Eastern Standard Crime is back... plus a few musings...

Geoff Eighinger is re-opening Eastern Standard Crime on October 1st. I have fond memories of the site, as my short FORUM OF FURY was given a very positive review there once upon a time. Plus, several writer friends received acclaim for their stories on the likes of Thrillers, Killers 'n' Chillers and A Twist Of Noir. I recall TKnC actually winning a 'Bullet Award' from ESC in August 2009, as did, the somewhat stunned, David Barber for one of his first published stories, SORRY LOVE. I blogged about it here on TKnC.

However, to avoid the burnout that saw Geoff close the site last year, he will be only reviewing crime novels from North American writers (sighs). Who knows, he may branch out to the Brits one day (hint, hint, Geoff).

To diverge, may I thank all my blog friends who chose to spread the word about my recent good news of earning representation from highly-respected New York agent, Nat Sobel.

Also, I had a lovely surprise earlier in the week when EVEN MORE TONTO SHORT STORIES slapped onto the hallway mat. It contains my first ever story in print, the gritty, no-nonsense, MOPPING UP - which introduces characters from my crime novel, including Detective Inspector Jack Striker. In a welcome twist of fate, I'm honoured to be sharing the pages with Matt Hilton, whose story THE SKIN WE'RE IN is well worth a nosey.

Thanks, too, to Matt Hilton, who assisted me with my crime postings over at TKnC, as I've been particularly busy lately. There has been a flurry of posts recently and you may have missed some excellent stories, including some cracking debuts, so why not check out the last dozen or so? You won't be disappointed. And please let the writers know what you thought, constructively! http://thrillskillsnchills.blogspot.com/
I'm rambling, so catch you soon... hopefully with good news on my crime novel, which is doing the rounds...

Regards,
Col

FORUM OF FURY gets top review at EASTERN STANDARD CRIME..

The ripples I mentioned in the last post created by my short story, FORUM OF FURY - which featured on both Thrillers, Killers n Chillers and A Twist Of Noir before being mentioned at The Tainted Archive - have now graduated into waves.

Over at EASTERN STANDARD CRIME Geoff Eighinger reviews mystery and crime fiction then rewards fedoras to each chosen story: one being dull and five being fantastic. Just to see what his rating of my story actually meant I had a quick trawl through probably 100+ stories and couldn't see a five fedora review. The common range was two to three.

I must say that I was both pleased and surprised that the story was actually selected in the first place. Anyway, the link's below if you wanna have a nosey at Geoff's review and not wanting to give the game away I'll just say after reading it I tipped all four of my hats to him!!!

Regards,
A well chuffed, Col.

http://easternstandardcrime.blogspot.com/2009/04/forum-of-fury-by-col-bury.html

FORUM OF FURY gets a mention over at THE TAINTED ARCHIVE

Surprisingly - to me anyway - it seems each time I log on someone else has commented on my short story, FORUM OF FURY, which is pleasing me no end and is more than I ever expected when I penned the tale. Who'd have thought that a simple idea, which stemmed from changing a pen name to a real name on an online chat forum, would create waves (okay, maybe ripples then!) across Cyberspace?

Gary Dobbs aka Archavist, who runs the popular site, THE TAINTED ARCHIVE, appears to like the story as he's mentioned its presence on a TWIST OF NOIR under the title: A TWIST OF BURY!

http://tainted-archive.blogspot.com/2009/04/twist-of-bury-new-story-at-twist-of.html

If you've not read the story yet...beware...as you may never log on again!!!

Regards,
Col

High praise indeed from the Editor re' FORUM OF FURY, now up at A TWIST OF NOIR...

I've now completed my hat-trick over at A Twist Of Noir!
I received a very encouraging email from the Editor, Christopher Grant, which I thought I'd share with you...

'Col,

FORUM OF FURY is now up at A Twist Of Noir.
Frantic, insane and over the edge. All of these describe Joe in this story. Fun little story about mistaken identity and what someone can do when they get paranoid.
I saw this thing play out in my mind as I read it and that's the nicest compliment anyone can get about their writing.
Excellent stuff.

Christopher'

As us Northerners say, 'Am well chuffed!'

http://a-twist-of-noir.blogspot.com/2009/04/forum-of-fury-col-bury-you-just-never.html

FORUM OF FURY

As I work shifts and have children I find it difficult to regularly attend a Writers' Group so I often chat to like-minded virtual friends on Writers News Talkback - a friendly and informative Writers' Forum. This is my convenient alternative to a Writer's Group and I love the banter on there, as well as the empathy and instant responses to writing problems.

However, I recently changed from 'Col B' to my full name of 'Col Bury'. This got the old cogs turning and inspired a new short story: FORUM OF FURY.

I dedicate this story to my fellow Talkbackers as a thank you for their friendship and advice over the last couple of years.

Enjoy...

http://thrillskillsnchills.blogspot.com/2009/04/forum-of-fury-by-col-bury.html