• "Nightmare"
• "Have Gun - Won't Travel"
• "Evil Little Girl"
  
• "Christmas Surprise"
• "Suffer the Little Children"

Don't Get Mad, Get Even is available in trade paperback and as an e-book.

You can purchase it directly from the publisher in paper or e-form here. It's available on Amazon in Kindle format and trade paperback. And it's available for Barnes and Noble's Nook. Want to support a great indie bookstore? You can buy copies from Mystery Loves Company in Oxford, Maryland. 

January 2013

My short story "The Lord Is My Shamus" was nominated for the 2012 Agatha Award for best short mystery story published in 2012! (Happy dance!) The story was published last spring by Wildside Press in the anthology Chesapeake Crimes: This Job Is Murder. You can read the story on the link to the left.



December 2012

My newest story, "Ulterior Motives," has been published in the cross-genre anthology Ride 2, edited by Keith Snyder. All the stories in this book involve bicycles/cycling. In "Ulterior Motives," a teenage girl finds herself in danger when she gets involved in a local civic campaign and learns that in politics, everyone has an ulterior motive. (My editor has alternately (and accurately) described this story this way: There's a mystery in this small town, and a secret, and a teenaged girl at the middle of it all who doesn't think the adults around her understand much. Which maybe they don't.)

Reviewer Aaron M. Wilson called "Ulterior Motives" "a fun read." You can read the review here. And you can learn more about the anthology and participating authors here.

, which is a cross-genre anthology published by Dark Valentine Press. All the stories are set on the night before the world ends. In "Bon Appetit," a woman tries to make the best of her last night with her abusive husband. Of course, her idea of making the best of it doesn't match his. I'm honored that my publisher has nominated "Bon Appetit" for a Pushcart Prize.

My short story "Truth and Consequences" appeared in Mystery Times Ten, a young-adult mystery anthology released in July by Buddhapuss Ink. It's available in trade paperback and on Kindle.    This story marks my first foray into the YA world. In this story, 14-year-old Cara can't wait ten more days to learn what her Christmas presents will be. So she begins snooping around her house, uncovers a mystery involving her family, and ultimately turns her entire family's lives upside down.

My short story "Volunteer of the Year" was nominated for the 2010 Agatha Award in the short story category. It was a stellar group of nominees and a true honor simply to be nominated. The story was first published in the spring of 2010 by Wildside Press in the anthology Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin'. The story has since been republished in a slightly different version in the anthology Magnolia Blossoms and Afternoon Tales.

My story "The Worst Noel" (originally published in Wolfmont Press' The Gift of Murder anthology) was republished in a new anthology from Wildside Press: The Mystery Megapack: 25 Modern and Classic Tales by Masters.



Here's the publisher's description:

Hours of great reading await, with mystery and crime tales from some of the 20th most renowned authors, including Johnston McCulley (creator of Zorro), Sax Rohmer (creator of Fu Manchu), G.K. Chesterton (famous for Father Brown) — and a handpicked selection of modern stories by contemporary masters, including Nora Charles, Marcia Talley, Elaine Viets, and many more! (The many more include Art Taylor, Carla Coupe, Toni L.P. Kelner, and C. Ellett Logan.)

• "Volunteer of the Year" has been re-released in a slightly different version in the anthology Magnolia Blossoms and Afternoon Tales, a collection of 20 stories and 5 poems, all involving southern characters and southern settings. The book is published by the Gulf Coast Writers Association. It's their third annual anthology. As a northern girl who thinks she was southern in a prior life, my inclusion in this book means so much to me.

• My story "Biscuits, Carats and Gravy" is out! It's published in The Killer Wore Cranberry, an e-book anthology of funny mystery stories published by Untreed Reads. My story also is available for individual purchase. The premise: Dotty is hosting Thanksgiving, and everything's going great until Dotty learns her deceased mother's engagement ring will be given to an airhead who's about to join the family. Dotty comes up with a plan to save the ring involving some horrible gravy. And then the wheels come off the bus... You can buy the book, or my story individually, from all the online retailers, including the publisher directly. The book is downloadable to e-readers as well as as a PDF onto your computer. Learn more at http://www.untreedreads.com.

NEW: I received a very nice review for "Biscuits, Carats, and Gravy" from author Victor J. Banis: "I just read Barb Goffman's short story by that name (Untreed Reads) and I have to say it's hilarious! Highly recommended to one and all (Oh, it case you don't get it, the theme is Thanksgiving)." Thank you, Victor!

• My story "An Officer and a Gentleman's Agreement" appears in Murder to Mil-Spec (which stands for military specifications). This anthology of military-related stories is published by Wolfmont Press, which is donating all its profits from the book to Home for Our Troops, a charity that builds homes for veterans who were seriously wounded while serving our country. My story is about a veteran with a deadly secret who threatens a powerful general's career. Can the veteran regain his honor?

• In June my story "The Contest" was published in the 2010 Deadly Ink Short Story Collection, published by Deadly Ink Press (which is donating all profits to the Christopher Reeve Foundation). The story's focus: In a bad economy, how far will you go to get a job?

• In the spring my story "Volunteer of the Year" was published in Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin', the fourth installment in the award-winning Chesapeake Crimes series. This story is about a woman being honored for her charitable works. Life should be great, yet on the biggest night of her life, she risks her soul to save her conscience. This anthology, published by Wildside Press, was edited by Donna Andrews, Marcia Talley, and me.