6

I received my 6th acceptance of the year, this time for an essay.

5

I received my 5th acceptance of the year this morning. This one's my second collaboration with Sandra Murphy (we're two for two!), a bit of crime fiction set in the late 50s/early 60s.

Six

I completed and submitted my sixth short story of the year this evening, a 2,300-word mystery/ghost story I started writing September 3, 2017.

Five

I completed and submitted my fifth short story of the year this evening. This one's a 5,600-word mystery co-authored with Sandra Murphy. We sold our first collaboration on first submission, and we're hoping this one sells just as quickly.

Four

I completed and submitted my fourth short story of the year this evening. It's a 5,100-word bit of crime fiction.

Premiering in July from Down & Out Books …

Down & Out Books is thrilled to announce that in July 2019 GUNS + TACOS: SEASON ONE will premiere. Created and edited by Michael Bracken and Trey R. Barker, the series will consist of six episodes published monthly, with each written to be enjoyed in a single sitting.

“At Bouchercon 2018 in St. Petersburg, I spent a great deal of time hanging out with a revolving group of editors and writers affiliated with Down & Out Books,” said Bracken. “Over the course of the convention, a joke Trey and I shared developed into the genesis of an idea for a series. Frank Zafiro and other writers made suggestions that expanded the scope into something Eric Campbell, publisher of Down & Out Books, liked so much he asked for a formal proposal.”

“I’m a huge fan of television and streaming crime serials, especially those that have an overarching theme but with single episodes that are self-contained,” said Campbell. “Applying this concept to books is a natural extension of this interest. I was so excited by the outline Michael and Trey shared with me for Guns + Tacos that I immediately put the project on our production calendar.”

Here’s how Bracken and Barker describe the series. “There’s a taco truck in Chicago known among a certain segment of the population for its daily specials. Late at night and during the wee hours of the morning, it isn’t the food selection that attracts customers, it’s the illegal weapons available with the special order. Each episode of Guns + Tacos features the story of one Chicagoland resident who visits the taco truck seeking a solution to life’s problems, a solution that always comes in a to-go bag.”

Two subscription options are now available on the Down & Out Books website.

• A print subscription, which entitles you to receive all six digital episodes before their official publication date plus two print copies consisting of Episodes 1-3 and Episodes 4-6 plus an exclusive subscriber-only short story;

• A digital subscription, which entitles you to receive all six episodes before their official publication date plus the exclusive short story.

Titles and authors for Season One are:

Tacos de Cazuela con Smith & Wesson by Gary Phillips,
Three Brisket Tacos and a Sig Sauer by Michael Bracken,
A Gyro and a Glock by Frank Zafiro,
Three Chalupas, Rice, Soda and a Kimber .45 by Trey R. Barker,
Some Churros and El Burro by William Dylan Powell, and
A Beretta, Burritos and Bears by James A. Hearn.

We look forward to having readers join us on this new adventure. Click here for more information about subscribing, or contact us at info@downandoutbooks.com.

4

I received my 4th acceptance of the year this morning, but this one's a bit of a cheat: I'm co-editor of the project that accepted it.

Three

I completed and submitted my third short story of the year this afternoon. It's an 1,800-word bit of crime fiction.

3

I received my 3rd acceptance of the year later last evening. This one is for a time travel mystery.

Two

I completed and submitted my second story of the year this evening. This one's a 3,300-word mystery I started January 1 in response to an anthology invitation.

One

I completed and submitted my first short story of the year this evening. This one's a 5,400-word collaboration I started July 17, 2014, and it remained as little more than notes, rough plot, and some partially written scenes until late last year. I found a collaborator with knowledge of football—which was required to complete the story—and we knocked out a submittable draft in less than two months.

1, 2

I received my first two acceptances of the year this morning, both for audio rights to previously published stories—one is erotic crime fiction, the other erotica.

2018 in Review

Each year around this time I post a review of the prior year and plans for the coming year. Because I'm now a regular contributor at SleuthSayers, this year I post my year in review there: https://www.sleuthsayers.org/2019/01/looking-backward-looking-forward.html. Take a look.

Nineteen and 49

I completed and submitted my nineteenth short story of the year this afternoon, a 13,500-word bit of crime fiction. Moments later it became my 49th acceptance of the year. (Like my previous acceptance, this one's a bit of a cheat: I'm co-editor of the project for which the story was written.)

