Day of the Dark Anthology – Part II

Day of the Dark, an anthology of eclipse related short stories, was published by Wildside Press on July 21, one month before North America experiences its first contiguous total eclipse in forty years. In my last “It’s Not Always a Mystery” blog, I introduced you to the anthology’s creator, Kaye George, my short story, A Golden Eclipse, and ten more of the twenty-four authors and their stories. Today, it is my pleasure to introduce you to the remaining twelve authors and their stories.

L.D. Masterson lives in Dayton, Ohio and writes in a variety of genres. Her story, Picture Perfect, addresses the obsessive need of a photographer to outshine a rival. This obsession leads to dastardly deeds during a solar eclipse. But what will be revealed in the dark?  http://ldmasterson-author.blogspot.com

An Eclipse of Hearts, by Dee McKinney, is a dark supernatural tale. It features Dr. Enid Seward, the great-grand-daughter of alienist Jack Seward from Dracula, who has her hands full when the birth rate spikes during an eclipse in Vancouver. When one of the happy new moms recall getting pregnant, Enid must consult the Seward family journals for clues to find the forgettable lover before he causes any more amorous mayhem. Characters from this story are featured in the novel that Dee, a full time-college professor, associate dean and part-time writer, presently is querying. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/172149/Dee.McKinney

2013 Shamus winning novelist and 2015 Anthony and Macavity nominated short story writer Paul D. Marks is the author of the dark tale, Blood Moon. www.PaulDMarks.com His facebook author page is www.facebook.com/paul.d.marks

Nupur Tustin, author of A Minor Deception, the first in the Joseph Haydn Mystery series, offers a different eclipse interpretation in The Baker’s Boy. In this story, Haydn, a struggling young composer, learns his brother has eclipsed him by obtaining a lucrative position as a member of a wealthy prelate’s orchestra. His world is overturned. Hoping to reverse his fortunes, he purchases a small scrap of linen, torn apparently from the Lord’s Shroud. When the baker’s boy, who’s also purchased a piece of the same shroud, is arrested for murdering his master, Haydn’s faith wavers. Can a scrap of linen save an innocent boy from the gallows and Haydn from a life in the Church? Or are the baker’s boy and his own musical ambitions equally condemned to die? http://ntustin.com

Agatha Award-Nominated writer Harriette Sackler’s short stories have appeared in a wide variety of mystery fiction anthologies. She is also a Co-Publisher and Editor of Level Best Books. Her story, Rays of Hope, focuses on a young woman’s attempt to uncover the truth about a tragedy that occurred in her early childhood.  Julie Spencer’s memory and her obsession to find closure combine to bring a satisfying story to readers.

In Flying Girl, Toni Goodyear uses a child’s point of view to tell a feel-good story. Her Flying Girl speaks to the mystical, magical heart in all of us. Pretty good for a person who, in real life, loves to hike and camp, but who has trouble finding West, even at sunset.

Katherine Tomlinson is a former reporter who prefers making things up. Her short fiction has appeared online and in print in a number of anthologies; her nonfiction has been published by St. Martin’s Press, Regan Books, and Croce Publishing. She also writes fantasy and science fiction as “Kat Parrish.” The Path of Totality is a politically charged story about ignorance and its collision with science as the eclipse unfolds against the background of a post-rational America.

Three weeks before her due date, Mandy Malone learns of a disturbing connection between pregnant women and the upcoming solar eclipse in the small Ohio college town of Jericho. With that premise, Margaret S. Hamilton creates Baby Killer, a gripping tale. Margaret S. Hamilton has published short stories in Mysterical-E, Kings River Life, and the Darkhouse Destination: Mystery! anthology. She was a finalist in the 2016 Southern Writers Magazine short story contest. Margaret writes a monthly blog for Writers Who Kill and is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She is completing her debut contemporary cozy novel, Curtains for the Corpse, which is set in the fictional Jericho, Ohio. Margaret lives in Cincinnati. https://margaretshamilton.wordpress.com/

M. K. Waller, author of I’ll Be a Sunbeam, is a former librarian and paralegal whose stories have been published in the crime fiction anthology Murder on Wheels and in Mysterical-E. A resident of Austin, she will watch the 2017 eclipse from Kansas City but hopes to see one scheduled for 2024 from her front yard. In her story, small-town librarian Marva Lu Urquhart, who first appeared in Murder on Wheels, finds, once more, that the best-laid plans can go astray, especially when it’s too dark to see what you’re doing.

In a recent Travel with Kaye blog, anthology editor Kaye George wrote that To the Moon and Back by Kristin Kisska portrays mother-daughter love being examined at the time the eclipse is approaching. In Date Night, Cari Dubiel takes us on a journey which involves more than traveling through space while Laura Olds’ Ocean’s Fifty opens our eyes to a unique swindle.

Although I may not find a way to see the eclipse, it will be okay.  I’ll be holed up somewhere reading Day of the Dark.

4 thoughts on “Day of the Dark Anthology – Part II”

  1. Thanks for talking about our stories, Debra. I’m really looking forward to perusing my copy, and you’ve whetted my appetite for all of the stories. The tough part is knowing which one to read first!

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