Dear Ed,
"Short stories are the poetry of prose. They are precise,
cut to the bone, every word a necessity. Not many authors develop that
control. Libby Fischer Hellmann has the hand of a master. Take it from a guy
who knows her well: Libby is a nice girl. But she writes noir with a savvy
edge honed on the hard, dark knowledge of the evil possible in us all."
- William Kent Krueger
While Kent's words are meant to be flattering, I do have to
confess something: I love writing short stories. I often say that a novel is
like a marriage, but a short story is an affair: passionate, all-consuming,
wonderful, and brief. So I've written lots of short stories, and continue to.
I've collected fifteen of them in Nice Girl Does Noir. Volume I
includes five Ellie Foreman and Georgia Davis stories; Volume II has ten
stand-alone stories that span different territories, characters, and times.
You'll find them all here.
And if you'd like to know why I think writing short stories
are critically important for a writer's career, take a look at this
article.
Reviews
"I don't usually like short stories, but these
are terrific! I roared through them. Hellmann had a good mix of Chicago
historicals and contemporaries. My highest recommendation here."
- Molly Weston, Meritorious Mysteries
"When Hellmann explores the less sunlit areas of Chicago,
her canvas becomes not only more universal but has greater depth and
emotional value. Aspiring short-story writers would do well to pay
attention."
- Naomi Johnson, The Drowning Machine
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