Bouchercon 2027 has an anthology of short stories coming out with the conference. The theme is “power corrupts”–appropriate to the setting in Washington, D.C.

It prompted two stories from me that were each set in decidedly smaller ponds. After much consultation with my pal, D.G. Roberts, I submitted ‘Watch Dogs’ for the anthology contest. He submitted a story as well–if either of us is included, it will be a coup.

The other story, ‘Novel Ideas,’ I submitted to the Baltimore Review.

As I hope to publish these stories, I won’t spoil them with too many details. ‘Watch Dogs’ is a tale of a man harassed by the volunteer dads at his daughter’s school until someone decides to put a stop to it. ‘Novel Ideas,’ shows what happens to a rising academic star at a small New England College when she unwittingly crosses a member of the cabal running the school.

Hopefully, they will both be available to a wider public sometime next year!

Lord Acton, 1834-1902 – source for the quotation: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”