Michael Bracken

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About Michael Bracken

Although Michael Bracken is the author of several books—including the hardboiled private eye novel "All White Girls" and the young adult romance "Just in Time for Love"—he is best known as the author of more than 1,300 short stories. He has written in nearly every genre but has been most successful with women's fiction and hardboiled crime fiction, two genres that couldn't be more unalike.

Recipient of the 2016 Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer Award for lifetime achievement in short mystery fiction, Michael is also a two-time recipient of the Derringer Award for his short mystery fiction, with two additional nominations.

Michael is editor of several crime fiction anthologies, including the Anthony Award-nominated The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods and the three-volume Fedora series, and stories from his anthologies have received or been short-listed for the Anthony, Derringer, Edgar, Macavity, Shamus, and Thriller awards.

He has contributed articles to "The Writer" and other writing publications, contributed a chapter to the writing textbook "Many Genres, One Craft," is one of five authors featured in "Writing Erotica," and is extensively quoted in "The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Novelists." He regularly speaks about writing, editing, and publishing to audiences across the U.S. and Mexico.

Additional information about Michael, including a selected bibliography and his speaking schedule, is available at: www.CrimeFictionWriter.com. He is one of a rotating group of crime fiction writers who blog at SleuthSayers.org.

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The Best American Mystery Stories 2018 Oct 2, 2018

by Otto Penzler, Louise Penny

( 178 )

$11.99

#1 New York Times best-selling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels, Louise Penny brings her “nerve and skill—as well as heart” (Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post) to selecting the best short mystery and crime fiction of the year.

Writing short stories takes “Skill. Discipline. Knowledge of the form while not being formulaic,” contends Louise Penny in her introduction. “In a short story there is nowhere to hide. Each must be original, fresh, inspired.” Originality is just what’s in store for readers of the twenty clever, creative selections in The Best American Mystery Stories 2018. There’s no hiding from a Nigerian confidence game, a drug made of dinosaur bones, a bombing at an oil company, a reluctant gunfighter in the Old West, and the many other scams, dangers, and thrills lurking in its suspenseful pages.

The Best American Mystery Stories 2018 includes T. C. Boyle, James Lee Burke, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Charlaine Harris, Andrew Klavan, Martin Limón, Joyce Carol Oates, and others.

Other Formats: Paperback

Groovy Gumshoes: Private Eyes in the Psychedelic Sixties Apr 11, 2022

by Michael Bracken

( 6 )

$3.99

The Sixties were a time of great cultural upheaval, when long-established social norms were challenged and everything changed: from music to fashion to social mores. And the Leave It to Beaver households in Middle America didn’t know what to make of it all.

In the midst of this, private eyes tried to understand and bridge the generational divide while providing their clients with legal and extra-legal detecting services.

From old-school private eyes with their flat-tops, off-the-rack suits, and well-worn brogues to the new breed of private eyes with their shoulder-length hair, bell-bottoms, and hemp sandals, the shamuses in Groovy Gumshoes take readers on a rollicking romp through the Sixties.

With stories by Jack Bates, C.W. Blackwell, Michael Bracken, N.M. Cedeño, Hugh Lessig, Steve Liskow, Adam Meyer, Tom Milani, Neil S. Plakcy, Stephen D. Rogers, Mark Thielman, Grant Tracey, Mark Troy, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, and Robb White.

Other Formats: Paperback

Passport to Murder: Bouchercon Anthology 2017 Oct 12, 2017

by John McFetridge, Janet Hutchings, Chris Grabenstein, Gary Phillips, Hilary Davidson, Eric Beckstrom, Michael Braken, Craig Faustus Buck, Susan Calder, Scott Loring Sanders

( 1 )

$7.99

“[A] rich and varied anthology…” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Janet Hutchings, Chris Grabenstein, Gary Phillips, and Hilary Davidson headline a new world tour anthology of 22 stories from the heartland of America to Italy, Japan, Mexico, Cuba, England, and more.

