Nestled in the foothills of West Virginia, Ron Earl Phillips lives with his wife, a daughter, a German Shepherd, and one too many cats.
On the eve of New Year’s Eve we look back at 2024 and ahead toward 2025. We had several exceptional releases this year, all which need more love. All books need love, right?
We kicked off the year with NEGATIVE TILT by Bobby Mathews, his first collected volume of short stories. BAD MAKES BAD followed, our first novella of the year and the follow-up to Ilyn Welch’s 2023 debut SIGNS OF PAIN. The series has been dubbed “cozy noir” and is a wonderful short read. We then released our first music based charity anthology, BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE: Crime Fiction incited by the songs of the Talking Heads, masterfully curated by Michel Lee Garrett and T. Fox Dunham. THE MOUNTAIN MYSTIC, the second book in the Mountaineer Mystery trilogy, dropped in May from Russell W. Johnson.
Summer gave us a reissue of JANEOLOGY by Karen Harrington. A little outside our sandbox as a legal thriller that delved into the idea of nature versus nurture. NIGHT WORK by Pete Duval was a personal favorite, and our second novella of the year. It was a uniquely told story that wove ghosts, religion, revenge and redemption. M.E. Proctor a Texan author by way of Brussels gave us a touch of the Houston underground and P.I. Declan Shaw with LOVE YOU TILL TUESDAY.
TURKEYFOOT by debut author Rick Childers is a story about loss, regret, and life under the shroud of opioid epidemic that continues to plague rural Appalachia. Expect to see more of Childers who will surely stand shoulder to shoulder with rural writers like Silas House and Ron Rash. Another debut author followed with GOOD-LOOKING UGLY, a story that is good parts Elmore Leonard and Charles Willeford shaped into a unique voice by skilled story writer Rob D. Smith. For a touch of mysticism and murder, we ended the year with THE SWITCHBLADE SVENGALI by Coy Hall. Historian, teacher, and classic movie film buff, Hall brought us into the world of Royce Pembrook a decade and half after the event of A SEANCE FOR WICKED KING DEATH.
SHOTGUN HONEY PRESENTS: AT THE EDGE OF DARKNESS fell in October and celebrated the spooky season with 21 stories of crime and horror, edited by bestselling author Keith Rosson (FEVER HOUSE) and series editor Ron Earl Phillips. As the recent surge in horror fiction sales shows, you don’t have to wait for the spooky season to pick up a copy. We hope you do as all profit will go toward a Portland charity to help children entering the foster system.
We published 63 short stories throughout 2024, which included our 12 Crimes-MAS stories. These stories were paid for from sales in our shop and by patrons who supported us via Patreon, as well as profits from book sales on platforms like Bookshop.org, Amazon.com, and other marketplaces from where you our readers have supported us. All books currently in inventory are available from most booksellers and libraries who have access to Ingram Book Services.
In 2025, we hope to continue to extend our reach with excellent storytelling and opportunities for writers and readers.
We will most likely be closed to book solicitation in 2025 as we have a catalog set for 2026. If we do, it will be in the last quarter of 2025 or first quarter of 2026.
We are continuing our flash fiction calls for 700 words or less starting January 1st through the 7th. This submission cycle will continue alternate months (Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Nov). We’d like to thank Michel Lee Garrett for 2 years of service as a Gauntlet member. She provided us with a unique perspective and balance to our panel. Helping out during our Crimes-MAS special, Victor De Anda has joined the Gauntlet for 2025 along with veterans Andy Boyle and Michelle Kubitz. Welcome aboard Victor.
One of our goals for 2025 is to get up to two flash stories a week, so we hope you will send us your best. 700 words is a challenge to tell a complete story, but we have faith in you. But… for those who’s stories don’t fit and need that extra room we’re introducing a monthly story series called “The Long Good Friday.” This will appear on the 4th Friday of every month starting March. This will be a separate submission from our flash fiction. The word count will be 1000-2500 words.
That will give readers a lot to look forward to, but wait there’s more. Our 2025 catalog.
Dates may vary in the second half of the year, but be sure to follow our newsletter to see any changes in submission windows or publication dates. Who knows what the new year may bring, but it’s looking to be a lot of good stories.
Happy New Year!
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