Triple Derringer winner, Art Taylor, teaches writing and literature at George Mason University. He’s such a fan of noir, that he’s named his son, Dash. Please join me as we sit down and discuss how he writes his winning short stories, his students, and what makes great short fiction.
Enjoy!
Great News!
Art is giving away a copy of the latest, Chesapeake Crimes anthology: This Job Is Murder, with his Derringer-winning story, When Duty Calls. It has a host of great shorts from other award winning authors, too — like Barb Goffman, Donna Andrews, and a forward by Elaine Viets. So leave a comment here and at Kiss and Thrill (see link below) to enter.
Now, for another dazzling short — well not a short story, but novella, by our very own Carey Baldwin, tell us who your favorite short story or mystery author is. For an extra chance to win, guess why Art’s son is named Dash. Or be really sneaky and go to KissAndThrill.com and leave a comment there (under this same post) for another chance. Tune in on Thursday to see who won.
Here is our second amazing prize!
HUSH
Reformed bad boy Charlie “Drex” Drexler returns to his hometown of 
Tangleheart, Texas hoping to make peace with his dark past and make amends to those he’s wronged. He’s also looking to reconnect with an old flame. But Anna won’t cooperate, new questions tear open old wounds and his best friend’s wife and baby disappear. Can Drex and Anna mend their broken hearts while fighting for their lives and racing to bring mother and baby home safely?
Read an excerpt here.
Thanks for including me here, Diana. Much fun! I hope others might enjoy as well.
So glad to have you here, Art! Thanks so much for letting me interview you.
Diana, thanks for a terrific interview with Art Taylor. Thoroughly enjoyed the questions and answers!
So sweet of you, Paula! Thanks.
Thanks, Paula, for the kind comment!
Despite seeing Art at a number of Sisters in Crime meetings, I didn’t know anything about him and hadn’t read but one of his stories. Thanks for opening my eyes to a gifted writer.
Thanks for the note here, Maddi. It’s true, especially in the mystery community, how many people we know from organizations, meetings, conferences, Facebook, etc. without ever being able to really read works by all of them. Just a testament to how wide, strong, and varied our genre is, I guess!
A nice guy, an award winning writer, a fab prof, and a fantastic dad — guess I have to forgive him for being a Yalie. LOL. Can’t help ragging on an Ivy rival.
So glad you could be here, Maddie. Please come back soon!
I enjoyed your interview. Art, I congratulate you on your Agatha nomination and send you wishes for a win. I’m headed to your website to read that other story.
Hi, Pat — thanks for the note here! The Agatha nomination was actually for last year’s Malice Domestic, and Dana Cameron won (for a terrific story, I should add). Diana did several interviews that weekend and has been rolling them out since then. 🙂
Thanks as well for the interest in my story “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” It’s linked from my website, but takes a little looking perhaps. Here’s a direct link to the original story, just in case: http://pankmagazine.com/piece/mastering-the-art-of-french-cooking/
Thanks again!
Art
You’ll enjoy it Pat! Thanks for visiting.
Hi, Pat —
Diana let me know that you’d won the copy of the Chesapeake Crimes anthology I’d offered here. Congratulations! And thanks again—so much—for watching the interview and commenting on the blog.
If you could contact me at art@arttaylorwriter.com and let me know where I can send the book, I’ll get it out your way soon. (FYI: I tried to email you through your own website, but when I clicked submit, I got an error message; not sure if the issue is on my end or yours, but wanted to let you know.)
Hope you’re doing well—and hope to hear from you soon!
Art
Great interview you two! My favorite mystery author? Damn, that’s a tough question. I think it’s John D. MacDonald. And I’m guessing Art’s son is named Dash because of Dashiell Hammett.
Hi, Lee —
John D. Macdonald was the first “grown-up” writer I read as a teenager. Still have a great fondness and admiration for him. What a terrific writer!
Art
So glad you stopped by, Lee. I love your choice of author.
The winner of a copy of Chesapeake Crimes: This Job is Murder is Pat Marinelli! & The winner of Carey Baldwin’s novella, Hush is Paula Gail Benson! Congratulations to both our winners. And for those of you who didn’t win, both books make great Christmas and (belated) Chanukah gifts, too! Click on the links in the post to get more information on both.
Hooray! Looking forward to getting Pat a copy—and will inscribe too, upon request! 🙂
How terrific! Many thanks!