by
Paula Gail Benson
Even
though we mourn the cancellation of this year’s Malice Domestic, that’s no
reason not to celebrate with the Agatha nominated authors! This year’s
nominated short stories offer intriguing characters facing unique situations
and are written by masters of the craft. While we all have a little extra
reading time, why not check out each of these delightful tales (listed in
alphabetical order) at the following links:
"The Blue
Ribbon" by Cynthia Kuhn in Malice
Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
"The Last
Word" by Shawn Reilly Simmons, Malice
Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible (Wildside Press)
Welcome
Barb, Art, Kaye, Cynthia, and Shawn to Writers Who Kill!
How important is a plot twist in a short
story?
 |
| Barb Goffman |
Barb Goffman:
A
plot twist can be a great way to make a short story work. You want your story
to linger in the reader’s mind, and a plot twist can certainly help make that
happen. That said, a plot twist isn’t essential. A great short story can have
another type of ending, as I address in the next question.
Art Taylor:
Honestly, I think it
can be a mistake to focus too much attention on crafting a last-minute plot twist—writers
aiming for something O’Henryesque maybe but instead delivering a punchline. And
to stick with that metaphor, once the punchline is delivered, the joke is over.
I’ve suggested before the idea of a character twist instead: some revelation at
the end of a story that helps readers to see not just a character in a new
way—some submerged desire or fear, some twist of motivation—but also the entire
story with a renewed perspective, letting a story linger a little longer in the
mind.
 |
| Kaye George |
Kaye George:
Very,
very, very important. I don’t ever like to write a short story without one. Or
a novel, either, for that matter. If I can do a double or triple twist, that
makes me a very happy writer. To me, this is how you keep the reader
interested. I never want them to be bored.
Cynthia Kuhn:
Stories
without twists can be fulfilling if we admire the voice, structure, style,
theme, etc. But I do adore a good twist—love being surprised. If I can
guess everything that is going to happen, it often leaves me wanting more,
somehow.
Shawn Reilly Simmons:
I
love a good plot twist and it’s a goal of mine to always try to come up with
ways to surprise the reader—I’ve always been a fan of stories where I think
things are going a certain way and then they end up heading in an all new
direction—that’s the most fun, I think.
What makes a satisfying conclusion to a
short story?
Barb Goffman:
All
of these can make a satisfying ending to a short story: A plot twist that makes
the reader’s mouth drop open; a revelation that allows the reader to see the
story from a different light; character growth; justice; and, simply, a
conclusion that makes the reader feel something.
 |
| Art Taylor |
Art Taylor:
It’s a cliche, but I
think that the best endings are ones that seem both surprising and inevitable
at the same time. Some of my favorite stories are ones where, when you reread
them, you see the groundwork for the endings laid right there in the first
lines of the story. Poe championed the idea of the single-effect story, where
every aspect—every word—of a story offers service to a single effect on the
reader. A satisfying ending—whether happy or sad, inspiring or tragic—is one
where it’s connected to everything else in the story, all the elements working
in some kind of harmony.
Kaye George:
What
I strive for is a last minute twist that makes them jerk up their head and open
their mouth. (Yes, I’ve embraced the singular “they” pronoun—see how useful it
is? I can’t assume my reader is a male or a female, an alien, or anything
else.)
 |
| Cynthia Kuhn |
Cynthia Kuhn:
There’s
a sense of completion—not necessarily in the protagonist’s situation but in the
rightness of that final moment, image, or phrase.
Shawn Reilly Simmons:
I’m
satisfied if I’ve answered at least one question the character is asking. It
might not be the answer they were looking for when they got things underway,
but it’s an answer that makes sense.
If a movie were made of your nominated
short story, do you have an actor/actress in mind to play one of the
characters?
Barb Goffman:
When
I think of Maxwell, the dog in my story, I picture my late dog Scout, who was a
lab/shepherd mix. But I can’t think of any famous lab/shepherd dogs. That said,
if Buddy the dog from the movie Air Bud
were still alive, I think he could do justice to Maxwell’s part, which requires
being both athletic and cute as a button.
Art Taylor:
Oh, I’m so bad at this
kind of question! But in an attempt to play along: Paul Rudd as my journalist
narrator (or some slightly younger Paul Rudd? I don’t know who that would be)
and Emma Stone as the bar owner who’s his love interest.
Kaye George:
My
movie knowledge is rather dated, so you’ll have to reach back for these. Oscar
Madison/Walter Matthau of the Odd Couple should be my MC, Kevin Grady. His
neighbor could be Ellen Burstyn if she could stoop to being a cranky old woman.
Okay, any two cranky old actors, one male, one female.
Cynthia Kuhn:
Allison
Janney could transform into either one of the main characters. Not that she
resembles them but because she’s incredibly talented!
 |
| Shawn Reilly Simmons |
Shawn Reilly Simmons:
If
it could be anyone (alive or dead), I’d want it to be John C. Reilly and
Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the two friends from culinary school who are meeting
over a special dinner to discuss the various events that have happened to them
over the years. When I was living in New York many years ago, they starred
together on Broadway in True West and
they would switch roles from time to time throughout the production. “The Last
Word” has a similar dynamic to it, where there are two characters who know each
other very well, mostly talking—I think those two actors would really be great
in the roles, if they could be together again.
