Speaking of Baghdad

Chances are you have not even heard of this movie, much less seen it, but it's worth seeking out. It is only 28 minutes long and features stories written by modern Iraqi writers about what life is like there now, voiced by American actors. (The tagline of the movie is "Their words. Our voices.") It's a lot like the acclaimed documentary Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam. Here's a link to the trailer on IMDB.

New NoHo Noir--Cosmos

The story continues over at NoHo Noir with this flash fiction about a father and a son contemplating the mysteries of life. You'll see these characters again when the father is accused of murdering his ex-wife's new boyfriend. (The title of the series is NoHo NOIR after all.) The illustration by Mark Satchwill features my favorite building in the world, L.A.'s Griffith Observatory.

Here's an excerpt: The L.A. Observatory was Ty Garrett’s favorite place in the world so when the boy asked him to take him there, James was happy to oblige. Ty had been moody and restless all weekend, unwilling to open up about what was bothering him. James hoped a little star-gazing would make Ty feel better.

James hated that he didn’t know what was going on with his son all the time. He was 11 now, more little man than little boy, and it seemed like every time he saw him, Ty had changed in some subtle way. At least Erika had been good about the custody thing. But still, he hated her for breaking up the family, hated her for leaving him for the whitest man in Encino, a dentist who had billboards in three languages polluting the landscape all over the Valley.

It wasn’t the money. James was a good provider. He had parlayed a stint working in an Army motor pool into a business servicing temperamental foreign cars and their equally temperamental owners, people who pronounced “Jaguar” as three syllables like they’d been born in London, England and not London, Kentucky. In a good year, James pulled down six figures. Erika had no cause to complain there.

“Tooth guy wants me to call him ‘Uncle Tim’,” Ty blurted out, as if in answer to his father’s thoughts. Erika didn’t like it when Ty called Tim that and asked James not to encourage the disrespect. Most of the time he respected her wishes but now didn’t seem to be the moment for a lecture.

James glanced at his son’s anxious face. “Must be getting serious with your mother,” he replied neutrally.

Ty nodded. “We’re going to move in with him at Christmas,” he said.

READ the rest of the story here.

Christine Pope's Sympathy for the Devil

Looking for a little romance to spice up your holiday? Christine Pope has a Christmas/Chanukah gift for you. Her 105,000 paranormal romance Sympathy for the Devil is now available from Pink Petal Press in all digital formats for just $5.99.
Christine is, as you may recall, a "friend of Dark Valentine Magazine." That's her cover story in the Winter issue, available (free) on the Dark Valentine Magazine site now.
If you missed her hilarious mad scientist in love serial Welcome to Skullcrusher Mountain don't waste another minute--click on the link and catch up.
If you like what you read (and you will), Pink Petal Press has more Christine Pope available, including "Mistletoe Magic," a contemporary romance short story.

Kelli Stanley Has a New Website

Writer Kelli Stanley has a new website up, swing by and say hello and register for her newsletter. You can win copies of her upcoming books and get news about her appearances. Post in the forum or just give Kelli a shout-out. She's good company.

Winter is Coming!

The winter issue of Dark Valentine Magazine that is. This issue has 15 tales that are guaranteed to chill you to the bones and freeze your blood. The illustration here is by Natasha Killeen, an 18-year-old Aussie artist who was up for the challenge of illustrating Eric Dimbleby's incredibly dark story "Baby on Board." He seems like a nice fellow but after reading the story--I'm not sure I want to run into him in a dark alley. Other stories include Patti Abbott's "Too Beautiful," Edward A. Grainger's "Justice Served," Brian Trent's take on a Poe classic, "Down Memory Line" and much, much more. The cover story is Christine Pope's inspired twist on the classic "Snow Queen" fairy tale. In other words, there's a little something for everyone. The winter issue of Dark Valentine Magazine will be available on the site tomorrow, December 3.

For the Crime-Loving Cookbook Collector

As it's getting toward Christmas, it's time to start looking at those Christmas lists. Here are two very different cookbooks, both of them with connections to crime. First up there's Shane Bugbee's Cooking With a Serial Killer--recipes from grandmotherly serial killer Dorothea Puente, who was known for the delicious meals she served to her boarding house guests.

Then there's Susan Whitfield's Killer Recipes Cookbook, a collection of recipes contributed by mystery writers with the proceeds going to cancer research. For background on the cookbook, click here; to buy the book, go here. The Kindle edition is only $4.69.

Dearly Departed at NoHo Noir

There's a new installment of NoHo Noir up at patch.com. The "Noir" is subtle on this one but it's there. I'm still introducing characters but along about Christmas, you'll see some story arcs beginning to emerge. (My initial contract is just for three months, and that'll be up early in the new year, so just in case I don't get "renewed," I do want to tie off some of the story threads.)

As you can see, the story is illustrated by another great piece of art by Mark Satchwill. You can see more of his art on his site, but also in the upcoming Dark Valentine Magazine winter issue. The winter issue of Dark Valentine will be available Friday, December 3.

One of the things about the stories appearing on patch.com is that I'm visiting the site several times a day and they publish hyper-local crime news. I never knew my little corner of the world was so ... crime-infested. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.

I hope you like the story. If you do, please click on "recommend." Or leave a comment. My editors love comments and so do I. Thanks for your support.