Tag Archives: suspense

“The Role of Place in Creating Suspense” (by Sheila Kohler)

Sheila Kohler is the author of fourteen books, and the winner of the Willa Cather Award and two O. Henry Prizes for her fiction. Born and raised in South Africa, she has lived in the U.S. for many years and … Continue reading

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“Fleshing Out Mysteries” by Sharon Hunt

Sharon Hunt’s short stories had already appeared in a variety of literary magazines before her EQMM debut in August 2015 with “The Water Was Rising.” That story is currently nominated in the best-short-story category for Canada’s most prestigious award for … Continue reading

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“1962: The Savoy Party Photo” (by R.T.Raichev)

R.T. (Raicho) Raichev’s previous post for this site examined the short stories of P.D. James. Raicho is a lifelong fan of English crime fiction and wrote his university dissertation on the subject. In this new post he examines and compares … Continue reading

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“Love Your Characters Before You Kill Them, and Other Strategies for Fledgling Crime Writers” (by Katia Lief)

Katia Lief’s most recent story for EQMM, “The Orchid Grower” (November 2015), was a finalist for the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award for best long story.  The Brooklyn author has also been recognized for her novel-length fiction, with nominations … Continue reading

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“How to Write Killer Flash Fiction” (by Tara Laskowski)

Tara Laskowski is the author of the short story collections Bystanders and Modern Manners For Your Inner Demons. She has been the editor of SmokeLong Quarterly since 2010, and her flash fiction has been featured in the Norton anthology Flash … Continue reading

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“Confessions of a Literary Safecracker” (by Joseph Goodrich)

Joseph Goodrich will make his EQMM debut in this year’s issue in tribute to our magazine’s previous editors (August 2016). The star of his tale is EQMM‘s founding editor, Frederic Dannay, who joins forces with Dashiell Hammett to solve a … Continue reading

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“Playful Ghoulishness of a Crime Queen: The Short Fiction of P.D. James” (by R.T. Raichev)

R.T. Raichev is a lifelong fan of English crime fiction, even writing his university dissertation on the subject. His own fiction, which includes nine books in a classical whodunit series starring crime writer Antonia Darcy and her husband Major Payne, … Continue reading

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“Dem Bones, Dem Bones . . .” (by Marilyn Todd)

Marilyn Todd is the author of sixteen historical novels and dozens of short stories, many of the latter for EQMM. Two recent collections of her tales are worth mentioning. Swords, Sandals and Sirens (Crippen and Landru Publishers) gathers, in print, … Continue reading

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“A Roadmap to Literary Mysteries” (by Bob Van Laerhoven)

Bob Van Laerhoven’s story “Checkmate in Chimbote” appeared in EQMM’s June 2014 issue and was read for our podcast series by his translator, Josh Pachter, earlier this year. The Belgian journalist made his fiction debut in 1977 as a short-story … Continue reading

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“Crime Research: Behind the Facade” (by Howard Halstead)

Howard Halstead’s outstanding fiction debut, “Limelight,” was published in our Department of First Stories in January 2014. His second story for us, “A Dark Symmetry,” is featured in July 2015—on sale this week! Another Halstead short story, in which he … Continue reading

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