It’s not every day that a long-held aspiration becomes a reality in life. And it’s especially sweet when the event exceeds expectations. That’s why I’m really excited to tell you about this.

The way I remember it, two momentous things happened in the summer of 1977—Elvis Presley died and I discovered Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. I spent much of that August in my grandmother’s basement, staying cool and devouring library books by the dozens. When I ran out of library books, I turned to a stack of magazines in the corner. Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock.

That was where I first met Stephen King, Lawrence Block, Edward D. Hoch, Jack Ritchie, Dorothy Sayers, and so many other mystery greats. This was a step up from Nancy Drew and I was hooked, polishing off the whole stack of magazines by summer’s end. Since then, it has been my dream to see my own stories featured in those pages.

And now, a dream come true.

When God closes a door, he opens a window

Remember that sentiment from The Sound of Music? I’ve found this to be true on countless occasions and here’s an example I particularly treasure. In 2018, I received an invitation to write a story for a certain editor who was putting together an anthology. I worked hard on the story and thought it a good fit for the project, but the editor disagreed. My story didn’t make it into the book.

I was crushed, but I sent the story to Linda Landrigan, the editor at Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, my long-time favorite, and was thrilled to get her acceptance letter. Imagine my absolute delight to later learn mine would be the cover story for the May/June 2020 issue.

Not just in the pages, but on the cover!

Thanks for celebrating with me

I hope this is just the first in a long line of my stories in AHMM. I’m excited to share this moment with you, and hope you’ll take some time to explore the magazine, pick up the current issue, and read my story! The theme for the edition is Trapped! and it’s filled with great stories we can relate to right now as we’ve all felt a bit trapped by global quarantine measures.

I appreciate the support of my excellent readers. It is my mission and my privilege to create moving, thrilling, suspense-packed stories for you as so many wonderful writers have done for me. Thank you so much for helping my dreams come true!

How about you? Are you a fan of the Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines? Tell us about it in the comments.