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.
Today I’m breaking two of the loose “rules” of The First Two Pages blog—or maybe it’s better to say intentions? Whatever the right word, here they are: First, in order to try to host a wide range of authors, I generally try to welcome new writers each week rather than having someone make a repeat appearance; and second, increasingly, I’m trying to return to the roots of the blog as B.K. Stevens first intended it, by spotlighting short story writers and the craft of the short story rather than novelists and longer-form fiction. That said, this is Nick Kolakowski‘s third time at the blog (he wrote previously on his story “A Nice Pair of Guns” in ThugLit and his novel Rattlesnake Rodeo), and his essay below is about his latest novel, Where the Bones Lie, published just today by Datura Books. So why the exception? Just read all three of these essays—the two linked above and the one below—and you’ll see for yourself: Nick is supremely thoughtful and articulate about his craft choices, and it’s in service to the readers of the blog to give him space to share his insights and perspectives.
In addition to the new book, Nick is the author of several crime novels, including Payback is Forever and Love & Bullets. His work has been nominated for the Anthony and Derringer awards, and his short story “Scorpions” appeared in The Best Mystery and Suspense 2024. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including Mystery Weekly, Shotgun Honey, Rock and a Hard Place Press, and more. You can find more about him at his website: https://nickkolakowski.com/.
In the meantime, do enjoy his latest essay for The First Two Pages—and be sure and pick up your copy of Where the Bones Lie too!
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.
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