A Promise to Lena

Frank and Sal walked over and leaned out the window to look. A’47 Packard idled outside Antonio’s. A man in a long coat sat on a front fender smoking a cigarette. Frank lit his own and blew smoke out the window. A gust took it two apartments over.

“Okay,” Sal said, “they get their free food now and come back out. You see.”

Right on cue, a couple of thugs came out chewing bread. The apartment window vibrated as they drove off in the souped-up sedan. Frank sucked hard on his cigarette, Sal’s big eyes illuminated by the glow.

“All you need now is that diversion,” Sal said.

Frank grabbed Sal by the collar and belt and flung him through the window and out into the cool Brooklyn night. Sal almost made it down two floors without trouble until he caught a foot on the bottom of a fire escape. He somersaulted the final floor to the ground where his head cracked against a fire hydrant.

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Big News

My short fiction piece, Last Wave, won a Highly Commended award in the Australian Stringbark Competition. It will be published in their 2023 anthology, FERAL. https://tinyurl.com/y4cwknau

My novel, Deviant Acts, has been published in its second edition by my new publisher, Open Road Media and is available in the Kindle edition for a limited time for $1.99.

My novel, Nisei, has been published in its second edition by my new publisher, Open Road Media and is available in the Kindle edition for a limited time for $1.99.

NISEI on Amazon

What if you had an app on your smartphone that showed you the date and time of death of anyone photographed by you? Find out about it in my latest short fiction, "Dead App" published in the latest edition of Raven magazine. Issue 4, page 12.

https://issuu.com/ghostscribes

My short story, "The Culmination of Their Journey" won second place in the Sea Island Spirit Short Story contest. It was published in the Lowcountry Weekly Magazine in South Carolina. Click on the story above to read it.

Thanks to the Pen Women of Cape Canaveral for listening to my presentation on the Making and Marketing of the Short Story. Also, thank you for the wonderful lunch.

Check out for free the first three episodes of my Kindle Vella Western Novella. Pronghorn Mesa Vengeance https://tinyurl.com/34symyn8

My short story, "Back to Alcatraz"  was longlisted in the Margery Allingham Short Story Competition. 

https://thecwa.co.uk/debuts/short-story-competition

My manuscript "She Went Missing" is a finalist in the Ohio Writers Great Novel Contest 2020.  Great Novel Contest 2020.

I recently sold my story, "The Case of the Burnt Wires" to Mystery Weekly Magazine. Available now on Amazon.

I'll be giving a presentation on my book, NISEI, February 17th at 1pm at One Senior Place in Viera, Florida.

My short story "Of Life and Death and Life" won the Novus Annos Short Story Award and will be adapted into a short film

My short story "Invisible," took second place in the 2018 Larry Brown Short Story Award competition.https://tinyurl.com/y8t7shua

I'll have my books set up at The Dirty Oar Brewing Company in Cocoa Village (see map) from 2 to 4 pm on Saturday, October 6th. Come in and buy a book and I'll buy you a beer.

See my short story, "In Nobody We Trust" in the back of best-selling British author, Charles Cummings spy novel, A Divided Spy. Paperback or Kindle.
John Dufresne placed an exercise I wrote on his website. I wrote it at one of his lectures on his new book "FLASH" and he asked if he could use it. The exercise was called- "Why I'm Afraid of __________"
Nisei is a finalist for the Montaigne Medal.
My short story "MAYBE" is included in the 2018 Saturday Evening Post Anthology. Check it out.
My interview on the Castle Walls Editing website: Four on the Floor
My interview on YouTube about my novel, Nisei, for the Ken Weene radio show
Five star review of NISEI from Readers Favorite  https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/nisei
My short story, "The Case of the Burnt Wires" didn't make the Margery Allingham short list but was accepted for publication in an upcoming edition of the Mystery Weekly Magazine
I will be at the Florida Library Association Conference at the Caribe Royale, May 10 between 1 and 5 pm. Stop by my table and get a Mr. Goodbar or Krackle.
My short story, THE CASE OF THE BURNED WIRES, has been longlisted for the Margery Allingham Short Story Competition
My short story, IN NOBODY WE TRUST, won the St. Martin's Press "Who Can You Trust Contest" It will be published in the St. Martin's Press Book, A DIVIDED SPY by Charles Cumming in the paperback and eBook editions only, in Feb.
They'll publish the story in the back of the book.
Some prize money too: $250. Pam get's 10% for typing it up.

Loiacono Literary takes on my new novel, A Promise To Lena 

My interview on Many Books

I'll be at the Meet The Author bookfair in the Eau Gallie Civic Center, Nov 19 and 20. http://tinyurl.com/hmqm3yx

My interview with Donna Seebo of Warriors For Peace. Select 636-2 and click on box

My guest post on writing about other cultures : http://tinyurl.com/hb3b78z

Also, please vist Jackie Minniti's Fabulous Florida Writers blog to read my Nisei guest post.http://tinyurl.com/hqnpscg

Please vist S J Francis Writer's Blog to read my guest post http://tinyurl.com/jy7badm

Enter on Goodreads for a chance to win one of five copies of NISEI. http://tinyurl.com/jeg2bh4

I will be discussing my book, NISEI in the Jane Von Thron room at the Cocoa Beach Library, Wednesday, July, 20 at 6 pm.

Read my guest post about Engineers and Creative Writing on Cecile Sune's Book Obsessed site: http://tinyurl.com/glcy5sg

My psychological thriller, Prodigious Savant,has been reduced in a Kindle Promotion from $3.99 to 99 cents.
http://tinyurl.com/jbjaogx

You can order my new novel, Deviant Acts, on Amazon.

 

 

My interview on S.J >Francis' blog :http://tinyurl.com/h97okxg

My interview on Authors Talk About It: http://tinyurl.com/hxstpwa

My guest post on Marilyn's Musings: Five Common Mistakes made by New Writers:

My short story: "Lucky bastard Club" was included in the The Best Short Stories from The Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest 2016 -

My recent interview on Carolyn Johnson's New Book Review:

http://tinyurl.com/j8vqeq9

My recent interview on Crime Fiction.FM: http://tinyurl.com/pf86654

A guest post I wrote for BookBrowsing: Is The First Page All That Important When Deciding Which Book To Buy?

My short story, "The Lucky Bastard Club," is a finalist in the Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction Contest.

The Penitent was shortlisted  in the Words with Jam competition.

Excerpt:

http://tinyurl.com/nopazmn

A nice article about Pam and me in the Viera Voice. http://tinyurl.com/mfjcxxa

I will be giving a presentation on "Story versus Style" at the Cocoa Beach Library on Wednesday, May 13 at 2 pm. Ya'll come. All proceeds  from sales of my book, Prodigious Savant, go to the "Friends of the Library." http://tinyurl.com/nwd7krk

Check out an article about me in the Island Reporter  Page 6 http://tinyurl.com/p7gwxcz

Listen to my interview on the Red River Radio-No Limits show with questions from Barbara Hodges about me and my novel, Prodigious Savant. My interview is in the last half hour. http://tinyurl.com/k768fq4

 

Prodigious Savant is now available on Amazon Kindle.

Check it out

Prodigious Savant, Deviant Acts , and Nisei have been acquired by Black Opal Books.

Check them out

My story,"The Adventures of The Nine Hole League" was published in Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #13

Check it out

Deviant Acts has been selected as a finalist in the CWA Debut Dagger competition.

Nisei has been selected as the Grand Prize Winner in the Columbus Creative Cooperative novel competition.

M.E. Browning's new website--Writer of Wrongs

Wonderful poetry blog by Nilanjana Bose--Madly-In-Verse

 
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