Themes, Dreams & Schemes: Guest Post by Judy Penz Sheluk

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Pacing, hair-pulling, scribbled up lists, asking friends and family - no, it's not naming a baby, it's naming a book. Not too long or readers will mess up the title. Not to short, or they'll forget it. Not too much like the latest blockbuster, but, you know, maybe a little like it?

If you're lucky, the work sets some guidelines. Lucy and Jenn have punchy, punny titles for their food-related cozies. I use quotes from Episcopal hymns. Rhys gets to use a lot of archly British phrases for the Her Royal Spyness series.

But what if the writing doesn't lay out a blueprint for a title? What if you need the title to guide you in what to write? Judy Penz Sheluk, editor of the upcoming anthology Larceny and Last Chances, tells us what goes into creating a successful and inspiring short story theme (hint: it doesn't involve having "Murder" in the title...)                                              

 

 

 Many authors will tell you that coming up with a title can sometimes seem as difficult as writing the book or short story. That difficulty is doubled when it comes to dreaming up a theme for an anthology. Not only does it have to work as a book title, it also has to offer writers the latitude to explore any number of schemes they might want to concoct. For the Superior Shores Press (SSP) anthologies of mystery and suspense, that pretty much eliminates putting “murder” in the title…because, well, then there’d have to be murder in every story. And while I certainly enjoy a good murder mystery, I don’t think I’d want to read twenty of them in a row. I expect you’re much the same.

 

That brings us back to dreaming up the theme. The first SSP entry —The Best Laid Plans—was easy (the definition of the adage being, “the futility of making detailed plans when the ability to fully or even partially execute them is uncertain.”). The second, Heartbreaks & Half-truths, worked perfectly for a short story I’d already written (translation: one less thing for me to worry about). And the third, Moonlight & Misadventure, continued to feed into my love of alliteration. Of course, I ran the risk of getting a lot of stories about werewolves (I really don’t get werewolves) but I’m born under the astrological sign of Cancer and we’re all about the moon.

 

After editing and publishing three multi-author mystery anthologies in as many years, I took a much-needed hiatus. In fact, I had joked to my hubby that if I ever contemplated publishing another anthology, he should duct tape me to my office chair.

 

He didn’t, bless his heart (though I suspect he was sorely tempted). Then, in the summer of 2023, a new theme popped into my head: Larceny & Last Chances (I did warn you that I love alliteration). Because who wouldn’t be above a bit of larceny if it was their absolute last chance to…

 

To what? It’s the ambiguity of that last, desperate chance that makes it work as a premise. The result? Twenty-two schemes, twenty-two dreams, and one overarching theme, duct tape optional.

 

What about you, readers? What “last chance” would entice you to partake in bit of larceny? 

 

About Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense: Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s about getting even. Sometimes it’s about taking what you think you deserve. And sometimes, it’s your last, best, hope. Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk and featuring stories by Christina Boufis, John Bukowski, Brenda Chapman, Susan Daly, Wil A. Emerson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Fellowes, Molly Wills Fraser, Gina X. Grant, Karen Grose, Wendy Harrison, Julie Hastrup, Larry M. Keeton, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Gregory Meece, Cate Moyle, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Kevin R. Tipple, and Robert Weibezahl.

 

About the editor: JudyPenz Sheluk is a former journalist and magazine editor and the bestselling author of Finding Your Path to Publication and Self-publishing: The Ins & Outs of Going Indie, as well as two mystery series: the Glass Dolphin Mysteries and Marketville Mysteries. In addition to the Superior Shores Anthologies, which she also edited, her short crime fiction appears in several collections. Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she served on the Board of Directors for five years, the final two as Chair. Find her at www.judypenzsheluk.com.

Home Is Where the Book Is by Holly West

 The winner of Carl Vonderau's SAVING MYLES is Kait! Email me at julia spencer fleming at Google mail and I'll connect you with Carl.

 

 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING:  It's the most wonderful time of the year... for crime fiction lovers. Today marks the official start of the 2023 Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Convention, known to one and all as Bouchercon. What better time to have as our guest Holly West, the editor of KILLIN' TIME IN SAN DIEGO, the official anthology of this year's conference. Holly has assembled a California-sized collection of amazing authors to show us the underside of "America's Finest City."

Like much of crime fiction, each Bouchercon is rooted in its unique location; the ins and outs and quirks of setting are integral to both the books we love to read and to the conference where we celebrate them. There is no frigate like a book, and Holly is here to evoke the days when we first fell in love with that magical sort of traveling. Stick around to share your experience, and you might win a copy of KILLIN' TIME IN SAN DIEGO!

