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