The Authors of Low Down Dirty Vote
Volume III: The Color of My Vote
Twenty-two authors contributed stories this year, and we're raising $10,000 for Democracy Docket to use in their work to defend voting rights in America today.
ANSHRITHA views the world through a lens of fiction. She feels a strong surge of affection towards anyone who gets her name right on the rst try. Her experience with storytelling began when she was five and was asked where the box of chocolates disappeared. She spends more hours than she'd like to admit daydreaming about the lives of both real and imagined people, while often forgetting all about the empty pan left on the stove. The clique of pans haven't forgotten, six of them have been disfigured beyond recognition as of 2021. If you ever happen to catch someone in the middle of a heart-to-heart conversation with a pack of dogs or scribbling her way through life, there's an excellent chance that someone is her. This is her rst foray into short fiction and all of her ten fingers are crossed tight.
ERIC BEETNER is that writer you’ve heard about but never read. Then when you finally do you wonder why you waited so long. There are over 25 books and more than 100 short stories so you'd better get started. Books like Rumrunners, All The Way Down, Two In The Head, and The Devil Doesn’t Want Me. He also hosted the podcast Writer Types and hosts the Noir at the Bar reading series in L.A.. He’s been described as “The 21st Century’s answer to Jim Thompson” (LitReactor). He’s been nominated for three Anthony’s, an ITW award, Shamus, Derringer and 6 Emmys. Seriously, what are you waiting for? https://www.ericbeetner.com
STEPHEN BUEHLER’s short fiction has been published in numerous on-line publications. His short story, “Not My Day” was a Derringer Finalist. His short story, “Girl of 100 Lists” appeared in Murder-a-Go-Go’s, an anthology dedicated to songs by the Go-Go’s. He had a story in Low Down Dirty Vote Vol. 2, “Nicking Votes,” also about a con man. He is currently working on a thriller, If the Gumshoe Fits. By day, he’s a script consultant and magician. He lives with a cute dog named Seymour. https://www.stephenbuehler.com
PATRICIA E. (Pat) CANTERBURY is a native Sacramentan, political scientist, art collector, retired state administrator, author of seven novels and a world traveler. One of her young adult novels won an Honorable Mention at the 2019 NCPA Awards. Her short stories have appeared in over 30 anthologies, including the 2018 Bram Stoker finalist, "Sycorax’s Daughters." Tanner Sullivan, her P.I. appearing in this anthology, has been in six other anthologies. Pat and her very active cat live in Sacramento. http://www.patmyst.com
SARAH M. CHEN has published a children’s book and numerous short stories, one of which won a Derringer Award. Her noir novella, Cleaning Up Finn, was an Anthony finalist and IPPY Award winner. She was a co-editor for several anthologies, including the latest from Sisters in Crime / Los Angeles, Avenging Angelenos. She’s written for the Los Angeles Review of Books, Hapa Mag, and Wellbeing, among others. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @sarahmchen. https://sarahmchen.com
DAVID CORBETT is the author of six novels, including The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday, nominated for the Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery. His work has been nominated for Edgar, Anthony, Barry, Shamus, and Spinetingler Awards, and his second novel, Done for a Dime, was a New York Times Notable Book; Patrick Anderson of the Washington Post described it as “one of the three or four best crime novels I have ever read.” Corbett’s short fiction has twice been selected for Best American Mystery Stories, and a collaborative novel for which he contributed a chapter will be adapted for TV by the producers of Killing Eve for Disney+ in the U.K. His non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times, Narrative, Writer’s Digest and other outlets. He has written two writing guides, The Art of Character (“A writer’s bible” – Elizabeth Brundage) and The Compass of Character; he has taught at the UCLA Writer’s Program, Litreactor, and at writing conferences across North America; and he is a monthly contributor to Writer Unboxed, an award-winning blog dedicated to the craft and business of fiction. https://davidcorbett.com
JACKIE ROSS FLAUM, avid water aerobics swimmer, amateur jewelry-maker and award-winning eclectic writer, began as a reporter for The Hartford Courant in Hartford, Ct. After moving to Memphis and abandoning reality for fiction, she tested several flavors of writing—chic lit, mystery, suspense, crime—and has short stories published in all genres. She is a contributor to Low Down Dirty Vote Volume 2. To her shock, her first novel of romance and racial justice in the South is considered historical fiction since it’s set in the 1960s. Justice Tomorrow introduces investigators Madeline Sterling and Socrates Gray, who are also featured in a short story published in Now There Was A Story: A Musical Crime Anthology. The sequel to her novel, Price of a Future is due out soon. She is happily married with two daughters, five grandchildren, and one disobedient dog. Currently she is vice-president of Malice in Memphis a Killer Writing Group. https://www.jrflaum.com