Passport to Murder is published in conjunction with Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, held in 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. As with the convention itself, the anthology spreads a broad canopy across a wide variety of crime writers from across the country and around the world—including both veteran writers and the brightest up-and-coming talents in the field. All of the stories include some kind of travel ranging from a cross-America ride-sharing trip to tourists in Italy and Japan to a woman on the run in Mexico to murder in Cuba. And even a haunted hotel in Toronto.

All participants contributed their efforts to support our charity—Frontier College, winner of the UNESCO Literacy Prize in 1977—and by extension readers and writers everywhere.

ALL PROFITS GO TO FRONTIER COLLEGE.

Edited by John McFetridge. Stories by Eric Beckstrom, Michael Bracken, Craig Faustus Buck, Susan Calder, Hilary Davidson, Michael Dymmoch, John Floyd, Chris Grabenstein, Marie Hannan-Mandel, Janet Hutchings, Marilyn Kay, Su Kopil, Rosemary McCracken, Tanis Mallow, LD Masterson, Gary Phillips, Karen Pullen, KM Rockwood, Scott Loring Sanders, Shawn Reilly Simmons, John Stickney, and Victoria Weisfeld.

Other Formats: Paperback

Black Cat Mystery Magazine #1 Sep 5, 2017

by Alan Orloff, Art Taylor, Barb Goffman, Michael Bracken, Kaye George, Josh Pachter, Dan Andriacco, John M. Floyd, Jack Halliday

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$3.99

Black Cat Mystery Magazine is a new journal devoted to the best in mystery short fiction. Crime? Noir? Cozy? Private eye? You'll find all genres present and accounted for -- with new tales by the best writers of today! The first issue features contributions by Art Taylor, John Floyd, Alan Orloff, Kaye George, Josh Pachter, Barb Goffman, Meg Opperman, Michael Bracken, Dan Andriacco, and Jack Halliday. Plus 2 classic reprints by James Holding and Fletcher Flora!

Complete contents:

Getting Away, by Alan Orloff

Fairy Tales, by Art Taylor

Eb and Flo, by Josh Pachter

Crazy Cat Lady, by Barb Goffman

A Pie to Die For, by Meg Opperman

Murder at Madame Tussaud’s, by Dan Andriacco

Rooster Creek, by John M. Floyd

Don’t Bank on It, by Jack Halliday

Dixie Quickies, by Michael Bracken

Flight to the Flirty Flamingo, by Kaye George

The Italian Tile Mystery, by James Holding

Beside a Flowering Wall, by Fletcher Flora

The ABCs of Murder, by Josh Pachter

[This is version 1.3 of the file.]

Other Formats: Paperback

Black Cat Mystery Magazine #10 Nov 10, 2021

by Barb Goffman, Janice Law, H.K. Slade, Mark Troy, Elizabeth Zelvin, Steve Liskow, Vicki Weisfeld, R.S. Morgan, Michael Bracken

( 9 )

$3.99

The 10th issue of Black Cat Mystery Magazine features another great lineup of original crime and mystery fiction, plus one classic reprint. Here are:

ORIGINAL STORIES:

THE LAST GASP, by H.K. Slade
SPOOK, by Emilio DeGrazia
OUT OF A FOG, by Barb Goffman
EL PESCADOR ZURDO, by Tom Larsen
A BLUE UMBRELLA SKY, by R.S. Morgan
DEATH WILL GIVE YOU A REASON, by Elizabeth Zelvin
THE MANNEQUIN GRAVEYARD, by Gregory L. Norris
SAVING THE INDIANA DAE, by Vicki Weisfeld
THE CONTROL TOWER, by Janice Law
SLOW DOWN, by Steve Liskow
BURNIN BUTT, TEXAS, by Mark Troy

CLASSIC REPRINT

AFFAIR OF LAMSON’S COOK, by Charles Felton

Other Formats: Paperback

Mickey Finn Vol. 2: 21st Century Noir Dec 13, 2021

by Michael Bracken

( 7 )

$3.99

Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 2, the second entry of the hard-hitting anthology series, is a crime-fiction cocktail that will again knock readers into a literary stupor.

