Free Fiction Monday: Family Affair

Private Investigator Smokey Dalton receives a call from an old friend to help transport a battered woman and her young daughter from Madison, Wisconsin, to a shelter in Chicago. But when Smokey and Marvella Walker show up at the drop site, they learn that the woman is both white and a racist. She refuses to leave with them. And that’s only the beginning of their […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Sob Sisters

Madison, Wisconsin, 1972—When Detective Hank Kaplan calls Valentina Wilson to a crime scene, she wonders why. She soon finds more questions than answers in a secret room belonging to a wealthy female philanthropist, whose brutal murder the police hastily cover up. Val’s search for the truth will take her from the rape hotline she runs to the shocking realization that the woman’s murder anchors a […]

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A New Story, A New Edition of A Book, and Best Of News

Okay, I’m starting with the Best of news. I’m excited to report that my story, “Once on The Blue Moon,” will be in The Best Military & Adventure SF edited by David Afsharirad. The book will appear in the summer. David says he hasn’t finalized the table of contents yet, but he will post that when he has it. Still, he gave us permission to […]

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Business Musings: Popcorn Bunnies (A Process Blog)

I could spend the next seven days on promotion and feel like I’m working at my writing full time. Seriously. I have the Fiction River Kickstarter to promote. I’m in a Storybundle with a Diving novella that might get more readers to the next book in the series, which will appear in mid-September.  I have a brand new story in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine  that’s […]

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The Next Nelscott Book

I’m pleased to announce that A Gym of Her Own is now available to preorder—at least, the ebook version is. The paper version will appear on the book’s release date, which is October 17. I’m really excited about this book. It isn’t a Smokey Dalton book, although it takes place in the same time period. If you read the Smokey books, then you’r familiar with […]

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Nelscott Nominated!

I am honored to announce that my novel, Street Justice, written under my Kris Nelscott pen name has been nominated for a Shamus award given by the Private Eye Writers of America. I found out when I woke up yesterday on a rare day off, and it was the perfect way to start a perfect day. I’m completely thrilled and more than a little gobsmacked. For […]

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Two New Short Stories, a Goofy Video, And An Opportunity

It must be urban fantasy detective week or something. I wrote a lot of short stories in the past year, and only two of them were about non-human or magical detectives. Both of those stories appeared this week. The first is in a project that Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon edited through Alliteration Ink. They Kickstarted the anthology, Streets of Shadows, and this weekend, they will have […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Guarding Lacey

Private detective Smokey Dalton does his best to protect his adopted family, from his 11-year-old son Jimmy to his friends, the Grimshaws. But Smokey can’t see everything. Jimmy notices that Lacey Grimshaw—“thirteen going on trouble,” Smokey says—skips school to hang out with an adult man. Jimmy doesn’t want to tattle, but he’s worried about Lacey. So he pretends he’s Smokey, and follows her, learning secrets […]

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Free Fiction Monday: Family Affair: A Smokey Dalton Story

Smokey Dalton gets a call from an old friend to help transport a battered woman and her young daughter from Madison, Wisconsin, to a shelter in Chicago. When Smokey and Marvella Walker show up at the drop site, they learn that the woman is both white and a racist. She refuses to leave with them. And that’s only the beginning of their problems. Chosen as one […]

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The Business Rusch: Murder Most Foul

 Here’s what they don’t tell you when you start out as a writer: 1. You need to learn business. 2. You need to learn copyright because that’s what you sell. 3. You need to learn how to hire people because the wrong people could destroy your life and career. 4. Your traditional publisher doesn’t give a crap about you, unless you become a blockbuster, and […]

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