Posts Tagged short stories

Blog, Shorts & Excerpts

“I always wondered what secrets the locals must be afraid of revealing…”

December 24, 2012 by

Edward Weinman on the inspiration for his chilling story from 66 degrees North, “Almost a Christmas Miracle.” It’s set in Iceland, where Weinman spent more than a decade writing for magazines and film. Read it here, download it for any device, or gift it to a friend–it’s the holidays, after all.

The idea for this piece came from a story I heard when I first moved to Iceland to work as a magazine journalist for Iceland Review and Atlantica. I drove to a small town in the East Fjords to write a piece about a country doctor who had to travel great distances in a four-wheel drive jeep to treat her patients because she was the only doctor around for miles. Trying to interview locals for the story, I meet up against great resistance. Upon returning to Reykjavik, a friend’s father told me that when he moved from Denmark to Iceland as a little boy the locals treated him like a pariah because he was seen as an outsider. My friend’s father remembered how when he and his mother would walk through town, the locals would stare at them through the windows of their homes. And when he and his mother would wave, the locals would shut their curtains. Witnessing locals wary of outsiders fascinated me. I always wondered why these locals were so reticent to talk to a stranger. I wondered what secrets they must be afraid of revealing. I find this behavior similar to what happens in this country to those considered outsiders, those the locals label as “other.” – EW

EDWARD WEINMAN spent nearly one fourth of his life as an expat on Iceland, enduring many long, dark, cold, windy, gray winters. But he made it out alive, without kids, and having suffered only one nervous breakdown. His debut thriller, The Ring Road, is born out of his life in Reykjavik where he worked as a travel writer. His journalism has been picked up byThe Associated Press and The Sunday Times of London, among others. Edward co-wrote the film A Little Trip to Heaven, a psychological thriller starring Forest Whitaker, Jeremy Renner and Julia Stiles, which screened at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Edward earned his MFA in writing, literature and publishing from Emerson College in Boston.

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Blog, Shorts & Excerpts

“Once a man of letters, thought and commentary, now Joe Buckett acts. Life has hurt him into action.”

December 21, 2012 by

Michael Hogan on his newest creation, the unforgettable Joe Buckett, a down-and-out middle-aged Manhattanite who’s about to find his purpose in enacting the rough justice of a vigilante. Get to know him in “Buckett Full O’ Coal,” one of the suspenseful short stories in our holiday-themed collection Dreaming of a Noir Christmas.

Mid-life and the trajectory of Joe Buckett’s shot at fame, money, power, status and position flattens with a cough, a sag, a lag, unemployment, one enlarged prostate and a touch of sciatica. His marriage?  Over. His career?  Put a fork in it. His faith in systems, bureaucracies, government, the courts, those august creatures of state and church, instituted by a society, concerned for its citizens, to provide help and assistance when help and assistance are needed? Yeah, right.  Even his minimal expectations for his fellow man?  Forget about it. Welcome to the dark night of the soul where one man confronts one universe and fashions his response to the void. Most go under. Most surrender to a life of sedentary solitude. They become voyeurs, spectators, plugged into some screen, obsessively following sports, soaps, soft porn or the latest from Hollywood, the fluctuations of a market in which they play no part. But Buckett is a rare exception to the rule. Buckett acts. Once a man of letters, thought and commentary, now Buckett acts. Life has hurt him into action.

There are vigilantes hailed as heroes and vigilantes hailed as monsters, the assessment dependent on the mark’s evil. It’s a thin line between Charles Bronson and a serial killer. Buckett walks the line, but he never kills a man just to watch him die. There’s wit in it. Reason. Humor.  Context. Street-righteousness.  A Modest Proposal: What’s so funny about peace love and understanding when everybody and everything has decided to fuck you?  Well, nothing’s funny when the world is a joke.  The only thing about Buckett that makes him different than the rest is that he takes the next step. He becomes the hero in his own production. Daydreams of revenge, served hot or cold, become real in time and space. The guilty suffer mightily. Rough justice manifests.  And Buckett sleeps better than he used to. – MH

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Dreaming of a Noir Christmas

December 12, 2012 by

Happy Holidays from The Rogue Reader!

