alfred hitchcock's mystery magazine

Pulp Fiction Art

Pulp Fiction Art

I’m a frustrated artist. I was into both painting and writing when I was a kid. When the time came to pick a college, I rolled the dice and went with a writing major. Guess it turned out okay, but I’m still strongly attracted to art of all kinds, especially illustrations. It’s a great form—often representational, but still demanding technical mastery.

A few months back, I did a post for SleuthSayers about how mystery writers can actually own a piece of art that once graced their stories in major mystery magazines. This is somewhat inside baseball, I admit, but it shakes down like this…

The First Two Pages...of My New Short Story

The multiple award-winning writer Art Taylor runs a blog called “The First Two Pages,” in which various writers take turns discussing the craft decisions they made writing their short stories. I was honored to be invited by Art to talk about my latest story in Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

The link is here.

Yes, this is the same historical mystery—centered on a flower shop in 1893 New York City—that I recently talked about at the mystery blog, Sleuthsayers.

But in this essay I’m drilling down into structure, word choices, and other decisions I had to make while using real-life people as fictional characters. If you’re into that kind of discussion, I hope you will stop by.

The Mother Next Door by Tara Laskowski
One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski

One of the beautiful things about short stories is that they’re often a quick, wonderful way to learn about a new writer. If you’re into mysteries, it’s definitely worth bookmarking Art’s blog.

You will absolutely discover countless new mystery writers that you ought to know about.

Art Taylor, for example, is married to the writer Tara Laskowski, author of the suspense novel One Night Gone and the upcoming The Mother Next Door.

See what I mean? That’s two writers right there!

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Flower shop image by Alisa Anton via Unsplash.

See My New Story in Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine!

May/June 2021 issue Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine

You’ll find a new short story of mine, “Mr. Tesla Likes to Watch,” in the May/June 2021 issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (AHMM). The hard-copy issue hits newsstands today, April 20. Digital issues are already available.

“Mr. Tesla” is set in New York City in 1893. Mark Twain and Nicola Tesla—who were friends in real life—are presented with a strange mystery concerning a flower shop that they attempt to solve independently. The “winner,” i.e., the one who cracks the case, must buy the other dinner at Delmonico’s, a popular restaurant of the era. I’ve wanted to do something with these two real-life figures ever since I learned that they were unlikely friends.

You can buy digital issues via B&N, Kindle, Apple, Magzter, and Kobo. All the links are here at Hitchcock’s website. If you want to check out my story, make sure you are downloading the issue shown here.

Submission stats: I finished this story sometime in October 2018, but it did not find a home until Hitchcock’s bought it in February 2020. They took 309 days to say yes, and the story is appearing about 14 months from acceptance. Payment was $480.

Yes, I will someday release an e-book version of of the story, which I’ll offer free to readers on my list. If you’d rather wait for the free copy, please join my e-newsletter. (See bottom of this page.)

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Flower shop image by Alisa Anton on Unsplash

Talking About My Story in Alfred Hitchcock's Magazine

Sleuthsayers blog logo

I did a guest post at the mystery writers blog, Sleuthsayers, this week, on the subject of the origins behind my latest short story in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

The story is called “The Detective Who Stopped By Bedford Street,” and it appears in the Jan/Feb 2020 issue of the popular mystery magazine.

But as usual, the story behind the story reaches back (in part) to my childhood growing up in New Jersey. The other part has to do with thriller movies, an old John Cheever story, and a particular New York City shop I used to walk past on my way to work at Scholastic back in the day.

The link to the blog post is here.

If nothing else, you’ll get to see an old postcard I found of my hometown back in the day. Check it out, if you have an interest in such things.

The Detective Who Stopped by Bedford Street, by Joseph D'Agnese | Image by Denise Kiernan

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Just a reminder: the e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe.

Look for my new story in Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine!

Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, Jan/Feb 2020 issue

You’ll find a new short story of mine, “The Detective Who Stopped by Bedford Street,” in the Jan/Feb 2020 issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. The hard-copy issue hits newsstands today, December 17. Digital issues are already available.

"The Detective Who" is set in New York City during an unspecified decade. A detective uses an unconventional method to crack murder cases. It’s a story inspired in part by the old John Cheever short story, “The Enormous Radio.” Mine’s probably more a work of fantasy than mystery, but it was fun writing.

You can buy digital issues via B&N, Kindle, Google Play, Apple, Magzster, and Kobo. All the links are here at Hitchcock’s website. If you want to check out my story, make sure you are downloading the issue shown here.

Submissions stats: I finished this story sometime in Jan 2018, but it did not find a home until Hitchcock’s bought it in June 2018. They took 109 days to say yes, and the story is appearing about 17 months from acceptance. Payment was $350.

Yes, I will someday release an e-book version of of the story, which I’ll offer free to readers on my list. If you’d rather wait for the free copy, please join my e-newsletter.

Radio Photo by Felipe Belluco via Unsplash

Crazy Old Photo of Me at My First Job in the 1970s

Joe garage photo-small.jpeg

I just came across this old photo from the 1970s of me working at my first job. The shot was taken with a Polaroid camera, so I hastened to scan it so I could preserve it before the image flaked off the plastic film.

I have no idea how old I am in the photo, but I know exactly where i am and what I’m doing. I’m in my parent’s garage in New Jersey, helping my father make patterns for the Garment District.

Both my parents worked in the garment industry and were proud members of the International Ladies Garment Worker’s Union (ILGWU). My father, who is now 88 years old, can still tell you how much he receives in a monthly pension from the union, down to the penny.

My Dad trained as a mechanic after high school but somehow switched to a different career path after taking a six-week course on pattern-making. For 30-plus years he was a pattern-maker working for a variety of coat-making firms on New York’s Seventh Avenue, aka “Fashion Avenue.” The way it worked then, the fashion designer or “stylist” would draw a sketch of how they wanted a new coat to look. That sketch was handed to people like my Dad, whose job it was to translate the 2D image into a) a 3D mock-up for critique and analysis, and b) a final pattern that could be used for full-scale factory production.

The “patterns” he made were just like the ones you might buy in a fabric or sewing shop, except they were made out of heavy card paper. Each piece of the pattern represented a piece of the fabric the factory would need to cut and sew to make the final coat, jacket, blouse, etc.

My father often freelanced, bringing work home that he’d tackle after dinner in the garage. He’d pass those giant sheets of paper to me, and it was my job to do the rest. (I’m guessing nothing has change to this day. If you’re in the business, then I can tell you more specifically that I cut, notched, and marked every pattern.) It was unskilled labor, and fairly straightforward. I can tell you that thanks to this work, I can cut fairly accurately with a pair of scissors to this day. Ours was a full-on family enterprise, with my mom and my two younger brothers pitching out when they got older.

I have no recollection what Dad paid me for this work. I seem to recall that my parents were constantly changing the rules, sometimes linking the work I did for Dad to a weekly allowance and sometimes arbitrarily withholding payment due to some behavioral infraction during the week.

I look at this photo and I feel immediately transported to that shabby garage workshop with its harsh fluorescent lighting, mannequins, pencil sharpeners, and insane extension cords running all over the place. Later in life, everything I learned about the garment industry ended up in the first short story I ever sold—“Button Man,” which appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine back in 2013. So I guess you could say that the experience was finally put to good use.

I love those pants!


Yes, I am trying to post here more often. Thank you for noticing. If you want to sign up for my newsletter and claim your free ebook, go here.

Look for My Story in the July/August 2017 Issue of Hitchcock's Mystery Mag

Look for my short story, “A Respectable Lady,” in the July/August 2017 issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (AHMM). The hard-copy issue hits newsstands tomorrow, Tuesday, June 20, but digital issues are already available.

