Calvin Carter Returns in The Traditional West:

Exciting news broke over the weekend. No, not news that the NFL lock-out was coming to an end. The first anthology from the Western Fictioneers, The Traditional West, debuted on the Nook and the Kindle.

Along with tales from such luminaries as James Reasoner, Robert Randisi, and L.J. Washburn, I've got a new Calvin Carter tale, "The Poker Payout." I am very excited to have this new story out for all to read, and I'm just as excited to read all the other stories in this anthology.

Head on over to Western Fictioneers to view the trailer and read the rest of the press release.

For all you paper folks, the trade paperback is coming soon.

Wordle of my story "You Don't Get Three Mistakes"

I love the concept of Wordle, graphic representation of text. I plugged in the text of my short story, "You Don't Get Three Mistakes" from Beat to a Pulp ezine and, after fiddling with the layout, got this image. I chose it because, frankly, it looks like a pistol. Can't go wrong there, considering the story's a western. Plus, my name's buried front and center.

Here's the link back to the Wordle homepage where this image lives. Head on over and see what kind of magic you can create.

Sherlock Holmes, Calvin Carter, and a Guy Named Mack

Mack, over at Mack Captures Crime, has embarked on a fun reading journey: read all the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in publication order. There's a reason for this and, to find out, you'll have to head on over to Mack's blog. In a separate entry, Mack lists Doyle's personal favorites Holmes stories and that of the Baker Street Irregulars. I'm looking forward to seeing what insights Mack discovers.

Today, in his entry to Patti Abbott's Friday Forgotten Books, David Cranmer writes about some Continental Op short stories by Dashiell Hammett. David laments that he's now read all of Hammett's published short stories. And he's 'sullen.' I can understand that feeling and it's one of the driving forces behind the reason I have never read all of the original 60 Holmes stories (4 novels and 56 short stories). I have my favorites and I've read them over and over again content with the knowledge that there are still more Doyle stories for me to read.

Ironically, Mack's reading challenge comes at a time when I have started reviewing the Holmes stories I know well. After the publication of my first short story, "You Don't Get Three Mistakes," over at Beat to a Pulp, I've created a character that I like and others seem to like as well. I am going to write more about my character, Calvin Carter, and have begun reseraching the structure of Doyle's stories to understand why they're so popular and long-lasting. It'll be a fun adventure and, you never know: I might just plow through all 60 stories to find out Doyle's secret.

My first published short story this weekend!

It is difficult to explain how excited I am about this weekend. On Sunday, over at David Cranmer's wonderful and entertaining Beat to a Pulp ezine, my first published short story, "You Don't Get Three Mistakes," will be published. This is the first piece of fiction I've written that will be published.

It's a western but with some deductive flair.

When I got word from David that he'd accepted my story, needless to say, I was ecstatic. Beat to a Pulp's editor, Elaine Ash, then contacted me and we worked through a few points here and there. I hope all editors with whom I will work in the future are as easy-going Elaine. We got the story into ship-shape and now it is going to be sent out into the world.

I hope everyone will head on over to Beat to a Pulp on Sunday when the story goes live. This week's two-fer of Frank Bill stories makes him a hard author to follow.

Thank you, David, for accepting my story.
Thank you, Elaine, for helping me get it publishable.
Thank you, Readers, for just being there.

And check back here on Monday to see what this one little story hath wrought.