Check out my story on Shotgun Honey today

I have a flash piece up at Shotgun Honey today. "Wood Man" is short, sweet, and unpleasant. I hope you'll check it out. My thanks to Ron and the other editors there.

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Unrelated:

I've been absent from here a bit. I'm sorry to say that my wife lost her grandmother over the Memorial Day weekend. On its own, that loss would would have been bearable, but coming two months to the day after her mom passed, Grandma's death seemed to carry on even more weight. I originally wanted to write more about her, but I find I just don't have the energy to go there. We are still mired in the world of wills and estate resolutions that the living must attend to, even in their grief. The double-death experience has already taught me a lot. Everyone needs a good, clear trust or will, like, yesterday. Writers especially need to figure out how they're going to dispose of their intellectual property after death. I'll write more about this when I've completed my own estate plan, but you might start here and here.

I won a Derringer Award!?

We left town after the memorial service and we've been at the beach, fairly unplugged. This morning early I learned that my story for Shotgun Honey, "How Lil' Jimmie Beat the Big C," won the Derringer Award for Flash Fiction. More info and links later when I can get to my computer. 

Thanks to the Derringer group, its judges, and my editors at Shotgun Honey. I'm very touched.

The Story Behind My Derringer Finalist Story

I've been tied up with family stuff or I would have announced this sooner. We were at lunch yesterday when I got the word that one of my short stories had been chosen as a finalist for  the Derringer Award for Best Flash Fiction. The Derringers, you’ll recall, are one of the top prizes for short mystery fiction. This is the second year in a row that one of my pieces was singled out for this honor. The full announcement is here. Members of the Derringer group will read all finalist stories this month, and the winners will be announced March 31, 2015. 

Regular readers will probably remember the story, How Lil’ Jimmie Beat the Big C, which first appeared on the Shotgun Honey noir ‘zine back in May 2014. It’s the story of an incarcerated man’s visit to an oncology center for a chemotherapy session. It’s short, fewer than 700 words, violent, and chock full of profanity. That warning aside, the story’s free to read online, so please do check it out if you’d like.

And yes, the story was inspired by what I saw on several of my visits with Denise’s mom to her chemo sessions or doctor’s appointments last year. Every time I went, and I mean every time, I’d spot heavily armed corrections officers marching shackled prisoners to their appointments. If you stop to think about it, it makes sense. Prisoners are human. They get cancer like everyone else. It’s just that their doctor’s visits necessitate traveling in chains and being accompanied by guards.

I could go on about how everything you experience in life, good or bad, becomes fodder for your fiction—but I figure I’ve said enough.

I’m proud to be a Derringer finalist again, and equally proud to be part of what looks like a trio of successes this year for Shotgun Honey. They’re a great site; if you enjoy reading or writing short noir pieces, you really out to check them out.

See my new story at Shotgun Honey today

I have a short short story up on Shotgun Honey today, entitled How Lil’ Jimmie Beat the Big C. The piece was inspired by a scene I witnessed when I accompanied a family member to her chemotherapy session. Check it out, why don’t you?

Thanks to everyone at Shotgun Honey.