Ten weeks ago, we launched at Bouchercon World Mystery Conference in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, our audience has grown to a community of thousands of readers who have helped make Ro Cuzon’s Under the Dixie Moon a Nook bestseller (and a Library Journal Staff Pick for 2012), and have pushed Michael Hogan’s Dog Hills to #3 in Suspense Fiction in the Kindle store.

Dreaming of a Noir Christmas is our chance to say thanks to the readers who have supported us in these early days, and to say welcome to all those who will join us. The four suspenseful short stories are from our original Rogues, Ro Cuzon and Michael Hogan, our January debut author Edward Weinman, and future Rogue Don Rearden. Each has a talent for gut-punch prose, for fearless storytelling, and for immersing readers in places and settings that capture the even the most jaded imaginations.

 

“Nearly a Christmas Miracle” by Edward Weinman. A struggling young waitress working the only bar in a tiny fishing village in Iceland’s East Fjords endures another Christmas alone. The holiday means even less to a weary, damaged detective forced to return to his desolate hometown to solve the murder of a foreigner found beneath the moldering pier. Stranded at 66 degrees North, where everyone has secrets and holiday folklore is filled with tales of blood and violence, these two lonely characters are drawn together in search of the only thing both of them want for Christmas: revenge.

“Christmas Candyflip, 1992″ by Ro Cuzon. Young Dylan thinks Christmas ain’t Christmas without his three best friends, good weed, and some Ecstasy. When the foursome takes to Disneyland for some narcotic-enhanced amusement and fireworks, they find themselves in the cross-hairs of an ex-cop security guard with a chip on his shoulder. When the guard’s psychotic brand of law-enforcement threatens more than their good times, Dylan has to create some fireworks of his own.

“Buckett Full O’ Coal” by Michael Hogan. Joe Buckett is taking more shit than usual during the holidays. His career is dead, he’s losing his apartment, and his ex-wife’s new husband has him jumping through hoops if he wants see his daughter for Christmas. As trees are lit and carols sung, Buckett stumbles into a degenerate sidewalk Santa and a mystery involving a young girl in need of rescue. Suddenly, Joe Buckett’s got a purpose in life and the mobsters in Brighton Beach are going to find out what happens when you mess with a man who’s got nothing to lose.

“Aurora’s Dance” by Don Rearden. An Alaskan trapper, alone for the holidays in the desolate, snow-covered tundra, stumbles on a sled and dog team abandoned in the darkness. As the temperature plummets and snow conditions become dangerous, the trapper frantically searches for the missing owner. Finding him could mean company for Christmas or prove a fatal trap, but by the time he discovers the truth hidden in the Arctic darkness, it may be too late to turn back.

Any and all proceeds from the anthology will go to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts of the American Red Cross. Whether you purchased this ebook from your favorite retailer or read it free here on TheRogueReader.com, we hope you’ll give whatever you can to The Red Cross or other charities that are working to relieve the suffering from the storm, and bring help to those that need it most.

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The Holidays, with a Rogue Twist

November 28, 2012 by

Just in time for the holidays, The Rogue Reader will publish a collection of suspense short stories set the dark of winter–when the nights are long, the cold can kill, and the snow can bury secrets. Rogue authors Ro Cuzon, Michael Hogan, Don Reardon and Edward Weinman will anchor the collection of wintry suspense stories, and they’ll be joined by some familiar names in crime and thriller fiction.

But we’re also inviting submissions from writers of suspense fiction with chilling stories to share. We’ll choose one story from among the entrants and invite that author to join the Rogue ranks for the anthology.

So pull out the short story you’ve kept in the drawer alongside the holiday lights and reindeer sweaters. We’d love to read your work. Submit here. Deadline is Friday, 12/7.

Besides being all kinds of holiday fun, the project also has a purpose: All proceeds from the anthology will go to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts of the American Red Cross. Our very own Michael Hogan was displaced for a week following the storm–in a part of the country no one was talking about. And our inaugural Rogue Ro Cuzon had moved to New Orleans three months before Katrina and saw first-hand the devastation and recovery. It’s a good cause, but it’s also personal.

We’ll publish the collection December 12th, and host our first ever LIVE Rogue Speakeasy on Shindig to celebrate. Don’t worry, you’re all invited! Invitations coming around soon via The Weekly Rogue (sign up if you haven’t!)

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