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THE BEST SHORT STORIES
"I avoided writers very carefully because they can perpetuate trouble as no one else can." - F. Scott Fitzgerald, Esquire, February-April, 1936 Probably good advice from Mr. Fitzgerald (he should know), but I've never avoided writers--I love them too much. Plus the trouble they can cause is such fun. With that idea in mind, I asked a bunch of them to tell me what their favorite short stories are, one written by someone else, and one written by themselves. And they came through. What really surprises me is there are no duplicates. Many have links so you can read the stories, some for free, some for a small fee. Others you'll have to hunt for in anthologies or contact the writer directly if the story he mentions is by him but no longer available. He may just send you a copy to read. Or maybe not. You can never tell with writers--ask Mr. Fitzgerald. A quick note before we start. The Derringer Award mentioned here several times is given by the Short Mystery Fiction Society annually for short stories in different length categories. (Get it--the Derringer is a small, short-nosed gun.) Here's a link to the 2011 winners Look at the left side-bar for other years: http://shortmystery.blogspot.com/2011/03/2011-derringer-winners.html And here they are, something for everyone and the reasons why: J.E. Seymour Someone else's: "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl. I love its simplicity, its sparseness. No need for excessive wordage, it's only about 3,900 words long. It's not a classic mystery, we know who dunnit. It's clearly just crime. Victor Banis Someone else's: Likes Michael Bracken's "News Flash" because it's on his mind a lot. "Why that one? Well, the writing is smooth as silk and the ending has a kick." http://store.untreedreads.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68_7_48_53&products_id=130 Victor's own: "A Man of Principle." Why this one. Don't know, I just like it. There's a Faustean element to it, though I think not every one picks up on that. http://www.amazon.com/A-Man-Of-Principle-ebook/dp/B004G08UE8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309120508&sr=8-1 Barry Ergang Someone else's: the most perfect story I've ever read doesn't seem to be available at the click of a mouse. It's Sean Doolittle's Derringer winner "Care of the Circumcised Penis" from THUGLIT PRESENTS: BLOOD, GUTS, AND WHISKEY. The sheer artistry of it took my breath away, but what really tipped the scale for me was it also had heart. Liz's own: "The Green Cross," published in EQMM and nominated for an Agatha, is available at http://www.elizabethzelvin.com/PDF/Zelvin,%20The%20Green%20Cross.pdf. It's the first appearance of Diego, the young Marrano sailor with Columbus who started beating on the inside of my head in the middle of the night demanding to be let out, and his voice is all his own. Rob Lopresti Someone else's: "The Scent of Lilacs" by Doug Allyn, published in the Sept/Oct 2010 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. The story touched my heart in ways usually only novels do. Jim's own: "Second Chance," the first Dan Sullivan story I ever wrote, and the first story I ever wrote that sold (though not the first story I sold; that was "Unmatched Set," which was published in MYSTERY BUFF). Regretfully, "Second Chance" was published in BLUE MURDER, which is no more, so I can't provide a link. "Second Chance" is my favorite because it's my first story that sold, and because I think it has the most interesting back-story. Some years earlier, when I was working for the Berkeley, CA, Police, I'd arrested a homeless man who pulled a knife on me. I drew down and was just a few ounces of trigger pressure short of shooting him, when he suddenly dropped the knife. He turned out to be a Vietnam vet fallen on hard times, and not all that bad a guy. I resolved that some day, I'd have to use this incident in a story. A few years later, I was reading an interview with a professor of Scriptural Studies at one of Chicago's Catholic universities (I think it was DePaul, but I'm not absolutely sure of that). Anyway, the professor was talking about the story of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke and making the point that the lesson most people take away from that parable, "Be good to your neighbor," is only part of the story. To get the full point, you have to put the story in historical context. The Samaritans were hated by Temple Jews in Jerusalem. If the point was just be kind to your neighbor, Jesus would have made the robbery victim the Samaritan, and the rescuer a Temple Jew. Instead He made the hero of the story a member of despised group precisely because He wanted to challenge the preconceptions of his audience. Flashback to the age of thirteen and an assignment I was given by my seventh grade teacher, Sister Brideen, to rewrite the story of the Good Samaritan in a modern setting. I wrote a story in which a druggie gets mugged on a San Francisco street, gets passed up by another druggie and a local dealer, but whose life is saved by the local beat cop, the last guy the druggie expects help from. Sister gave me an "A," but that article I'd read suggested that, by making the victim a member of a despised group, and the hero the conventional cop-with-a-heart-of-gold, I'd missed the point completely. What, I thought, if the wounded man was a cop, cut off from communications? Who would he least expect help from? I remembered the homeless guy I'd almost shot, and sat down and wrote "Second Chance," opening with a fictionalized version of the real-life encounter I'd had with the luckless vet, and ending with a rewrite of that 7th grade assignment. I sent it off to a short story contest that WRITERS DIGEST was running. I didn't win, but