Release
It's been almost two years since my novelette "Girl of Great Price" was accepted for publication, and I'm so glad I can finally announce the release date. The Malfeasance Occasional: Girl Trouble will be out September 24th courtesy of St. Martin's Press, and you can pre-order it now from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Halfway through Write1Sub1 in 2011, I subbed "Girl of Great Price" to one of the best-paying venues around, Criminal Element, assuming I'd receive a form letter rejection in two months, tops. Instead, I received an email from Claire Eddy (TOR Books) informing me that she was my editor on this project. After I picked myself up off the floor, I went to work, and following a couple revisions, my story was accepted to appear in the Girl Trouble anthology.
But I wasn't through with the protagonist, Charlie Madison. Once I'd envisioned his gritty, future noir world, I knew I'd be returning. By the end of that year, I'd written two additional novelettes, hoping Criminal Element would be interested in a serialized run. Alas, they were not, but Musa Publishing snatched up both stories after I combined them into a stand-alone novella: Immaterial Evidence, my longest published work to date.
As it turned out, Immaterial Evidence, the sequel, was published first (back in May). So now "Girl of Great Price," the first story in this series, will serve as a prequel of sorts, introducing readers to Charlie Madison and showing how he ends up in hot water with the Russian mob.
Regardless, I'm super stoked to be included in Criminal Element's inaugural issue, and I hope you enjoy all the stories in this collection. More hoopla forthcoming as we get closer to the 24th...so stay tuned.