Anthologies

** Recipient of two nominations for the coveted Arthur Ellis Award 2014 for Best Short Story, as well as one Derringer Award nomination! ** Arthur Nominations: "Watermelon Weekend" by Donna Carrick and "The Emerald Skull" by Sylvia Maultash Warsh Derringer Award Nomination for Best Short Story: "The Sweetheart Scamster" by Rosemary McCracken. A meeting place for deadly minds… Thirteen Mesdames of Mayhem bring you a thrilling cocktail of crime fiction, from dark supernatural thrillers to outrageous comedy capers. This merry band of authors includes winners and finalists for the Arthur Ellis awards, Canada’s national prize for excellence in crime fiction. An eerie emerald skull holds the clue to a woman’s origins…and to murder. A bureaucrat stumbling home on a winter evening sees a lion…or does he? Senior citizens show their mettle…and their sinister side. And, more importantly, how do you get rid of a troublesome body and plan the perfect wedding…at the same time? Within these pages lie the answers! We bring you an exceptional lineup of Award-winning authors: Catherine Astolfo, Rosemary Aubert, Jane Petersen Burfield, M.H. Callway, Melodie Campbell, Donna Carrick, Vicki Delany, Catherine Dunphy, Rosemary McCracken, D.J. McIntosh, Lynne Murphy, Joan O’Callaghan, Sylvia Maultash Warsh

**Finalist for the 2015 Arthur Ellis Best Short Story Award! Writer's Block, by Kevin Thornton.From the dangerous streets of Johannesburg to the hallowed halls of Toronto’s academia, from the raging swell of the English Channel, to the white sands of Canada’s Atlantic playground, crime is indeed a global affair. World Enough and Crime, the second in our Excerpt Flight Deck series of anthologies, features stories by such award-winning authors as: Rosemary Aubert, Kevin P. Thornton, Melodie Campbell, M.H. Callway, Steven Moore, Joan O'Callaghan, Jayne Barnard and Rosemary McCracken, as well as emerging authors John Thompson, Bianca Marais, Judy Penz Sheluk and Ed Piwowarczyk. Donna Carrick is the author of The First Excellence, Gold And Fishes and The Noon God, as well as several short story anthologies. In 2011, The First Excellence won the Indie Book Event Award. Her story “Watermelon Weekend”, featured in THIRTEEN by the Mesdames of Mayhem (Carrick Publishing) was a finalist for the prestigious Arthur Ellis Best Short Story Award in 2014. Alex Carrick is the author of four books of short stories. “Four Scoops” Is Over The Top features “Caboose Follies”, which received Honorable Mention in the 2011 Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. “Three Scoops” Is A Blast! includes the 2010 Lorian Hemingway Honorable Mention winner, “The Size Of The Skip”. In May 2012, Writer’s Digest chose Alex’s site for its Blog of the Week. The accompanying description said, “Alex Carrick’s blog is clean, crisp and entertaining. His stories range from humorous to thought-provoking, making it a fun read." Contents: Crime…Noun, Michael C. Slater Doctor Shediac, Donna Carrick The Case of the Carriageless Horse, Steven M. Moore Cover Girl, Melodie Campbell The Prime Suspect, Rosemary Aubert What Fresh Hell Is This? John Thompson The Savages Among Us, Bianca Marais Antonia, Rosemary McCracken Delights in Novelty, Brad Ling Runaway, Joan O’Callaghan Live Free or Die, Judy Penz Sheluk Writer’s Block, Kevin P. Thornton Belief, Jane Petersen Burfield Ghost Protocol, Angie Capozello The Angels Wait, Ed Piwowarczyk The Ultimate Mystery, M.H. Callway An Inexpensive Piece, C.A. Rowland A Locked Room Puzzle, Anne Barton Danger by Moonlight, Anne Barton Leverage, Andrea Kikuchi Potluck, Lynne Murphy Easter Aches, Jayne Barnard The Peace of Mind Thief, Alex Carrick