Contributors push hard against the boundaries of crime fiction, driving their work into places short crime fiction doesn’t often go, into a world where the mean streets seem gentrified by comparison and happy endings are the exception rather than the rule. And they do all this in contemporary settings, bringing noir into the 21st century.

Like any good cocktail, Mickey Finn is a heady mix of ingredients that packs a punch, and when you’ve finished reading every story, you’ll know that you’ve been “slipped a Mickey.”

The nineteen contributors, including some of today’s most respected short-story writers and new writers making their mark on the genre, include: Trey R. Barker, John Bosworth, Michael Bracken, Scott Bradfield, S.M. Fedor, Nils Gilbertson, J.D. Graves, James A. Hearn, Janice Law, Hugh Lessig, Gabe Morran, Rick Ollerman, Josh Pachter, Robert Petyo, Stephen D. Rogers, Albert Tucher, Joseph S. Walker, Sam Wiebe, and Stacy Woodson.

Other Formats: Paperback

The Great Filling Station Holdup: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Jimmy Buffett Feb 22, 2021

by Josh Pachter, Robert J. Randisi, Elaine Viets, Bruce Robert Coffin, Jeffery Hess, M.E. Browning, Michael Bracken, John M. Floyd, Don Bruns

( 58 )

$6.99

Jimmy Buffett is one of the great contemporary singer/songwriters, and it’s hard to imagine a citizen of Planet Earth unfamiliar with such classic hits as “Margaritaville.” Jimmy has also written novels, children’s books, memoirs, and a stage musical based on Herman Wouk’s Don’t Stop the Carnival, and his family-friendly concerts almost always sell out to audiences comprised of a mix of dedicated Parrotheads, casual fans, and newbies.

In The Great Filling Station Holdup, editor Josh Pachter presents sixteen short crime stories by sixteen popular and up-and-coming crime writers, each story based on a song from one of the twenty-nine studio albums Jimmy has released over the last half century, from Leigh Lundin’s take on “Truckstop Salvation” (which appeared on Jimmy’s first LP, 1970’s Down to Earth) to M.E. Browning’s interpretation of “Einstein Was a Surfer” (from 2013’s Songs from St. Somewhere).

If you love Jimmy’s music or crime fiction or both, you’ll love The Great Filling Station Holdup. Mix yourself a boat drink, ask Alexa to put on a buffet of Buffett tunes, kick back, and enjoy!

Table of Contents

Introduction by Josh Pachter

Down to Earth (1970)
“Truckstop Salvation” by Leigh Lundin

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean (1973)
“The Great Filling Station Holdup” by Josh Pachter

A1A (1974)
“A Pirate Looks at Forty” by Rick Ollerman

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (1977)
“Tampico Trauma” by Michael Bracken

Son of a Son of a Sailor (1978)
“Cheeseburger in Paradise” by Don Bruns

Volcano (1979)
“Volcano” by Alison McMahan

Coconut Telegraph (1981)
“Incommunicado” by Bruce Robert Coffin

Somewhere Over China (1981)
“If I Could Just Get It On Paper” by Lissa Marie Redmond

One Particular Harbour (1983)
“We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About” by Elaine Viets

