In between writing novels, I love playing with short story ideas. I have several notebooks filled with countless half-formed ideas and snippets of dialogue, and a computer file with several in-progress stories that haven’t quite come together. Short mystery stories need a central twist, so as soon as I have that right in my mind, the writing flows quickly. As for that spark of inspiration? Sometimes it’ll come together in one afternoon. Sometimes it’s years (I’m looking at you, rough draft of “The Raven of Lisbon,” which I started a decade ago and have yet to finish). I was delighted to find I had story ideas that fit perfectly with the themes of these two terrific new mystery anthologies.
Malice Domestic's Mystery Most Humorous
My story “The Masquerade Ball: A Jaya Jones Flash Fiction Story” appears in Malice Domestic's Mystery Most Humorous, a collection of humorous stories that will make you laugh out loud.
The Masquerade Ball
At just under 1,000 words, this was my first foray into flash fiction! I challenged myself to write a puzzle in only three pages, and I'm thrilled with the result. Jaya must unmask a sneaky thief a masquerade party.
Here’s the list of stories in mystery most humorous
“Introduction: Murder Most Humorous” by Donna Andrews
“Dirty Deeds” by Donna Andrews
“The Masquerade Ball” by Gigi Pandian
“Dead Man’s Chest” by Marcia Talley
“Maggie and Rick” by William Ade
“The Ladder Runs Both Ways” by Gregory Meece
“Boss Cat Rules” by Nikki Knight
“Ash Tuesday” by M.S. Greene
“Take Out” by Becky Clark
“The Bohr Brothers and the Bootlegger’s Mistress” by Brian Cox
“Corpse of the Month Club” by Melinda Mullet
“Wax On, Wax Off” by Nina Mansfield
“Polly Wants a Freaking Cracker” by Sylvia Maultash Warsh
“A Pandemonium of Parrots” by Suzanne Flaig
“Die Already, Will You?” by Donna Clancy
“Three Cousins Walked Into a Bar” by Susan Love Brown
“Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo?” by Ed Ridgley
“Six-Armed Robbery” by Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier
“Mandatory Retirement” by Sarah Bewley
“The Manchurian Canine” by Hugh Lessig
“The Sweet Fern and the Juniper” by P.J. Nelson
“Poached” by Melissa Westemeier
“That Darn Dog” by Patricia Gouthro
“Catching the Early Flight” by Jean Macaluso
“Oh, Holy Night” by Victoria Dowd
“The Book” by Steve Shrott
“Blunt Force Trauma” by David Bart
“Tears of a Clown” by J. Jamie Greco
“The Energy Coffee That Changes Life” by Rebecca Brittenham
Double Crossing Van Dine
My story “The Devil and Zephyr Devlin” appears in Double Crossing Van Dine, a Golden Age-inspired collection. S.S. Van Dine, a mystery writer the 1920s and '30s, wrote a famous list of twenty “rules” for fair-play detective fiction. In this collection, the authors have fun breaking the rules.
The devil and zephyr devlin
Sanjay, the Hindi Houdini, matches wits with what might just be the devil himself. After all, how else could someone drown in the ocean—inside a locked room with no water?
Here’s the LIST OF STORIES IN Double Crossing Van Dine
Introduction by Catriona McPherson
“Sweet Poison” by Elaine Viets
“What Dreams are Made Of” by Cheryl Head
“Baby Love” by Barb Goffman
“The Devil Himself” by Vaseem Khan
“Confess Your Secret!” by J.C. Bernthal
“With a Little Help” by Edith Maxwell
“A Murder Mystery Without a Body” by Elly Griffiths
“The Spirit Tree” by Greg Herren
“Better Together” by Delia Pitts
“The Upper Window” by Erica Ruth Neubauer
“The Tell-Tale Thumb” by Tom Mead
“Unpremeditated Art” by Marcia Talley
“Guilted Lily” by Leigh Perry
“The Dinosaur and the Maiden” by Donna Andrews
“The Devil and Zephyr Devlin” by Gigi Pandian
“Dalliances” by Art Taylor
“The Society Set” by Alan Orloff
“Anna’s Story” by John M. Floyd
“Later On, We’ll Conspire” by Michael Thomas Ford
“Shabu and the Golden Goose Murder Case” by Richie Narvaez