Before One More Minute

The short story I wrote for the Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime anthology is about a woman who is making a major change in her life. She faces great danger in doing so and has a limited amount of time to pack up her life and leave. The title is One More Minute.

S.R. Betler (Three O'Clock Execution) created these amazing badges for each of our stories.

What I love about having my first mystery/crime/thriller story published in an anthology is the great collaborate effort all the authors and publication team are making to promote the book. Each story is unique, yet holds true to the theme: a time sensitive story.

The main character in my story is someone who has kept a journal throughout her adult life. I shared an excerpt on C. Lee McKenzie's blog (Heartless) this week, on how they got their Golden Retriever Bo. I'll share another entry here.

March 25, 20--
Well, Mother Nature had her last laugh. She dumped several inches of snow on us last night. Bo, in true puppy form, wasn't daunted in the least. He leapt out the door and immediately stuck his nose into the snow, coming up with a comical goatee. It reminded me of when the boys were small and I shared my ice cream cone with them. They took a taste, looked up with big eyes, and stuck their tongues out for more, licking their lips trying to get all the creamy sweetness. They each had a dollop of ice cream on their noses, just like Bo's snow wash!

I'd rather be prepping my gardens today instead of shoveling snow. I bought the boys light shovels so they can help me. Of course, Grayson just drove over the snow and went to work.

Bo becomes a loyal companion to this lonely mother and wife. Read about her and the rest of the unfortunate characters in Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime anthology from Dancing Lemur Press. Coming May 1, 2018. It will thrill and delight you!

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Mary Aalgaard is a playwright and piano/theater teacher, living in the heart of Minnesota. She writes theater reviews and supports the arts through her blog Play off the Page. She teaches youth theater workshops in the Brainerd lakes area, writes articles for regional magazines, and works with both seniors and youth in multi-generational programs to enhance quality of life and build community. Her website is PlayoffthePage.com. You can follow her on her Playoff the Page Facebook page, @MaryAalgaard on Twitter, and email her at Mary@playoffthepage.com.

Mystery, Mind Games, and Murder

Imagine, if you will, that you have one week left to live. You’re innocent, but the jury found you guilty anyway. No one believes you. Your last appeal has failed. To top it all off, the person who killed your spouse is still out there, and soon they’ll have gotten away with two murders. You have one last interview, one last chance to tell the truth and hope that someone, anyone, believes you. And someone does. But you might just wish he didn’t.

Such was the scenario that ran through my head and eventually gave life to Maurice Oyler and Matthew Devlin in Three O’Clock Execution.

When I first heard the Insecure Writer’s Group (IWSG) was holding their annual anthology contest, I was excited. But then I realized the topic was crime. Eish. I’m a fantasy writer, through and through. What do I know about crime? Sure, I love reading it, but writing it is a whole different beast.

However, I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge (even when I really, really should), so I sat down and considered something I think about from time to time: what if you’re put to death for a crime you didn’t commit? The thought is terrifying. So, in other words, perfect for a crime anthology.

I’ve always been a big fan of psychological thrillers, so I wanted to approach crime more from a psychological perspective; not while the murder is being committed, but the mind games that follow. And Mr. Devlin sure is good at mind games.

I'd like to introduce you to the characters, just briefly, with an excerpt from the beginning of Three O'Clock Execution.

The clock outside chimed three times as Mr. Devlin clicked the recorder on and took his seat at the metal table.

“Today is the eighth of April, at three o’clock.” His words were crisp and biting, as chilly and sterile as the visiting room. “Will you state your name for the record, please?”

“Maurice Oyler.” The chains clinked against the table as he wrung his hands.

“Do I have your permission to record this?”

“Yes.”

“Then, let’s begin, shall we? As you know, I’m Matthew Devlin. I’m conducting some research on death row inmates. Thank you for agreeing to see me.”

“Well, you were very persistent.” It wasn’t a compliment. In fact, Mr. Devlin had become downright insufferable, and if Mo had to die, which the state was determined to make happen, he wanted to at least be allowed to do so in peace.

“I think you’ll find, Mr. Oyler, that I take my work very seriously.”

“I’m afraid I won’t be of much use to you, then. You see, I’m innocent.”

“With all due respect, every sane person says that on their way out.” Mr. Devlin paused to rearrange some folders in front of him. “Some of the less-than-sane ones, too.”

“Right.” Mo licked his lips and leaned forward, making sure their eyes met. “But I’m telling the truth. I didn’t kill my wife.”

So, what would you do if you were convicted of a crime you didn’t commit?

To find out what Maurice Oyler did, you can preorder Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime at the following retailers (release date is May 1):

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---

 S. R. Betler: Writer. Reviewer. Failed ninja. Collector of stray people and animals. Torturer of characters. Creator of worlds, people, and sometimes bad ideas.

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Until Release

by Jemi Fraser

Back in September, I posted this on Facebook...

3500 words
7 different pov characters
1st attempt at a short
Genre I don't normally write
What could possibly go wrong...?
#amwriting

The Theme for the newest IWSG anthology had intrigued me.

Theme: Tick Tock. The story revolves around a clock, is time sensitive, or has something about a specific time. 

The prompt for the contest had my brain ticking (pun intended!). I saw a clock counting down, but counting down to what?

The first character to pop into my head was a grieving mother. Then the man who caused the grieving.

This man was being released early from prison, for good behaviour.

Other characters popped in until I ended up with 8 points of view in the story. I'm used to juggling 2 points of view and am comfortable with both male and female viewpoints. But 8? Yeah, I thought I was nuts, too. And, yes, another character clamoured to be added after my FB post above.

