Black Cat Weekly 145

We have another great issue this week, with original mysteries from N.M. Cedeño (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and Brian Rieselman, plus a terrific tale by David Dean (courtesy of Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman). Our classic mystery novel is The Winning Clue, by James Hay, Jr. (A note to the sensitive: it has some dialog in racial dialect, which was common in novels of the era.) And, of course, we have a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. On the science fiction and fantasy side, we start with an original tale by Jack Ritchie, best known for his crime stories. It was unpublished at the time of his death, and his estate has allowed us to publish it. We also have classics from Henry Slesar, Harlan Ellison, and a fantasy by E. Hoffmann Price. Our SF novel is The Prince of Space, by Jack Williamson. Here’s the complete lineup— Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Wedding Vibes,” N.M. Cedeño [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Random Numbers,” Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Sofee,” by David Dean [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The Crystal Goblet,” by Brian Rieselman [short story] The Winning Clue, by James Hay, Jr. [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Wedding Vibes,” N.M. Cedeño [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Return,” by Jack Ritchie [short story] “Space Brat,” by Henry Slesar [short story] “Cosmic Striptease,” by Harlan Ellison [short story] “A Jest And A Vengeance,” by E. Hoffmann Price [short story] The Prince of Space, by Jack Williamson [novel]

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #15—enjoy our holiday cat cover! The magazine is coming more sharply into focus, as our acquiring editors spread out through the mystery and science fiction fields and bring new stories to our lineup. This issue, we officially welcome Cynthia M. Ward to the editorial staff. She comes bearing a gift—Nancy Kress’s excellent science fiction story, “The Art of War.” Darrell Schweitzer was supposed to be back with his second acquisition this week (a comical Esther Friesner tale) but there were problems with the text and I’ve made a last-minute executive decision to push it back an issue or two, while it’s being fixed. I’ll slip in a replacement from my own backlist, another entry in my “Slab’s Tavern” series of fantasy bar stories. Barb Goffman and Michael Bracken have acquired a pair of original tales for us. First, Barb presents “The Importance of Being Urnest,” by Eleanor Cawood Jones. Then Michael selects “Romeo and Isabella” by John M. Floyd. Great stories, both. Thanks, everyone! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Westerns “The Writing Workshop,” by Janice Law [short story] “Romeo and Isabelle,” by John M. Floyd [short story] “Secret Santa,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself mystery] West of Quarantine, by Todhunter Ballard [novel] “The Importance of Being Urnest,” by Eleanor Cawood Jones [short story] “Dr. Kreener’s Last Experiment,” by Sax Rohmer [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy “Serendipity,” by Larry Tritten [short story] “The Art of War,” by Nancy Kress [short story] “Well Bottled at Slab’s,” by John Gregory Betancourt [short story] Forever We Die! by Stephen Marlowe [short novel]

This issue, we have a pair of original mysteries (by Ron Miller and Shannon Taft, the latter two thanks to our Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman), and our mystery novel is a Victorian-era sensation novel by Florence Warden. Of course, there’s a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles, too. Our fantasy and science fiction section is heavier than usual on fantasy, with an Australian tale by Ernest Favenc, a dark fantasy by British master John Glasby, and a supernatural novel by E.F. Benson. Science fiction fans will enjoy classic pulp adventures by Edmond Hamilton and Arthur Leo Zagat. Fun stuff! Here’s the complete lineup— Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Under Cover,” by Wil A. Emerson [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Take the Money and Run,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “The Penny Drops,” by Shannon Taft [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “Velda’s First Case,” by Ron Miller [short story, Velda series] The Mystery of the Inn by the Shore, by Florence Warden [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Not Without Sorcery,” by John Glasby [short story] “Fey,” by Ernest Favenc [short story] “The Comet-drivers,” by Edmond Hamilton [short story] “No Escape from Destiny” by Arthur Leo Zagat [short novel] Across the Stream, by E.F. Benson [novel]

It seems the Halloween season starts earlier and earlier each year. I first began noticing Halloween candy in stores in July (!), and every time I turned around since then, there were more decorations, party favors, and treats at hand. Is it any wonder I’ve been wandering around the house humming “The Monster Mash” for the last few weeks? Our 108th issue kicks off a truly epic celebration of the season, with a pair of nightmarish treats. You will never look at seagulls the same way after experiencing Adrian Cole’s “The Birds Are Back in Town.” And Lin Carter’s “Keru” is a tale that would have been right at home in Weird Tales in its heyday. “The Power of Evil,” by Alan Orloff, is not a supernatural tale, but futuristic suspense (thanks to Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken), so it’s doing double duty this time. And the grisly-sounding “A Burn That Reaches Bone,” by Karen Odden is not a mad slasher tale, but a tale of a horrible crime that reaches through the generations. (Thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman for this one.) And, of course, there are traditional mysteries, too—I found a rare Victorian-era mystery by Australian writer Ernest Favenc while I was browsing issues of Australian Town and Country Journal looking for mysteries by Mary Fortune (my favorite classic Australian mystery writer) and couldn’t resist adding it to this issue. Plus we have a detective novel featuring Nick Carter and a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. On the science fiction and fantasy side, we have another great Norman Spinrad story, a classic by Robert F. Young, and the first entry in the Pillsworth & Toffee series by Charles F. Myers (we have more coming up). Fun stuff Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Power of Evil,” by Alan Orloff [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Swimming into Troubled Waters,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “A Burn That Reaches Bone,” by Karen Odden [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The Mystery of the Death Stroke,” by Ernest Favenc The Forced Crime, by Nicholas Carter [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Power of Evil,” by Alan Orloff [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Entities,” by Norman Spinrad [short story] “The Birds Are Back in Town” is copyright © 2019 by Adrian Cole [short story] “The Courts of Jamshyd,” by Robert F. Young [short story] “Keru,” by Lin Carter “I’ll Dream of You” by Charles F. Myers [short story]

