In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.
Over the past few years, the First Two Pages has frequently celebrated each new Bouchercon by hosting contributors to the new Bouchercon anthology—but despite attending this year’s event in Nashville, I failed to follow through on tradition and invite essays from a few writers who appeared in Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem: Bouchercon Anthology 2024. (Is it OK to blame the sprawl and splendor of the Gaylord? I feel like I’m still dizzied by it all! Actually, the truth is, my website was being renovated…) All that in mind, I appreciate Vera Chan reaching out to ask about writing an essay on her story for the collection, “Tone Deaf”—and what a fun essay and insightful essay it is!
Vera has only published a handful of short stories, but that track record has been pretty extraordinary. Her debut story, “Murderers’ Row,” appeared in a landmark anthology, Midnight Hour, and her next story, “Those Poor Mothers,” won the 2023 Los Angeles Times Short Fiction Award. Outside of short fiction, Vera also won the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award from Sisters in Crime for her novel-in-progress, Following, and outside of the mystery field, she’s a distinguished journalist as well. Stay on the lookout for Vera’s next success—soon, for sure! (And if you want to find out more in the meantime, visit her website at https://verahcchan.com.)
Vera is in good company in the Bouchercon anthology too, alongside contributors including Eric Beckstrom, Eric Beetner, Valerie (V.M.) Burns, Emily Carpenter, Michael Amos Cody, Tina deBellegarde, Mary Dutta, Michael Ferreter, Barry Fulton, Heather Graham, Rachel Howzell Hall and M.G. Hall, Sarah Zachrich Jeng, D.P. Lyle, Jenny Ramaley, Merrilee Robson, Peggy Rothschild, H.K. Slade, Clay Stafford, Kelli Stanley, JD Trafford, Mark Troy, Gabriel Valjan, and Erica Wright.
And as she points out in the essay below, the proceeds from Tales of Music, Murder, and Mayhem benefit a good cause: the Nashville Public Library.
Find out more about the collection at the Down & Out Books website here.
Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.
Vera-Chen-Tone-Deaf
