Author: admin

Yesterday, I attended the funeral of a very dear friend. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his beautiful family. And I once again realize that life is too short to set small goals or make weak commitments.

I’m so excited that my short story, “Dreamwater,” has been published in the terrific 2022 Pikes Peak Writers Anthology. I’ll be at the Authors’ Signing event at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Colorado Springs this Thursday evening, 6-8 pm. Come on down!

A week ago (May 27-30), my wife Marilyn, our daughter Linda, and I made a whirlwind road trip from Colorado Springs to El Paso and Las Cruces. We listened to the audiobook recording of Dean Koontz’s “The Other Emily.” It’s another great tale by the master storyteller. And the narrator, MacLeod Andrews, is spot-on for all the characters. I heartily recommend this wonderful book/audiobook! https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Other-Emily-Audiobook/1713576708

Here’s a sample of the landscape we drove through in New Mexico. I find it fascinating! Perfect audiobook territory, isn’t it?

I had a wonderful time at the 2022 Pikes Peak Writers Conference, April 28-May 1. It was so great to meet again in person, Post-COVID. I ran into many old friends and made some wonderful new ones. The presentations and speakers were fabulous! But most of all, it was great to hang out with my good friend and Critique Group-mate, Christina Simpson. It was her first conference.

The “Read and Critique” session was a lot of fun. I presented the first page of my new novel manuscript, Bits of Hell. (Fortunately, people laughed in the right places.) And the “Query 1-on-1” sessions were very well run. (I got a request for the full manuscript of Bits of Hell! Christina also got a request for chapters of her fabulous novel manuscript, The Flower Maiden. At her FIRST conference. Well done, Christina!

A third member of our Critique Group, Barb Needell Preslier, joined us Friday evening for the book signing of the 2021 and 2022 Pikes Peak Writers Anthology. Great fun!

My historical-fiction short story, The Flight of the Golden Plover, was published online yesterday in Bewildering Stories, Issue 899! Check it out at:

http://www.bewilderingstories.com/issue899/mcquade_welcome.html

And have a look at this great publication: BewilderingStories.com

In Golden Plover, an eccentric 1920s aviation entrepreneur stakes his company–and his life–on a record-breaking flight. The story gives a realistic glimpse into those days when aircraft design was more tinkering than science, and death was always riding in the seat next to you.

Here’s a question for your pondering and midsummer night’s dreaming: What are some story settings that you’ve fallen in love with? And why?

We all know that a story’s setting can have subtle, almost magical effects on the telling of the tale. Sometimes it’s a place I probably would never have imagined–like Hogwarts or the fantasy world in Simon Green’s Once in a Blue Moon (one of my current summer reads). Other times it’s an old familiar place that feels as comfortable as that worn-out model-airplane-contest tee shirt I just can’t get rid of. A good example is Sun Valley, Idaho in Anthony Doerr’s short story The Demilitarized Zone.

So, what story settings have particularly appealed to you, and why? I’m looking forward to reading your answer!

— Pete

Hello, Pete McQuade here, in the Suspense Corner. Thank you for visiting my site! I had a great year in 2021. I hope you did, too. We’ve managed to stay COVID-free. (Whew!) And Jasper the dog once again baffled the doctors–this time by fending off a serious kidney failure. He’s doing fine now.

And it’s been a great writing year. I set a goal of getting four short stories published, in four different publications, within 12 months. And it happened! That’s due in large part to a great deal of help from my wife, Marilyn, my daughter, Linda, and the great people in my critique group. If you write and aren’t in a critique group, I strongly encourage you to either join one or start one. There are plenty of resources to help you do that. Pikes Peak Writers is one such resource. Or, you can contact me and I’ll be happy to give you advice.

If a writer or a reader can’t learn from these masters of “style,” he or she just isn’t trying.