must be doing okay, though. We’ll mark our 47th anniversary in May.

QUESTION: If your protagonist(s) or a character from your novel could attend the Agatha banquet, what shoes would she/he wear and why?

Adrian: This is such a fun question! If my protagonist Reece Parker were to attend the Agatha banquet, I think he’d dress in pretty standard professional men’s attire. I imagine he’d wear a light-blue button-up shirt tucked into Navy blue dress pants with brown wingtip dress shoes. He’d probably skip wearing a tie and jacket, opting for a more relaxed look. I’d bet he’d also roll up his sleeves to show off his literary-themed tattoo sleeve. Reece dresses for comfort and function more than for fashion, so I wouldn’t expect him to put too much thought into his outfit. He’d lean on the few simple staples he already has in his closet.

K.L.: My protagonist would be all about shoes that have flair and a bit of sexiness to them, but that don’t require acrobatic skills to walk around in. A girl wants to look good, but not at the loss of comfort and ease of movement, right? She would wear some black, sling-back pumps, with no more than a two-inch heel, I think. No stilettos for my girl!

Sandra: The scandalous Shysteen Shackleford, one of the antagonists in Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes, wouldn’t hesitate to wear something skintight, skimpy, revealing, and totally inappropriate.

Shelly: Wren Winters, my main protagonist in my board game-themed, cozy mystery series, is very practical, so she’d probably wear sneakers. She also has Rheumatoid Arthritis and needs good, supportive shoes that will limit pain in her joints as much as possible. Besides, you never know what shady character she might see at the banquet and need to follow them…

Michael: As an introverted southern gentleman, Jonathan Gray, my protagonist, would wear cordovan loafers. Not penny loafers, mind you, but tasseled loafers—a much more refined look, but still comfortable and casual. The cordovan loafers would contrast with, and also complement, his navy-blue suit (with cuffs, of course), white button-down shirt, and Harvard necktie.

 

Best Short Story

Six-Armed Robbery by Ashley-Ruth Bernier, Malice Domestic Mystery Most Humorous

Baby Love by Barb Goffman, Double Crossing Van Dine

Lola’s Last Dance by Kerry Hammond, Celluloid Crimes

Boss Cat Rules by Nikki Knight, Malice Domestic Mystery Most Humorous

While the Iron is Hot by Edith Maxwell, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

[NOTICE THAT CLICKING ON THE LINKS WILL TAKE YOU TO THE SHORT STORIES!]

 

QUESTION: How do you select the crime for your short story and how does the crime influence your character development?

Ashley-Ruth:  I’m terrified of frogs and even more terrified of cockroaches, so when I was hit with an idea about robbers who used these as weapons instead of guns and knives, I knew I had to write the story. It took a few days of thinking through the idea before I realized that these robbers had to be kids. Who else would have the unconventional thinking to conceive of such an idea AND the boldness to actually give it a try? Writing from the POV of a 12-year-old was tricky at first, since I usually write for and about adults. My narrator never “told” me her name—she’s nameless throughout, like some of the narrators in books for young readers I loved growing up (think “The Witches” by Roald Dahl and “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss!). However, once I got a handle on her outsized personality and voice, the story unfolded easily!

Barb: I was asked to write a story for Double Crossing Van Dine, in which twenty authors take the twenty rules for detective stories by Golden Age author S.S. Van Dine and turn them on their head. Van Dine declared in rule number three that there must be no love interest in a story, because amour would keep a detective from focusing on the case. I decided that my PI would have a rich wife who kept trying to lure her husband into bed so she could get pregnant, but at every turn she is thwarted because all her seductive moves give her husband an idea of where to look next for clues. He is determined to solve his new case because—among other reasons—he wants to be able to support his wife and children to be and not rely on his wife’s family money.

This story is “Baby Love,” and given its humorous premise, I knew I wanted a “lighter” crime. So I chose to have a PI hired to find a missing (stolen?!) dog. There had to be high stakes, so I had the owner fear the dog was grabbed to be used as a bait dog in dogfighting. But I think the reader can tell from the story’s tone that the dog would be okay. (Yes, spoiler alert: No dogs were harmed in the writing of this story.) In the end, the PI finds the dog and learns why he was taken, and the reason affects him so much that he vows to not prioritize his pride (his desire to be able to support his family) over the importance of devoting time to that family, including its creation. I was happy with how that arc worked out.