What is the most intriguing crime you have
heard of, written about, or thought of writing about?
Barb Goffman:
My
story “Christmas Surprise” from my collection Don’t Get Mad, Get Even involves someone trying to break into a
house by climbing down a chimney, which was partly inspired by news stories of
similar attempted crimes with similar outcomes. Hint: Don’t try this yourself!
Art Taylor:
I have two here that
I’ve thought before about writing. The first is the 1994 murder of Beth-Ellen Vinson an aspiring dancer who became an escort/private dancer to
help pay her way from North Carolina to New York, dreams of Broadway on her
mind; her murder remains unsolved. The second is darker: the 2014 murder of a
British woman by two young teens, who took Snapchat selfies and posted pictures
on social media while they tortured her for several hours; coincidentally,
there’s a recent film based
on that murder that looks at some of the issues which drew me to this case—the
social media angles specifically.
Kaye George:
I
watch a lot of Dateline (love Keith Morrison’s voice!) and 48 Hours, so
probably every other one. A few of my short stories were written in response to
particular events. “Twelve Drummers Drumming” is supposed to be an exposure of
and protest against big game hunting. “The Bathroom” was inspired by Kait
Carson’s experience of getting shocked by the faucet and thrown across the bathroom,
just before I took a nasty fall in the tub (using new, very slippery gel junk)
and tore my rotator cuff. A lot of my stories are written for the theme for an
anthology, but most of them have an origin in my own experiences…somewhere.
Cynthia Kuhn:
The
1843 double murder upon which Margaret Atwood’s amazing book Alias Grace
is based. It was sensationalized in the news of the day and involved multiple
love triangles, a case of amnesia (perhaps), and even a potentially
supernatural explanation. I wrote about her fictionalization of the real events in my
dissertation—it is an unforgettable story.
Shawn Reilly Simmons:
This
is a tough one because I’ve been fascinated by crime, both true and fictional,
for as long as I can remember. I listen to True Crime podcasts and have seen
every episode of Forensic Files…and
my bookshelves are 98% crime fiction… I’d have to say the case that I’ve read
the most about, and still wonder about on a frequent basis is Elizabeth Short,
the Black Dahlia. I continue to hold out hope that someday her killer will be
revealed.
Thank
you all for taking the time to be with us, answering questions, and all the
wonderful stories you have written! And, thank you for letting us celebrate
with you digitally until we can be together in person!
AUTHOR BIOS:
Barb Goffman:
Barb Goffman edits mysteries by
day and writes them by night. She’s won the Agatha, Macavity, and Silver
Falchion awards for her short stories, and she’s been a finalist for national
crime-writing awards twenty-eight times, including thirteen times for the Agatha
(a category record). Her work has appeared in many magazines and anthologies,
including Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred
Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and
the 2019 anthology Crime Travel, which Barb also edited. To support
her writing habit, Barb runs a freelance editing service, specializing in crime
fiction. She lives with her dog in Virginia.
Art Taylor:
Art Taylor is
the author of the story collection The Boy Detective & The Summer
of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense and of the novel in stories On
the Road with Del & Louise, winner of the Agatha Award for Best
First Novel. He won the 2019 Edgar Award for Best Short Story for
"English 398: Fiction Workshop," originally published in Ellery
Queen's Mystery Magazine, and his other awards have included the Agatha,
the Anthony, the Derringer, and the Macavity. He is an associate
professor of English at George Mason University.
Kaye George:
Kaye George is a
national-bestselling, multiple-award-winning author of pre-history,
traditional, and cozy mysteries (latest is Revenge Is Sweet from Lyrical
Press). Her short stories have appeared online, in anthologies, magazines, her
own collection, her own anthology, DAY OF THE DARK, and in A MURDER OF CROWS.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Smoking Guns chapter, Guppies chapter,
Authors Guild of TN, Knoxville Writers Group, Austin Mystery Writers, and lives
in Knoxville, TN.
Cynthia Kuhn:
Cynthia
Kuhn writes the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries: The Semester of Our
Discontent, The Art of Vanishing, The Spirit in Question, The
Subject of Malice, and The Study of Secrets. Her work has also
appeared in Mystery Most Edible, McSweeney’s
Quarterly Concern, Literary Mama, Copper Nickel, Prick of the Spindle, Mama
PhD, and other publications. Honors include an Agatha Award (best first
novel), William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant, and Lefty Award nominations
(best humorous mystery). Originally from upstate New York, she lives in
Colorado with her family. For more information, please visit cynthiakuhn.net.
Shawn Reilly Simmons:
Shawn Reilly Simmons
is the author of The Red Carpet Catering Mysteries featuring Penelope
Sutherland, an on-set movie caterer, and of several short stories
appearing in a variety of anthologies including the Malice Domestic, Best New
England Crime Stories, Bouchercon, and Crime Writers' Association series.
Shawn was born in Indiana, grew up in Florida, and began her professional
career in New York City as a sales executive after graduating from the
University of Maryland with a BA in English. Since then she has worked
as a book store manager, fiction editor, mystery convention
organizer, wine rep, and caterer. She serves on the Board of Malice Domestic
and is co-editor at Level Best Books.
Shawn is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the
International Thriller Writers, and the Crime Writers’ Association in the
U.K.
