In the lead-up to the launch of The Black Beacon Book of Mystery in June, we’ve asked our contributors to answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Let’s unravel the mystery behind the stories together.
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the pandemic...how are you coping?
Staying at home as much as possible, and reminding myself that there are many other people—infected people, front line workers, unemployed people, nursing home residents—who have it a lot tougher than I do.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery? What inspired you to write this mystery?
When I was in Junior High School, I wrote a series of stories, inspired by Marvel Comics and the TV show “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”, called “The Men From ACEL” about a detective/spy agency. The characters in the series were all named after fellow students. The psychology behind this, I don’t know. Was I a shy nerd looking for attention? Did I think the character names earned me a built-in audience? As I became more serious about my writing, I’ve only attempted the “detective agency” a few times. “The Morrison File” is one of those times. (Some of the characters in the story have names similar to those characters in The Men From ACEL.)
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Not recently, but I used to attend a yearly writer’s conference sponsored by Pennwriters, a statewide writer’s organization. Very helpful and very inspiring. I also used to attend Mystery conferences in Philadelphia.
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
Sherlock Holmes is the reason I write mysteries.
What are you writing now?
I work on several projects at once, which probably isn’t a good thing, but sometimes when having problems with one project, I find moving on to another project helpful.
Where can we follow or contact you online?
petyo@ptd.net and Facebook or Twitter @robertpetyo
Tuesday, 26 May 2020
Friday, 22 May 2020
An Interview with Josh Pachter
In the lead-up to the launch of The Black Beacon Book of Mystery in June, we’ve asked our contributors to answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Let’s unravel the mystery behind the stories together.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery? What inspired you to write this mystery?
My first published story, "E.Q. Griffen Earns His Name," appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in 1968. I was sixteen years old when I wrote it, and my protagonist was a sixteen-year-old boy named Ellery Queen Griffen. I wrote a second story about E.Q. two years later, and one about his younger brother, Nero Wolfe Griffen, a year after that, but then I moved on to creating my own characters, rather than copying those of other authors. A few years ago, I realized that the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of my first story was approaching, and I decided it would be fun to bring its main character back, fifty years older, to celebrate the occasion. Where would E.Q. be, half a century on? Well, where was I? Writing has over the decades been a paying hobby for me. My job is in education — I teach communication studies and film appreciation at a two-year college in Virginia. So why not make the adult E.Q. Griffen a college instructor? I wrote "50" and submitted it to EQMM — and editor Janet Hutchings not only bought it, she agreed to publish it in the magazine's November/December 2018 issue, exactly fifty years to the month after my December 1968 debut. The next year, I was delighted to see "50" place second in the balloting for EQMM's annual Readers Choice Award.
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
In 1972, I backpacked across Western Europe and visited the Reichenbach Falls in Meiringen, Switzerland. A beautiful spot — and, unlike the fictional "221B Baker Street," a real place!
What are you writing now?
A year ago, I was asked to write a story for a collection titled The Eyes of Texas, edited by the prolific Michael Bracken. I created a Texas private investigator named Helmut Erhard, whose grandfather was a German Army officer who spent the last two years of WWII in a POW camp in central Texas and stayed on in the US after the war to raise a family. I had so much fun with the character and the small-town Texas setting that I've now written four more Erhard stories and am working on number six.
Where can we follow or contact you online?
I don't often tweet, but I'm a pretty regular presence on the Book of Faces, and I have a website at www.joshpachter.com
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery? What inspired you to write this mystery?
My first published story, "E.Q. Griffen Earns His Name," appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in 1968. I was sixteen years old when I wrote it, and my protagonist was a sixteen-year-old boy named Ellery Queen Griffen. I wrote a second story about E.Q. two years later, and one about his younger brother, Nero Wolfe Griffen, a year after that, but then I moved on to creating my own characters, rather than copying those of other authors. A few years ago, I realized that the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of my first story was approaching, and I decided it would be fun to bring its main character back, fifty years older, to celebrate the occasion. Where would E.Q. be, half a century on? Well, where was I? Writing has over the decades been a paying hobby for me. My job is in education — I teach communication studies and film appreciation at a two-year college in Virginia. So why not make the adult E.Q. Griffen a college instructor? I wrote "50" and submitted it to EQMM — and editor Janet Hutchings not only bought it, she agreed to publish it in the magazine's November/December 2018 issue, exactly fifty years to the month after my December 1968 debut. The next year, I was delighted to see "50" place second in the balloting for EQMM's annual Readers Choice Award.
