Cynthia WardKirja-arvosteluja

Short, helpful rundown of the basics.

I read this story in brief spurts, and then read the main section a second time in about a day. The book is an interesting read. If you've spent any time at all on tumblr, or any of the numerous social awareness websites some of this will seem fairly tame and "well duh." Regardless it's a good, basic read through that offers up both new, and common sense ideas. I will admit that one of the things I took away from it was a sureness that adding "the Other" to my writing is okay, done properly of course. That's something I worry about as a white, cis female writer, but I'm also dead set against writing a make believe, all white, all cis, all straight cast. That's not what the world looks like, and I might be writing fantasy, but that's zero excuse to whitewash every bit of it.

This is definitely a book I'll keep and refer back to as I edit, etc. A good one for a writer's book case.

Very helpful, just not long enough.

After a short introduction to the issue, Black Cat Mystery Magazine: Issue 4 opens with “Something Fishy” by Michael Bracken. If you have read Mr. Bracken’s fiction before you know he always weaves an interesting story where everything is not as it seems. Such is the case here where readers are taken to the mermaid show at Weeki Wachee in Florida and more. Erin is one of the mermaids and she has a friend with a major problem. She also has a cellphone left by a patron. She also has a plan that becomes increasingly dangerous and detrimental to her health and the health of others.

Alan Orloff is up next with “In Separable, In Sufferable.” Ripping off the drug dealer was easy compared to dealing with that annoying voice in his head. That voice has plans for better days for Earl and expects him to comply.

“Use Of The Awkward Hand” by Julie Leo features handwriting analysis, a polygraph machine, and a possible classic femme-fatale. The woman in question, Mrs. Nicole Hightower, is a widower, a fiction author, and a murder suspect.

The short poem “The Timeline Murders” by the late Janet Fox is next. The short poem details the current/past/future case being worked by Inspector Quick.

Dayle A. Dermatis and “Umberto Scolari And The Feast Of Paradise.” Umberto Scolari is having a hard time. The Duke’s astrologer has declared that tomorrow should be the wedding feast. If he can’t fix the rotating stage the Duke of Milan will not be happy. Nor will his boss, Leonardo. Then someone uses poison and the stage is a secondary issue for Scolari. How the person died is an easy question to answer. Who did it and why are questions that are a part of tale of intrigue among the nobles.

“Moe’s Seafood House” by Ramona Defelice Long opens at the named establishment. Saturday night and the place is packed. Ken is not pleased and his companion, Amanda, is trying to keep him calm and excuse his boorish behavior. As the evening rolls on she has to make a lot of excuses for him.

For Masie Finch and Emmaline, the anniversary each year when their parents died is tough. It happened years ago and yet the anniversary still haunts them both. As the years have passed it also become clear that Masie has to take care of Emmaline as the younger sister just can’t cope with life. The anniversary this year means they are at a Bed and Breakfast in Londonberry, Vermont. In “Mud Season” by Su Kopril, their fiftieth anniversary and trip is getting off to a strange start and not just because there is mud everywhere and the place is a little shabby.

Blackie Rose is dead on the stage as “Messin' Wih The Kid” by Steve Liskow begins. Detective Tracy Hendrix and his partner, Timmy Bryne, have their hands full to figure out why he died. None of his band mates and assorted other folks can believe he is dead, though as the investigation proceeds they had all noticed he seemed a bit off in the hours leading up to his sudden death. Was it a drug overdose as possibly indicated by the white residue around his nostrils or was it something else that killed the star of the group known as fireworks?

Gregory was part of the family and now he is very much dead. He was found floating in the river next to the family houseboat. Clearly shot in the back, he was murdered. Like any family member, his death has to be avenged in “Assassin Scroll” by Tais Teng. Even if he was the idiot of the family and thus had to be left out of their thefts of antiquities and such. Stealing a scroll that dates back to the Crusades might have something to do with the escalating problem that will lead to a showdown in Amsterdam.

Baby sister Tay is in love again and there will be problems in “Trouble In Mind” by Cynthia Ward. There always is with Tay and her love life. Tanis will have plenty to do to try and fix this mess as winter reluctantly loosens its grip on Maine and their dairy farm. That last blast of winter serves as a backdrop for hot passion and problems that can’t be allowed to foster and grow.

Black Cat Mystery Magazine: Issue 4 is another solidly good issue. As has been clear before, the authors and stories in this issue are another wide ranging mix of styles and substance showing the fact that the mystery tent is a wide ranging one open to all. Unlike the various niche markets that all have their place, Black Cat Mystery Magazine embraces all and not all deaths are undeserved.

Black Cat Mystery Magazine: Issue Four
Editors John Gregory Betancourt and Carla Coupe
Wildside Press
http://wildsidepress.com/magazines/BCMM/
ASIN: B07MQBJ99T
January 2019
eBook (also available in print)
130 Pages
$3.99

By using funds on my Amazon Associate account, I picked this up late last January in order to read and review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2019

A bit too 101 on the subject but the exercises earn it the fourth star.

This is good and probably very helpful to others - maybe even very helpful to me sometime in the future - but it's also very reliant on exercises. I have trouble with exercises, in general: partly because I'm impatient and want to hurry through the book, and partly because for me exercises work better if I can integrate them into my current work somehow, and as of reading this I'm in the midst of a bout of earthquake-induced writer's block so, well. Something to come back to and try another time.

Lucy is an agent for the crown charged to ensure important plans being delivered to the American government actually arrive and don’t fall into the hands of a hostile foreign power: especially as tensions rise and Britain’s new Martian technology is in high demand.

As a dhampire, a half-vampire, she is uniquely qualified for this role – and for vampire slaying. Which is complicated when a vampire joins her on the HMS Titanic – and a vampire that conflicts so strongly with what she has been taught and tempts her away from both her duty and her mission.

This is one of those books that frustrates me immensely – because it’s only a book. Worse, it’s only a short story. Because, by all that is awesome, why is this not a book series? Why is it not a book series covering many many many books?

Bisexual female dhampire secret agent working for the government in a Steampunk setting that has the feel of both The League of Extraordinary Gentleman and Penny Dreadful pulling in all those Victoriana stories from Martian invasions to vampires and men raised in the wilderness – and so much more. All of it mixed in with real world politics of the time adding some nice intrigue to the story of the supernatural secret agent. All of this world building is nicely hinted at, included briefly but not overwhelming the actual plot and development of this short story.

Of course the bitterness of that is there’s so much of this world building which we could so play with! I want to see it all, the martial technology, the supernaturals incorporated into the world and government agencies and Lucy’s own personal situation and development and growth as a dhampire.

With this world we have a nice plot that does an excellent balance between action and development and world building that really just left me wanting more because there’s so much potential. Lucy’s story and development, lots of intrigue and lots of action which is really well written along with lots of emotional; development and world building all perfectly balanced.

Read More

I haven't found much else out there on this topic: writing fiction about characters who don't share your subject position in terms of race/gender/sexual orientation/ability/age/etc. So I was glad to find this book and glad science fiction writers wrote it. It's got some writing exercises I can imagine using in a creative-writing class. There are people to whom I'd like to give a copy (anonymously). But I wish it was better than it was, more challenging, hadn't intentionally and for confusing reasons left out class...

Much shorter than I would have liked; the main part of the book is less than 75 pages, though the other essays are also interesting. It was also more focused on expanding one's viewpoint than on writing per se -- a valuable goal, to be sure, but not exactly what I was hoping for.½