New Mystery Story Published!

My new story, "The Conflagration at the Nameless Cotton Gin" has just been published in the first anthology from the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Published by Untreed Reads and available in all formats.

Pre-order the paperback, or buy and download the e-book version HERE.

How to Cook Greens in the Crock Pot--A Recipe from Aunt Jewel--Slow Cooker Turnip Greens with Potlikker

Aunt Jewel is one of the spunky main characters in my "Nameless, Texas" fiction series. She's "somewhere between 50 and ancient," she says, and she loves to cook. And she loves to cook things she grew in her own garden. For Thanksgiving, she often makes a mess of greens to go alongside all the other traditional foods. I asked her if she'd share her family recipe for Crock-Pot greens here, and she said "OK, as long as you make sure those folks do 'em right."

So folks--do 'em right, OK? I'd hate for Aunt Jewel to get after me with her rolling pin.

Aunt Jewel’s Slow Cooker Turnip Greens with Potlikker 

(Published in Aunt Jewel & the Poisoned Potlikker)

 Like any good Southern recipe, this healthy one pot meal doesn't include precise measurements.  You make enough for your family, and have extras for leftovers.  Here are the ingredients I use to make a "mess" of greens.  I use a Corning Ware slow cooker, 10-quart size.  If you want to use a smaller size,just use less greens.

Greens 'n cornbread! The way it's meant to be

Fill the cooker with one large bag of pre-washed greens from the store OR enough fresh greens from your garden—well washed, of course. Get those snails out of there! Don't worry if they won't all fit.  Cram them on in. The lid will hold them down, and the greens will shrink and cook down over the course of the day.

Add 3 cups of organic chicken broth, either canned/boxed from the store (I use organic) or homemade. This is not a precise measurement; if you don't have enough, substitute water.

Pour in a big splash of good olive oil, and some chopped garlic cloves—as many as you can stand.  If desired, add some leftover ham or a small ham bone, bacon or pork fatback cut into small pieces.  This is not required, but does make a traditional "mess" of greens and really adds a lot of flavor and protein to the dish without using a lot of meat.

Add enough water so that the greens are moist. Gently toss the greens so that they're coated with the liquids. 

Replace the lid on the cooker. Have a glass of wine. (optional)

Cook the greens on HIGH for the first four hours, stirring occasionally, then reduce the temperature to LOW and let them cook until they are done—the longer the better. Traditionally, this means that they are cooked down into a very concentrated dish, with lots of lovely potlikker on the bottom.  Serve the greens in a bowl with plenty of the potlikker and serve with homemade cornbread.  Drink the remaining potlikker—that's where all the vitamins are hiding, and it's good for you!

Enjoy!

Aunt Jewel

New Cozy-Noir Anthology Out!

When Andrew MacRae of Darkhouse Books sent out his call for cozy-noir stories for their first published anthology, many of my short story author friends thought, what the heck? LOL. At first, I ignored it because that's not the kind of stuff I usually write. Then, as so many of these things do, it bored into my brain and sat there, and pulsated, and grew and I thought, hmmm, why not?

I did a bit of research. Got on Google and surfed around all the sites that discuss noir movies and novels and I realized how many of them are my favorites. I thought, well, maybe I can do this. For a challenge. For a few laughs. Hmmm. . .

Before long, I got a vision of a slinky dame---and of course, she was blonde. And buxom. And she was sitting on a bar stool in a smoky old Texas beer joint. "Well, HEY there, good lookin'!" I said. "What are YOU up to?"  

I frequently ask my characters what they're up to. You'd be surprised what they tell me.

Then little snippets of dialogue started running through my head.

One of these snippets of dialogue in particular turned into the first line of my finished story "Dead Dames Don't Wear Diamonds."

"I wonder how many damned fools have been led astray by a blue-eyed buxom blonde whispering the simple phrase through her blood-red lips -- "All you have to do is--  ""

The voice was of a male protagonist. Which was interesting, since I'd never written a story with a male POV before.  He gets into a bit of trouble. Of course, it's all the blonde's fault. LOL. I'm not sure how many people will recognize all the references to other noir books and movies I included in the story, but it was fun fitting them in.

I guess I pulled it off, because the story was accepted and published in the book along with others by authors Robert Lopresti, Deborah Auten, Judy Brownsword, Magdalena Jones, Herschel Cozine, L.E. Schwaller, Percy Spurlark Parker, Michael Guillebeau, Kate McCorkle, David Himmel, Lynn Kinnaman, Wenda Morrone and John Haas.

I'm pleased to be in this anthology for several reasons. One, it's my first published story in an anthology. Two, it's my first fiction story published in print (and e-book) by a small press and three, I'm in some great company.

The book is out now, for sale on Amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Anthology-Cozy-Noir-Mystery-stories/dp/0990842800

Take a look, read a sample. It's a good one.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.

Congratulations, Alice Munro, Nobel Prize Winner!

Dear friends,

Many authors were overjoyed to hear that Alice Munro has just won the Nobel Prize in Literature for her short stories.