 

 

London, England, is the first place I remember falling in love with through books. Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Paddington Bear, and others all brought the city to wondrous life for a girl who lived in a small Northern California town that held none of the excitement, magic, and delight that a place like London did. Since then, I’ve visited London (in books and in person) many times, and it never fails to charm me, so much so that I set my two novels in a seventeenth-century version of the city.

 

(I also married an Englishman. Make of that what you will).

London, of course, was just the beginning of my childhood world travel through books. The All-of-a-Kind Family had me longing to visit the Lower East Side of New York City, circa 1912. I desperately wanted to see Pippi Longstocking’s Villa Villekula, or Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s farm. But one book dominated all of them, even those set in London.

 

Three Without Fear by Robert C. DuSoe, is about Dave, a boy who is shipwrecked off the coast of Baja, California, and meets orphans Pedro and Maria, who are traveling up to San Diego with their dog, Chico, to live with their grandmother. Despite a language barrier, Pedro and Maria invite David to accompany them, and during the journey, they teach him survival skills like saltwater distillation, clam digging, tortilla making, and hunting. We eventually learn that Pedro and Maria are on the run, and the three of them must also avoid detection by their pursuers.

 

It's impossible to say how many times I checked Three Without Fear out of our local library or how many times I’ve read it. Books were my comfort then and remain so, and Three Without Fear was my favorite balm. My family took vacations every summer, usually to the Northern California coast nearby to where I grew up, and I spent many an afternoon with my toes deep in the wet sand, hoping to find a clam we could roast on the campfire and eat with fresh homemade tortillas, the way Pedro and Maria taught Dave to do.

 

(Spoiler alert: There was no campfire—Motel 6 was my parents’ accommodation of choice. The tortillas were store-bought, and the only clams I ever ate were in the clam chowder we sometimes ate from bread bowls).

 

I can’t fully explain my childhood obsession with Three Without Fear, but the book also served as an introduction to Mexico, Baja California, and San Diego. As an adult, I became interested in genealogy and learned that my grandmother’s side of the family hails from Baja California. My great-great grandfather was born in Tecate, and he’s buried in San Diego, along with many of my other ancestors (and Raymond Chandler). If I believed in such things, I’d say that the psychic connection to long-dead family might’ve somehow triggered my love for the setting, but I’m content to accept that it’s simply a coincidence.

 

The point is that, as readers, we become world travelers at a young age, and those places stick with us for a lifetime, no matter where we go or what else we read later. I began this post speaking of my love for London, but, as it turns out, my reading heart was much closer to home.

 

What was the first place you remember falling in love with through reading?

Attending Bouchercon? Please join us for a celebration and signing of Killin' Time in San Diego on August 31, after the Opening Ceremonies in the Grand Ballroom. 

 

Welcome to San Diego, where the perpetual sunshine blurs the line between good and evil, and sin and redemption are two sides of the same golden coin.

Killin’ Time in San Diego is a gripping anthology edited by Holly West, featuring twenty of today’s best crime and mystery writers. Published in conjunction with Bouchercon 2023, this new anthology peels back the postcard-perfect image of San Diego to expose its darker side.

With contributions from #1 New York Times bestseller C.J. Box and the Edgar-award-winning author Naomi Hirahara, plus a new story from Ann Cleeves OBE, published for the first time in the U.S., Killin’ Time in San Diego showcases an impressive lineup of writers, including Mary Keenan, C.W. Blackwell, J.R. Sanders, John M. Floyd, Kathy A. Norris, Kathleen L. Asay, L.H. Dillman, Richie Narvaez, Wesley Browne, Désirée Zamorano, James Thorpe, Kim Keeline, Victoria Weisfeld, Anne-Marie Campbell, Jennifer Berg, Tim P. Walker, and Emilya Naymark.

From the haunted hallways of the Hotel del Coronado to the tranquil gardens of Balboa Park, from the opulent estates of La Jolla to the bustling Gaslamp Quarter, Killin’ Time in San Diegois your ticket to the hidden side of “America’s Finest City.” 

Holly West is the editor of Killin’ Time in San Diego, the Bouchercon 2023 anthology (August 30, Down & Out Books). Her previous work includes the Mistress of Fortune historical mystery series and numerous short stories. She also edited the Anthony Award-nominated anthology, Murder-a-Go-Go’s:Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of the Go-Go’s.

