It’s always fun to welcome return guests back to the Wickeds and Judy is back with a new short story anthology, Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense, that she edited!
Judy: There’s a great line, made famous by the movie Jerry Maguire, where Renee Zellweger says to Tom Cruise, “You had me at hello.” Selecting stories for a multi-author anthology can be a bit like that. I qualify the statement with “can be” because sometimes it’s the ending that seals the deal, and other times it’s a twist I didn’t see coming, or a character I found myself rooting for. But this post is about “having me at hello” and the three stories showcased here fall into that category.
Uncle Randy’s Money by Charlie Kondek
The Opening: Probably they were just men and women like you or I, but in my imagination and memory the desperadoes and sunflower maidens of the late ’70s and early ’80s strode denim-clad, slender and calibrated as dancers through the sidewalks and driveways of my childhood. Every man looked like an ad for leather coats and cigarettes, every woman like Linda Ronstadt or Toni Tennille, my parents, aunts, uncles, and their friends, including, or perhaps especially, my Uncle Randy. He was my mother’s brother, returning to Michigan after a long absence and amidst much murmuring because my grandfather their father was dying.
We know, immediately, that the narrator is going to take is time spinning this tale. The long sentences, the evocative and nostalgic descriptions of a simpler (or at least, different) time. What we don’t know why Uncle Randy’s been away for an extended time or (based on the title) what his money has to do with anything. And I really want to find out.
Hit-and-Run by Christina Boufis
The Opening: Marcy told no one. Ted insisted nothing had happened and there was nothing to tell. But this didn’t stop Marcy from imagining what she should have done, could still do. She could go to the police. Confess everything.
We can assume from the title there’s been a hit-and-run. And we can further assume that Marcy and Ted were involved as the hitters-and-runners. What we don’t know is why…or what Marcy intends to do about it. Because we’re pretty sure she’s feeling guilty. But is she feeling guilty enough to confess? Enquiring minds need to know!
The Hospital Boomerang by Kevin Tipple
The Opening: It was the damn beeping that woke me up. I opened my eyes, only to see the same crappy tile overhead that I had seen once before. A heart monitor and an IV drip machine beeped. I looked down my bed. Neither wrist was handcuffed to the rail of the bed. An improvement over my last visit.
Prisoner, patient, or both? The only way to find out is to keep on reading. I did.
Opening paragraphs. The best ones have you at hello.
Readers: Do you have a favorite opening that struck a chord with you?
Larceny & Last Chances: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense
Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk
Publication Date: June 18, 2024
Sometimes it’s about doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s about getting even. Sometimes it’s about taking what you think you deserve. And sometimes, it’s your last, best, hope. Edited by Judy Penz Sheluk and featuring stories by Christina Boufis, John Bukowski, Brenda Chapman, Susan Daly, Wil A. Emerson, Tracy Falenwolfe, Kate Fellowes, Molly Wills Fraser, Gina X. Grant, Karen Grose, Wendy Harrison, Julie Hastrup, Larry M. Keeton, Charlie Kondek, Edward Lodi, Bethany Maines, Gregory Meece, Cate Moyle, Judy Penz Sheluk, KM Rockwood, Kevin R. Tipple, and Robert Weibezahl.
Find the book: www.books2read.com/larceny
About the editor: Judy Penz Sheluk is a former journalist and magazine editor and the bestselling author of two mystery series, several short stories, and two books on publishing. She is also the publisher and editor of four Superior Shores Anthologies. Find out more at www.judypenzsheluk.com
The Wickeds 
I enjoyed reading the openings of these short stories–thanks for sharing them. I can’t think of one book in particular with a great beginning, but I always thought Dick Francis was a master of drawing readers in FAST. The first pages of his books are masterpieces of straightforward, exciting storytelling.
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Kim, years ago I took a suspense class with Hallie. She used the opening of a Francis book to illustrate great suspense writing!
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Hi Kim, thanks for taking the time to comment. I loved Dick Francis and devoured all his books — I will admit I don’t really care for those now written by his son, Felix. But you’re right, he did have great beginnings. I think another author who has mastered that is John Sandford.
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Those are great openings, Judy! Thanks for bringing the new anthology to the blog.
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Thanks for having me Edith, thanks Sherry for doing the heavy lifting, and thanks to all the Wickeds. I love your blog and am a long time follower.
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Great openings. Looking forward to reading the anthology.
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Thank you Kait!
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Those are fabulous openings, Judy! I’m fond of the opening lines of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. They certainly set a tone!
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Thanks J.C. My mom loved Stephanie Plum. I stopped reading around book 12 or 13. I wonder if she ever picked Marino or Ranger. I seem to recall those were the names.
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Welcome back to the Wickeds, Judy! I learned two things while editing multi-author anthologies of crime stories. 1) It’s all about personal taste. My three fellow editors and I always agreed on the top stories and the quick rejections, but there was a wide swath of submissions in-between where our opinions were quite diverse. 2) It taught me a lot about rejection. We turned down a lot of great stories every year simply because they didn’t fit into the collection. Not every turn-down means you are a bad writer. In fact, it usually doesn’t.
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Thanks so much Barbara and you are absolutely correct. Some stories just don’t fit a collection or there is another of the same type (2 black cats or whathaveyou) and sometimes it even comes down to liking 2 stories equally but needing one more story at xx number of words.
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Great openings, Judy. Congrats on the new anthology!
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Thank you Liz!
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Thanks for pointing out my next three reads in your new anthology, Judy. All great openings. I just finished reading another novel in the C.J. Box Joe Pickett series and the opening line is: Wylie Frye was used to smelling of smoke and that was long before he became a criminal of sorts.
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Oh Wowza, that is a good opening! I have never read C.J. Box — of course I have heard the name but thought it might be more of a guy’s series??
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Love being included here! I felt really strongly about the opening of my piece, like I had it just the way I wanted it, and it set the tone for everything that was to come, but these others nailed, it, too – you just want to keep reading. I feel strongly about openings in stories, or novels. They can tell me a lot about the writer and the kind of style I’m in for if I read on. I remember one that hooked me was the first time I encountered James Crumley, in his novel, The Last Good Kiss:
“When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside of Sonoma, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon.”
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Big time thank you to the Wickeds for having Judy guest today.
An even bigger thank you to Judy, not only for including my short story in her anthology, but for highlighting it today. Much, much appreciated.
Kevin R. Tipple
https://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/
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I’m thrilled to be in such great storytelling company. Thank you Judy for highlighting my story — honestly, I can’t even remember now where that first line came from, but I do remember that the story sort of wrote itself from there — and that doesn’t happen all that often! Thank you to The Wickeds too for having Judy today.
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