DARK VOYAGE

I have two blogs: that gluten-free one, which has been around for more than two years, and this shiny new one. My aim is to keep their subjects separate, which shouldn’t be hard, since one is about gluten-free food and the other is about crime. How much could they possibly have in common?

More than you’d think, it turns out. Crime writer BV Lawson is also on a gluten-free diet, and she gave me a great interview that went up on the Gluten-Free Guidebook yesterday. That got me thinking about how much crossover there is between the two worlds. Several crime writers — Laura K. Curtis, Kathy Ryan and Chris La Tray immediately come to mind — have sent me information about gluten-free restaurants, recipes, and health news. Janet Rudolph, who runs a criminal enterprise that includes Mystery Readers Journal and the Dying for Chocolate blog, frequently publishes great gluten-free recipes. On the other side of the equation, it turns out that some of my gluten-free friends are crime-fiction fiends. Who knew?

A year ago, when I started using Twitter, a friend in media advised me to set up two or even three accounts. Her reasoning was that since I write about such a variety of topics, each would get a very different audience. I considered her suggestion but doubted my ability to keep up more than one account. Now I’m glad I didn’t. I love that disparate crowds are mingling. If I could invite them all to a cocktail party, I would. Not that any of them would show up… you know why.

Yesterday, I found out that “Insatiable“ won the 2010 Spinetingler Award for Best Short Story. While I’m still more than a little shocked, I am incredibly grateful for all of the support my story has received. The Spinetingler Awards are voted on by the public via electronic ballot, and it’s an honor to have so many mystery, crime, and noir fans pick “Insatiable” as their favorite… especially given the incredible list of other writers nominated in that category. Thank you!

I also want to say a special thanks to David Cranmer and Elaine Ash. They’re the editors of Beat to a Pulp, which published “Insatiable” in September 2009. Less than 24 hours after I submitted the story for their consideration, David shot back an emphatic Yes. Not only did they publish the story, but David interviewed me for his blog as well. David and Elaine have been wonderful supporters of my work — as they’ve been for many other writers — and I’m grateful that they gave “Insatiable” such a good home. David’s incredibly kind post about the Spinetingler Award was a sweet reminder of how lovely they are to work with.

There are a few other people who need to be mentioned, too. One is Keith Rawson, who reviewed my story for his “Short Thoughts on Short Fiction” column in the BSC Review. Keith’s enthusiastic comments brought “Insatiable” a great deal of notice, and made a wider audience take note of the story. Another is Sandra Seamans, who named “Insatiable” one of the Top 10 stories she’d read in 2009. (Sandra’s own wonderful “Survival Instincts” was nominated for a Spinetingler Award, too.) Also, a special shout-out to my friend Kathy Ryan, who strong-armed countless people into reading “Insatiable” (she’s an ex-cop and she’s fierce!). A huge, heartfelt thanks to all of you.