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #33. The astute will notice that this issue is being released early—with the holidays nearly upon us (and relatives set to descend on our household), I thought it prudent to finish it up early, just to make sure there weren’t any unfortunately delays. I think you’ll find this issue particularly interesting. Darrell Schweitzer’s historic interview with C.J. Cherryh from 1978 is fascinating, since she talks about her writing process. (If you aren’t familiar with her work, you’ve missed some of the best science fiction of the last 50 years.). For mystery lovers, we have great tales from Greg Herren (courtesy of editor Barb Goffman) and Patricia Dusenbury (courtesy of editor Michael Bracken), plus a solve-it-yourself mystery from Hal Charles. Our novel, Mission of Revenge, by Edison Marshall mixes many genres—crime, romance, adventure…all set in the frozen north! Science fiction readers have an original from Nancy Jane Moore (courtesy of editor Cynthia Ward), plus classics by Lester del Rey and Larry Tritten. For fantasy, look no further than “The Goddess’ Legacy,” by Malcolm Jameson, and the second part of Mel Gilden’s serialized novel, The Case by Case Casebook of Emily Silverwood. Good stuff! Here’s the lineup: Non-Fiction: “Speaking with C.J. Cherryh,” conducted by Darrell Schweitzer [interview] Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Nor Death Will Us Part,” by Patricia Dusenbury [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “An Eggceptional Solution,” by Hal Charles [solve-it-yourself mystery] “The Silky Veils of Ardor,” by Greg Herren [Barb Goffman Presents short story] Mission of Revenge, by Edison Marshall [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Art of War,” by Nancy Jane Moore [Cynthia Ward Presents short story] “Playback,” by Larry Tritten [short story] “The One-eyed Man,” by Lester del Rey [short story] “The Goddess’ Legacy,” by Malcolm Jameson [short story] The Case by Case Casebook of Emily Silverwood, by Mel Gilden (Part 2 of 4) [Serial Novel]

Our 84th issue features a pair of original mysteries from Bev Vincent and Stacy Woodson. Plus we have a Bryce Walton Hollywood crime story and a Frank Kane mystery novel (featuring detecive Johnny Liddell). And, of course, a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. On the science fiction side, we have an anti-war story from Richard Wilson, a UFO story from Paul Torak, a rather silly science fiction/detective story from Noel Loomis, and a time-travel tale from Lester del Rey. Plus a pre-Golden Age science fiction novel from oldtime master Ray Cummings: The Man on the Meteor, which appeared in Science and Invention in 1924, two years before Amazing Stories and the genre of science fiction were launched! Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The River Heights Ripper,” by Bev Vincent [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Jellybean Justice,” Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Before the Highwaymen,” by Stacy Woodson [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Actor’s Showcase,” by Bryce Walton [short story] Crime of Their Life, by Frank Kane [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Day They Had a War,” by Richard Wilson [short story] “Flight 18,” by Paul A. Torak [short story] “Remember the 4th!,” by Noel Loomis [short story] “Absolutely No Paradox,” by Lester del Rey [short story] The Man on the Meteor, by Ray Cummings [novel]

Black Cat Weekly #8 is now available!

Mysteries & Suspense Mystery on Graveyard Head, by Edith Dorian "Kismet and the Baby Orchid," by Frank Lovell Nelson [short story, Carlton Clarke #8] "Awake To Fear," by Robert Camp [short story] "Look It Up," by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] "The Devil's Dooryard," by W.C. Tuttle [historical novella] Straight to the Goal, by Nicholas Carter [mystery novel] "The Moon and Marcie Wade," by John M. Floyd [Barb Goffman Presents Mystery] Science Fiction & Fantasy "Marsyas in Flanders," by Vernon Lee [fantasy story] "Sympathy for Wolves," by John Gregory Betancourt [fantasy story] "The Blackwood Oak," by Stephen Gallagher [science fiction story] "Perfectly Adjusted," by Gordon R. Dickson [science fiction novella] The White Isle, Darrell Schweitzer [fantasy novel]

Our 69th issue is being put together in the chaos of the holiday season. It’s hard, but the team always manages to pull things together at the last minute! So I’ll just say best wishes from everyone at Wildside and Black Cat Weekly…Michael Bracken, Barb Goffman, Sam Hogan, Darrell Schweitzer, Cynthia Ward, Karl Wurf, and me. And I will note that we have two original stories this issue, by Phyllis Ann Karr and James A. Hearn, along with our usual mix of classics and modern tales. And some manage to fit neatly into both mystery and the fantastic categories (see the contents list below.) Here’s this issue’s lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Third Wish,” by James A. Hearn [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “Where There’s Fire,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Bertie and the Christmas Tree,” by Peter Lovesey [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The 1961 Twelve,” by James Holding [short story] “For Safe Deposit,” by Hal Meredith [short story] The Rider of the Mohave, by James Fellom [novel] “The Hammering Man,” by Edwin Balmer and William B. MacHarg [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “The Third Wish,” by James A. Hearn [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Hammering Man,” by Edwin Balmer and William B. MacHarg [short story] “Not-Quite-Living Treasure,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story] “Come Home from Earth,” by Edmond Hamilton [short story] “Piety,” by Margaret St. Clair [short story] Planet Explorer, by Murray Leinster [novel]