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
In 1972, I backpacked across Western Europe and visited the Reichenbach Falls in Meiringen, Switzerland. A beautiful spot — and, unlike the fictional "221B Baker Street," a real place!
What are you writing now?
A year ago, I was asked to write a story for a collection titled The Eyes of Texas, edited by the prolific Michael Bracken. I created a Texas private investigator named Helmut Erhard, whose grandfather was a German Army officer who spent the last two years of WWII in a POW camp in central Texas and stayed on in the US after the war to raise a family. I had so much fun with the character and the small-town Texas setting that I've now written four more Erhard stories and am working on number six.
Where can we follow or contact you online?
I don't often tweet, but I'm a pretty regular presence on the Book of Faces, and I have a website at www.joshpachter.com
Tuesday, 19 May 2020
An Interview with John M. Floyd
In the lead-up to the launch of The Black Beacon Book of Mystery in June, we’ve asked our contributors to answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Let’s unravel the mystery behind the stories together.
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the pandemic...how are you coping?
Like everyone else, I’ve been stuck here at home every day, so I’ve treated that as a chance to do a lot of writing. And reading.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery? What inspired you to write this mystery?
I wrote it because it’s a locked-room mystery, and I’ve always enjoyed reading that kind of story.
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Almost every trip I’ve ever taken has resulted in at least one story, so I guess I’ve been on a lot of literary pilgrimages. Most of them lately have been to Bouchercons.
What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story?
Suspense and deception. And of course a crime, at its center. I also like plot twists, not only at the end but during the story itself.
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
I have two of them: Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko and Nelson DeMille’s John Corey.
Tell us about a real mystery you have solved or would like to?
How does a guy who graduated in Electrical Engineering wind up writing fiction for magazines? I think I’ve solved that one.
What are you writing now?
A western about a bounty hunter on the trail of the stagecoach bandit who stole his girlfriend.
Where can we follow or contact you online?
Via my website (www.johnmfloyd.com) or my publisher’s site (dogwoodpress.com/john-floyd/).
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the pandemic...how are you coping?
Like everyone else, I’ve been stuck here at home every day, so I’ve treated that as a chance to do a lot of writing. And reading.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery? What inspired you to write this mystery?
I wrote it because it’s a locked-room mystery, and I’ve always enjoyed reading that kind of story.
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Almost every trip I’ve ever taken has resulted in at least one story, so I guess I’ve been on a lot of literary pilgrimages. Most of them lately have been to Bouchercons.
What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story?
Suspense and deception. And of course a crime, at its center. I also like plot twists, not only at the end but during the story itself.
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
I have two of them: Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko and Nelson DeMille’s John Corey.
Tell us about a real mystery you have solved or would like to?
How does a guy who graduated in Electrical Engineering wind up writing fiction for magazines? I think I’ve solved that one.
What are you writing now?
A western about a bounty hunter on the trail of the stagecoach bandit who stole his girlfriend.
Where can we follow or contact you online?
Via my website (www.johnmfloyd.com) or my publisher’s site (dogwoodpress.com/john-floyd/).
Sunday, 17 May 2020
An Interview with Mike Adamson
In the lead-up to the launch of The Black Beacon Book of Mystery in June, we’ve asked our contributors to answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Let’s unravel the mystery behind the stories together.
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the pandemic...how are you coping?
Staying inside, it’s been weeks since I spoke to anyone but family, except electronically. Fortunately, South Australia has one of the best responses to the epidemic in the world, and we’re feeling pretty confident so far that numbers will remain low.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery?
