Black Cat Weekly 20

Our mysteries this issue include Josh Pachter’s “The Secret Lagoon” (Michael Bracken’s pick), Larry Allen Tyler’s “Just a Little Before Winter’s Set In” (selected by Barb Goffman) and a solve-it-yourself from Hal Charles (the writing team of Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet). A futuristic detective tale by Larry Tritten, and a classic Nick Carter novel from 1903, The Plot That Failed, round things out. On the science fiction & fantasy side, we have a vampire classic by Carl Jacobi, “Revelations in Black” (which was also the title story of one of his Arkham House collection); “Bullard Reflects,” by Malcolm Jameson, which is classic SF from Astounding; “Strike,” by Richard Wilson, about newspaper reporters coming a shipping strike in space; and “Three Bananas,” by Larry Tritten—which is one of his gonzo cross-genre mashups. Fun stuff. Plus the already-mentioned “Extended Family,” by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. (Did we mention that this is one of those stories you won’t want to miss?) Here’s the complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense “The Secret Lagoon,” by Josh Pachter [short story] “The Game’s Afoot,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Just a Little Before Winter’s Set In,” by Larry Allen Tyler [Barb Goffman Presents short story] The Plot That Failed, by Nicholas Carter [novel] “Three Bananas,” by Larry Tritten [short story] Science Fiction & Fantasy “Extended Family,” by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough [Cynthia Ward Presents, short story] “Bullard Reflects,” by Malcolm Jameson [short story] “Three Bananas,” by Larry Tritten [short story] “Strike,” by Richard Wilson [short story] “Revelations in Black,” by Carl Jacobi [short story]

This issue has one of the best original stories we’ve published: Janet Law’s brilliant “Wrong Door,” a tale very much in the classic Twilight Zone tradition. Don’t skip it! Though Janice is best known for her mystery stories, this one proves she can write masterfully in any genre. But great stories don’t stop there. Our Acquiring Editors, Michael Bracken and Barb Goffman, have both found original stories this time—from William Burton McCormick and Steve Janko. Plus I’m pleased to present another new mystery story from the late Henry T. Parry. Parry was very much a hobbyist writer for Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. His work started appearing there in the 1960s, and if the editor didn’t buy a story, he set it aside and moved on to another one. He didn’t send them to other markets, like any pro writer would have done. His daughter has entrusted his unpublished stories to me, and I am going through them and seeing which ones still work. (His last story appeared here in BCW #105.) I date “The Marina Case” to the early 1970s, and it’s a solid mystery that surely would have found a home had he submitted it to more than one editor. Our mystery novel this time is William Le Queux’s The Crystal Claw, a Golden Age page-turner. And, as always, we have a solve-it-yourself puzzler from Hal Charles. Turning back to the science fiction end of things, in addition to Janice Law’s tale, we have classics by Hannes Bok (miners on Venus!), William W. Stuart (a man wakes in a futuristic jail with no memory of how he got there!), and Charles L. Fontenay (envy leads to discovering an Earthman’s secrets!). Our SF novelet is an early space adventure from fantastist Manly Wade Wellman. Here’s the complete lineup— Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “Letter From a Lone Prospector to His Mother,” by William Burton McCormick [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Wild West Whodunit,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Confessions of an Invisible Hit Man,” by Steve Janko [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “Grass Is Not Always Green,” by Henry T. Parry [short story] The Crystal Claw, by William Le Queux [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Wrong Door,” by Janice Law [short story] “One Touch of Terra,” by Hannes Bok [short story] “A Prison Make,” by William W. Stuart [short story] “Beauty Interrupted” by Charles L. Fontenay [short story] The Invading Asteroid, by Manly Wade Wellman [short 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 97th issue is brimming with interesting items. On the mystery front, Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken has discovered a brand-new story from Dave Zeltserman for us, while Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman brings us an intriguing S.J. Rozan tale. I’ve also been persuading fantasist Phyllis Ann Karr to let us reprint some of her early work—and this time, we have a mystery! Who knew that she launched her writing career with a string of top-notch mystery stories? I certainly didn’t. Also included is an Inspector French police procedural novel from classic British novelist Freeman Wills Crofts. And, of course, no issue is complete without a solve-it-yourself puzzler, once again delivered from the pens of Hal Charles. Switching to fantasy and science fiction, we kick things off with a poem by Harry Warner, Jr. An early SF enthusiast, Warner is primarily known for his non-fiction works on the history of the genre, particularly on fandom. His poem “If—1939” (originally published in the fanzine Le Zombie) perfectly encapsulates the fannish enthusiasm of that era. Also featured are fantasies from Adrian Cole and Joseph Payne Brennan, a Golden Age science fiction story by Jay Williams (best known as the co-creator of the kid scientist Danny Dunn), and an engaging SF novel from Frank Belknap Long. Here’s this issue’s complete lineup: Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure: “The Matzo Ball Killer,” by Dave Zeltserman [Michael Bracken Presents short story] “The Chocolate Cupcake Caper,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Going Home,” by S.J. Rozan [Barb Goffman Presents short story] “The Slantwise Scales of Justice,” by Phyllis Ann Karr [short story] The Starvel Hollow Tragedy, by Freeman Wills Crofts [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “If—1939,” by Harry Warner, Jr. [poem] “A Girl and Her Doll,” by Adrian Cole [short story] “The Horror at Chilton Castle,” by Joseph Payne Brennan [short story] “Beast of Prey,” by Jay Williams [short story] Woman from Another Planet, by Frank Belknap Long [novel]

