A Mysterious Interview with Robert Petyo

 The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery will be released on the 18th of April (but the Kindle version is available for pre-order today at just $0.99 instead of $3.99) and to celebrate this new volume of detective mysteries guaranteed to put your little grey cells to work, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. Do you dare peer into their devious minds, where criminal masterminds battle brilliant sleuths, private eyes, and police detectives? Settle down in your favourite armchair and get ready to pit your wits against the finest voices penning mystery puzzles today!

Hi Edward,

It’s always tricky interviewing a mystery writer about a particular story because we don’t want to give anything away, but can you tell us (carefully) where the idea for your story came from? 

There is a small town my wife and I occasionally stop at during the ninety-minute drive to our grandson’s house. It’s very similar to the town described in my story. One day when we stopped for lunch I stepped outside the back door and saw the slope behind the building. What if a body was found there? Being a mystery writer, my imagination often finds bodies. The story came from that.

There are several sub-genres of mystery fiction, but the stories in this anthology are traditional fair-play mysteries in which the reader can try to solve the puzzle before all is revealed. What makes this kind of mystery so timeless?

Puzzles will always be popular. Mystery stories. Crossword puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles. All kinds of puzzles.

Do you have a favourite fictional detective?

Without a doubt, my favorite is Sherlock Holmes who I started reading in grade school. He drew me into mysteries, leading me to Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen and others. 

Is this the first mystery your protagonist has solved?

Yes. This is the amateur detective’s first case.

If you were a detective, private investigator, or amateur sleuth, what would be your trademark quirk?

That’s a tough one. Probably the hint of OCD I have in my life. Same breakfast every morning. Same routine brushing my teeth. Every book replaced in the same spot. Same pens always in my pocket.

Do you have a writing routine or particular requirements for a writing session?

My computer is set up in the lower level of my home and is where I do all of my writing at different times during the day. I never write anywhere else. However, my mind is on my writing throughout the day and night.

What are you working on now?

Two short stories; one a mystery, and one horror. And a novel about a retired police detective who lives on a cruise ship (a cruise is my idea of the perfect vacation). But I’ve been struggling for more than a year with this and doubt that I will ever finish it.

Where can we find you online?

Facebook and X at Robertpetyo

Thanks for playing along!

A Mysterious Interview with Edward Lodi

The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery will be released on the 18th of April (but the Kindle version is available for pre-order today at just $0.99 instead of $3.99) and to celebrate this new volume of detective mysteries guaranteed to put your little grey cells to work, we’re interviewing the contributing authors. Do you dare peer into their devious minds, where criminal masterminds battle brilliant sleuths, private eyes, and police detectives? Settle down in your favourite armchair and get ready to pit your wits against the finest voices penning mystery puzzles today!

Hi Edward,

It’s always tricky interviewing a mystery writer about a particular story because we don’t want to give anything away, but can you tell us (carefully) where the idea for your story came from? 

Oddly enough, I stumbled upon the idea for “Death Goes Gourmet” while researching for another story: “Lurking in the Shadows” (included in The Second Black Beacon Book of Mystery). The information garnered augmented what I already knew about the flora and fauna of southeastern Massachusetts, the setting for my story.

There are several sub-genres of mystery fiction, but the stories in this anthology are traditional fair-play mysteries in which the reader can try to solve the puzzle before all is revealed. What makes this kind of mystery so timeless? 

Readers of mystery fiction have curious minds. We enjoy being presented with a difficult problem and attempting to work out the solution for ourselves (the reason why mysteries with obvious solutions are no fun to read). We also enjoy the challenge of discovering the truth before the fictional detective does.

Do you have a favourite fictional detective?

I’ll go with the obvious: Sherlock Holmes. I never tire of re-reading the novels and short stories. Believing that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I’ve written a half dozen Holmes pastiches.

Is this the first mystery your protagonist has solved? 

No. Lena Lombardi has already appeared in six Cranberry Country Mystery novels (beginning with Marmalade and Murder) and one short story (the aforementioned “Lurking in the Shadows”).

If you were a detective, private investigator, or amateur sleuth, what would be your trademark quirk?

Well, I guess I’d be a little like Lena, poking my nose into other people’s crimes, while in my spare time indulging in fine wines.

Do you have a writing routine or particular requirements for a writing session?

Being inherently lazy, I have to prod myself into actually sitting down and getting to work. So, no routine.

What are you working on now?

I’m toying with ideas for a horror story and a “locked room” mystery.

Where can we find you online?

You can find me at https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BH4VZ6MB/about

Thanks for playing along!

Anthology Announcement: Samhain Screams!

SAMHAIN SCREAMS

Edited by Greg Chapman and Cameron Trost 

Halloween. 

So much more than costumes and candy, it’s the time when the veil between our world and the other side is at its thinnest. The hour when dark forces come into the light in search of innocent souls. A time of blood and evil.

Australian Shadows Award-winning and multiple Bram Stoker Award-nominated author and artist Greg Chapman, and acclaimed author Cameron Trost, are seeking new original Halloween tales for this anthology, planned for release in October 2025.

We want memorable, character-driven stories set on, or near, the last night of October. Give us ghosts, serial killers, rituals and monsters, heroes and villains, but most of all give us the true dark side of Halloween - and make it terrifying.

Payment is $50 AUD for stories up to 5,000 words. Contributors will also receive a complimentary print and digital copy.

The anthology will feature original cover art and internal illustrations by co-editor Greg Chapman.

The submissions window opens March 1st and closes midnight May 30th. Send all submissions to samhainscreams@hotmail.com Story submissions should follow the Shunn format.

Kindle Pre-Order Deal: The Third Black Beacon Book of Horror

Be a mastermind, not a mug, and take advantage of our huge Kindle pre-order deal! The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery will be released on the 18th of April. Pre-order today for Kindle and pay just 99c instead of $3.99. https://mybook.to/TTBBBoM

If you haven't read the first two volumes yet, it's time to get cracking!

Welcome to 2025

Best wishes for 2025 from the Black Beacon Books crew.

We have three anthologies planned for this year:

- The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery

- Steampunk Sleuths

and the last one will be announced later this month.

Stay tuned!

 

Steampunk Sleuths Update

The table of contents for our first novelette anthology has been finalised. Steampunk Sleuths will be published on the 18th of July next year and will feature the following stories set in a steampunk world. Each adventure will have an appropriately quirky crime or mystery at the centre of its plot, and as well as steam-powered vehicles and clockwork machinery, you might just bump into pirates, samurai, vampires, and extra-terrestrials!

Tears of the Dragon by S.B. Watson

Murder in Whitby by Karen Bayly   

The Untimely Death of Clockmaster Tollsmead by Cameron Trost

The Copper Train by Diana Parrilla

The Strange Case of Private Ornshaw and the Martian Detective by David Turnbull

The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery - Publication Date

Black Beacon Books is pleased to announce the publication date for The Third Black Beacon Book of Mystery. The puzzles will be ready for you to solve (with the help of our host of talented investigators) on Friday the 18th of April, 2025.

These are the cases you'll be cracking...

The Painting and the Password by Cameron Trost
Death Goes Gourmet by Edward Lodi
Webster's Wallet by Robert Petyo  

A Veiled Truth by Karen Keeley

Gunning for a Promotion by Jon Matthew Farber

Take Care of Zozo for Me by Christina Hoag

A Study of Death by Teel James Glenn

Storm in a Teapot by Chris Hook

The Roman in the Fountain by Ron Fein

The Lunt by S. B. Watson

The Adventure of Woodbury Barrow by Cameron Trost

In the meantime, you can get your fix of mystery in the first two volumes.