Awards!

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Awards Season is Here!

No, it’s not time for the Oscar’s or anything normal people care about.  I’m talking about the extremely niche category of mystery short story awards.  The Short Fiction Mystery Society, a volunteer-lead group of short fiction writers annually hosts the Derringer Awards.  Any member is welcome to submit a short story that has been published in the previous year in four categories.  The stories are judged by volunteers from the society membership and ranked on a standardized score card.

The Rage Cage

While novels are my primary format for writing, periodically I do try to stretch my skills and do some short story writing. The format is different and it makes it much easier to try out some different genres. This year I only submitted one of my short stories – The Rage Cage.  It’s a brisk little story about re-evaluating life, questioning self-narratives, Chuck Norris, and of course… revenge.  It’s also about the manager of a Rage Cage, a business that allows you to suit up and go smash whatever you want. Mostly it was a chance to try out the Rural Noir genre and write a story about telling yourself the right kind of personal narrative.  The year that I helped judge I was impressed by both the quality and the variety of stories and I know that the story I submitted is up against some tough competition. However, judging for the Derringer’s runs from February through March, so I know I’ve got until April to find out if my story picks up a nod.

Anthology Awards

However, in a break from previous tradition, this year the SFMS is trying a new award for anthologies and Larceny & Last Chances, the anthology containing The Rage Cage has been listed as a finalist.  With 56 anthologies nominated, getting to the finalist stage is pretty impressive, and I’m extremely happy for all of the authors and our editor, Judy Penz Sheluk. Final awards for the anthologies will also be in announced in April, so send some thoughts and prayers our way. In the meantime, if you’re interested in checking out some award-worthy short stories check out Larceny & Last Chances!

Larceny & Last Chances: https://amzn.to/3xUNg7Z

Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s about getting even. Sometimes it’s about taking what you think you deserve. And sometimes, it’s your last, best, chance. 

A Little Larceny…

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Is it Larceny or Just Larcenous?

Short stories are their own art form and while I enjoy writing them, I will frequently wait for inspiration to strike rather than trying to force one into existence. And this year, I’ve only had one short idea that I wanted to work on—The Rage Cage.  However, once I do have a story, I really like to give it a chance to exist out in the world. Submitting a story is usually a long wait for a stack of rejections which may or may not be kind.  And usually I take a spreadsheet approach—pick my targets, check my deadlines, read all the lists, and be strategic about my submissions.  But this time I had barely finished The Rage Cage when I saw the deadline for this Larceny & Last Chances Anthology was quickly approaching. The fourth anthology from Superior Shores Press has a theme could not have been more perfect for my story. But even more desirable, the promised wait time between submission and rejection was only a few weeks. I leaped into action to get the story proof read and formatted per the instructions and turned it in. And then I had to wait…  Fortunately, The Rage Cage was accepted and I could breathe a sigh of relief.

Larceny & Last Chances features twenty-two stories that must include, yes, you guessed it, theft and a final chance at something.  In The Rage Cage my heroine Amber has a dog, a Dutch oven, and finally a plan.  Amber’s life has been complicated by poor choices, but when she realizes that she’s not entirely to blame for everything that’s gone wrong, she decides to pick herself up and steal her last chance at happiness and maybe sobriety.

The Superior Shores Anthologies have been nominated for multiple awards and I’m excited to have been included.  You can find all of the anthologies — The Best Laid Plans, Heartbreak & Half-Truths, Moonlight & Misadventures, and now Larceny & Last Chances –– at all book retailers.  (But here is a quick link to Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UmMrvV )

Larceny & Last Chances Anthology coverLarceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense

Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk

Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s about getting even. Sometimes it’s about taking what you think you deserve. And sometimes, it’s your last, best, hope.

Featuring stories by Christina Boufis, John Bukowski, Brenda Chapman, Susan Daly, Wil A. Emerson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Fellowes, Molly Wills Fraser, Gina X. Grant, Karen Grose, Wendy Harrison, Julie Hastrup, Larry M. Keeton, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Gregory Meece, Cate Moyle, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Kevin R. Tipple, and Robert Weibezahl.

Release Date: June 18, 2024

Buy Link: www.books2read.com/larceny