The title “The Vicar of Sexton’s Deep” had been at the back of my mind for ages, the iconic image of the old, gothic church in the wild-wood, with strange things happening, and when the time came the storyline gelled very quickly. Discounting the still-incomplete opening adventure, this is the earliest of the Inspector Trevelyan stories, and I was still feeling my way. By the time it was finished, I better knew the Inspector and his world and have since finished two more tales, plus a cross-over with Sherlock Holmes which will be appearing in Weird Tales later in the year.
What inspired you to write this mystery?
I was intrigued by the combination of real-world and occult elements, and found it very satisfying from a storytelling point of view to set up an overtly occult/satanic scenario and then deconstruct it, reducing it to an everyday explanation. This is the Holmesian formula, but, at the same time, I provided a chilling thread of the supernatural quite distinct from the overt element. It was experimental in this sense, but the experiment seemed to work!
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
None to date, I’d have to say, unless you count seeing one of the handful of surviving copies of the Magna Carta in the chapterhouse of Salisbury Cathedral, in 2006. It’s the basis of British law, and might perhaps be considered literature!
What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story?
My impressions: A crime of some subtlety, a strong motivation, characters the reader can relate to or at least understand readily, and an unimpeachable chain of logic by which it is solved—I feel it would be very unsatisfactory if the detective made too great a leap of intuition or otherwise came by the facts too easily.
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
The Prince of Detectives, Sherlock Holmes.
What are you writing now?
I write mostly genre material, SF, fantasy, horror, historical, mystery, and adventure. I’m currently writing a short story which concerns small dinosaurs which survived the great extinction, have evolved intelligence and are scientifically uncovering the facts of their ancestor’s demise! I guess you’d call that SF! And I have a couple of Sherlock Holmes pieces to write in the near future for new markets opening up.
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the pandemic...how are you coping?
Staying inside, it’s been weeks since I spoke to anyone but family, except electronically. Fortunately, South Australia has one of the best responses to the epidemic in the world, and we’re feeling pretty confident so far that numbers will remain low.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery?
The title “The Vicar of Sexton’s Deep” had been at the back of my mind for ages, the iconic image of the old, gothic church in the wild-wood, with strange things happening, and when the time came the storyline gelled very quickly. Discounting the still-incomplete opening adventure, this is the earliest of the Inspector Trevelyan stories, and I was still feeling my way. By the time it was finished, I better knew the Inspector and his world and have since finished two more tales, plus a cross-over with Sherlock Holmes which will be appearing in Weird Tales later in the year.
What inspired you to write this mystery?
I was intrigued by the combination of real-world and occult elements, and found it very satisfying from a storytelling point of view to set up an overtly occult/satanic scenario and then deconstruct it, reducing it to an everyday explanation. This is the Holmesian formula, but, at the same time, I provided a chilling thread of the supernatural quite distinct from the overt element. It was experimental in this sense, but the experiment seemed to work!
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
None to date, I’d have to say, unless you count seeing one of the handful of surviving copies of the Magna Carta in the chapterhouse of Salisbury Cathedral, in 2006. It’s the basis of British law, and might perhaps be considered literature!
What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story?
My impressions: A crime of some subtlety, a strong motivation, characters the reader can relate to or at least understand readily, and an unimpeachable chain of logic by which it is solved—I feel it would be very unsatisfactory if the detective made too great a leap of intuition or otherwise came by the facts too easily.
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
The Prince of Detectives, Sherlock Holmes.
What are you writing now?
I write mostly genre material, SF, fantasy, horror, historical, mystery, and adventure. I’m currently writing a short story which concerns small dinosaurs which survived the great extinction, have evolved intelligence and are scientifically uncovering the facts of their ancestor’s demise! I guess you’d call that SF! And I have a couple of Sherlock Holmes pieces to write in the near future for new markets opening up.
Tuesday, 12 May 2020
An Interview with Cameron Trost
In the lead-up to the launch of The Black Beacon Book of Mystery in June, we’ve asked our contributors to answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Let’s unravel the mystery behind the stories together.
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the
pandemic...how are you coping?
