Magazine Review: American Short Fiction Summer 2022

Magazine Review: American Short Fiction Summer 2022 edited by Rebecca Markovits & Adeena Reitberger The literary magazine is still alive in America, though I will not say “well” as I have no idea how many people read them. American Short Fiction, an Austin, Texas-based magazine, has been running since 1991. It is, as the title… Continue reading Magazine Review: American Short Fiction Summer 2022

Book Review: The Banner Campfire Girls at the White House

Book Review: The Banner Campfire Girls at the White House by Julianne DeVries Summer vacation has just started, and the high-spirited Camp Fire Girls of Wa-Wan-Da Council of Oakdale have already assaulted a federal agent. Fortunately, George Thompson, personal representative of the President of the United States, is in a forgiving mood. You see, that… Continue reading Book Review: The Banner Campfire Girls at the White House

Magazine Review: Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine May/June 2021

Magazine Review: Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine May/June 2021 edited by Linda Landrigan In 1956, HSD Publications wanted to create a new mystery story magazine. To boost sales, they licensed the name of Alfred Hitchcock, a famous director who was then the host of a popular television show. While Mr. Hitchcock otherwise had nothing to do… Continue reading Magazine Review: Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine May/June 2021

Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939

Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939 Edited by Dorothy McIlwrath Short Stories started life in 1890 as a literary magazine, but switched to being a “quality pulp” in 1910, featuring stories of adventure and crime a cut above many of its competitors.   Like many of the pulps, it lost sales badly after World War… Continue reading Magazine Review: Short Stories May 25th, 1939

Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws

Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws by Barbara Seuling Laws have a purpose.  It is not always a good purpose, but track them to their passage and you will usually see the reasoning behind them.  With the passage of time, that purpose is obscured, and many laws passed to… Continue reading Book Review: You Can’t Eat Peanuts in Church and Other Little-Known Laws

Book Review: Cowman’s Jack-Pot

Book Review: Cowman’s Jack-Pot by Frank C. Robertson (Also published as Greener Grows the Grass) Chet Calder has spent eight years in the East.  Now the death of his father Dave Calder, and the crash of the stock market mean that there’s nothing left but the DC ranch.   On the stage into Calder City, Chet… Continue reading Book Review: Cowman’s Jack-Pot

Book Review: Spur #30 Boise Belle

Book Review: Spur #30 Boise Belle by Dirk Fletcher I’m not sure what this type of book is called in the marketing department, so I’m going to borrow a phrase from the pulps and call it “spicy Western.”   This is a subgenre of the Western, usually in long-running paperback series, in which a tough… Continue reading Book Review: Spur #30 Boise Belle