Short Stories

I primarily write mystery/crime fiction, but interestingly enough, my short stories have mostly appeared in literary journals like Mslexia and Thereby Hangs a Tale rather than genre or popular publications. By far the most unusual place I've ever been published was a coffee can label. Almost all my published stories are flash fiction pieces of 50-500 words.

Anthologies

	Short Attention Span Mysteries "Squirreled Away" and "Criminal Express" That is my story "Criminal Express" depicted on the cover. That's not how I envisioned the characters, so it's fascinating to see someone else's view.
	Red Light: Superheroes, Saints, and Sluts "How to Become a Rodeo Queen" This story was originally published in Mslexia (a U.K. publication) and I was delighted to find a home for it in this book published in Canada.
	Manhattan Mysteries "Manhattan Famous" This middle-grade story was a contest winner about two girls who stumble upon a young reality show contestant and are chased by the paparazzi in Manhattan, Kansas.

Contests

I've won or placed in a few fiction writing contests, including a couple of honorable mentions for the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine's Mysterious Photo Contest (a 250 word story inspired by a photo) and first place in Loveland Loves to Read (2008). I recently received an honorable mention for my young adult crime short story, "The Bronze Flamingo" in Writer's Digest's 78th annual competition.

Here's an excerpt from "Love Heist", my 3rd place story in the The Writer's 2008 short story contest:

I pulled out a long-sleeved navy blouse. Perfect for a job interview at a bank, but for an art heist? Was navy truly the new black? My best friend Courtney would know--she was even better than Clinton and Stacy in figuring out The Rules of appropriate clothing in every situation--but there was no way I'd tell her how I planned to spend the first night of Maxwell's honeymoon. Read the whole story