Wolfmont's 2010 Charitable Anthology
This year, Wolfmont Press has changed its focus somewhat. We still respect and honor the work that Toys for Tots does to brighten the lives of disadvantaged and deserving children.
But this year's anthology, Murder to MIL-SPEC*, goes to a cause that tightens my throat every time I think about it: making it possible for badly-injured veterans to live normal lives when they return to the United States.
This year's anthology benefits Homes for Our Troops, one of the highest-ranked charities in Charity Navigator. Go by their site, and take a look at what they do for our returning vets who have been catastrophically injured.
As a military veteran of 12+ years, I saw a lot of bad things happen to men and women. Both in war and peacetime such events occur, but the past few years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have seen a marked rise in veterans with crippling disabilities, very often caused by IED attacks. These disabling injuries often leave vets in situations where their old homes are no longer usable. When you are required to use a wheelchair and your door is at the top of a flight of stairs, or your home has doors that are 28" wide, you're in a bad situation. When you require special accommodations to get in and out of the shower, use the toilet, or even do something as simple as cook a meal or wash the dishes, your original home may no longer meet your needs. That's where an organization like Homes for Our Troops comes in.
* In case you don't know, "MIL-SPEC" means "Military Specifications" and means designed specifically for the use of the military, within close tolerances.
This year's anthology
Murder to Mil-Spec is a collection of twelve short crime fiction pieces, each one featuring veterans or active duty military personnel. Crime doesn't stop at the edge of the base, and criminals have no respect for the service a military person may have given for his or her country.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60364-028-2 Retail: $12.00 |
The twelve authors in this year's anthology (in order of appearance) are:
Each of these authors has contributed his/her work to this cause, and is receiving no payment. Publisher profits go to Homes for Our Troops. Click HERE for author bios |
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What others say about Murder to MIL-SPEC:
“World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan, anywhere -- all wars are hell, interrupted by moments of valor and selflessness, and all wars live on in the hearts and minds of those who fight them. This extraordinary collection of stories brings to vivid life the men and women who fight for their country, their triumphs and occasional failures, their scarring and their redemption. There are stories in this book I'll never forget, and no one who reads it will look at the news the same way again.”
—Tim Hallinan, author of the Poke Rafferty series
“The authors are, without exception, experienced novelists and crafters of shorter fiction. Experience shows. It shows in the overall excellent quality of stories ranging from WWII-era to Afghanistan. They are by turns, bitter and surprising, tender and real. These stories... accurately recall and reflect military and home-front actions and attitudes.”
—Carl Brookins, author of Devils Island and others
“Wolfmont Press has again gathered a group of talented authors to ply their trade on behalf of a worthy cause... something every reader should place high on their must read list.”
—Allan Ansorge, author of the Bay Harbor series
Murder to MIL-SPEC is available from the authors, from fine bookstores, and from online sellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and The Digital Bookshop.
Murder to MIL-SPEC is available in ePub and PDF ebook versions on The Digital Bookshop, and soon should be available in a Kindle version as well as through the Apple iBookstore.
Click here to read a recent national news article about Homes for Our Troops
The winners are...!
Lois Karlin - Homes for Our Troops t-shirt
Larry W. Chavis - Homes for Our Troops coffee mug
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The two people named above ordered the anthology pre-release and had their names put into the hat for the drawing. Congratulations to them both!
Author Bios
Here are short biographical sketches of the contributing authors, in the same order as their stories.
Terrie Farley Moran’s short stories have been published in various anthologies. Her 1930’s noir short, “When A Bright Star Fades,” was named a Distinguished Mystery Story of 2008. Her paranormal mystery, “The Awareness,” is in the recently released MWA anthology, Crimes By Moonlight, edited by Charlaine Harris. Terrie’s ideal day includes hanging out with any or all of her seven grandchildren. A lifelong New Yorker, Terrie can be found on the web at www.womenofmystery.net
Dorothy B. Francis lives in Iowa, recalling 20 winters spent in the Florida Keys. The most recent books in her 'Key West Mystery' series are Cold Case Killer and Eden Palms Murder. Scheduled for 2011 is Killer In Control. Her most prized writing honor is her 1999 Derringer Award from the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Dorothy resides in an independent Living Complex near her husband, Richard, a patient at the Iowa Veteran's Home.