The Black Cat web site has been around for almost four years now, serving up a weekly buffet of new and classic mysteries—and more recently science fiction—to thousands of readers each week. Rather than continue to release all these novels and stories as individual ebooks, we have decided to bundle them up into a convenient weekly magazine…which is a lot more fun to work on! So here is Black Cat Weekly #1, for your enjoyment pleasure. To make the first issue memorable, we are including a lot more content than usual—double the usual word count, in fact. This time we have no less than three complete novels and 7 short stories—and even a “true crime” feature by Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason! There’s something here for everyone to enjoy, whether you’re a fan of traditional mysteries, psychic detectives (in the case of Frank Lovell Nelson’s story, a telepathic detective, the first of 12 stories featuring Carlton Clarke from 1908, all of which will run in the Black Cat’s pages). Looking for modern detection? We have that, too. And if your taste runs to the fantastic, we also have adventures across parallel worlds and well into the future. (And monsters. Did I mention monsters?) Included are: REMISSION, by Michael Bracken A KEY FOR REBECCA, by Hal Charles AUROVIA’S FAMOUS LODGE CASE, by Frank Lowell Nelson THE CASE OF THE KNOCKOUT BULLET, by Erle Stanley Gardner HAND IN GLOVE, by James Holding THE SKULL OF THE WALZING CLOWN, by Harry Stephen Keeler HAVER, by Brian Evenson A ZLOOR FOR YOUR TROUBLE, by Mack Reynolds VALLISNERIA MADNESS, by Ralph Milne Farley LAST CALL FOR DOOMSDAY! by S. M. Tenneshaw WORLDS OF THE IMPERIUM, by Keith Laumer

Black Cat Weekly #7 showcases new and classic science fiction, fantasy, and mysteries. Included in this issue: Mysteries “Death of a Light-Hearted Lady,” by Ruth Malone [short story] “The Soul of the Blue Bokhara,” by Frank Lovell Nelson [short story, Carl ton Clarke #7]] “Keys to Success,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “Mysterious Blues,” by Adam Meyer [Barb Goff man Presents Mys tery] A Killing in Swords, by Reginald Bretnor [novel] The Secret of Shangore, by Nicholas Carter [novel, Nick Carter series] Science Fiction & Fantasy Charlie Tells Another One, by Andy Duncan [short story] Cat in the Box, by A.R. Morlan [short story] Sympathy for Mad Scientists, by John Gregory Betancourt [short story] Guaranteed—Forever! by Frank M. Robinson [short story] Tyrants of Time, by Stephen Marlowe [pulp science fiction novel] The Ghost of Guir House, by Charles Willing Beale [Victorian horror novel]

Edgar G. Ulmer: Detour on Poverty Row examines the full scope of the career of this often overlooked film auteur, with essays exploring individual films, groups of films (such as his important work in film noir), repetitive themes appearing across the spectrum of his work, and a case study of three essays analyzing The Black Cat (1934).

For mystery readers, Michael Bracken brings us an original tale by Eve Fisher—“The Ghost of Eros” features art crime of a most creative sort. Barb Goffman’s presents an action-packed tale by David Hagerty. “A Photo’s Worth” features an actress, a paparazzo, San Francisco, and scancal—a great read. Hal Charles (the writing team of Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet) brings us another solve-it-yourself mystery. And we have a classic mystery featuring Madame Storey from Hulbert Footner, and a British suspense novel by Edgar Wallace. Science fiction and fantasy fans will enjoy a 1950 short novel from Murray Leinster, a classic space opera. Leinster was one of the greats of the science fiction field. He published more than a thousand stories over a distinguished six-decade career. “Planet of the Small Men” is pulp adventure in grand space opera tradition—and one I wish had been expanded to novel length. It’s from Thrilling Wonder Stories, and I don’t believe it’s ever been reprinted. Plus we have dark fantasy stories by Tom Marcinko (Cynthia Ward’s selection this issue) and Larry Tritten (whose work we’ve been running regularly—a real change of pace for him). Plus classics by Malcolm Jameson and Lester del Rey. Here’s the complete lineup: Mystery / Suspense: “The Ghost Of Eros,” by Eve Fisher [short story] “The Pilfered Pictogram,” by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery] “A Photo’s Worth,” by David Hagerty [Barb Goffman Presents short story] The Almost Perfect Murder, by Hulbert Footner [short novel] The Strange Countess, by Edgar Wallace [novel] Science Fiction & Fantasy: “Temperance,” by Tom Marcinko [short story] “Africa Screams, ” by Larry Tritten [short story] “Brimstone Bill,” by Malcolm Jameson [short story] “Dark Mission,” by Lester del Rey [short story] “Planet of the Small Men,” by Murray Leinster [short novel]