“The Fourth Man” won a prize!

My short story, “The Fourth Man,” won second prize in the Arizona Mystery Writers annual short story contest! The Jim Martin Memorial Short Story Contest recognizes short mystery, suspense, and thriller fiction up to 2500 words.

“The Fourth Man” was inspired in part by my desire to see more older women in crime stories that aren’t cozy mysteries (not that there’s anything wrong with cozy mysteries). I fiddled with the idea of an elderly main character, and Victoria Patrick–former darling of B-movie Westerns who describes herself as “Annie Oakley with double-Ds”–marched onto the page, struck a pose, and proceeded to embarrass the hell out of her daughter.

Here’s the opening:

It was Thanksgiving, and Amanda Patrick’s stomach twisted with terror. Was she being chased by a serial killer? Blackmailed by one of her terrible Tinder dates?
No. She was forty-freaking-two years old and having a panic attack about bringing her fiancé home to meet her mother.

To read the rest, hop on over to Arizona Mystery Writers and enjoy all the winning stories–all absolutely free. I hope you love reading “The Fourth Man” as much as I loved writing it.

Want to read more of my short fiction? Check out my Writing page, where you’ll find links to all my published work (including “Walk Me Home,” which won first prize in the Arizona Mystery Writers contest last year). And if you haven’t already, sign up for my newsletter and I’ll send you a free copy of “Collateral Damage,” another prizewinning story.