KATHARINA GERLACH, commonly known as Cat, was raised in the middle of a forest in Germany where she and her three brothers roamed and dreamed. But even tomboys grow up, and therefore she got an education, programmed a forest growth simulator, and returned to the love of her life, her now-husband, with a rather useless PhD in science and the head filled with strange facts about our world. When her best friend unearthed a box of historical documents about her family that reached as far back as the 15th century, Cat wrote two historical novels. During that time, her dream child landed in her little family, followed by two beloved foster children with special needs. So she put aside all aspirations of ever working as a forester and focused on raising her children and writing the best books she’s capable of. By now she’s dabbled in several genres, mainly Fantasy (fairy tale retellings), SciFi, and Historical Stories. https://www.katharinagerlach.com and https://www.facebook.com/KatharinaGerlach.Autorin
BARB GOFFMAN is a short story writer and freelance crime-fiction editor. She’s won the Agatha Award twice, as well as the Macavity Award, Silver Falchion Award, and 2020 Readers Award given by Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. She’s been nominated for major crime-writing awards thirty-five times for her short stories, including sixteen Agatha Award nominations (a category record), and multiple nominations for the Anthony, Derringer, and Macavity awards. In addition to EQMM, her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, and many anthologies. Barb blogs at www.SleuthSayers.org, often about writing. Her editing clients have taken home the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, the Derringer Award, and the EQMM Readers Award. Barb lives with her dog in Virginia, where they often hear fireworks and wish they didn’t. http://www.barbgoffman.com
DAVID HAGERTY is the author of the Duncan Cochrane mystery series, which chronicles crime and dirty politics in Chicago during his childhood. Real events inspired all four novels, including the murder of a politician’s daughter six weeks before election day (They Tell Me You Are Wicked), a series of sniper killings in the city’s most notorious housing project (They Tell Me You Are Crooked), the Tylenol poisonings (They Tell Me You Are Brutal), and the false convictions of ten men on Illinois’ death row (They Tell Me You Are Cunning). Like all his books, David is inspired by efforts to right criminal injustice. https://davidhagerty.net
JAMES MCCRONE is the author of the Faithless Elector series—Faithless Elector, Dark Network, and Emergency Powers. Known for memorable, conflicted characters, he’s drawn particularly to writing about politics and corruption. His most recent short stories have featured in Low Down Dirty Vote, vol. 2, Retreats from Oblivion: The Journal of NoirCon and Rock and a Hard Place. His next book, Bastard Verdict, is a noir political thriller set in Scotland, about an upcoming vote on independence. He’s a member of MWA, Int’l Assoc. of Crime Writers, Int’l Thriller Writers, Philadelphia Dramatists; and he’s the newly elected vice-president of the Delaware Valley Sisters in Crime chapter. James has an MFA from the University of Washington. A Pacific Northwest native (mostly), he lives in South Philadelphia. http://www.jamesmccrone.com
CAMILLE MINICHINO received her Ph.D. in physics from Fordham University, New York City. She is currently on the faculty of Golden Gate University, San Francisco and teaches writing throughout the Bay Area. Camille is Past President and a member of NorCal Mystery Writers of America, NorCal Sisters in Crime, and the California Writers Club. Camille has written more than 25 mystery novels. www.minichino.com
ANN PARKER is a science writer by day and fiction writer at night. Her award-winning Silver Rush mystery series, published by Poisoned Pen Press (a Sourcebooks imprint), is set primarily in 1880s Colorado, and more recently in San Francisco, California, the “Paris of the West.” The series was named a Booksellers Favorite by the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association. The Secret in the Wall is the eighth and newest in the series. https://annparker.net
THOMAS PLUCK has slung hash, worked on the docks, trained in martial arts in Japan, and even swept the Guggenheim museum (but not as part of a clever heist). He is the author of several other Joey Cucuzza stories, which you can nd via his website. His latest novel is The Boy from County Hell, which Joe R. Lansdale called “as wild as a night in a cage with an amorous monkey,” Blade of Dishonor, which MysteryPeople called “the Raiders of the Lost Ark of pulp paperbacks,” and the Anthony-nominated crime thriller, Bad Boy Boogie. Joyce Carol Oates calls him a “lovely kitty man.” https://thomaspluck.com
MIGUEL ALFONSO RAMOS lives on the West coast, is a librarian, reads widely and voraciously. He is a musician and has played in several bands, from mariachi to punk rock and bluegrass. He loves to climb mountains, jump into oceans, and ride his motorcycle at night. He writes SF, fantasy, horror and poetry, and is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop. He is Hispanic, Wyandotte and Chinese, plays chess and D&D, and watches lots of movies. His story “The Cave” was recently published in the anthology Winter Wonders.
