From the Booking Desk:
No, you are not experiencing Déjà vu. BOLO Books has previously done a cover reveal for The Beat of Black Wings: Crime Fiction Inspired by The Songs of Joni Mitchell back in 2020. But this excellent anthology is being re-released by a new publisher, so that means a new cover. And I am happy to share that gorgeous cover with you! You can also find my original review of the collection here: The Beat of Black Wings – The BOLO Books Review, in case you need more of a reason to buy this book.
Table of Contents:
“Marcie” by Ricki Thomas
“The Pirate of Penance” by Marilyn Todd
“The Gallery” by Christine Poulson
“Both Sides, Now” by Art Taylor and Tara Laskowski
“The Priest” by David Dean
“Big Yellow Taxi” by Kathryn O’Sullivan
“River” by Stacy Woodson
“Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire” by Donna Andrews
“Blonde in the Bleachers” by Carol Anne Davis
“Help Me” by Abby Bardi
“Shades of Scarlett Conquering” by Adam Meyer
“Blue Motel Room” by Edith Maxwell
“Talk to Me” by Emily Hockaday and Jackie Sherbow
“The Silky Veils of Ardor” by Greg Herren
“The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines” by Amber Sparks
“Man to Man” by Barb Goffman
“Dog Eat Dog” by Elaine Viets
“The Beat of Black Wings” by Josh Pachter
“Cherokee Louise” by Matthew Iden
“Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac” by Michael Bracken
“Sex Kills” by Alan Orloff
“Last Chance” by Sherry Harris
“Harlem in Havana” by Alison McMahan
“Taming the Tiger” by Mindy Quigley
“Bad Dreams” by John M. Floyd
Jacket Copy:
With nine Grammys, multiple lifetime achievement awards, inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and a Top Ten ranking on Rolling Stone‘s “100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time,” Joni Mitchell has established herself as one of the most important singer/songwriters, not only of her generation, but in the history of popular music.
In this collection, 27 crime writers pay tribute to Joni’s musical legacy with short stories inspired by her lyrics, representing each of her 17 studio albums from 1968’s Song to a Seagull to 2007’s Shine.
Stories relating to many of the classics are here, including “Both Sides, Now” (in the first literary collaboration between Art Taylor and Tara Laskowski, who have each won major awards for their fiction) and “Big Yellow Taxi” (by Kathryn O’Sullivan, author of the Colleen McCabe series), plus such equally fascinating titles as “Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire” (by Donna Andrews, author of the award-winning Meg Langslow series), “The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines” (by Amber Sparks), and “Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac” (by Michael Bracken).
Editor Josh Pachter’s crime fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, and many other places since 1968, and his translations of stories by Dutch and Flemish authors show up regularly in EQMM’s “Passport to Crime” department. He is the editor of The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe (Mysterious Press, 2020) and The Man Who Read Mysteries: The Short Fiction of William Brittain (Crippen & Landru, 2018) and the co-editor of Amsterdam Noir (Akashic Books, 2019) and The Misadventures of Ellery Queen and The Further Misadventures of Ellery Queen (Wildside Press, 2018 and 2020). He is also one of Joni Mitchell’s biggest fans.
Some Facts:
• The original edition of The Beat of Black Wings was a finalist for the Best Anthology Anthony Award, and Stacy Woodson’s “River” won the Derringer for Best Short Story.
• Since this first of Josh Pachter’s “inspired by” books was published, he’s also done anthologies of crime fiction inspired by the songs of Jimmy Buffett, Billy Joel, Paul Simon (an Anthony finalist), the Beatles (an Anthony finalist, and the source of the Agatha-, Anthony-, and Macavity-winning “Ticket to Ride” by Kristopher Zgorski and Dru Ann Love), and the Grateful Dead — and the films of the Marx Brothers.
• In 2020, Josh Pachter received the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement from the Short Mystery Fiction Society. His first novel, Dutch Threat, was published in 2023 by Genius Book Publishing and was a finalist for the Agatha, Lefty, and Macavity Awards, and his first mystery for younger readers, First Week Free at the Roomy Toilet, was published in 2024 by Level Best Books.
