Winter Mysteries

by Jason A. Adams, Guest Author, Joslyn Chase, Leah R Cutter, Diana Deverell, David H. Hendrickson, Robert Jeschonek, Kari Kilgore, Cate Martin, Annie Reed

Winter time reminds readers of the holidays, getting together with family, and frequently, cold snowy weather.

All that “cheer” can drive people to murder, though.

What other mysteries occur in the winter? The wonderful syndicate of MCM answers that question.

With stories from guest authors Nick Andreychuk and Dayle A. Dermatis.

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About the Authors

Jason A. Adams

Jason A. Adams writes across the spectrum. His stories include science fiction, fantasy, horror, Appalachian folk tales, and even a little romance here and there.

You can find more of his work and sign up for updates from his Brain Squirrels at www.jasonadams.info, and in the pages of Pulphouse Magazine, most recently in issue #9. His stories have also appeared in the 2019 Winter Holiday Spectacular from WMG Publishing. Several more stories will appear in upcoming issues of Pulphouse Magazine and Holiday Spectaculars, so stay tuned!

Jason, a recovering Air Force brat who grew up all over the US and Japan, now perches in the mountains of Southwest Virginia with his beautiful wife Kari Kilgore, four spoiled cats, and assorted wild visitors from the nearby forest.


Guest Author

From time to time, MCM will invite guest authors! Check out the individual issues to read more about that issue's guest.


Joslyn Chase

Joslyn Chase is a prize-winning author of mysteries and thrillers. Any day where she can send readers to the edge of their seats, chewing their fingernails to the nub and prickling with suspense, is a good day in her book.

Joslyn's love for travel has led her to ride camels through the Nubian desert, fend off monkeys on the Rock of Gibraltar, and hike the Bavarian Alps. But she still believes that sometimes the best adventures come in getting the words on the page and in the thrill of reading a great story.

Joslyn believes in the power of story, and writes a blog on the subject which you can find at joslynchase.com. Join the growing group of readers who’ve discovered the thrill of Chase when you sign up, and get access to updates and bonuses.

Connect with Joslyn at https://www.facebook.com/StoryChase/ and visit the Joslyn Chase YouTube channel to see trailers for many of her books.


Leah R Cutter

Leah Cutter writes page-turning, wildly imaginative fiction set in exotic locations, such as a magical New Orleans, the ancient Orient, rural Kentucky, Seattle, Minneapolis, and many others.

She writes fantasy, science fiction, mystery, literary, and horror fiction. Her short fiction has been published in magazines like "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine" and "Talebones", anthologies like Fiction River, and on the web. Her long fiction has been published both by New York publishers as well as small presses.

Read more books by Leah Cutter at www.KnottedRoadPress.com.

Follow her blog at www.LeahCutter.com.


Diana Deverell

A Derringer and Macavity Award finalist acclaimed for “sharp storytelling” (Publishers Weekly), Diana Deverell’s short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Fiction River, Switchblade, Mystery Weekly Magazine, and other publications.

Before moving to rural Denmark to write fulltime, Diana earned her living as a long-haul trucker, beef farmer, youth worker, and hot/cold war diplomat. Those adventures took place in 48 states, two Canadian provinces, El Salvador, and Poland.

In addition to short stories, she writes legal, political, and international thrillers drawing on  her colorful background and featuring women with humor and heart.

Sign up for her newsletter at www.dianadeverell.com


David H. Hendrickson

David H. Hendrickson’s first novel, Cracking the Ice, was praised by Booklist as “a gripping account of a courageous young man rising above evil.” He has since published six additional novels, including Offside, which has been adopted for high school student required reading.

His short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2018, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and frequently in Heart's Kiss, Pulphouse, Fiction River, and other anthologies. He is a multi-finalist for the Derringer Award, and his story “Death in the Serengeti” was honored with the 2018 Derringer for Best Long Story. He has released two short story collections: Shimmers and Laughs: Eight Wildly Hilarious Tales and Death in the Serengeti and Other Stories: Ten Tales of Crime.

Hendrickson has published over fifteen hundred works of nonfiction, most notably his first book for writers, How to Get Your Book into Schools and Double Your Income with Volume Sales, and also Travis Roy: Quadriplegia and a Life of Purpose. He has been honored with the Joe Concannon Hockey East Media Award and the Murray Kramer Scarlet Quill Award.

Visit him online at www.hendricksonwriter.com. Sign up for his newsletter and get a free book! Also follow him on Facebook (facebook.com/davewrites), Twitter (@DHWriter), and Instagram (dhwriter7).


Robert Jeschonek

Robert Jeschonek is an envelope-pushing, USA Today-bestselling author whose fiction, comics, and non-fiction have been published around the world. His stories have appeared in Mystery Magazine, Yellow Mama, Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and other publications. His crime tale, "The Messiah Business," was named an honorable mention in Year's Best Crime and Mystery Stories. His novels have won the International Book Award, the Forward National Literature Award, and the Scribe Award.


Kari Kilgore

Kari Kilgore started her first published novel Until Death in Transylvania, Romania, and finished it in Room 217 at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, where a rather famous creepy tale about a hotel sparked into life. That’s just one example of how real world inspiration drives her fiction.

Until Death was included on the Preliminary Ballot for the Bram Stoker Award for Outstanding Achievement in a First Novel in 2016. Kari’s short myth The Spider Who Ate the Elephant placed 2nd in fiction in the 2019 Virginia Writers Club Golden Nib contest.

Her professional short story sales include several to Fiction River anthology magazine, and several holiday-themed anthology projects with WMG Publishing that range from mystery to contemporary to romance.

Kari writes first and figures out the story’s genre later. That results in mystery, fantasy, science fiction, romance, contemporary fiction, and everything in between. She’s happiest when she surprises herself. She lives at the end of a long dirt road in the middle of the woods with her husband Jason A. Adams, various house critters, and wildlife they’re better off not knowing more about.

Kari’s novels, novellas, collections, and short stories are available at www.karikilgore.com and www.spiralpublishing.net.


Cate Martin

Cate Martin is mainly known for cozy witch mysteries set in her home state of Minnesota, including her recently completed series The Witches Three Cozy Mysteries and her new series The Viking Witch Cozy Mysteries.

She also writes science fiction and fantasy under the name Kate MacLeod and has had short fiction published in Analog, Strange Horizons, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies among other places. Under Kate MacLeod she is midway through the YA sci-fi series The Ritchie and Fitz Sci-Fi Murder Mysteries. You can learn more about Cate Martin at her website www.CateMartin.com.


Annie Reed

Award-winning author Annie Reed describes herself as a desert rat who longs to live by the ocean. Since she hasn’t yet convinced her family to relocate to a nice chunk of beachfront property, she’s done the next best thing—written a series of stories set in a contemporary Pacific Northwest city where magic and reality go hand in hand.

Private investigators Diz and Dee populate Annie’s more lighthearted stories, while denizens of a much rougher neighborhood lurk in her Tales From the Shadows.

A talented and versatile writer whose fantasy, science fiction, and mystery stories have sold to a wide variety of publications, including five of the first seven volumes of Fiction River’s inaugural year.