Kerry: I actually started my story with an opening line. It was something that a crime scene tech said and it stuck with me. My Rocky Mountain MWA group was lucky enough to attend a staged crime scene investigation at a local police station. They went all out and staged a scene that we could investigate. Our dead body (crash test dummy) looked like he may have shot himself, but someone commented that the gun wouldn’t still be in the person’s hand, it would have fallen. The crime scene tech paused and said, “I once went to a crime scene where a woman shot herself with a 45 and didn’t even drop her cigarette.” How do you forget a line like that? I created my entire story around the woman who did that ad why.

Nikki: My stories always start with the characters: the crime grows out of their world, and only they can solve it. For this “first-person feline” story, featuring Neptune, the Boss Cat of a small Vermont radio station, I had to find a natural way to get him involved. I’ve written Neptune before, and I know he likes to sit in the window and menace the birds, so I thought: what if he sees something on the street? Then, it was a question of what would motivate a rather self-absorbed cat, who still considers himself a standup guy. I came up with an attack on a vulnerable old man by someone Neptune doesn’t like. Finally, the big challenge: finding ways for Neptune to manipulate his Ma (radio station owner Jaye Jordan) and the police chief into catching the killer. To do that, I had to use everything I know about both Neptune and his people to come up with a believable solution.

Edith: Each story is different. “When the Iron is Hot” had its inspiration in someone on Twitter about five years ago writing that she was going to go iron her money. When I asked if she was serious, she said she was. My mystery writer’s brain cartwheeled into a COVID paranoia gone terribly wrong, and the crime came from there.

 

QUESTION: If a character from your short story could attend the Agatha banquet, what shoes would she/he wear and why?

Ashley-Ruth: I settled on age 12 for my narrator because it’s right there, that one year between being a kid and being a teenager. She’s old enough and tall enough to wear some more “grown-up” shoes, but she wouldn’t—instead, she’d pull on a well-loved pair of Chucks or comfortable flip-flops with a dress that might or might not have seen the business end of an iron. She’ll care more about looks and fashion next year, but this year is all about comfort and flexibility…which definitely helps in the event of needing to make a quick getaway.

Barb: My PI’s wife is forever trying to lure him into bed. So she would wear stilettos to the banquet, which would make her legs look even more shapely and alluring.

Kerry: Lola would have loved to attend the Agathas. She would wear a sequined number, most likely in red, with a pair of 5-inch heels to match.

Nikki: The Boss Cat doesn’t need any stinkin’ shoes – he’s happy with his fuzzy paws, thanks! But his Ma, Jaye Jordan, would wear what I’m going to wear: a pretty pair of silver ballet flats. She’s very tall like me, and being a sensible Vermont DJ, she doesn’t have the energy to fight with high heels.

Edith: Natasha, my narrator, is a brilliant scientist but one who has been frustrated in life. She would find a way to wear black Louboutin Fannylove heels – you know, with the red soles – to the banquet and then return them without paying the price.

 

BIOS: Nominated Debut Authors

Adrian Andover

Adrian Andover is the author of Whiskey Business, his Lefty Award-winning and Agatha Award-nominated debut novel and the first entry in the Mixology Lounge Mysteries series. In 2020, Andover was living alone in a 200-square-foot studio apartment at the height of the pandemic when he found a joyful respite in cozy mysteries. Not seeing many gay men represented in the genre, he set out to write his own. When he’s not reading, writing, revising, or publishing a story, he enjoys taking long walks, attending live music events, spending time with friends, and tasting craft cocktails around his chosen hometown of Asbury Park, NJ.

Born and raised in Idaho, K.L. Borges moved to Montana over thirty years ago. She and her husband raised their three children there, alongside a series of herding dogs. K.L. Borges was a math teacher at a private Billings high school (Go, Rams!) for a decade, following an earlier career as an environmental engineer. Borges is an active volunteer in the animal rescue community of south-central Montana, a member of the Billings Gem and Mineral Society and is a member of Sisters in Crime. She and her husband can often be found enjoying the Montana outdoors with their two blue heelers. Murder in the Crazy Mountains is her first book; it has been nominated for an Agatha Award.

K.L.Borges

Sandra Jackson-Opoku is the author of three award-winning novels. The River Where Blood is Born (American Library Association Black Caucus Award), Hot Johnny and the Women Who Loved Him (Essence Magazine Bestseller in Hardcover Fiction)and Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes (won the Malice Minotaur Award and is a finalist for the Edgar and Agatha Awards). Savvy Summers and the Po’boy Perils releases in July 2026. Her fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and dramatic works are widely published and produced. She coedited the anthology Revise the Psalm: Work Celebrating the Writing of Gwendolyn Brooks. Her professional recognitions include the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, the Chicago Esteemed Artist Award, the Globe Soup Story Award, the Iceland Writers Retreat Alumni Award, the Hearst Foundation James Baldwin Fellowship at MacDowell Arts.

