A winner! (sort of)

The results are in for the Twist of Noir short story contest is in and I won - kind of. The panel of judges were deadlocked so Christopher flipped a coin. I came out in 2nd place. It is an honor to even be in the top 3, or top 10 for that matter. Check out the winning stories. Both great. It is nice to finally see this one published. 

I need to get back on the keys and start writing again after my grueling time doing two jobs. I've had some progress on the novels. People seem interested. What will come of it, who knows? 

Keeping it quiet but...fingers crossed.

My favorite story

The long awaited publication of the new issue of Thuglit just hit the cyber-newsstands. These folks can really pick a gritty and hard boiled crime story to I am honored to be included with my story 'Ditch'. This one is a personal favorite of mine. Some may hate it due to the structure which may seem like a gimmick but I sure do like it. Judge for yourself here.

Really hope you dig it.

I'm midway into my first Wade Miller novel and I am really liking it so far. It's from 1952 and it feels "vintage" if you know what I mean. Wish I had more time to read and my Dad just left Beat The Reaper with me on his recent visit so I'm eager to get to that one too. So many books....

I've gone international

I have a new story up at Pulp Pusher, a great site out of the UK run by author Tony Black. It is my first attempt at a female narrator. I ran it by one female who I trust and she said it all rang true so that's a good sign. I'm working two jobs right now so very little time to write and what time I did have I needed to finish several articles for the Film Noir Foundation.

One of the shows I'm working on is really great. Don't be scared by the fact that it's on MTV. You can see a trailer for it here. Yes it's a "reality" show but it really is good and dark and action-y and the episode I'm cutting right now is about mobsters and there are guns, dead cops, snipers and crooked cops. Sounds like my kind of show.

Enjoy the new story. I sent the book out to another publisher so fingers crossed on that. Also waiting for March to be over so they will announce the winner of the Twist Of Noir contest.

New Crooked story

Issue #2 of Crooked is out and it is another great collection of stories. My short 'Partners' is included. I hope you like it. If you do then you can vote for it at the site. Not sure what this gets me except a glowing sense of pride. Any other writers out there should submit to this new e-zine to keep it afloat. Not that I invite more competition to getting placed but they deserve to have choices to choose from and not to just take whatever comes by the old in box. 

I'm working a story for A Twist of Noir's first story competition. Should be fun. The theme is "Alienation".  There's nothing more noir (or more vague). Wish me luck.

The Last Bullet

I have another story up at A Twist of Noir called The Last Bullet. It is a little different and I'm glad Christopher went for it. It is slower and more cerebral which I know can be an oxymoron in crime fiction but that's what short fiction is for - to try new things. 

I find it hard to write stuff so short (most of the online sites look for under 2000 words or some under 4000) It does force you to keep things tight and that is a good exercise in discipline. 

I'm trying to read some independently published stuff to maybe compile a list for the Film Noir myspace page. It's hard to fit it all in but I'm trying. I'm into a collection of novellas called Squid Pulp Blues and it's really different and good so far. I've honed the craft over more than 2 decades of seeking out the under-the-radar music that I love. Finding authors like that is a LOT more time consuming though. 

If anyone wants to send me stuff for free though..........

Another Twist of Noir

I have another story up right now at A Twist of Noir. That makes two and Christopher who runs that site has expressed interest in having more than just run-of-the-mill crime stories so hopefully I can get more of the different type of stories I like. After all, it's all been done before me - and better too!

The debut issue of Crooked is out now and I have a story in it. It is called 'The Brass Ring' and is a real throwback to the 30's and 40's noir style (I tried anyway). Crooked looks to be a great place for crime fiction. They publish longer stories and the debut issue is chock full of some really good ones. 

If you read it and like it you can vote for it at Eastern Standard Crime which is the home site of Crooked's publisher. 

Here's hoping that 2009 is a great year for getting short stories out there and possibly publishing one of the novels. Jennifer Kohl and I are working hard to get our book out there (okay, she's doing all the work but I'm here for moral support). It's too good to keep under wraps.

Another Story

I am thrilled to have placed a story in the next issue of Thuglit. It won't be out until March but they are publishing my story 'Ditch' which is a favorite of mine. I'm glad it's getting out there. Jennifer Kohl and I are making slow progress on publishing our book 'One Too Many Blows To The Head' which we are both really pleased with. If anyone decides to publish it we are chomping at the bit to write a sequel. 

New story

I have placed another story, this time at Powder Burn Flash. PBF is one of the premiere sites for crime "flash fiction" which are stories under 1000 words. I didn't have anything that sort so I wrote this one specifically for them and they liked it. 

They allow readers to make comments and post ratings so hopefully people will like it and give it some stars.

I will also be in the debut issue of Crooked which comes out in January. I'll post a link here when it is published.

Welcome

Thanks for looking into my writing. This site is a work in progress so I will add to it very soon. In the meantime check out a story I have currently at A Twist of Noir. And if you only have a few seconds you can read my contribution to SJ Rozan's six word stories here.

Stay tuned for more.

Eric