I’d describe “A Respectable Lady” as a Sherlockian story that delves in the history of a minor character in the Great Detective's orbit. As one editor said in rejecting it, "Your story is well-written, but giving [redacted] such a sordid past would, I believe, be greatly disliked by our readership, so I will reluctantly have to pass on this one."

Well, AHMM liked it, so we're off to the races, sordid as you please.

You can download a single digital issue via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes, Magzter, Kobo, and Google Play. Just make sure you are downloading the July/August issue shown here.

Submissions stats: I finished this story sometime in October 2014. I submitted it to AHMM in July 2015, and didn’t hear from them until they bought it in June 2016, nearly eleven months later. It’s appearing a year after acceptance. Payment was $160, plus an additional $40 prepayment against a future AHMM anthology. That came to a total of $200, or about 9.5 cents a word.

Yes, I will eventually release an e-book version of “A Respectable Lady," which I’ll offer free to readers on my list. If you’d rather wait for the free copy, please join my e-newsletter.

 


Yes, I am trying to post here more often. Thank you for noticing. If you want to sign up for my newsletter and claim your free ebook, go here.

Look for My Story in the Nov 2015 Issue of Hitchcock's Mystery Mag

Look for my short story, “The Truth of What You’ve Become,” in the November 2015 issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (AHMM). The hard-copy issue hits newsstands tomorrow, Tuesday, September 15, but digital issues are already available.

I’d describe “The Truth...” as a Good Samaritan story gone wrong.

You can download a single digital issue via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple iTunes, Magzter, Kobo, and Google Play. Just make sure you are downloading the November issue shown above.

Submissions stats: I finished this story sometime in November 2013. I submitted it to AHMM in February 2014, and didn’t hear from them until they bought it in September 2014, nearly eight months later. So it’s appearing a year after acceptance, nineteen months since writing and submission. Payment was $208, plus an additional $52 prepayment against a future AHMM anthology. That came to a total of $260, or about 8 cents a word.

Yes, I will eventually release an e-book version of “The Truth of What You’ve Become," which I’ll offer free to readers on my list. If you’d rather wait for the free copy, please join my e-newsletter.


My story in the July-Aug 2015 issue of AHMM

Look for my short story “Scintilla” in the July/August 2015 double issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine (AHMM). The hard-copy issue hits newsstands next Tuesday, May 26, but digital issues are (mostly) available this week.

I consider "Scintilla" to be one of my Italian stories, even though it doesn't feature the detective I introduced in The Marshal of the Borgo. I was trying to duplicate the experience of reading foreign-language mystery stories that had been translated into English. As typically happens with me these days, the story ended up being a paranormal/crime hybrid. I'm kind of surprised AHMM took it, but they sometimes like weird stuff.

You can download a single digital issue via AmazonBarnes & NobleApple iTunesMagzterKobo, and Google Play. Just make sure you are downloading the July/August issue shown above.

Submissions stats: I finished this story sometime in November 2013. I submitted it to AHMM in November 2013, and didn’t hear from them until they bought it in July 2014, eight months later. So it’s appearing ten months after acceptance, seventeen months since writing and submission. Payment was $276, plus an additional $69 prepayment for the right to republish in a future AHMM anthology. That came to a total of $345, or about 7 cents a word.

If you are a fan of the old Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout, you might want to a grab a copy of this issue. It's the annual AHMM that features the winner of the Black Orchid Novella Contest, a competition that challenges writers to emulate the style of the old Wolfe books and short stories.

Yes, I will eventually release an e-book version of "Scintilla," which I’ll offer free to people on my list. If you’d rather wait for the free copy, please join my e-newsletter.

Sneak peak at my story in AHMM's summer double issue

  

 

 

I just got some advance copies of the July/August double issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in the mail. When the issue hits newsstands, real and virtual, on May 26, it will feature a new short story of mine, entitled "Scintilla." More on that story in a few weeks, but here's a peek at the art they're running with the story.