Seasmoke: Crime Stories by New England Writers

Four years ago Kate Flora, Susan Oleksiw and Skye Alexander had a great idea. All three of them being mystery writers and Susan having experience as the editor of Larcom Review, the prestigious little literary magazine, they decided to start their own publishing house and to publish an annual crime anthology. Thus Level Best Books was formed.

I got involved when they called me about being their web designer. I had already desigend Skye's and subsequently did Susan's and a dedicated web site for Kate for her collaboration, Finding Amy. Their first anthology, Undertow was a success and they went on to a second, Riptide. While we were working on Riptide Skye asked why I didn't submit something. I told her I didn't write crime but I'd look around and see if I had anything. I submitted "Asa" which they purchased.

Last year when they were working on their third anthology, Windchill, I wrote a story that was specifically a crime story for the first time for that book which they also purchased, "Home-made Pie and Sausage". Thus my life in "crime" began.

My third attempt as crime writing is called "Killing Julie Morris". it is a story of revenge about an unfaithful wife who sets her sights on the wrong man and sets herself up for disaster. I'm a bad judge of the success or failure of my stories but the Level Best ladies liked it well enbough to include it in their fourth anthology which is out this week. Seasmoke: Crime Stories by New England Writers is now available through their web site and will soon be available in local bookstores and through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Below are all the details. If you are looking for a bit of fun on these dreary November days, please give it a try!

Seasmoke: Crime Stories by New England Writers
Edited by Kate Flora, Ruth McCarty, and Susan Oleksiw

Published by Level Best Books
ISBN: 0-9700984-3-x
Pub. Date: November 2006
Category: Fiction/Mystery
Binding: Trade Paperback, 5.5 X 8.5
Pages: 263 Price: $15.00
Contact: Kate Flora, 978-369-5430

The Perfect Addition to a Mystery Lover’s Collection

Crimes, capers, and mayhem abound when twenty-three New England writers turn their talents to the art of the short story. Along with traditional mystery shorts, this intriguing collection by notable and new authors includes comic misadventures, suspense-filled dramas, psychological thrillers, tales of danger and rescue, gritty detective stories, and stories of revenge and redemption––something for everyone. This colorful anthology, the fourth release from the independent publishing cooperative Level Best Books, presents new work by well-known New England mystery writers Roberta Isleib, Kate Flora, Leslie Wheeler, and Susan Oleksiw, as well as some exciting newcomers.

Seasmoke introduces an eclectic cast of characters––a young lawyer losing an important case, a gambler joining a high-stakes game, a lonely woman spending winter escapes on Nantucket, a fanciful young woman with Mrs. Wallis Simpson as her ideal, a detective who uses Feng Shui to catch a killer, and a woman stalked by a crazy pilot.

Level Best Books is the cooperative venture of writers Kate Flora, Ruth McCarty, and Susan Oleksiw. The co-op’s goal is to publish quality literature with voice and vision that might be overlooked by large publishing houses.