The official lockdown ended yesterday in France but I'm still at home with my two sons as school is reopening progressively with priority given to the children of parents in essential services. My wife had been working from home but she has started going back to work on a part-time basis. I'll be a stay-at-home-dad until life returns to normal. Living in the countryside makes it quite pleasant. We're very happy not to be cooped up in a small flat in the city. The virus hasn't spread too much in this part of France. I think most people have done well and respected the restrictions. It's too early to let our guard down though. This is a devastating virus and we need to do whatever we can to protect each other.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery?
"The Ghosts of Walhalla" is Oscar Tremont's second adventure (details here) and a lot of it is inspired directly by my visit to the actual setting. Yes, it's a real ghost town in Victoria, Australia! I'll let you work out fact from fiction. Just like Oscar and Louise, my wife and I stayed at the camping ground for a few nights back in 2008 and that's where I began writing the mystery in a notebook. If you ever visit the state of Victoria, you really should try to swing by Walhalla. Ghost sightings not guaranteed but the tour is a lot of fun!
Have you made any literary pilgrimages?
Quite a few. I've visited 221B Baker Street. In Oxford, I drank at pubs frequented by famous writers and characters, like Tolkien and Inspector Morse. In cities like Oxford, Edinburgh, Dublin, and of course, London and Paris, it's pretty hard not to stumble across fascinating sites connected to books. I'd love to visit Agatha Christie's home, Greenway House, in Devon. If I ever go to the States, I'd love to explore everything connected to Edgar Allan Poe.
What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story?
I'm all about the puzzle. You need a great detective and believable characters, of course, but for me the mystery is the key. We all hate it when the solution is too obvious, but it shouldn't be too convoluted either. Whatever the resolution, there must be clues, red herrings, and foreshadowing along the way, so the reader can flip back through the pages and say, "Yeah! It was all right there under my nose!"
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
My unoriginal answer is Sherlock Holmes. After all, he's the detective. The mysteries are excellent for the most part and both he and Watson are wonderful characters. In terms of TV detectives, I really like the sensitive heart but rough-around-the-edges mannerisms of Vera (I've yet to read any of the books) and the quirky Jonathan Creek. One of my favourite authors is Ruth Rendell but her Inspector Wexford doesn't really do it for me.
What are you writing now?
I’m working on an apocalyptic suspense novel about a pyromaniac, but it's early days. I'm also polishing a couple of Oscar Tremont short mysteries. My next publication will probably be my mystery novel, Letterbox. I finished the umpteenth draft last year and think it's ready now...well, almost.
Where can we follow or contact you online?
Blog: https://trostlibrary.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CameronTrostAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/camerontrost
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cameron-Trost/e/B006KHJBOI
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the
pandemic...how are you coping?
The official lockdown ended yesterday in France but I'm still at home with my two sons as school is reopening progressively with priority given to the children of parents in essential services. My wife had been working from home but she has started going back to work on a part-time basis. I'll be a stay-at-home-dad until life returns to normal. Living in the countryside makes it quite pleasant. We're very happy not to be cooped up in a small flat in the city. The virus hasn't spread too much in this part of France. I think most people have done well and respected the restrictions. It's too early to let our guard down though. This is a devastating virus and we need to do whatever we can to protect each other.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery?
"The Ghosts of Walhalla" is Oscar Tremont's second adventure (details here) and a lot of it is inspired directly by my visit to the actual setting. Yes, it's a real ghost town in Victoria, Australia! I'll let you work out fact from fiction. Just like Oscar and Louise, my wife and I stayed at the camping ground for a few nights back in 2008 and that's where I began writing the mystery in a notebook. If you ever visit the state of Victoria, you really should try to swing by Walhalla. Ghost sightings not guaranteed but the tour is a lot of fun!
Have you made any literary pilgrimages?
Quite a few. I've visited 221B Baker Street. In Oxford, I drank at pubs frequented by famous writers and characters, like Tolkien and Inspector Morse. In cities like Oxford, Edinburgh, Dublin, and of course, London and Paris, it's pretty hard not to stumble across fascinating sites connected to books. I'd love to visit Agatha Christie's home, Greenway House, in Devon. If I ever go to the States, I'd love to explore everything connected to Edgar Allan Poe.
What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story?