EMBER RANDALL is a senior software engineer who specializes in user-centered design and accessibility. They got into tech to make the world a better place, which happens to be the same reason why they write – if their stories or the products they work on make at least one person happy, they count it as a success. In their free time, they enjoy reading, running, hiking, and generally exploring the outdoors, as well as creating new tales via larping. Their stories have been published by Cast of Wonders, Zombies Need Brains, and other venues. http://www.emberrandall.com
TRAVIS RICHARDSON has won a Derringer Award for flash fiction and has been a nominee for the Macavity and Anthony short story awards. He has a collection of short stories, Bloodshot and Bruised as well as two novellas, Lost in Clover and Keeping the Record. His stories have been published in crime fiction publications such as Thuglit, Shotgun Honey, Flash Fiction Offensive, and numerous anthologies like Low Down Dirty Vote I & II and The Obama Inheritance. He is currently the president of the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America. A few years back, he reviewed Anton Chekhov short stories at http://www.chekhovshorts.com/. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. http://www.tsrichardson.com
MISTY SOL is a writer, visual artist, and performer from small-town Pennsylvania who creates art that explores Black people’s connections to nature, wellness, and speculation. Her paintings, stories and eco practice are heavily influenced by Black history. Currently Misty has work on display at the Colored Girls Museum in Philadelphia. Her works have also been exhibited at the Wol ound Studio in the Zou B. Art Gallery in Chicago, Burlington College, Headlong Theatre, The Moore College of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Bartram's Gardens. In 2017, Misty Sol received the Leeway Transformation award, for her commitment to socially engaged art. Misty Sol has a BA in Literature from Penn State University Park and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from Goddard College. Her writing has been published in the anthology From Where They Sit: Black Writers Write Black Youth. Also the magazine Philadelphia Stories, https://philadelphiaprintworks.com/blogs/zine and https://shortedition.com. Misty currently resides in Philadelphia.
FAYE SNOWDEN is the author of noir mysteries, poems and short stories. Her novels include Spiral of Guilt, The Savior, Fatal Justice, and A Killing Fire, a dark, southern gothic tale featuring homicide detective Raven Burns. A Killing Fire is first in a four-part series. The sequel, A Killing Rain, will be released in June, 2022. Faye has a master’s in English Literature. She has been awarded writing fellowships from Djerassi and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her short story "One Bullet. One Vote." was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021 edited by Steph Cha and Alafair Burke. She is a member of Crime Writers of Color (CWOC), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), and Sisters in Crime (SinC) where she serves as Board Secretary for SinC National. She has participated in many writing panels, appeared as a guest lecturer in several university writing classes, and taught information technology courses at the university level. Today, Faye works and writes from her home in Northern California. https://www.fayesnowden.com
DJ TYRER is the person behind Atlantean Publishing, was placed second in the Writing Magazine ‘Mid-Story Sentence’ competition, and has been widely published in anthologies and magazines around the world, such as Disturbance (Laurel Highlands), History and Mystery, Oh My! (Mystery & Horror LLC), Love ’Em, Shoot ’Em (Wolfsinger), and Marked By Scorn (Solarwyrm Press), issues of Awesome Tales, Belmont Story Review, Startling Stories, and Tigershark, as well as having a novella available in paperback and on the Kindle, The Yellow House (Dunhams Manor). https://djtyrer.blogspot.co.uk/
GABRIEL VALJAN is the author of the Roma Series, The Company Files, and the Shane Cleary Mysteries. He has been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, Silver Falchion Awards, and received the 2021 Macavity Award for Best Short Story. He lives in Boston. https://gabrielvaljan.com
BEV VINCENT is the author of The Road to the Dark Tower and The Stephen King Illustrated Companion, as well as over 100 short stories, including appearances in Low Down Dirty Vote, Volume 2, Ellery Queen’s, Alfred Hitchcock’s and Black Cat Mystery Magazines, and Cemetery Dance. His work has been published in twenty languages and nominated for the Stoker (twice), Edgar, Ignotus and ITW Thriller Awards. In 2018, he co-edited the anthology Flight or Fright with Stephen King. Other recent publications include his noir whodunit crime novella The Ogilvy Affair and the novella "The Dead of Winter," which can be found in Dissonant Harmonies. http://bevvincent.com