I did have a sellable story, as the purchase by BLUE MURDER proved. Someone else's: "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Woolf is a story about a bank robbery gone wrong - one of the patrons gets the title... I find it devastating. Here's a link: https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ro/www/LiteratureandMedicineInitiative/20080304/bullet.pdf Steven's own: "The Biography of Stoop, the Thief: Chapter Three: Stoop and Elizabeth." It was first published in UNCAGE ME! from Bleak House. SMFS nominated it for a Derringer, so it can't be all bad. It's available through Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RZ2W32 O'Neil de Noux Someone else's: "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs" by Harlan Ellison is a haunting tale based on a real event that shook me when I was young. The story is electrifying and has one of the greatest titles and the best opening line. It was one of the stories that inspired me to become a writer. Kate Thornton Someone else's: "Losing Ground" by Gay Degani. It's a really short story - and the crime is really against everyone. Here's a link: http://www.tattoohighway.org/18/gdcontest.html Anita Page Someone else's: Jack Hardway's "Butterfly" would most definitely make my list of favorite short crime stories. It's beautifully written, with a fine twist and characters who come to life on the page. Mark Troy Someone else's: A story I have read over and over is "Until Gwen" by Dennis Lehane. It appeared in Atlantic Monthly, June 2004 and reprinted in The Best American Mystery Stories, 2005. It's about a grifter and a man who might or might not be his father. It is told in the second person, present-tense and is a marvelous story about a young man struggling with identity. The first sentence: "Your father picks you up from prison in a stolen Dodge Neon with an 8-ball of coke in the glove compartment and a hooker named Mandy in the back seat." Toni L.P. Kelner Someone else's: I still love "A Scandal in Bohemia" by Arthur Conan Doyle--it's got The Woman, Sherlock in two disguises, a nobleman getting dissed even though he's too arrogant to realize it, and an ending that is very different from what I expected. Graham Powell Someone else's: "Catch", by Ray Nayler. http://www.fantasticmetropolis.com/i/catch/ It originally appeared in an obscure British magazine called CrimeWave, though it's by an American and set here. "Catch," to me, fulfills the promise of noir. It's a sad story about a young boy who doesn't meet his dad until he's seven years old, when he gets out of prison. Pretty soon his old partner is roaming around. Things unfold from there in ways that seem both inevitable and surprising. Marian Allen Someone else's: "The Two Bottles of Relish" by Lord Dunsanay. Ruth McCarty Someone else's: "Widow's Peak." It's about 52 words and was nominated for a Derringer. "Widow's Peak" by Sharon Daynard published in Riptide: Crime Stories by New England Writers - Level Best Books http://levelbestbooks.com/ The reason why I liked "Widow's Peak" is in just fifty-two words, she introduces two characters, a believable setting, a crime and a satisfying ending. Ruth's own: "Not My Son" - published in Undertow: Crime Stories by New England Writers. It was my first published story and still my favorite. Warren Bull Someone else's: Sue Grafton's "Skin Deep" in a print publication P.I. Files Ivy Books, 1990 Edited by Loren D. Estleman and Martin H. Greenberg. I enjoyed her "tight" writing and her understated sense of humor. She describes characters briefly but deftly and I hung on every word. Warren's own: "The Wrong Man" also a print publication Murder Manhattan Style, Ninth Month Publishing, Co. 2010. With permission I borrowed a friend's setting and universe and added a favorite character of my own. The story bounced around gathering favorable comment from editors but not publication for months. It was finally published on line but the ezine closed. It is my favorite to read at conferences and signings and it always goes over well. Kaye George Someone else's: Dave Zeltzerman's "Julius Katz" that appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. I find it here: Kaye's own: "West Texas Waitin'" which, entirely by coincidence, was published by Dave in Hard Luck Stories (online and defunct). It's my favorite because I fell in love with my bad-girl character. She's incorrigible, but she crept into my heart--then took over the story. I've gotten the most fan mail from this story, too. It started as my attempt to Jan Christensen Someone else's: "Putois" by Anatole France. Way up there as one of the most unusual short stories I've ever read, interestingly told. It shows so clearly how one rather small lie can escalate into something totally unexpected. Unfortunately, I can't find a link for it on-line, but it's been in several anthologies. I read it in "50 Great Short Stories" edited by Milton Crane. Jan's own: "Why I Quit Jogging," available right here in Mysterical-e's premier issue. I find I enjoy writing humorous episodic stories, and this one certainly is that. The idea came to me when driving home from an intense writer's meeting, down a dark winding road, when I saw a jogger ahead. Fortunately, I wasn't driving a Lincoln with a Continental tire kit, nor did I hit him. And certainly did NOT put him in my trunk. Find out what my mind did with that idea, though, here: http://www.mystericale.com/historical/WHY_I_QUIT_JOGGING.html And there you have it--an abundance of stories to find and enjoy recommended by writers. What more could you ask from a reading column in a short story magazine?? And what better quote to end an article about short stories: "So the writer who breeds more words than he needs/Is making a chore for the
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