Edith here, delighted to welcome Judy Penz Sheluk. She edited a new crime fiction anthology – and I have a story in it! Read all about The Best Laid Plans.
The Story Behind The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense (edited by Judy Penz Sheluk)
November 22, 2014. That’s the day The Whole She-Bang 2: 24 Stories by Sisters in Crime Canada launched at The Sleuth of Baker Street, an independent bookstore in Toronto, Canada. My short story, “Plan D”, had been included in the collection, judged in a blind submission process. While I’d been a freelance journalist and editor since 2003, this was my first publication credit in the mystery genre, and to say I was over-the-moon excited would be understating my mood.
A lot has happened between then and now. In addition to a few more short stories, I’m the author of two mystery series and four—soon to be five—novels. I’ve been traditionally published and, in February 2018, set up my own publishing imprint, Superior Shores Press.
From the moment I set up Superior Shores Press, I knew I wanted to publish a multi-author anthology of short crime fiction, to recreate in some small way the buzz of excitement I’d felt with She-Bang 2. I’d had some experience with the vetting process, having been the intake coordinator for Passport to Murder, the anthology for Bouchercon Toronto 2017, and my background as a magazine editor would also come in handy when it came to editing and compiling the collection. And so, in October 2018, after calculating the financial risks and taking several deep breaths, I sent out the Call for Submissions and spent a sleepless night worrying: What if no one responded the call?
I need not have worried. In all, seventy-two submissions were received. Countries represented included the U.S., Canada, England, Norway, Italy, Australia, and Argentina.
Reading seventy-two stories with a view to accepting twenty (I planned to include “Plan D”) was far more difficult than I’d anticipated, but after two weeks and multiple reads I came up with a long list of about thirty-five. Culling those down to the final twenty took another two weeks, and many more reads.
The stories within The Best Laid Plans are faithful to the underlying theme of the best-laid plans, albeit in very different ways as interpreted by twenty-one very different authors. My own “Plan D”, for example, tells the story of an unhappy wife who dreams up ways to kill her under-employed husband, while in “The Stonecutter”, Wickeds author Edith Maxwell shares a tale of a widowed, middle-aged librarian who falls desperately in love with a married man whose wife struggles with schizophrenia. In both cases, the protagonists’ best-laid plans come back to haunt them…and not in a way that anyone could have predicted.
Readers: Now time for you to ’fess up: Do you have a best-laid plan that went awry?
Synopsis: Whether it’s at a subway station in Norway, a ski resort in Vermont, a McMansion in the suburbs, or a trendy art gallery in Toronto, the twenty-one authors represented in this superb collection of mystery and suspense interpret the overarching theme of “the best laid plans” in their own inimitable style. And like many best laid plans, they come with no guarantees.
Stories by Tom Barlow, Susan Daly, Lisa de Nikolits, P.A. De Voe, Peter DiChellis, Lesley A. Diehl, Mary Dutta, C.C. Guthrie, William Kamowski, V.S. Kemanis, Lisa Lieberman, Edward Lodi, Rosemary McCracken, LD Masterson, Edith Maxwell, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Peggy Rothschild, Johanna Beate Stumpf, Vicki Weisfeld, and Chris Wheatley.
The Best Laid Plans: 21 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, releasing June 18, is available on Kindle and in trade paperback at all the usual suspects, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Chapters.Indigo.
Congratulations on the new anthology, Judy, to you and all the contributors! May you have many sales.
Thank you Barb!
So glad you dared to dream, Judy. Working with you was a pleasure. Thanks!
Thank you Lisa. I love your story in the collection, Better Dead Than Redhead.
Congratulations, Judy! Looking forward to reading it!
Thanks so much, Judi! I’d love to know what your favorite story is after you do!
Congratulations! My best laid plans often go awry!
I hear you Sherry! Thanks for the congrats.
Congratulations, Judy! What’s the saying, “Man plans, God laughs?” I’ve lost track of the days where I planned to do one thing and wound up doing something completely different.
Me too, Liz, and I seem to get sidetracked more easily these days!
It’s so much work to put together a labor of love like this. Congratulations!
Thank you, JH. It really was a lot more work than I expected…and I was expecting it to be a lot of work. But, it’s been fun and I’ve learned a lot — and the authors have been terrific.
It’s been a while, but when I traveled to Peru each year, I never was sure exactly what would happen. Even carefully planned tours frequently went awry. When I was just winging it, anything could happen. I loved it!
Congrats on starting your own publishing imprint. Those best laid plans seem to have worked out just fine. Oh, and I absolutely love The Sleuth of Baker Street. I spend way too much money there every time I go.
Ah…a fellow Torontonian Ginny! #WeTheNorth!
Congrats on the anthology! I was so impressed with how strong the crime fiction community is when we had Left Coast Crime in Vancouver. My best laid plans that went awry? I was married three times.
Hahahahaha Keenan, now that’s funny. Though maybe not so funny for you 🙂
I put all my wedding photos in one album. I thought it was funny. #3 didn’t.
Congrats! I am often overcome by events that are out of my control.
Kathleen, you are in a good club then!
Every night, my best laid plans think I have about 8 hours between when I get home and when I need to go to bed instead of the 5 I actually do.
Congrats on the new anthology. Sounds fun.
Thanks Mark for the congrats. Now, go get some sleep!
Eagerly awaiting the book. 😉 My own foiled plans? Hmm, there was the eight-years following after getting my teaching degree when schools were reducing staff due to lower student enrollments; I did learn useful skills working for Prudential and finally found a place in teaching . . . and then found a better one.
There was also the supposedly health-oriented “supportive” email group whose mean girls were the opposite of a healthy influence, but I escaped with the help and encouragement of a friend. 😉
I have a new policy of making fewer plans.
Thanks Mary, I hope you enjoy the book. And your new policy sounds good to me.
You took a big step and worked hard. I’m thrilled my story “lunch Break” was included.
I’m equally thrilled to have your story included Lesley. The creepiest ending!!!