A couple months into quarantine, I decided to write a few short stories, which is something I haven’t done in about twelve years. I wrote this particular story with ‘Noir @ the Bar’ in mind. If you don’t know what that is, N@tB is a “literary” event where a random group of crime writers get together at a bar in some pre-determined city and read their stories to each other (and anyone else who happens to be there) while drinking heavily. It’s always a good time, and I’ve done enough of them over the years to have a pretty good idea what type of story works best in this setting. 

Hint: The more absurd, ridiculous, or funny the better. 

Since another N@tB won’t be happening any time soon, I decided to send this one out into the real world and see what sober people thought of it. The story is called ‘Eddie Loves Animals’, and while I’m not sure it can be called funny, it is definitely absurd and probably a little ridiculous. And if Noir is characterized by fatalistic and cynical people living morally ambiguous lives, then this might be the most noir story I’ve ever written. 

You can find it at TOUGH:

Eddie Loves Animals

A quick note on the indie scene: Almost every Crime or Horror writer I know got their start writing short stories and sending them to indie magazines and anthologies, both online and in print. These “for the love” markets are an essential training ground for a lot of writers who are trying to learn their craft and build a bio, and the people who run these magazines, and who take time out of their lives to wade through mountains of hopeful submissions, almost always do it on a shoestring budget while working full time, raising families, going to school, etc. And if I think back to the quality of stories I sent in when I first started out, it’s probably safe to say that most of what these editors have to read through and reject in order to find the good stuff is... not the best. 

All of the old markets I published in when I started are long gone, but there’s a new (to me at least) crop of magazines out there that are still fighting the good fight and giving new writers places to publish their stories. Places like Pulp Modern, Rock and a Hard Place, Switchblade, Shotgun Honey, Hoosier Noir, Beat to a Pulp, Noir Nation, and several others, are all doing good work. TOUGH is one of the best of them, so if you decide to read my story, I ask that you take some time to explore the archive, and maybe look into some of the other places I listed. There are hidden gems in the indie scene that don’t get nearly enough attention, so if you come across something you like, leave a comment and let them know. I promise it’ll make their day. 

Finally, thanks to Rusty and Tim at TOUGH for allowing me to lower the seriousness of their site for a little while. 

Until next time…

JR