I'm all about the puzzle. You need a great detective and believable characters, of course, but for me the mystery is the key. We all hate it when the solution is too obvious, but it shouldn't be too convoluted either. Whatever the resolution, there must be clues, red herrings, and foreshadowing along the way, so the reader can flip back through the pages and say, "Yeah! It was all right there under my nose!"
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
My unoriginal answer is Sherlock Holmes. After all, he's the detective. The mysteries are excellent for the most part and both he and Watson are wonderful characters. In terms of TV detectives, I really like the sensitive heart but rough-around-the-edges mannerisms of Vera (I've yet to read any of the books) and the quirky Jonathan Creek. One of my favourite authors is Ruth Rendell but her Inspector Wexford doesn't really do it for me.
What are you writing now?
I’m working on an apocalyptic suspense novel about a pyromaniac, but it's early days. I'm also polishing a couple of Oscar Tremont short mysteries. My next publication will probably be my mystery novel, Letterbox. I finished the umpteenth draft last year and think it's ready now...well, almost.
Where can we follow or contact you online?
Blog: https://trostlibrary.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CameronTrostAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/camerontrost
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cameron-Trost/e/B006KHJBOI
Thursday, 7 May 2020
An Interview with Duncan Richardson
In the lead-up to the launch of The Black Beacon Book of Mystery in June, we’ve asked our contributors to answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Let’s unravel the mystery behind the stories together.
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the
pandemic...how are you coping?
One of the few benefits of the pandemic is the way it reveals how people really respond to big events like this, and it’s not the way most TV shows, films, or some books depict it; ie. we don’t walk/sit around making set piece speeches like, “Do you think there will be a war / bushfire / drought / pandemic?” It’s much more diffuse most of the time, with patches of frenzy. So I’m coping by trying to find some hidden benefits.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery?
The story behind my story is a big old house in South Wales where I lived for about 6 months as a child. It had long corridors, a wide curving stairway and a glass case in the hallway which contained a carving of an emaciated body. The carving freaked my mother out as it reminded her of the Nazi concentration camps. She wouldn’t rest until it was gone. Recalling that, it seemed that it could be part of a campaign to scare someone.
What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story?
A flawed main character, a believable setting in time and place, and a villain who has good reasons for their actions so you feel some sympathy for them too.
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
Robert Gott’s thespian sleuth, Will Power, because he’s hopeless and arrogant with a stunning knack of offending people. Also Poirot as depicted by John Malkovich.
Tell us about a real mystery you have solved or would like to?
A real mystery that would be great to solve is death of Alexander the Great. Was it disease, or was he poisoned? The princes in the Tower would be a good one too.
What are you writing now?
I’m now writing about a mystery man who turned up in a Queensland regional town around 1900 and attracted the attention of the police, which resulted in him being taken into custody and admitted to a mental hospital because in the words of the official report, “He couldn’t give a good account of himself.”
Where can we follow or contact you online?
www.facebook.com/duncrich.au
http://duncrich.wixsite.com/duncanrichardson
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the
pandemic...how are you coping?
One of the few benefits of the pandemic is the way it reveals how people really respond to big events like this, and it’s not the way most TV shows, films, or some books depict it; ie. we don’t walk/sit around making set piece speeches like, “Do you think there will be a war / bushfire / drought / pandemic?” It’s much more diffuse most of the time, with patches of frenzy. So I’m coping by trying to find some hidden benefits.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery?
The story behind my story is a big old house in South Wales where I lived for about 6 months as a child. It had long corridors, a wide curving stairway and a glass case in the hallway which contained a carving of an emaciated body. The carving freaked my mother out as it reminded her of the Nazi concentration camps. She wouldn’t rest until it was gone. Recalling that, it seemed that it could be part of a campaign to scare someone.
What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story?
A flawed main character, a believable setting in time and place, and a villain who has good reasons for their actions so you feel some sympathy for them too.
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
Robert Gott’s thespian sleuth, Will Power, because he’s hopeless and arrogant with a stunning knack of offending people. Also Poirot as depicted by John Malkovich.
Tell us about a real mystery you have solved or would like to?
A real mystery that would be great to solve is death of Alexander the Great. Was it disease, or was he poisoned? The princes in the Tower would be a good one too.