First, we are glad because Alice is a woman.  We get excited any time a woman wins a big award in literature. :-)

And second, those of us who write short stories are especially glad because we hope it will bring about a "renaissance" of sorts in readers, and the publishing world.  Yes, there are people who read short stories (thank goodness!), but the general feeling is that people don't really know how many there are out there.

There are numerous on-line literary magazines that publish short stories (many free to read), and many genre stories, too.  No matter what kind of stories you like to read---whether they're horror, humor, nostalgia, memoir, mystery, romance, westerns, etc.---there are lots of new short stories being published these days.  You can buy them in anthologies (a group of stories written by different authors on a common theme), or in collections (stories written by the same author, sometimes on a theme), and as short e-book  singles on places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.

I love reading and writing short stories because they take me into a different world that I can visit for a short time.  They don't require a huge investment of time (well, writing does, but reading doesn't), and I can finish one while I'm waiting at the doctor's office, waiting for water to boil, during lunch, etc.

If it's been a long time since you've read a short story, why not try some new ones? Let's kindle a spark (heh heh) and get a whole short story renaissance started!

bobbi c.
Author of
mysterious tales--tall and short,
Lone Star Death, 1880s Texas murder mystery,
"Nameless, Texas" short story series
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http://amazon.com/author/bobbichukran

I read short stories. Lots of short stories. And learn something new from every one of them.

Dear friends,

Since I've decided to focus on writing short stories, I've been reading a lot.  Yesterday I made a trip to the library and came home with 13 collections of stories---some old, some new. Every time I read a short story, whether it's fantasy, science fiction, supernatural, mystery, crime---I learn something new. 

Last night I raced through most of the stories in Joe R. Lansdale's BUMPER CROP collection.  His short story "Chompers" was hilarious, twisty (and chilling), and reminded me of those old science fiction shows I used to watch on TV when I was a kid. It taught me that *anything* can be the subject of a short story. Joe is one of my favorite writers because he really GETS that East Texas thing---the language, mannerisms and quirks of the people who live there---and the settings in his stories live and breathe like characters. Each of his stories teaches me something new about writing.

Later, I read from a completely different collection, BLOOD LITE II: OVERBITE (edited by Kevin J. Anderson), humorous horror short stories by HWA members. The "Dead Clown Seance" story, by Christopher Welch, taught me that there's a place for ALL kinds of stories, no matter how crazy. Since my stories tend toward the comedic, I love seeing how horror and comedy can be combined.

I'm also a big fan of Henry Slesar, the author who penned many of the short stories that eventually became Alfred Hitchcock TV episodes. In HAUNTED AMERICA: Star-Spangled Supernatural Stories (selected by Marvin Kaye), I read "The Return of the Moresbys" which was fun and twisty (Slesar was a king of the twisty story). From it, I learned that a crime story can be funny, ironic, and based on an interesting idea like transmigration (where the soul passes from one body or being to another at death).

Reading these stories confirmed to me that there's a place for humor in mysteries and horror and that any subject can be turned into a great short story. And not only that, but after reading these, so many new ideas for stories came to me. 

I hope that you'll take time to read some short stories.  The cool thing about short stories?  They're short.  LOL.  They don't take a lot of time to read, can be inhaled on a break, or during lunch, or right before bed just before dozing off. There are many authors these days writing lots of excellent short stories--seek them out, read them.  And have fun!

Mysteriously yours,

bobbi c.

Flash fiction, anyone?

Dear friends,

I'm not sure why, but the older I get, the more frustrated I get with long books or stories.  Maybe it's because of all the blogging I do, or because I'm so busy that by the time I get a chance to sit down and read, I'm exhausted and can't stay awake!

Recently, I've realized that my best work tends to be short--both my plays and my stories.  I discovered *flash fiction* a few years ago, have just discovered *flash memoirs* and have to say that I'm really excited about some of the stuff I'm reading out there.

I have had two short flash stories published online, at the Clockwise Cat blog.  Check 'em out, HERE. The editor called them "absurd" fiction, which I found interesting.  I call it quirky-strange fiction, maybe even a bit macabre.  OK with me!  LOL.

Here's a short garden story I wrote.  Actually, I guess it's a "flash memoir" because it really did happen.  Hope you enjoy reading "Help!  Mantis Attack!"

I love taking a snippet of conversation, an observation about a quirky character I see, or an idea, and running with it.  I had one of these flashes of inspiration yesterday while sitting in the garden, dripping with sweat, covered with mud, listening to the chaos from a house down the street from us.  Seems they decided to cut down a pecan tree.  That idea, coupled with a chance comment a friend of mine made last week, turned into the draft of a short story that I hope will be a good one.  If not good, then at least amusing. :-)

As I practice writing flash/short fiction, I look around the 'net for great examples of other stories.  I learn more by reading fiction by others than I ever have from how-to books.  (I'm still trying to find the ultimate how-to-write-flash-genre-fiction book.  So far, no luck.)

This morning I ran into the new (to me) WIGLEAF website that focuses on  (very) short fiction.  Lots of good stuff there and great artwork, too.

If you have never read any flash fiction, I suggest you "do a Google" for "flash fiction stories" and go from there.  There are thousands of great short stories online for you to read--for FREE!  AND great collections of them for sale inexpensively on Amazon.com.

Happy trails,

bobbi c.