March 22nd Update

The Carny Murders is finished.

It leans toward horror noir, so it’s less rigorous than the detective stories, but that was always my intention. I knew this would stand out, both stylistically and thematically. It was a lot of fun to write–there’s not a single character to root for. I have absolutely no idea how readers will react. That’s why I might put it as the last story in the book.

Here’s the latest blurb:

The Hargrove Carnival comes alive after dark.

Under the lantern glow, the midway hums with laughter, cheap whiskey, and easy lies. The performers know the rules—keep the show running, keep the money coming, and never look too closely at what happens between the tents.

Because people drift in this business.

They always have.

But when workers begin vanishing without warning—leaving behind their clothes, their pay, their lives—the cracks start to show. A body turns up. Its face is gone. And the explanation everyone wants to believe—a madman in the night—doesn’t quite hold.

Not here.

Not where every act is built on deception.

As suspicion spreads through the lot, loyalties twist, alibis crumble, and the line between performance and reality begins to rot away. Because at Hargrove Carnival, everyone is pretending to be something they’re not.

And someone is very, very good at it.

Here’s the line-up with current word count:

1. Killer Pete — 16,373
2. Madmen Prefer Blondes — 20566
3. Red River — 27215
4. The Carny Murders — 20995

That means this collection is already nearly 3000 words more than It’s About Impossible Crime even though that book had 5 stories.

So…do I release a collection with 4 stories? I don’t know. This is the first time in the process when I don’t have a story idea ready to go. It’s tempting to call it a day. I still have to go through these four and give them another round of editing. Maybe I should do that now and give myself time for another idea to percolate. Or maybe I should just stare at a blank page for a couple of weeks until something comes to me.

There’s also the title for the collection and the cover. Basically, a shitload of work left to do. And that’s life, right? There’s always more. It never ends. Until it does. And then you don’t have to worry about it ever again. I’ll be back next month to let you know how it’s going.