Sandra Jackson-Opoku

 

Shelly Jones

Shelly Jones (they/them) is a professor at a small college in upstate New York, where they teach classes in transmedia storytelling, the mystery genre, and writing. A Pushcart nominee and Best Microfiction finalist, their creative works have been published in F&SF, Apex, and elsewhere. Their novel, Player Elimination, was nominated for the 2026 Agatha Award for Best First Novel. When they aren’t grading or writing, Shelly can often be found hiking in the woods or playing a board game while their cats look on.

 

 

 

Michael Rigg, an attorney for more than four decades, writes mysteries and thrillers set in two very different locations: Virginia Beach (where he lives) and New Orleans (which he visits as often as possible “for research,” including participation in three Mardi Gras Krewes). He is a retired Navy Judge Advocate and a retired civilian government attorney, formerly working for the Department of the Navy Office of the General Counsel. He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and both the Sisters in Crime national organization and its Southeastern Virginia Chapter—Mystery by the Sea.

 

BIOS: Nominated Short Story Authors

Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier’s work appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023, and other esteemed anthologies. Originally from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Ashley-Ruth writes mysteries highlighting the vibrant culture of her home. Ashley-Ruth is a 2022 winner of the North Carolina Writers Network’s Jacobs-Jones award, a 2023 Short Mystery Fiction Society Derringer finalist, a Killer Nashville Claymore finalist, a 2024 recipient of Mystery Writers of America’s Barbara Neely grant for Black mystery writers, and a 2026 Agatha and Derringer Award nominee. THE BUSH TEA MURDER is her first novel-length work. She currently lives with her family and teaches first grade in Apex, North Carolina.

Ashley-Ruth Bernier

Barb Goffman

Barb Goffman has been a finalist for major short story crime-fiction awards fifty times, forty-seven for writing and three for editing. She’s won the Agatha four times, the Macavity twice, and the Anthony and Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine Readers Award once each. She’s also won the Derringer for editing, and in 2024 the Short Mystery Fiction Society awarded her the Golden Derringer Award for Lifetime Achievement. Barb works as a freelance editor, often focusing on cozy and traditional mysteries. She also is an associate editor at Black Cat Weekly. She also is an associate editor at Black Cat Weekly.

Kerry Hammond decided to give up the practice of law to commit crimes—on the page. She is a two-time Agatha Award nominated author whose short stories have appeared in several anthologies, including Malice Domestic, Bouchercon, and Sisters in Crime. One of those stories was chosen for inclusion in The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year, edited by Amor Towles. Her love of travel means that her stories often take place in foreign locales she has (or wants to) visit, or while her characters are enroute to their next adventure. She’s a huge fan of the subtle surprise and is happiest when her readers don’t see the ending coming. She lives in Denver with her husband, who is her favorite travel companion. Kerry also writes downloadable Murder Mystery Party games at BlameTheButler.com

Kerry Hammond

Nikki Knight (Kathleen Marple Kalb) is an author/anchor/mom…not in that order. The Agatha-nominated author of short stories and novels, she’s also a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award-winning anchor of New York City’s #1 weekend morning show on 1010 WINS Radio. Her work includes fourteen mysteries across four series, and short stories in top mystery magazines, anthologies, and online, with recognition in National Excellence in Storytelling, Black Orchid Novella, and Derringer competitions. Active in writers’ groups, she is a Marketing and Communications Liaison on the National Board of Sisters in Crime, and a past VP of the Short Mystery Fiction Society and NY/Tri-State SinC. She and her family live in a Connecticut house owned by a large calico cat.

Agatha-winning and Macavity-nominated author Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and the Local Foods Mysteries, as well as award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she authors the Country Store Mysteries, the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, and the Cece Barton Mysteries. She also wrote two Lauren Rousseau Mysteries. Maxwell lives north of Boston with her beau, their sweet cat Martin, and her organic garden; she blogs with the other Wicked Authors and at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen.

Nikki Knight

Edith Maxwell

It’s 1734. What’s for dinner?

/in /by

By donalee Moulton

Conflagration! is my second mystery novel – and my first historical mystery. The prospect of writing a historical mystery was both exhilarating and intimidating.

coffee & cover of book Conflagration! by donalee MoultonWhile authors always have some wiggle room when it comes to reality, the reality of the modern world is one we are familiar with. We’re living it. I had no idea what life in 1734 Montréal was like. Fortunately, the online resources available via Google and books from the local library helped transport me back in time.

