"The Fallen"

He watched her for a moment before he left for work, thinking that he could have drawn a map of her body, served as a kind of cartographer of every plane and curve of her surface, as it was not so very long ago. Jared McKay believed he could trace — strictly from memory — Catherine’s body as it had been, when he had been her explorer, eager to know the line of her neck, the curve of a shoulder blade, the dimple behind her knee.

These are the opening lines of "The Fallen," my newest short story, which is appearing in the August 2008 issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (aka EQMM).  

Jared is a police detective who returns from leave to take an assignment on a surveillance job, looking for distractions from his troubles at a difficult time.  It's an assignment that will result in revelations about his own life, and the lives of those closest to him.

I find that Jared is still on my mind, many months after I finished the story.  I hope you will enjoy reading "The Fallen."

A couple of people have told me they've received their copies of the August EQMM magazine, so subscribers should have it in their mailboxes any day now. If you aren't a subscriber and want to see the story, I have information below about how to get the magazine.

Those of you who follow my short story writing know it has been a while since I've had a new one out. I fell behind on my novel manuscripts, so I had to catch up there before I set time aside to write a story. The most recent story was "Zuppa Inglese," really a novella, I suppose, which appeared in 2006 in Otto Penzler's Murder at the Racetrack.

As I've stated elsewhere, I love the short story form, both as a reader and a writer. I'm proud to be included in this issue of EQMM — the magazine has a rich and wonderful history, and here in the Burke household we continue to look forward to each issue.

Now -- for the promised info about getting a copy of the story:

If you want to subscribe to the magazine, you can do that online, at Dell Magazines' Mystery Place Web site.  I don't think the July issue information is up yet, so I'm not sure when they'll have information about the August issue, but you can get subscription information there, or subscribe on Amazon.com.

If you don't want a subscription but want a copy of the magazine, there are several ways to get one.  

If you want an electronic version (many formats available), it should soon be available through Fictionwise.  The August issue isn't posted on Fictionwise yet, but I imagine it will be there soon.

You can find EQMM at many newsstands, at some independent mystery bookstores, and at retail outlets including the following:

B Dalton

Barnes & Noble

Borders

Eastern Lobby Shops

Gateway Newsstands

Relay

The Great Canadian News Company

Waldenbooks

Keep in mind that limited copies are available, so you may want to order one in advance from your local store.

Finally, you can also order individual copies as back issues from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.  Details can be found by clicking here -- see item #3.

If you do get a copy of it, let me know what you think of the story!

Yours,

Jan