Black Cat Weekly #220
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This issue, we feature the remarkable results of our first short story contest. We asked for submissions based around a painting by Ron Miller (featured on the cover), and we received more than a hundred entries, most of which were terrific. We had to make some painful choices to pare down the list, and we finally came up with a list of winners and runners-up. Here are the results:
FIRST PLACE
“Kat’s Ninth Life,” by Pam Barnsley
SECOND PLACE
“La Minette,” by Michael Gorman
THIRD PLACE (tie)
“Passport,” by Darren O. Godfrey
“The Case of the Impaled Artist,” by Wayne Carey
HONORABLE MENTION
Viviana De Cecco · Teel James Glenn · Nancy Hansen
Phyllis Ann Karr · donalee Moulton · Alan Orloff
Stephen D. Rogers · R.D. Simmons · Al Sirois
H.K. Slade · Janice Law · Elysia Whisler
This is, quite obviously, more than we fit into a typical issue of Black Cat Weekly—almost double, in fact—so we are splitting the stories up and running them in two issues. The second volume will appear in a couple of weeks with the remainder of the stories.
Rounding out this issue are a mystery novel by Swedish writer and journalist Julius Regis Petersson (1889–1925), who wrote as Julius Regis, and a solve-it-yourself puzzler by Hal Charles. Hal Charles has appeared in every issue since #1 so had to appear here, too!
This is the complete lineup—
All Artwork by Ron Miller
NOVEL
The Copper House, by Julius Regis
A strange metal house hides murder, rumor, and a reporter’s trap.
SOLVE-IT-YOURSELF MYSTERY
“The Unlocked Home Mystery,” by Hal Charles
Can you solve the mystery before the detective? All the clues are there!
SHORT STORIES
“Kat’s Ninth Life,” by Pam Barnsley
The director has a script. The lead actress has claws and a different plan.
“Passport,” by Darren O. Godfrey
A forbidden magazine becomes a portal to impossible worlds…
“Sea Turtles All Over Again,” by R.D. Simmons
A dashing sea yarn of cat pirates, bad choices—and homefront fury!
“Mystery of the Pirate Tigress,” by Stephen D. Rogers
A pirate, a password—and a puzzle worth millions.
“Catalina’s Storm,” by Elysia Whisler
On a storm-lashed bay, a brother hunts a collector of lost women…
“Captain Fluffy Sails Again!” by Alan Orloff
A swashbuckling tale of cats, dogs, and the ultimate pirate showdown!
“The Cat’s Last Cry,” by Viviana De Cecco
A threatening photo. A dead star. Can Detective Armandi find the killer?
“Starblood,” by A.L. Sirois
A grifter must help a cursed cat-woman steal from the Starblood…
Alan Orloff
Alan Orloff has published thirteen novels and more than sixty short stories. His work has won an Anthony, an Agatha, a Derringer, and two ITW Thriller Awards. He's also been a finalist for the Shamus Award and has had a story selected for The Best American Mystery Stories anthology. He loves cake and arugula, but not together. Never together. He lives and writes in South Florida, where the examples of hijinks are endless. www.alanorloff.com
More by Alan Orloff
Elysia Whisler
Elysia Whisler was raised in Texas, Italy, Alaska, Mississippi, Nebraska, Hawai'i and Virginia, in true military fashion. Her nomadic life has made storytelling a compulsion from a young age.
She doubles as a mother, a massage therapist and a CrossFit trainer and is dedicated to portraying strong women, both in life and in her works. She lives in Virginia with her family, including her large brood of cat and dog rescues, who vastly outnumber the humans.
More by Elysia Whisler
Steve Rogers
Steve Rogers is president of the Adrian Rogers Pastor Training Institute.
More by Steve Rogers
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