Marie-Joseph Angélique is the real person at the heart of Conflagration! An enslaved Black woman, Angélique was accused of burning down the lower town of Montréal and 46 buildings in the process. Fictional court clerk Philippe Archambeau is assigned the daunting task of following the judicial process as it unfolds from incarceration to trial to appeal.

As I delved into life in 1734, and the arson case on the docket, I was thinking about court transcripts and depositions and judgments. I wasn’t thinking about food. That lack of focus didn’t last long. I remember writing one scene where Philippe gets up early in the morning and makes himself a cup of coffee. I remember thinking, “Did they drink coffee in 1734?”

That question led me to explore the food people ate in eighteenth century New France. What was standard fare? A celebratory meal? Where did the food come from? How was it prepared?

Some of these questions (including the coffee one) are answered in Conflagration! as Philippe and his wife Madeleine go about their daily lives. Tea is a common beverage, and at one point, the couple brew a Bohea blend infused with orange peel. Bohea, pronounced bow-hee, is a black tea from China (some say of a low grade) that was so popular at one time the word became synonymous with “tea.”

Philippe also has lunch with a local jailer, Henri Geôlier. More accurately, he shares his lunch with Geôlier. That lunch is cold: ham or boiled eggs; bread; fruit, often dried. There is bread. According to the Canadian Museum of History, bread represented from 60% to 85% of the total daily food intake in New France.

One thing that was not a staple in Montréal as the seventeen hundreds unfolded: posset. This is primarily a British drink, yet it found its way into Conflagration! Philippe is originally from Acadia, where the British-French relationship was less acrimonious, at least until the British began expelling the Acadians in 1755. Posset, for Philippe, is a reminder of how different his Acadie is from Montréal.

The once-popular drink resembled egg nog. Interestingly, the name made its way back into the English lexicon in the 1800s, although by then posset had been transformed into a rich, cold lemony dessert that you can easily find recipes for today.

I’ve come across numerous recipes for the original drink. They invariably have a common foundation but differ in the nuances. Here’s my version.

Posset à la 1734

* 235 ml (1 cup) light cream
* 1 cinnamon stick or a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
* A sprinkle of nutmeg
* 3 egg yolks
* 235 ml (1 cup) sherry or brandy
* 30 g (2 tablespoons) sugar

1.  Bring the cream slowly to a simmer.
2.  Add the spices. Stir regularly.
3.  Gently beat the egg yolks and add slowly to the mixture.
4.  Continue stirring to avoid curdling.
5.  Pour in the alcohol and add the sugar.
6.  Simmer the mixture but avoid bringing it to a boil.
7.  Pour into cups.
8.  Sit back and inhale the delicious aroma.
9.  Savour the moment. Perhaps with a good book for company.

The Summerville Book Festival

/in /by

by Paula Gail Benson

Summerville Book Festival–Main Street Reads

At the end of February, I journeyed to Summerville, South Carolina, which is a growing metropolis of about 53,000 people located a little more than 20 miles from Charleston. I went there for the 2nd annual Book Festival sponsored by Main Street Reads, an independent bookstore located in the center of the historic area. Main Street Reads also was celebrating its 7th anniversary.

The Festival was well organized, presented a large variety of books and authors to the public, and had a lot of fun events. I commend the bookstore for all its efforts. If you check out its website, you’ll notice that it encourages book clubs and writing groups. Several of the authors on the panels I saw had begun with a Main Street Reads writing group and that led to their getting their work published.

When I arrived in Summerville, I wondered if I would find a park. Vehicles seemed to have taken every possible space around the square and side roads. Finally, I slid into a vacant one about a block and a half from the bookstore. I walked along Main Street, noting the restaurants and shops I would like to visit. Tents were set up in the center of the square. Later, when I had a chance to walk past them, I saw they had book and craft exhibits for all ages. You could hear reading over a loudspeaker.

The bookstore itself was a narrow building tucked among the other businesses. It was well stocked with books but also featured items that would enchant literature fans including totes, clutch bags designed to resemble books, bookmarks, pens, games, and puzzles. While some festival events were free, others required general admission or a special ticket. I had purchased my tickets online for two panel presentations that would be held consecutively. I got directions from the bookstore for the venue.

Just half a block away, the Flowertown Players Theatre had a makeshift bookstore at its entrance and provided the stage for the panels. Summerville is known as “Flowertown in the Pines” for its beautiful floral displays and flower festival. The theatre also is named for James F. Dean, a local resident with a theatre degree, who designed the theatre’s interior.