What are you writing now?
I’m now writing about a mystery man who turned up in a Queensland regional town around 1900 and attracted the attention of the police, which resulted in him being taken into custody and admitted to a mental hospital because in the words of the official report, “He couldn’t give a good account of himself.”
Where can we follow or contact you online?
www.facebook.com/duncrich.au
http://duncrich.wixsite.com/duncanrichardson
Saturday, 2 May 2020
An Interview with Kurt Newton
In the lead-up to the launch of The Black Beacon Book of Mystery in June, we’ve asked our contributors to answer a few questions so you can get to know them better. Let’s unravel the mystery behind the stories together.
First question, inevitable perhaps considering the pandemic...how are you coping?
Good. Where I live, the cases are few and far between. Hopefully, it will stay that way. Still, it has changed the way we go out in public, that's for sure. We might be wearing masks as standard attire from here on out.
Is there a story behind your contribution to The Black Beacon Book of Mystery? What inspired you to write this mystery?
Back in 2002, Michael Arnzen and I were the first two poets to sign with a new publisher called DarkVesper Publishing. My collection THE PSYCHO-HUNTER'S CASEBOOK was the first title, to be followed by Michael Arnzen's collection FREAKCIDENTS. An idea was hatched that Michael and I should write some cross-promotional material to help get the press off the ground. I wrote a short story mashup involving freaks and a detective hired to find one freak in particular called "The Freak-Hunter's Casebook." Unfortunately, the editor/publisher of DarkVesper disappeared from the scene (nothing nefarious, just in over his head) shortly after my collection was published, leaving Michael Arnzen and his collection in the lurch. Such is the small press. Michael's collection had no trouble finding another publisher. In 2005, "The Freak-Hunter's Casebook" eventually sold to an anthology called EMBARK TO MADNESS.
There are many ingredients in "The Freak-Hunter's Casebook" that are taken from my life growing up in rural Connecticut. I was a Cub Scout. The Devil's Hopyard is an actual place. I remember attending a circus sideshow as a kid, at a time when freaks were still on display. I'm also well-versed in small town attitudes and small town law enforcement.
There are many ingredients in "The Freak-Hunter's Casebook" that are taken from my life growing up in rural Connecticut. I was a Cub Scout. The Devil's Hopyard is an actual place. I remember attending a circus sideshow as a kid, at a time when freaks were still on display. I'm also well-versed in small town attitudes and small town law enforcement.
What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?
Living on the eastern side of Connecticut, I've always wanted to go to Providence and do the H.P. Lovecraft tour of his literary places. Haven't done that yet. Another bucket list tour would be to visit Baltimore and check out Edgar Allan Poe's hangouts.
What are the key ingredients for a ripping mystery story?
I like the grit, to feel the cold rain, to be on edge as to what could be around the next corner. It's that feeling of being lost at sea but knowing that, if you just keep going, circumstances will bring you to where you need to go.
Do you have a favourite fictional sleuth?
My dad was a big Sherlock Holmes fan and we watched a lot of b&w Basil Rathbone movies when I was a kid. My brother and I also used to stay up late sometimes and watch Charlie Chan Theater on an all-night Boston TV station. A lot of those memories are more nostalgic than inspirational.
Tell us about a real mystery you have solved or would like to?
I know for a fact that I buried a metal lunchbox full of childhood odds and ends in the backyard of the house I grew up in. What odds and ends, I don't remember. One day, I'll return with a metal detector and find that lunchbox. And when the current owners of the property return home one night to find a series of holes dug in their backyard, they'll have their own mystery on their hands.
What are you writing now?
I always have several short stories in the works, a novella or two that needs my attention, and always a novel at some stage of near-completion. Lately, however, I've been focused on poetry. Not sure why. But the pendulum will swing and I'll be back at completing the short stories (while starting new ones) and pushing the longer works further along. It's a long, meandering process, but I do manage to get things done.
Where can we follow or contact you online?
There's Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/
Amazon Author Page (https://www.amazon.com/Kurt-
Amazon Author Page (https://www.amazon.com/Kurt-
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