I’m pleased to have Craig Boyack with me today. He is here to discuss a new anthology project in which he participated. Most of you know Craig and his entertaining books and now he has joined seven other authors to bring a variety of stories to their readers. So Craig, tell us about it.
Thanks for having me back again, John. I’m here to talk about a project I got involved in during the early Spring. I was asked to submit a story to a murder anthology. I was approached, because they wanted to include a science fiction author.
I write across a broad spectrum of speculative fields, but I’m no stranger to science fiction, so I accepted. The problem was, I was right in the middle of drafting two novels that I wanted published this year. There was a bit of a time crunch.
Jason Fogg to the rescue:
I happened to have a pre-existing character who could fit the bill. Science fiction is so broad that I didn’t have to place it in outer space or get involved with time travel. If you squint and turn your head, Jason might qualify as a superhero.
Jason has been with me for a long time. He made an appearance in an old trunk novel that will never see the light of day, but he had a different name back then.
He is the result of a science fiction accident. The nutshell version is while he was working to string the high-tension power lines in the Pacific Northwest, a piece of space debris crashed back to Earth. It clipped the wire Jason was working on, and just like when lightning strikes, something traveled along the cable and blasted him into oblivion.
The Pacific Northwest is stormy, cloudy, foggy. The accident evaporated him. He drifted for years until he was able to reform. Now he has the ability to “fog out” at will, but there are limitations. When he does, it’s just him. No clothes, no hair products, not even aftershave. This poses a problem for when he reconstitutes.
I did a quick count, and Jason has appeared in more stories than any other character I’ve written. (At the time of this writing.) Over time, he became a private detective. His abilities allow him to slip into places and through cracks and do quite a bit of snooping around. Sometimes he relies too much on this, and ignores some of the basics of detective work.
Jason even works well in the short form. I’ve published his tales a couple of times as short stories in my own collections. Science fiction (check), mystery (check), murder (Why not?).
Jason Fogg is on the case. Can this private detective run interference for a client accused of murder?
The anthology is called Murder They Wrote. It involves seven different authors dealing with murder in the short form. I’m proud to be included among them, and would appreciate if your fans would check it out.
Cover Blurb: Murder comes in 7 different genres. By 7 different authors. Are you a fan of courtroom drama? In the anthology’s first story, Abraham Lincoln defends a friend’s son against a charge of murder. For lovers of speculative fiction, Jason Fogg dissolves into mist to sneak through open windows and snoop for clues. How about a cozy? Jazzi, Jerod, and Ansel discover a dead body while renovating a kitchen, dining room, and half bath. Have a craving for a Regency? Lord Peregrine and his wife, Elizabeth, use their sharp minds and quick wit to solve a murder at a garden party. Need a bit of literary fiction? A young, lonely widow must deal with the theft of a valuable butterfly collection. And what about a little psychological horror? Twin sisters discover that their attic is haunted by not one, but two ghosts. Last, but never least, the anthology concludes with a historical mystery. A young, newly married knight is accused of murdering his obnoxious host at a holiday gathering in his castle.
Pick up your copy of Murder They Wrote.
You can contact Craig at the following locations:
