Free Fiction Monday: The Monster in Our Midst

When a disturbing postcard arrives at his Atlanta office, Emerson knows he must report it to the NAACP. The postcard, sent by the mysterious Lurleen from Abbotts Creek, Arkansas, depicts yet another lynching. Emerson agrees to travel to Abbotts Creek to investigate, but he knows doing so poses great risk. Emerson only passes as white, and this Lurleen knows his face. Emerson knows one day […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Mr. Alibi

No-nonsense private eye Belinda Sweet, the only person in Los Angeles who wants no part in fame, avoids cases that bring her attention. Until she stumbles on one in a bar, when a barfly asks her to act as his alibi for killing his wife. When the cops arrest him but then let him go, Sweet needs to know why. She’s lived in LA long […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Still Life 1931

Years ago, Lurleen helped the NAACP investigate lynchings. She stopped when she met her husband, but never forgot the work…or the caution it required. After his death, Lurleen finds herself struggling to find purpose.

She travels to New York without a plan. But what she finds there might help her face her past—and finally chart her future.

A powerful story about justice, courage, and facing one’s true self.  

Originally written for the anthology In Sunlight or in Shadow, edited by Lawrence Block, and inspired by the painting “Hotel Room (1931)” by Edward Hopper, “Still Life 1931” by Edgar Award-nominated author Kris Nelscott, is free on this website for one week only.

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