Published 4x

Four stories have been published within the past week:

"The Fishmonger's Wife" in the Winter 2019 Pulp Literature; "Wishing Tree" in the January/February 2019 Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine; "Little Bubba Visits the Roadhouse" in EconoClash Review #3; and "Deliver Us from Evil" in Thriller Magazine #2.

48

I received my 48th acceptance of the year this afternoon, for a bit of crime fiction. This acceptance is a bit of a cheat though: I'm the editor of the anthology.

Published: "Christmas WIsh"

My story "Christmas Wish" was published today at The Saturday Evening Post: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/12/christmas-wish/

Published 3x

My erotic stories "Goth Girl," "Mardi Gras Memories," and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" were released last month as audiobooks. All previously appeared in print and were released in audio format by House of Erotica/Andrews UK Limited.

Eighteen

I completed and submitted my eighteenth short story of the year this afternoon. This one's a 2,600-word mystery I started on June 19.

Published: "Dollface"

My dark crime story "Dollface" appears today at Story and Grit. Read it here.

47

I received my 47th acceptance of the year this morning, this for a historical mystery co-authored with Sandra Murphy.

Seventeen

I finished and submitted my seventeenth story of the year this afternoon. This one's a 2,800-word bit of crime fiction written by invitation.

Sixteen

I completed and submitted my sixteenth story of the year today. This one's a 3,000-word bit of crime fiction I started a few days ago.

Published: "Cyan"

My erotic story "Cyan" has been released as an audiobook.

Published: "Going-Away Money"

My story "Going-Away Money" appears in the November/December 2018 Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine.

Fifteen

I completed and submitted my fifteenth short story of the year this evening. This one's a 2,200-word sf/mystery.

Fourteen

I finished and submitted my fourteenth short story of the year this evening. This one's a 6,000-word historical mystery I wrote with a collaborator.

Published 2x: "Pink Vibrator" and "Woman's Best Friend"

Last week, House of Erotica released two of my erotic short stories as audio books: "Pink Vibrator" and "Woman's Best Friend."

46

I received my 46th acceptance of the year this weekend, this time for a mystery.

45

I just received my 45th acceptance of the year, this time for a short Christmas romance.

Published: "Mr. Sugarman Visits the Bookmobile"

My story "Mr. Sugarman Visits the Bookmobile" appears in the just-released anthology Shhhh...Murder!, edited by Andrew MacRae and released by Darkhouse Books. Order it here.

44

I received my 44th acceptance of the year this afternoon, this time for a bit of crime fiction.

43

I received my 43rd acceptance of the year this afternoon, this time for a bit of crime fiction.

35-42

I received eight acceptances this morning, my 35th through 42nd acceptances of the year. Three were for original stories and five were for reprints.

34

I received my 334th acceptance this morning, this time for a bit of noir crime fiction.

Published 2x: "Auto Erotic" and "Closing Cases"

"Auto Erotic" and "Closing Cases," a pair of erotic short stories, were released on audio today by House of Erotica.

33

I received my 33rd acceptance of the year this evening, this time for a fantasy short story.

Published...almost: "Backlit"

My story "Backlit" appears in Blood Work (Down & Out Books), which officially releases later this month.

26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32

Email today brought word of seven acceptances. One is for a new bit of crime fiction, the other six are for audio/reprint rights to stories first published long ago.

Published

I just learned that my story "West Texas Winter" was published in March. Neither the editor nor the publisher of the anthology Cowboy Up notified me of its publication (another contributor did), and payment, due within 90 days of publication is now several weeks past due.

Thirteen

I completed and submitted my thirteenth story of the year this evening. This one's a 3,000-word mystery I started May 1.

Published: "Fissile Material"

My erotic spy story "Fissile Material" has been published in audio format: https://www.storytel.is/books/565463-Fissile-Material.

Published 2x: "Good Girls Don't" and "Decision"

My story "Good Girls Don't" appears in the current Pulp Modern and my story "Decision" appears in the Summer 2018 Flash Bang Mysteries.

Twelve

I completed and submitted by twelfth short story of the year this afternoon. This one's a 2,300-word bit of crime fiction I started writing on November 5, 2017.