Added to the mess, none of the characters came with names, but they did come with evil intentions.

I had so much fun writing the first draft! And the fun increased with each revision round.

First up in the story is Ashley...

It proved impossible to paint nail polish neatly while imagining her fingers wrapped around that throat.  Squeezing until the pulse ceased to beat and the life was gone.

Like her Matt’s life.

Gone.

Four years, three months, and thirteen days gone. Less than five years to pay for the death of her son. Snuffed out at nineteen. Run down like he meant nothing.

It wasn’t enough.

Walker had to pay like her Matt had paid.

Ashley took a deep breath followed by three more. Then picked up the polish with a steady hand.

I hope you'll be picking up a copy of Tick Tock: A Stitch in Crime when it's released! And don't forget to add us to your list on Goodreads! Join us on Facebook too!

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Detective Cypress

Hello, everyone. Yolanda Renée here to discuss my contribution to the new IWSG Anthology Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime.

I'm a mystery writer with several published novels, a blogger - Defending the Pen, and a flash fiction writer - WEP. I write in many genres. In fact my science fiction story, Ever-Ton placed in the first IWSG Anthology, Parallels: Flex Was Here.

Cypress, Like The Tree, is a murder mystery with several interesting suspects. Does a wife kill her abusive husband? Have the neighbors who've witnessed the abuse turned vigilante? Or has a philanderer just pissed off the wrong person?

Today you'll meet Detective Cypress, the man in charge of solving this crime, but first:

Excerpt:

A detective entered the room. I knew he was a detective before he even opened his mouth because his superior than thou aura wafted off him like cheap aftershave. Tall, thin, and rumpled, he reminded me of an anorexic Clark Kent. Was this Superman in disguise?

“Mrs. Allan,” he offered his hand. “I’m Detective Cypress, like the tree.”]

***

Detective Cypress likes comparing himself to the tree. He thinks it gives suspects and strangers a sense of comfort, strength, and fear.

He sees himself as the guardian of justice, and the seeker of truth, comparing that to the fact that the Cypress Tree has long been an emblem of immortality, strength, and guardianship.

Maybe equating the fact that from ancient times the cypress tree has been planted by graves and in cemeteries, representing, in the upward pointing of every shoot and leaf, and the fragrant, enduring wood, a knowledge of immortal life with God in heaven. Hence the guardian of the dead, and for the detective his responsibilities to the murdered.

Detective Cypress is a young detective still learning the ropes, and he has a long way to go when it comes to getting confessions and outwitting the most crafty of killers.

Will Detective Cypress solve the murder that took place on Red Clay Road?

Find out in

Cypress, Like The Tree

in

Tick Tock: A Stitch In Crime

Pre-order Now!

Copies will be available May 1^st, but review copies are available NOW!

Add it to your TBR list on Goodreads!

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Thank you for stopping in. Just curious, of all the fictional detectives out there - which one is your favorite?

Meet the Bartender

Hi! Rebecca M. Douglass here, author of “The Tide Waits” in the Tick Tock anthology, here to  share a bit about how and why I wrote my story.

In some ways, the answer is easy: I write cozy mysteries, among other things, so the IWSG anthology this year was a natural fit. I was sure I could do something good with the mystery prompt. Then I saw the part about the theme being clocks or time, and I wasn’t so sure. After all, clocks in murder mysteries were done to death so long ago they never even appear anymore, right? (I’d say from the stories in the anthology that there were still plenty of interesting mysteries to write about time!).

Rebecca M. Douglass

So the theme worried me a bit, and I knew I wanted to take a little different approach—to the mystery
or to the clock, or (as it turned out), to both. Since my PTA murder mysteries are set on Pismawallops Island, a pile of glacial leavings in the middle of Puget Sound, and because I grew up on a similar pile, my first thoughts ran to ferries and ferry schedules. That just wouldn’t gel in my mind, until I thought of the tides—the most important time-keeper for sea folk. That was when I remembered Lira.

Lira made her first appearance in a bit of flash fiction several years ago, tending bar in a village in an unspecified but not modern time and place. I liked that she is a woman in an unconventional job, and that she's competent and in control. I knew from that first story that Lira is the go-to problem solver for her village, making it natural that an old fisherman would turn to her when he finds a dead man.

Lira’s story was fun to write, as well as exasperating. The tide, which I have always taken for granted and would have said I understood well, proved more complex than expected, not to mention unwilling to cooperate with my narrative needs. It took a lot of edits to get it right (I hope), and many thanks to Jemima Pett, who helped me find the errors.

Take a quick look at Lira in action:

“Shut it, you sotted fool!”

“It’s th’ lord’s truth.” 

The thump of a blow cut off the too-loud declaration, and Lira looked up from the glass she had just filled. In the back corner of the bar, two shepherds lambasted one another drunkenly. Sighing, she handed the glass across to the blacksmith, and picked up the stout club she kept to maintain the peace. Crossing the room in three strides, Lira grabbed the loudmouth by the collar, and barred the second man from further attack with her weapon.

Lira dragged the dazed shepherd to the door, pushed him out into the night, and turned to confront his drinking buddy and sparring partner. “You, too. Out.”

The second shepherd cast a forlorn look at the table where half a glass of ale still stood. “Aw, I was just—” He took another look at the bartender’s face, shut up, and went out into the night.

You’ll have to get your copy of Tick Tock, A Stitch In Crime to find out how Lira handles her other job! You can pre-order and copies will be available May 1. Add it to your TBR list on Goodreads! Join us on Facebook. 

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