Escape to (the Future) LA, a guest post by Denise Hamilton

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I've made no secret over the years of my love for science fiction, so I was thrilled to hear my good friend (and award-winning author and journalist) Denise Hamilton was helming a speculative fiction anthology. Denise is a born-and-bred Angelena, and the City of Angels has featured heavily in almost all her fiction. So it's no surprise that when Akashic Books went looking for an editor to put together a story collection that truly represented the cultural breadth and diversity of Los Angeles, they asked Denise. How did it work out? Amazingly, of course. Strap into your flying car, because this isn't your mother's future...

 

 

In this pandemic year when the veil of reality has never seemed so thin, I’ve fantasized heavily about alternate timelines. Bring me a world where Covid was contained like SARS or Ebola, the world went blithely on, and only the time travelers realized the magnitude of the bullet we’d dodged.

While in lockdown I’ve also been reading a lot of speculative fiction - space opera, fantasy, shapeshifters, future dystopia, modern fairy tales - anything that catapults me into a surreal world different from the surreal reality we share today.

In this, I’m probably not alone. A lot of mystery folk write and read fantasy and sci-fi, and if you’re one of them, I’m curious to know your faves. Personally, I’ve been blown away recently by a lot of the new BIPOC and LGBQT speculative fiction. Novels like Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, American War by Omar El Akkad and N.K. Jemison’s Shattered Earth trilogy offer fresh, brilliant perspectives that enrich and renew the genre.

 

I’ve also thought deeply about speculative fiction because I’ve just edited a new anthology for Akashic Books called Speculative Los Angeles. It follows the same blueprint as the popular City Noir series, which now includes Delhi Noir, Baltimore Noir, Tokyo Noir, Paris Noir and hundreds more. (n.b. I edited the two volumes of Los Angeles Noir).

In a city that’s already half-mythical, where the fantasies spun by Hollywood outshine reality, my challenge as editor was to capture LA’s un-reality in a way that felt fresh and revelatory. That meant reaching out to authors who reflected the multicultural vitality of the city and conjured up an L.A. we haven’t seen before in Blade Runner and Terminator 2 and that final scene in Day of the Locust. I’m sure I’m missing a ton of cultural touchstones about apocalyptic LA, so drop me a line with your favorite. 

Traditionally, Southern California sci-fi and fantasy heavyweights like Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, and Philip K. Dick reflected the white male domination of the genre. But in the late 1970s, L.A. African-American writer Octavia Butler began to crack that pantheon, and her time travel book Kindred (1979) and dystopian LA novel Parable of the Sower (1993) are finding new readers each day, which makes me so happy. I only wish that Butler, who died in 2006, could have seen all her new fans.

 

Speculative Los Angeles is dedicated to Butler’s memory. The anthology includes exciting new voices like S. Qiouyi Lu, whose story unfolds in a suburban landfill where giant mecha robots piloted by humans battle to the death and the Chinese Exclusion Act has brought renewed racism. It features Ben H. Winters, whose award-winning crime novels are all set in a speculative but utterly recognizable United States. Noir writer Duane Swierczyinski imagines a destroyed Hollywood where psychic death cults gather in crumbling theaters to wreak destruction. National Book Award winner Charles Yu embraces black holes in suburbia, and Alex Espinoza writes a 21st century changeling tale of an immigrant  toddler who returns from ICE detention to a mother who insists her son has been replaced by a replicant. Mothers know those things, don’t they?

 

When I’m not writing or editing for work, I’ve discovered new voices like Aliette de Bodard and Courttia Newland and revisited old favorites like Frank Herbert, Paolo Bacigalupi, Francesca Lia Block, China Mieville, and even J. R.R. Tolkein.  I’ve also rewatched some Outer Limits and Twilight Zone episodes. (factoid: Harlan Ellison wrote several Outer Limits episodes, including one set inside LA’s famous Bradbury Building downtown). If you’re crossing genres, what new authors have you discovered? And which U.S. city filled with ghosts, demons, urban myths and haunted landscapes should be up next for Akashic’s Speculative City series?

Leave a comment to be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of Speculative Los Angeles!

 

Denise Hamilton is the author of seven crime novels, including the Eve Diamond series, The Last Embrace and Damage Control. A former L.A. Times reporter, she is also a Fulbright scholar and edited Los Angeles Noir and Los Angeles Noir 2: The Classics. Her latest project, Speculative Los Angeles, is available at all bookstores and can be ordered direct from the publisher here. You can friend Denise on Facebook and follow her on Twitter as @DeniseHamilton_.