Reviewed

In "Short & Sweet," his column in the Summer 2018 issue of Mystery Scene, Ben Boulden reviews the March/April issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Though he provides in-depth discussions of other stories in the issue, he ends with: "There are excellent contributions from R.T. Lawton, Michael Bracken, and Robert Lopresti." If our stories are going to be summed up in one word, I think R.T., Robert, and I will all agree that "excellent" is exactly the right word.

25

I received my 25th acceptance of the year this afternoon, this for a private eye story.

24

I received my 24th acceptance of the year this evening, this time for a bit of noirish crime fiction.

Eleven

I completed and submitted my eleventh short story of the year this evening. This one's a 4,600-word noirish Christmas story I started on February 21.

Interviewed

Richard Krauss interviewed me for the June 2018 issue of The Digest Enthusiast. The wide-ranging interview fills 17 pages, reveals my pseudonyms, and touches on work written in a variety of genres. And, yes, that's me on the cover.

Published: "Too Close to School"

My romance "Too Close to School" is the lead story in A Wink and a Smile, now available from Smoking Pen Press.

Ten

I completed and submitted my tenth short story of the year this afternoon. This one's a 2,100-word bit of crime fiction I began on January 23.

Though my acceptances are on track for the year, my production is not. I will need to kick my writing into high gear if I hope to complete 52 stories by year-end.

23

I received my 23rd acceptance of the year this morning, this time for a PI story.

19, 20, 21, 22

I woke this morning for find four acceptances awaiting me, my 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd acceptances of the year, all for erotic fiction.

18

I received my 18th acceptance of the year this afternoon, this time for a bit of crime fiction.

16, 17

I received my 16th and 17th acceptances of the year this afternoon, these for an erotic spy story and an erotic paranormal story.

Reviewed: "My Sister's Husband"

Michael R. Brown reviewed Pulp Adventures #27 at ThePulp.Net. Here's what he had to say about my story:

“My Sister’s Husband” by Michael Bracken is a strange little romance tale.

Read his review of the entire magazine here.

15

I woke this morning to find my 15th acceptance of the year waiting in my in-box. This is for yet another bit of crime fiction.

14

I received my 14th acceptance of the year this morning, this time for a bit of crime fiction.

13

I received my 13th acceptance on Friday, but am only now recording it. It's a bit of crime fiction originally submitted to a magazine, but Friday the editor asked if he could instead use it in an anthology he's putting together. Of course, I said he could.

10, 11, 12

I received my 10th, 11th, and 12th acceptances of the year this afternoon, all for short crime fiction.

Unacceptance

Two days ago I received my first unacceptance of the year. An anthology editor who accepted one of my stories in 2016 announced that the project is dead. Because it was a themed anthology, that means several good stories with the same theme will likely be hitting the slush piles of publications in the appropriate genre.

I wonder, at times like this, if it is better to resubmit immediately to try to beat the rush or to wait several months until the rush has passed before submitting.

Published: "Itsy Bitsy Spider"

"Itsy Bitsy Spider," a new story featuring Waco, Texas-based private eye Morris Ronald "Moe Ron" Boyette, was published today at Tough. Read it here.

Reviewed: "Harlot Road"

Kevin P Hallett reviewed Weirdbook #38 at Tangent and had this to say about my story, "Harlot Road":

A land ruled by a despotic king is the setting for this short fantasy. An experienced prostitute hates the King’s government and his brutal soldiers. She uses her wits to keep a low profile and stay out of their way. 

Then one day she helps a thief accused of stealing the King’s jewels and in the process becomes embroiled in a possible revolution. She finds herself walking a fine line between protecting what is dear to her and her increasing frustrations with the King’s administration.

At times the prose was deliberate, but the overall intrigue and danger kept the story engaging.

Read the entire review to learn what he thought of the other stories.

Nine

I completed and submitted a 500-word bit of flash noir this evening. I wrote the first half on January 25, and the last half today.

Published: "Harlot Road"

"Harlot Road," a story perhaps best described as an alternate history mystery, appears in Weirdbook #38.

9

I received my 9th acceptance of the year this afternoon, this time for a hardboiled bit of crime fiction.

8

I received my 8th acceptance of the year this afternoon. This one's for a private eye story. The editor doesn't like the title, so I've spent the afternoon trying to come up with something better. So far: Nothing.

7

I received my 7th acceptance of the year this evening, this one for a mystery submitted to an open-call anthology.