Riddles in the Sand (1984)
“Who’s the Blonde Stranger?” by Robert J. Randisi

Last Mango in Paris (1985)
“Everybody’s on the Run” by Laura Oles

Hot Water (1988)
“Smart Woman (in a Real Short Skirt)” by Isabella Maldonado

Off to See the Lizard (1989)
“The Pascagoula Run” by Jeffery Hess

Don’t Stop the Carnival (1998)
“Public Relations” by Neil Plakcy

Beach House on the Moon (1999)
“Spending Money” by John M. Floyd

Songs From St. Somewhere (2013)
“Einstein Was a Surfer” by M.E. Browning

Other Formats: Paperback

Black Mask 2019 Yearbook Dec 18, 2019

by Frederick C. Davis, Brian Townsley, Jane Jakeman, Brian Stanley, Hannah Honeybun, Katrina Younes, William Burton McCormick, Frank Megna, Michael Bracken, Jonathan Sheppard, Jim Doherty, Isaac Babel, Boris Dralyuk, D.L. Champion, Dashiell Hammett, Carroll John Daly, Frederick Nebel, T.T. Flynn, Arthur Rodman Bowker, Norman Saunders

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$4.99

Black Mask, the greatest American detective magazine of all time, is back with another issue. This time around, it includes nine new stories in the Black Mask vein by Brian Townsley, Jane Jakeman, Brian Stanley, Hannah Honeybun, William Burton McCormick, Frank Megna, Jonathan Sheppard, Michael Bracken, Jim Doherty, as well as a new article on Raymond Chandler’s The Little Sister by Katrina Younes. In addition, Boris Dralyuk has kindly supplied his translation of Isaac Babel’s “Lyubka the Cossack” and arranged for its reprinting here.
And, as with previous issues, Black Mask collects some of the best hard-boiled detective fiction from the Popular Publications vaults, as written by some of the genre’s best: Dashiell Hammett, D.L. Champion, Carroll John Daly, Frederick Nebel, T.T. Flynn, and Frederick C. Davis.

Other Formats: Paperback

Guns + Tacos Vol. 6 (Guns + Tacos Compilation Volumes) Jan 1, 2022

by Michael Bracken, Hugh Lessig, Neil S. Plakcy, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Trey R. Barker

( 1 )

$5.99

There’s a taco truck in Chicago known among a certain segment of the population for its daily specials. Late at night and during the wee hours of the morning, it isn’t the food selection that attracts customers, it’s the illegal weapons available with the special order.

Each episode of Guns & Tacos features the story of one Chicagoland resident who visits the taco truck seeking a solution to life’s problems, a solution that always comes in a to-go bag.

Episode 16: Refried Beans and a Snub-Nosed .44 by Hugh Lessig
Episode 17: Two Steak Taco Combos and a Pair of Sig Sauers by Neil S. Plakcy
Episode 18: A Smith & Wesson with a Side of Chorizo by Andrew Welsh-Huggins

Episodes 13-15 are featured in Guns + Tacos Vol. 5.

Other Formats: Paperback

Nancy Pickard Presents Malice Domestic 13: Mystery Most Geographical Apr 24, 2018

by Nancy Pickard, Verena Rose, Michael Bracken, Alan Orloff, Shawn Reilly Simmons, G. M. Malliet, William Burton McCormick, Michael Robertson, Barb Goffman, Rita Owen

( 11 )

$5.99

The Malice Domestic anthology series returns with a new take on mysteries in the Agatha Christie tradition -- 30 original tales set around the world! Included are:

