They write urban fantasy in Oz too...

Here's a link to an article that first appeared in the RWA newsletter "Heart's Talk." It's a fairly standard-issue overview of Urban Fantasy but it lists a number of Aussie UF writers I wasn't familiar with. Since I gobble up the genre like chocolate-covered raisins, I was delighted by this. If you are looking for some new books while Jim Butcher writes his next novel, check out the post.

Oops

Thanks to Paul Brazill for pointing out the story in Powder Burn Flash was posted by MysteryDawg but written by Jane Hammons. Sorry Jane.

Stories for Sunday

A Twist of Noir is back up and running with great new twisted tales here. I have story #668, coming in early February. That's art by Walter Conley, who has provided an illustration for Dark Valentine Magazine's upcoming spring issue.

MysteryDawg has a story up at Powder Burn Flash. Check it out.

If you're looking for something to read and you're not sure what, check out Fresh Fiction, with its lists of new works in all mystery genres, reviews, blogs, interviews and more.

When characters surprise you

The first time a character did something I wasn't suspecting, it kind of scared me. It wasn't quite on a par with a divine message to put on a suit of armor and go save France but it was freaky nonetheless. It's happened enough now that it's not quite a complete surprise but it can still be unnerving.

Take this week's episode of NoHo Noir. In this episode, homophobic cop Ethan's girlfriend gives birth to his baby after she takes a bad fall. I had a story all worked out where Ethan, who is contemptuous of a particular neighbor, finds out that he's gay after he saves the baby and the mother's life. And he may still find that out about the character, who is currently named "Guy from 108." As I was typing, though, Ethan decided to do something different and the story has a very different outcome.

So for the record, if you read the story and HATE what happens, blame Ethan. I was just the one at the keyboard. Read the story here. The illustration is by Mark Satchwill.

Win a copy of The Devotion of Suspect X

Janet Reid, literary agent, query shark and blogger, is holding another of her 100-word stories over the weekend. The prize this time is a copy of the upcoming novel by Keigo Higashino. This book is getting a lot of advance heat, so if you win, you'll be the first on your block to have a chance to read it. See the details at Janet's site here.

Janet's contests--I call her Janet instead of Ms. Reid because we follow each other's tweets--does these contests frequently and they're great micro-fiction challenges. I've never come close to impressing her with my entries but I persevere nevertheless. Her advice on novel queries is not to be missed. (You get 250 words to get her attention.)

A Decent Man by Keiran Shea

Call it "western noir." New fiction from Keiran Shea is always welcome. Check out his new story at the Flash Fiction Offensive.

A novel novel-writing contest

AuthorStand has just announced their "first annual" novel contest. The contest is free to enter and open to works of more than 50,000 words in any genre. The contest ends July 31st and judging will run until the end of November.

For more information, check out the details here.