Featuring "Days Without Name" by Sylvia Maultash Warsh, nominated for the 2021 Crime Writers of Canada Best Short Story Award. Evil and illness are intertwined in this third Carrick crime anthology. Our 35 authors each take a stab at answering the question: What happens when murder seems like the best cure for what ails you? Join us for this pandemic publication and find out how we spent our COVID-19 isolation. Authors: Catherine Astolfo Rosemary Aubert Jayne Barnard Thom Bennett Susan Bowman Jane Petersen Burfield Linda Cahill M.H. Callway Melodie Campbell Donna Carrick Rosalind Croucher Lisa de Nikolits John M. Floyd Mary Fraser Delee Fromm Therese Greenwood Elizabeth Hosang Blair Keetch Laura Kulmann Hayley Liversidge Sylvia Maultash Warsh Rob McCartney Rosemary McCracken Lynne Murphy Joan O’Callaghan Ed Piwowarczyk Rosalind Place Merrilee Robson C.A. Rowland Steve Shrott Madona Skaff Caro Soles Blake Stirling Kevin P. Thornton Vanessa Westermann

Ghosts and demons and booze, oh my! To celebrate their 10th anniversary, the Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem have let their imaginations run wild to bring you their fifth anthology, In the Spirit of 13 . Does “spirit’ mean ghost or demon - or debunking of same? Or simply the evil in twisted human hearts? Or could it be alcohol? You must read these 23 tales to find out! The Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem are established award-winning authors as well as talented new writers. They aimed to keep their stories light-hearted to counter the world’s troubled times, but some of them have strayed into the dark. They are crime writers after all! Laugh, shed a tear and prepare to be deliciously frightened. M.H. Callway, Project Manager - Foreword, Amdur's Ghost Donna Carrick, Editor - Beloved Ink Ed Piwowarczyk, Copy Editor - The Haunting of Mississippi Belle Catherine Astolfo - The Spirit of St. Lewis Rosemary Aubert - The Phone J.E. Barnard - Rubies for Romeo Melodie Campbell - The Kindred Spirits Detective Agency Lisa de Nikolits - In a Land of Fear and Denial Cheryl Freedman - Possessed Therese Greenwood - The Iron Princess Marilyn Kay - Rise Up Blair Keetch - To Catch a Kumiho Sylvia Maultash Warsh - Aunt Bertie Tries to Save the World Rosemary McCracken - The Fur Coat Conundrum Cat Mills - The Dollhouse Lynne Murphy - The Trespassers, Gracie, the Invisible Dog Jane Petersen Burfield - Whispers Rosalind Place - A Faint Disturbance of Hope Madona Skaff - Moving On Caro Soles - The Yellow Bird Kevin P. Thornton - The Fixer Melissa Yi - The Mob Bar Mob

M is for Mesdames, Messieurs, mystery…and murder! M is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet, and it begins so many wicked words: malice, Machiavelli, mayhem and of course, murder. But it also heads up mischief, melody and madcap mystery. And what could better suit the M esdames and M essieurs of M ayhem ? After all, thirteen is our lucky number! Welcome to our sixth anthology, a book of 22 deviously crafted tales based on each author’s twisted take on the letter “M” or literally, a thirteenth letter. Most stories are light-hearted to counter our troubled times but a few do shade into the dark. Enjoy them all and remember: The Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem is a collective of established Canadian crime fiction authors and talented new writers of the genre. Follow the links in these pages to learn more about our novels and stories. Visit our website at mesdamesofmayhem dot com and view the CBC documentary about us on GEM The Mesdames of Mayhem Short format CBC Gem OUR AUTHORS: Catherine Astolfo Rosemary Aubert J. E. Barnard Jane Burfield M. H. Callway Melodie Campbell Donna Carrick Lisa de Nikolits Cheryl Freedman Therese Greenwood Blair Keetch Sylvia Maultash Warsh Rosemary McCracken Cat Mills Lynne Murphy Ed Piwowarczyk Rosalind Place Lorna Poplak Madona Skaff Caro Soles Kevin P. Thornton Melissa Yi