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.
Aerosmith’s song “Janie’s Got a Gun” seems to have been begging to be the title of an anthology of crime stories sparked by the band’s songs—and editor Michael Bracken has now brought the idea into reality. Last week, Bracken and White City Press published Janie’s Got a Gun: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Music of Aerosmith, featuring a terrific roster of writers giving new life to the band’s greatest hits, including Bill Baber, John C. Bruening, Leone Ciporin, Mary Dutta, Eve Fisher, John M. Floyd, Avram Lavinsky, Steve Liskow, Jeffrey Marks, Tom Mead, Adam Meyer, Tom Milani, M.E. Proctor, Ed Ridgley, Joseph S. Walker, and Jim Winter.
One of these contributors, M.E. Proctor, reached out about contributing a First Two Pages essay on her story, “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” and I’m pleased to host her here today—and in the process to help celebrate the entire collection.
M.E. Proctor is the author of the Declan Shaw PI series—with the first book, Love You Till Tuesday, out now from Shotgun Honey with a second one scheduled for 2025. She’s also the author of a short story collection, Family and Other Ailments, and her work has appeared in anthologies and magazines including Vautrin, Bristol Noir, Mystery Tribune, Shotgun Honey, Reckon Review, and Black Cat Weekly. You can find more about her work at www.shawmystery.com or follow her on Substack at https://meproctor.substack.com.
In the meantime, enjoy this preview of her story below—with glimpses into the full project too. Congratulations to all!
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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