CRIME FOR CHRISTMAS

Is it too early to talk about Christmas? I’ve been seeing a lot of yellow in the trees lately…

My short story, “Santa Lucia,” is releasing in September as part of ReBound Press’s Crime for Christmas anthology, along with 11 other stories by Canadian authors. Mine is set in the Yukon (a favourite setting) and has suspense, humour, and, dare I say it, a hint of romance. And my good friend, Charlotte Morganti, has a fabulous story (“Iced”) in the anthology, too! Here’s the publisher’s write-up:

Whether you enjoy cozies, noirs, police procedurals, whodunnits, or lighthearted mysteries, there’s something for everyone in this terrific Christmas-themed collection by twelve of Canada’s finest mystery authors! An OPP officer investigates a John Doe dressed like Santa in July. A Toronto woman traces a mall Santa to the Caribbean. A woman’s body is found in an isolated part of Cape Breton. A graduate student helps CSIS trace the source of a death caused by listeria. An aging singer discovers the mall Santa is a former bandmate. An RCMP officer tracks an escaped prisoner through a Yukon blizzard. A retiring Alberta sheriff investigates a movie star’s murder. A controversial ice sculptor is stabbed with an ice pick. A Winnipeg private eye uncovers a clinic performing illegal surgeries. A teenager is suspected of stealing a neighbour’s gold jewellery. A young Chinese boy plots revenge against a bully with ChatGPT’s help. A pair of down-on-their-luck young lovers pull off a series of bank robberies.

These well-crafted stories ramp up the tension with resourceful investigators, colourful characters and riveting plotlines, and relieve it with humour. This wonderful seasonal anthology features stories by Peggy Blair, E.R. Brown, Renny deGroot, M.M. DeLuca, Raywat Deonandan, Marcelle Dubé, Chris Forrest, Peter Moreira, Charlotte Morganti, Joel Nedecky, Wayne Ng, and Brad Smith.

I’ve thought about it, and it’s definitely not too early to start shopping for Christmas! Visit ReBound Press at https://reboundpress.com/ to pre-order.

BARNEY’S DINER

I have a short story in the March/April 2026 Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. “Barney’s Diner” tells the story of a young waitress who is alone in a diner late at night in the aftermath of a blizzard when her greatest fear comes to visit her. As well, I discuss how the story came to be in Trace Evidence, the AHMM blog.

This is my eighth story in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

FREE Christmas Story

For the past couple of years, I’ve offered one of my Christmas short stories for free, to celebrate the season. As with all my Christmas shorts, this one is a bit romantic—as close to romantic as I come, anyway. “McKell’s Christmas” fits into my Mendenhall Mysteries series, which comprises six novels and five short stories (so far).

Here’s the link to the free short story: https://books2read.com/u/brWJ8w

I’m not sure when Amazon will flip to free, but all the other venues already have. The story will remain free until after Christmas.

The Selwyn Arms

I’m very pleased to report that my short story, “The Selwyn Arms,” is in the Sept/Oct 2025 issue of Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. In “The Selwyn Arms,” a young woman on the autism spectrum has finally found her place in the world, among a family of sorts. When the unthinkable happens, she will launch her own investigation and do whatever it takes to restore balance to her world.