So Long Summer — And Exciting Short Story News!

Is today really the first day of autumn?

I’m already missing summer and the many beautiful days I enjoyed by the ocean, Jones Beach NY and Point Pleasant NJ. Sun, water, and sand!

Bye-bye seagulls!

My summer wasn’t all play. Plenty happening with my writing, and I’ve got some great short story news to share.

Cover reveal! Isn’t this a beautiful cover?

Coming November 23! Your Pick, a collection of reader favorites, carefully selected from my four previous collections. For readers who are new to my short stories, this is the place to start. The greatest hits, if you will. I’ve assembled a dozen of my best stories based on the comments I’ve received from readers over the years. Your Pick includes stories at the emotional heart of my work, those that readers have mentioned, time and again, as their favorites. Your Pick is now available for preorder in e-book, and will also be available in paperback on publication date.

More short story news: I’ve sold another story to Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine! “Dzintra’s Tale” is a murder mystery incorporating historical fact about the mass emigration of Latvians escaping the Soviet invasion during World War II. As you may know, much of my knowledge about Latvia comes from my late father and aunt, who were displaced persons after the war. Publication date for “Dzintra’s Tale” is yet to be determined, so stay tuned. Another new story of mine has been accepted for inclusion in an anthology with other fantastic mystery and crime writers—more news on that to come as well!

For the short story writers and novelists reading this, you might be interested in a series of three articles I wrote this summer, with tips on “Adding Criminal Law and Procedure to Your Fiction.” The series was posted in August on the blog for the Mystery Writers of America, New York chapter: Part I, “Search and Seizure”; Part II, “Stop & Frisk, Arrest, Identification Procedures, Indictment,” and Part III, “The Courtroom—Guilty Plea and Trial.”

That’s all the news fit to print for now. Wishing you a lovely, crisp, productive autumn!

Truth or Point of View?

Courtroom themes in legal mysteries

Welcome to my blog! For my inaugural post, I’m re-posting a piece I wrote in March 2013 for Something is Going to Happen, the blog of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. In this piece you will find a bit of personal history about my early days as a prosecutor and reflections on some of the prominent themes in my legal mysteries. Hope you enjoy it! And check out Something is Going to Happen for interesting points of view on mystery fiction and the world of mystery writers by the Editor of EQMM and top authors in the genre.