First, I attended the Kiss and Tell panel with romance authors Savannah Reed, Robin Hillyer-Miles, Catherine Mann, Elaine Reed, Rebecca Wrights, Addie Bealer, and Marissa Hale, who moderated. In addition to featuring writing that ranged from sweet to steamy, this panel’s authors included those with significant collections of work like Catherine Mann and Elaine Reed and those making their debuts like Robin Hillyer-Miles and Addie Bealer.

The second panel, Fabulous Fantasy, had Dorothy McFalls as moderator and Yasmin Angoe, A.F. Winter, E.M. Etheridge, Denise Lee, Allen Lyle, and Crystal Michel. Each of these authors approached world building and character development from unique perspectives. The diversity in their work was fascinating. An added feature was that every ticket holder got an advance copy of Yasmin Angoe’s young adult novel She Drinks the Light.

During the Festival, workers, volunteers, and authors passed out Mardi Gras beads. At the conclusion of the Festival, the person who had the most beads would win a $50 gift certificate to the bookstore.

Everyone had a great time. If you’re in the area or can get there for next year’s Festival, I encourage you to do so. Also, if you are an author nearby, see if you can get on the bookstore’s event schedule. They are very accommodating.

How I Was Almost a Prophet — by T.K. Thorne

/in /by

It was a dark and stormy night. Really.

SEE MORE

Following Directions

/in /by

Following Directions by Debra H. Goldstein

Authors are always told to exactly follow submission guidelines lest they give an editor an easy way to reject their submitted pieces. At the same time, authors are told to think outside the box or to present an idea that is high concept. While tracking every aspect of a submission guideline makes sense, wouldn’t you agree that thinking outside the box may mean breaking with something considered a norm or genre trope?

Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to when one should follow a specific direction. My thoughts have been generated by the voice of my GPS. Here are the facts:
• I park in a high-rise deck.
• When I pull out of my parking space and begin my four-floor descent, I drive straight and then have to make a series of lefts before I reach the gate to get out.
• As my GPS guides me to my destination, it acknowledges that I need to go straight after leaving my fourth-floor parking space.
• As I reach the first left turn in the deck, the GPS tells me to “Make a right.”
• Sounds logical because that is how I will go when I leave the deck. It doesn’t recognize that I’m simply at the end of the upper level of the parking deck. Rather, it gives me a pointed direction that if I followed it, might be an immediate end to my story and the journey to wherever I had planned to go.

My conclusion: my GPS is unreliable in a parking garage.

Writers who break norms often incorporate an unreliable element. Two examples that come to mind are the major twists in Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train.

Can you think of other instances where authors (or your life) haven’t followed the equivalent of submission guidelines?

donalee Moulton

Romance is in the air – and on the ground

/in /by

by donalee Moulton

It’s Cupid’s month, and it seems only fitting that I share a romantic interlude. I’m not a romance writer, but a little heart fluttering somehow finds its way into my pages. Below is an excerpt from my newest book, Melt.  First, let me catch you up. Three capable, quirky women balance yoga, friendship, and crime-solving to help a young man falsely accused of drug trafficking. One of them is kidnapped at gunpoint. It may be the best thing that’s ever happened to her.

Woo Woo feels the arms wrap around her before she sees who owns them. Terrell is holding her. He’s crying. Tears cascade down his eyelids, his cheeks, his chin. They pool on his upper lip, his nose, his lashes. Woo Woo takes her hand and wipes away a tear. It takes a second for her to realize her hands are free. That doesn’t seem important now. She looks at the tears on her hand, at her hand on Terrell’s face. I’ve never seen you cry before. I’ve never touched your face before.

That is what is important.

Terrell is trying to de-tape Woo Woo. It isn’t easy. He can’t stop crying and he refuses to let go of her. Her hands are finally free of duct tape. Then her ankles. Terrell reaches down to help Woo Woo stand. She wobbles. Terrell holds her tighter. Woo Woo straightens.

“Are you okay?”

Terrell is clasping Woo Woo close to his chest. He whispers three words in her ear. Woo Woo wonders if she has ever felt so wonderful.

“I’m so sorry.”

Woo Woo looks at this man holding her for all he is worth and never letting go. What does he have to be sorry for?

“I should have asked you out. I should have told you how I felt. It shouldn’t take a crisis for me to tell you I love you.”

Woo Woo continues to look at this man holding her for all he is worth and never letting go. She wonders if she is going to faint. She lifts a hand to Terrell’s face. She wipes away another tear. Holds it on her finger. Opens her mouth to speak. Nothing happens. Terrell holds her closer. Woo Woo melts into his chest and lets herself acknowledge the terror of the last two days.

Woo Woo looks again at this man. This man she loves. Woo Woo begins to cry. And cry. And cry.

© Copyright - The Stiletto Gang