The Barrister's Clerk, by Michael Robertson

The Belle Hope, by Peter DiChellis

Arroyo, by Michael Bracken

Muskeg Man, by Keenan Powell

The End of the World, by Susan Breen

To Protect the Guilty, by Kerry Hammond

Dying in Dokesville, by Alan Orloff

The House in Glamaig's Shadow, by William Burton McCormick

Summer Smugglers, by Triss Stein

The Jamaican Ice Mystery, by John Gregory Betancourt

Death at the Congressional Cemetery, by Verena Rose

Cabin in the Woods, by Sylvia Maultash Warsh

Mad About You, by G. M. Malliet

What Goes Around, by Kathryn Johnson

Summer Job, by Judith Green

Death in a Strange and Beautiful Place, by Leslie Wheeler

We Shall Fight Them, by Carla Coupe

Marigold in the Lake, by Susan Thibadeau

Murder on the Northern Lights Express, by Susan Daly

Czech Mate, by Kristin Kisska

Keep Calm and Love Moai, by Eleanor Cawood Jones

Isaac's Daughters, by Anita Page

A Divination of Death, by Edith Maxwell

Payback With Interest, by Cheryl Marceau

Island Time, by Laura Oles

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Murder, by Josh Pachter

The Breaker Boy, by Harriette Sackler

Death on the Beach, by Shawn Reilly Simmons

Ridgeline, by Peter W. J. Hayes

Ho'oponopono, by Robin Templeton

Also features a new Foreword, by Nancy Pickard

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Mickey Finn Vol. 1: 21st Century Noir Dec 14, 2020

by Michael Bracken

( 18 )

$3.99

Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir is a crime-fiction cocktail that will knock readers into a literary stupor.

Contributors push hard against the boundaries of crime fiction, driving their work into places short crime fiction doesn’t often go, into a world where the mean streets seem gentrified by comparison and happy endings are the exception rather than the rule. And they do all this in contemporary settings, bringing noir into the 21st century.

Like any good cocktail, Mickey Finn is a heady mix of ingredients that packs a punch, and when you’ve finished reading every story, you’ll know that you’ve been “slipped a Mickey.”

The twenty contributors, some of today’s most respected short-story writers and new writers making their mark on the genre, include J.L. Abramo, Ann Aptaker, Trey R. Barker, Michael Bracken, Barb Goffman, David Hagerty, James A. Hearn, David H. Hendrickson, Jarrett Kaufman, Mark R. Kehl, Hugh Lessig, Steve Liskow, Alan Orloff, Josh Pachter, Steve Rasnic Tem, Mikal Trimm, Bev Vincent, Joseph S. Walker, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, and Stacy Woodson.

Other Formats: Paperback

Jukes & Tonks: Crime Fiction Inspired by Music in the Dark and Suspect Choices Apr 19, 2021

by Michael Bracken, S.A. Cosby, John M. Floyd, Debra H. Goldstein, Gar Anthony Haywood, Penny Mickelbury, Gary Phillips

( 12 )

$3.99

Whether their cover bands play Willie Dixon or Willie Nelson, juke joints and honky-tonks appeal to hard-working men and women looking for a good time. Offering hot music, cheap food, and generous amounts of liquor, jukes and tonks are often a community’s unofficial gathering spot, where Saturday nights are spent committing the sins church leaders rail against the following morning.

The stories in Jukes & Tonks introduce you to many sinners and few saints, love begun and love gone wrong, and all manner of unsavory criminal endeavors. What the stories have in common is that they plop you down in worlds where the music pulsating from the compact stage—if there’s a stage at all—provides the backbeat for tales that are unsparing, heartbreaking, twisty, and a few are as dark as the night, and the blinking sign offering live music is an invitation to the unexpected.

Contributors include Trey R. Barker, Michael Bracken, Jonathan Brown, S.A. Cosby, John M. Floyd, Debra H. Goldstein, Gar Anthony Haywood, Penny Mickelbury, Gary Phillips, William Dylan Powell, Kimberly B. Richardson, and Stacy Woodson.

Praise for JUKES & TONKS:

“The world needs more jukes, more tonks, and more fine crime fiction—and this fast-paced playlist from Michael Bracken and Gary Phillips offers all of the above and then some. It’s a #1 hit…with a bullet!” —Josh Pachter, editor of The Great Filling Station Holdup: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Jimmy Buffett

“While twists abound and nothing is predictable, one thing is certain: Jukes & Tonks transports the reader to a world where the drinks are cheap, the dancing is close, and the music reigns supreme.” —Holly West, Anthony Award-nominated editor of Murder-a-Go-Go’s: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of The Go-Go’s

Other Formats: Paperback

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