Reviewed: "The Mourning Man"

On her blog, Catherine Dilts reviews four stories from the March/April Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and has this to say about my story "The Mourning Man":

The story Mourning Man by Michael Bracken is a touching tale wrapped up in a dangerous game. Cab driver Johnny Devlin is pressured into driving for a robbery when he can't pay a loan shark back for the money he borrowed to pay for his wife's funeral. You can read about the author's inspiration for this story here.

6

I received my 6th acceptance of the year this afternoon, this for an essay.

5

I received my 5th acceptance of the year this afternoon. This is for a a noir story I started on February 20, finished and submitted on March 2, and revised to editor specifications on March 3.

Eight

I finished and submitted my eighth short story of the year this evening, an 1,800-word noir crime story.  I started the story on February 20, actually finished it a few days ago, but hadn't added it to the count until now because I had to find an appropriate market.

Seven

I finished and submitted my seventh short story of the year this evening, a 2,200-word bit of noir I started February 24.

Reviewed: "Dixie Quickies"

In "Short & Sweet," his column in the just-arrived Winter issue of Mystery Scene Magazine, Ben Boulden reviews the first issue of Wildside Press's Black Cat Mystery Magazine, devoting two paragraphs to the issue, and singling out two stories for closer attention, including my "Dixie Quickies," which he calls "a thriller dressed as a straight crime story where a dead cartel gangster, a motel clerk, and a motel room maid, are all caught in the same gravitational pull."

Six

I completed and submitted my sixth shorty story of the year this evening. This one's a bit of crime fiction I started November 20, 2017.

Published: "My Stripper Past" and "The Mourning Man"

My story "My Stripper Past" appears in Pulp Adventures #28, and my story "The Mourning Man" appears in the March/April Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Five

I finished and submitted my fifth short story of the year this afternoon. This one's a 5,600-word private eye story I started January 16.

Published: "Plumber's Helper"

My story "Plumber's Helper" was published today on The Saturday Evening Post's website: http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/02/16/post-fiction/contemporary-fiction-art-entertainment/plumbers-helper.html

Published: "Poster Child"

Today I write about all the mystery publications that have come and mostly gone, and about how publication in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ties short story writers to the genre's history in a way publication in no other magazine does, in my guest post, "Poster Child," at Something Is Going to Happen: https://somethingisgoingtohappen.net/2018/02/14/poster-child-by-michael-bracken/

Note: I also now blog as one of the SleuthSayers. My posts appear every third Tuesday at SleuthSayers.org.

4

I received my 4th acceptance of the year this afternoon. This one's for an essay.

Best American Mystery Stories

My story "Smoked," first published in Noir at the Salad Bar, has been selected for inclusion in this year's The Best American Mystery Stories.

Published: "Texas Hot Flash"

"Texas Hot Flash" appears today at Tough.

Published: "Skirts"

"Skirts" appears in Black Cat Mystery Magazine #2, released at the tail-end of last month.

3

I received my 3rd acceptance of the year last evening, this time for a reprint.

2

I received my 2nd acceptance of the year yesterday, this one for a romance.

Four

I wrote and submitted my fourth short story of the year today. This one's a 250-word dark-crime/horror flash.

1

I received my first acceptance of the year, this for a short romance. My two previous appearances in this publication were short pieces of humor published in 1980 and 1982.

Three

I finished and submitted my third short story of the year this morning. This one's a 5,000-word bit of crime fiction I started October 1, 2017, and it's the third (and final story) I found in nearly complete form when I cleaned off my desk this past weekend.

Lesson learned: Don't let things pile up!

Two

I completed and submitted my second short story of the year this morning. This one's a 3,700-word bit of crime fiction I started writing May 4, 2017, and it's the second one I found on my desk this past weekend that only needed a good proofread before being ready for submission.

2017 in review

37 acceptances (vs. 45 in 2016).

40 rejections (vs. 35 in 2016).

33 original short stories published and two reprinted (vs. 40 in 2016), and no articles/essays published (vs. 4 in 2016). (Even so, I did write some guest blog posts and became a regular contributor to SleuthSayers.org.)

I completed 32 short stories (vs. 56 in 2016).

I completed (to final draft) 130,600 words of short fiction (vs. 169,430 in 2016).

That's an average story length of 4,081 words (vs. an average of 3,026); the shortest story was 1,100 words; the longest was 6,700 words.

I completed and submitted an average of .62 short stories each week (vs. an average of 1.08 each week in 2016).

