Saturday, January 10, 2009

BTAP #5: Backing the Stakes by Kieran Shea

Morgan Leary tailed the girl from her appointment in Hazlet, catching the North Jersey coast train just before five. She was shorter than they said. Curvy. Long black disco wig instead of the frowsy blonde crop—pleated red mini-skirt, patterned grey tights, and a set of below-the-knee go-go boots on strong, athletic legs. Morgan tugged on his lead-knuckled gloves.

At Newark she made the platform switch to the PATH train and at Hoboken Morgan followed her seventeen odd blocks from the station to a brownstone apartment off of Columbus Park.

It was a shame he had to beat her.
Now, that's a hardboiled opening that commands attention. “Backing the Stakes” was the first story to come in when I initially announced that we were accepting submissions for BTAP. As soon as I read it, I knew it was a gem. If you are unfamiliar with Kieran’s work, then you’re in for a treat, and following that, you have a lot of catching up to do. His stories can be found at A Twist of Noir, Demolition, Thuglit, Thrilling Detective and now Beat to a Pulp.

Next Week: "Whiskey, Guns, and Sin" by Charles Gramlich

9 comments:

Travis Erwin said...

David, I've already read some fine stories from BTAP and I look forward to reading the ones I've missed when I get the chance, but until then I want to say thank you on behalf of my entire family. The support of you and others has made our tough time easier to deal with than you will ever know.

Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin said...

I cut and pasted a bit of this post to link to this story on the post on Tainted Archive. I know you won't mind David, cos you're that sort of guy.

Brilliant story by the way. Can't wait to reach Charles's entry next week.

Gary Dobbs/Jack Martin said...

Whoops Typo's - I meant read Charles's entry

David Cranmer said...

Travis, you're very welcome and please keep in mind that my wife and I are not that far away if you need any help.

Archavist, I appreciate the support. Plug away.

Anonymous said...

Gee whiz, thanks, David. I'll plug BTAP every chance I can get. If you're ever out Annapolis way, Guinness is on me.

David Cranmer said...

Kieran, I will take you up on that and once again thanks for a great story.

Anonymous said...

I'm liking the diversity you have on BTAP. What other genres do you have lined up. Also, Shea has a wonderful hardboiled flash this week.

Don Ward

Charles Gramlich said...

I'm off to check it out.

David Cranmer said...

Don, Yes, Kieran's story kicks butt... We have an excerpt from a spy novel, a horror, and a sci-fi coming up in the next few weeks.