Nostalgia City Mysteries

Mark S. Bacon

Tag Archives: crime fiction

7:46 am - September 11, 2013 -

Mystery flash fiction contest;               Only two days to enter – Get busy!

Vanessa Shields, blogging from Ontario, Canada, is sponsoring a mystery flash fiction contest that starts now!

Do you have an idea for a short-short mystery?  Maybe you’ve written a few already.  Send one in!  This contest features literary prizes–including a Raymond Chandler book–but you only have two days to enter.  The contest closes, appropriately: Friday, 13th of September.

Stories are limited to 200 words or less.  Shields and I will be the judges and winners will be announced two weeks after the contest closes.  There’s no fee to enter.

For all contest rules and to enter, go to: Vanessa Shield’s blog

Vanessa contest

 

Lawrence Block

Hit Man, a collection of crime short stories by Lawrence Block, will be reviewed next time.

Categories: contests, flash fiction, writing prompt Tags: , , ,
1:46 pm - September 4, 2013 -

New flash fiction

Quiet, editing in progress

Recently, blogger/writer Vanessa Shields ran an interview with me about flash fiction, where it came from, who writes it, etc.  After the interview, she asked if I would edit a mystery flash fiction of hers.

She sent me the flash fiction and we exchanged emails over a week working on the story.  It started out at 287 words and we pared it down a bit.  Visit Vanessa’s blog and see inside flash fiction editing.

Lawrence Block’s Hit Man

Next time, visit this space for a review of Lawrence Block’s,  Hit Man, a collection of short stories about John Keller, an unassuming guy who makes his living killing people.

And now for something completely different, here’s the latest, new flash fiction offering.

Monty Is a Thief

Seated in the subway, Monty eyes a wallet. It looks fat, but the guy’s clothes are threadbare, his expression disconsolate. Instead of entertaining pity, Monty focuses on the wallet. Stealing is what he does.

Later, he leafs through his take: driver’s license, money, ID cards, newspaper obituary. The young woman pictured in the obit has the same last name as the wallet’s owner. A folded VA letter says the recipient’s PTSD is responsible for his migraines and memory loss.

Monty pauses and glances at his victim’s address. Then he pockets the cash and dumps the wallet. Monty is a thief.

 

Hyperlink

Vanessa Shields’s Blog

 

Categories: flash fiction, flash fiction writers, New mystery book Tags: , , , , , ,
11:56 am - June 19, 2013 -

New flash fiction

Here’s another installment from Cops, Crooks & Other Stories in 100 Words.  Don’t forget that my other e-book, Mysteries and Murder, is available from Ether Books for convenient reading on your phone.

 

Never an Empty Seat at Maggie’s

“We don’t want to eat anywhere that’s empty,” said Jamie. “Let’s find a restaurant with lots of locals.”

“Here,” said Ty, parking their car. “This place is full.”

As they approached the hostess, they wondered if they’d have to wait.

“Just follow me,” she said.

As Jamie and Ty walked through the restaurant, they noticed that some of the customers were less than animated.

“Here’s a nice spot,” said the hostess. She dragged the two corpses that were seated at the table into a corner.

“No one comes into an empty restaurant,” she said. “So we keep the tables filled.”

Categories: flash fiction writers, New mystery book, New story, short stories Tags: , , , , ,