This Time For Sure @HankPRyan

LUCY BURDETTE: Among the casualties of the current surge in Covid cases in Louisiana was the Bouchercon mystery conference. So many people work so hard to put on a conference of this size, and so many authors and readers had planned to attend--we all felt sad when it had to be cancelled. Our own Hank had been chosen as the editor of the official Bouchercon anthology of stories, with all proceeds from sales designated for the New Orleans library. She chose the theme of second chances. Naturally, most of the sales would have happened at the conference, so we felt really glum. But now the anthology is available and we asked a few of the stellar writers who appear in it to tell us something about how they took off on the second chances theme. I cannot wait to read all the stories! 

Gabriel Valjan on Burnt Ends: The 1987 film Angel Heart, which was an adaptation of William Hjortsberg’s 1978 novel Falling Angel, haunted me, so much so that when I had read Hank’s call and the theme of ‘second chances,’ I knew I wanted to write an atmospheric story that would leave the reader, I daresay, unsettled. I wanted to convey a New Orleans in high swelter, on the verge of a reckoning. “Burnt Ends” is a noirish tale about unfinished business. History is what comes between two men. First, there is a world war and then a pandemic. The HOW and WHY I hope readers enjoy with a Sazerac, NOLA’s official cocktail.

Charles Todd: One of the great things about Bouchercon is the anthology, which is always a fundraiser for a good cause. And this year's is awesome. Thanks to Hank and her team! We can say one thing about our own story--we had such fun writing it. Wait till you see some of the characters Rutledge meets--only in a short story could we get away with testing him like this. Does everyone deserve a second chance? Even a murderer? Hmmmmm. 

Elisabeth Elo on The Unappreciated Wife: As her husband lay dying, Polly Clancy finds herself on the verge of widowhood—and a second chance at happiness. After thirty-seven years playing dutiful second fiddle to an ambitious and demanding husband, she will finally be able to make her own choices and pursue her own interests. So it comes as a shock to find out, quite by accident, that her dream will actually not materialize, at least not in the way she imagined it. Now Polly must finally face herself. What does she really want, and what is she willing to do to get it? 

Alexia Gordon on Love’s Labor: I was living in Newport, Rhode Island when I wrote this story, “virtually in-residence” as a student at the US Naval War College. My classmates and I had all relocated to Newport, excited to study at this prestigious school, founded in 1884 as the staff college for the United States Navy, only to learn that our entire academic experience would be conducted via Zoom. We felt cheated. I wanted a do-over, a second chance to experience all that the Naval War College had to offer. My mood was often as dark as Aquidneck Island’s fog is thick. I’d wander around Newport, a city that dates to 1639, to cheer myself up. I spent a lot of time by the harbor, imagining what Newport must have looked like in its 18th century heyday as a major trade center, filled with ships and rum distilleries and enough people to make it the 9th largest Colonial city. One day, instead of imaginary ships, I saw real teenagers daring each other to jump from the causeway between Newport and Goat Island into the harbor. Their target was a narrow strip of water between the causeway and a pier. Being an old fuddy-duddy and not an invincible teen, my first thought was “Do your parents know what you’re up to? One of you kids is going to whack your head on the pier, and then what?” My next thought was, “And then what? What if a loved one died because of a stupid stunt and you carried that resentment around for years, what would you do?” Love’s Labor was the answer to that question.

Lucy Burdette on Married Seeking Married: About thirteen years ago, I was waiting for my latte in a local coffee shop and spotted this on the cork board nearby: Married Seeking Married. Attractive, safe man (and with honorable reasons!) looking for companion for friendship and intimacy. Oh my gosh, someday this was going to make a doozy of a story, I thought as I pocketed the card. When Hank mentioned the theme for this anthology, I knew the moment had come. Angry divorces, second chances, FantasyFest in Key West with a fairy tale theme--this was a blast to write!

And now a question for Hank: Tell us about the theme and what you were expecting, and how that compared to what turned up in your inbox.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: This is so exciting! And I cannot wait for you all to read this. Here’s the scoop. Last...April? I got a call from the powers that be at Bouchercon--and figured they were setting up a signing for HER PERFECT LIFE and I was delighted to agree. But that was not why they were calling! When they asked me to edit this year’s anthology, I almost fell off my chair, and then of course, with much delight said yes.

All you have to do, they said, is come up with the theme and title, invite authors to participate and get them to say yes and set a deadline for the stories and edit them and organize them and write an introduction and the cover copy and coordinate the promotion. 

Sure, I said. (Having no idea. :-))   

But a few inner workings. I wanted to make sure the collection encouraged and included all authors--so we decided to have a huge widespread call for submissions. We fervently encouraged writers in all stages of their writing lives to submit, and especially encouraged those who had never been in an anthology before. Bouchercon recruited six judges (who we are keeping anonymous) to read the hundreds--I mean hundreds!--of stories that came in. All the submissions were anonymized, so no one knew who had written them.

Meanwhile, all of the New Orleans guests of honor were invited to write a story, and I was also allowed to ask some people who I thought might write terrific stories. I can tell you--they are all amazing! Craig Johnson’s story will break your heart. David Heska Wanbli Weiden--so incredible. Karen Dionne reveals the untold history of the Marsh King’s Daughter. And Alexia Gordon writes a darkly hilarious podcast. And more. 

FInally, the judges--who are definitely saints!--sent me 30 or so still-anonymized stories. I read them, and chose 12.  Out of all those submissions! AndI had NO idea who wrote them. And one of the joys of my life was when I was told who the authors were. People I had never heard of, hurray! First time short-story writers, hurray! Friends--like Gabriel Valjan and Martha Reed and Clair Lamb--hurray! Oh, it brings tears to my eyes.  Can you imagine how much fun it was to see that?  

 It’s called This Time For Sure--which was initially because it was the second Bouchercon in New Orleans. But now, it’s turned out to be a much more ironic title than any of us had imagined.

All the profits go to the New Orleans public library.  They get help from us, you get a terrific book. Please do not miss this--it’s a limited edition, and soon to be a collector’s item. Until we run out, each book will have signed bookplates from some of the authors.  And when the books are gone, they’re gone.

We have one copy of THIS TIME FOR SURE to give away today, but grab your copy here before they're gone!