(I only track completed short fiction word counts, not words written for incomplete projects, nor words written for other forms of writing.)

Observations:

1) The decreased number of completed stories and the increase in the average length of my stories is partially attributable my not writing any stories intended for Woman's World, a market I have never cracked. 

2) Two magazines, responsible between them for 21 of 2017's published stories, ceased operation mid-year. This negatively impacted the number of acceptances and the number of published stories, and it put a crimp in my productivity.

3) Some publications do not send rejections. Non-responses are not included in the rejection count.

2018 Goals

For the past several years, my annual goals have been:

1) To complete and submit an average of at least one short story each week.

2) To receive an average of at least one acceptance each week. (Reprints and non-fiction pieces count for this goal.)

3) To continue to have one or more short stories published each and every month, as I have for several years now.

Given that I've lost two of my primary markets, these goals may no longer be realistic. So, my primary goal this year is to rebuild and re-establish myself as I move into new markets and/or new genres.

One

I completed my first short story of the year this afternoon. This is a 1,200-word horror story I found in nearly complete form when I was cleaning off my desk yesterday. I began work on it March 27, 2017, and all it needed was a final proofread. So, it's finished, but I don't yet know where to send it.

Found on my desk

I often email myself story ideas when I'm out and about. While cleaning off my desk, I found this one from October 2014:

Giant alien slugs invade Earth. They appear about to take over everything until our hero discovers that their kryptonite is a common seasoning.

So, how were they killed?

With a salt rifle.

There's a drought in Texas

Two months have passed since my last acceptance, a sales drought I haven't experienced since sometime in the previous century.

I've received only five rejections during the past two months, so it isn't that my work is getting kicked back. Rather, my submissions are just sitting.

Sometimes, this is a good sign. With some markets, the longer the editor holds a story the more likely an acceptance is forthcoming.

On the flip side, long delays sometimes mean submissions were never received. A few times this year I've followed up after long delays only to discover my original submissions were never received or had gone into an editor's spam folder. (This happens most often with submissions sent to gmail accounts.) Following up has led to at least two acceptances, but most often the follow-up also receives no response.

So, I'm hoping the new year brings a flood of acceptances because this drought is killing me.

Thirty-two

I completed my thirty-second short story of the year this morning, but I have not yet submitted it. Because I did not write it for a specific publication or to fit a specific call for submissions, I'll have to spend some time looking for appropriate markets.

Thirty-one

I completed and submitted my thirty-first short story of the year this morning.

"Three Typewriters and a Desk"

Today, in "Three Typewriters and a Desk," I discuss my mother's long-term impact on my writing: http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2017/12/three-typewriters-and-desk.html

Published: "My Sister's Husband"

"My Sister's Husband" was published in the Fall 2017 issue of Pulp Adventures.

First Two Pages: "Dixie Quickies"

After B.K. Stevens' passing, Art Taylor stepped forward to host "The First Two Pages," essays by selected writers about the opening pages of their stories and novels. Today, he presents my essay about the opening two pages of "Dixie Quickies," published in the debut issue of Black Cat Mystery Magazine. Read it here.

Reviewed: "Dixie Quickies"

in the January 2018 issue of The Digest Enthusiast, Richard Krauss reviewed Black Cat Mystery Magazine #1. Here's what he had to say about "Dixie Quickies," my contribution to the magazine:

"A southwestern no-tell motel with hourly rates is the scene of the crime in 'Dixie Quickies' by Michael Bracken. Bodies are bad for business, so when Maria, one of several illegal immigrants who keep the sheets fresh, gives night manager Tiny Campella the news, he takes over the clean-up duties without bothering local authorities. Of course, that's just foreplay for the action to come. Bracken's mini-bio proclaims he's the author of over 1200 short stories, and his impressive pedigree shows throughout this sterling example of his dandy work."

 Krauss concludes the review:

"My favorites were those by Michael Bracken, Kaye Gorge, and Fletcher Flora; but I lean toward the dark side."

To read the entire review (as well as the other great articles in this issue), purchase The Digest Enthusiast on Amazon. To read "Dixie Quickies" and the other great short stories in Black Cat Mystery Magazine, you may also purchase the magazine on Amazon.

Ripples

Ted Newsom's 1982 rejection of one of my short stories was instrumental in launching my decades-long fiction writing career. Find out why in "Ripples," today's post at SleuthSayers: http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2017/12/ripples.html