At SleuthSayers, as part of a short series about mystery writers writing for non-mystery publications, my wife Tara Laskowski takes a contrasting view: as a writer primarily working in literary circles but also finding some success in mystery magazines. I’m pleased to host her guest post, taking my slot in the SleuthSayers rotation.
Here’s an excerpt from Tara’s essay:
While I’ve had a few stories published in crime magazines and anthologies, they were never stories I had intentionally written for those audiences. I am, for the most part, considered a literary writer, and most of the publications I have on my resume are in literary and general fiction journals, books, and magazines. My stories tend to hover on the themes of family, friendships, and women’s issues. I write and edit flash fiction, which is often experimental and focused on language and rhythm over plot—closer to poetry in some ways.
But I also love the dark side. I grew up reading Nancy Drew and The Three Investigators and Stephen King’s novels and stories. I was born on Halloween and am obsessed with horror movies. I love a good scare, a good creep-out, a wicked villain….
Read the full essay here.