Big Jim Williams, author of the audio books, The Old West, and Tall Tales of the Old West, has written for radio theatre, and for Western Horseman, Livestock Weekly, Radio World, Writers’ Journal, The Cardroom Poker News, Sniplits, ROPE and WIRE, WritersWeekly, and other publications, and anthologies. A Korean War veteran and lifelong broadcaster, he writes, haunts bookstores, and naps in Goleta, CA. Married, he has two sons, four grandchildren, and welcomes emails: bigjimwilliams2@cox.net.
Elizabeth Zelvin is a New York City psychotherapist and author of Death Will Get You Sober and Death Will Help You Leave Him. The series includes two short stories nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Short Story. Liz’s short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and various anthologies and webzines. She is currently working on a novel about Columbus’s second voyage and a CD of her own songs titled Outrageous Older Woman.
Lina Zeldovich is a Russian-born New York writer and a recipient of two Writer’s Digest Fiction Awards, the second one for an excerpt from Death by Scheherazade’s Veil. Her latest publications include “Ultimate Comfort” in Voices from the Garage, and “Perfect Takedown” in Thrills Kills n’ Chills. Beat to a Pulp will feature her story “Believe” in December. Her other passions are filmmaking, theater, traveling off-the-beaten-path and, of course, belly dancing!
Charles Schaeffer, a Navy veteran, lives in DC-suburban Maryland with his wife Liza, where he writes mostly short mysteries. His story, "Foul Play" appears in the 2010 Deadly Inc. Anthology. He is back to back winner of the Alfred Hitchcock Magazine's "Mysterious Photo Contest". He is first place winner in Mysterical-E for "Silent Night, Deadly Night", and the Press Club's Consumer Journalism Award. He is a hobbyist wine enthusiast.
Howard B. Carron is a librarian, musician, teacher, writer, chef, ceramist, silversmith, sculptor, wood block artist, and the editor-in-chief of Cigar Lovers Magazine. He taught in the Orient, the Pacific and Europe. His published stories include: “The Last Habano” in Medley of Murder, “A Favor for the Mayor” in Medium of Murder, “Christmas Came Late” in How Not to Survive the Holidays, and "The Old Miner" in How NOT to Survive a Vacation.
Brendan DuBois of New Hampshire is the award-winning author of twelve novels and more than 100 short stories. His short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies including The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century, published in 2000 by Houghton-Mifflin. His short stories have twice won him the Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and have also earned him three Edgar nominations. Visit his website at www.BrendanDuBois.com
Janis Patterson also writes romances as Janis Susan May, children’s books as Janis Susan Patterson and scholarly works as J.S.M. Patterson. Sing a Song of Spying, a mostly fictional romantic adventure, will be released in Winter 2010, and Danny and the Dustbunnies in October 2010. Janis and her husband, a Naval Reserve Captain currently on overseas deployment, live in Texas with three rescued furbabies: two neurotic cats and a terribly spoiled little dog.
Barb Goffman has been nominated twice for the Agatha Award, for “The Worst Noel” in The Gift of Murder and “Murder at Sleuthfest” from Chesapeake Crimes II. Her newest published stories: “The Contest” in Deadly Ink 2010 Short Story Collection and “Volunteer of the Year” in Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin’. Program chair of the Malice Domestic convention, Barb lives in Virginia with her miracle dog, Scout (a three-time cancer survivor!). www.barbgoffman.com
S. M. Harding has had over a dozen short stories published in various crime fiction publications and is currently editing Writing Murder, a collection of essays by Midwest authors on creating crime fiction, for Crum Creek Press. Look for “Tinkers Damn” in Back to the Middle of Nowhere (Pill Hill Press) and “The Hollow Hour” in A Cup of Joe (Wicked East Press) later this year and please visit her website at www.smharding.com
Diana Catt is married with three kids, a microbiologist and the current president of the Indiana Sisters in Crime. Her latest two publications include: a mystery, "Boneyard Busted", in Bedlam at the Brickyard, Blue River Press (May, 2010) and a sci-fi, "Au Naturel", in Patented DNA, Pill Hill Press (July, 2010). Her upcoming release: "And Through the Woods" will appear in Back to the Middle of Nowhere: Horror in Rural America, Pill Hill Press.
Copyright 2010 Wolfmont Press