I'm a member of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, an informal association of writers, publishers, and fans that has kept mystery & crime short stories in the public eye since 1996. On April 4, the Society announced the finalists for its 2019 Derringer Awards. A vote of the membership will determine the winners, to be announced in May.
In the meantime, I'm inviting the finalists for interviews. If you'd like to participate, email me your answers to the same following questions.
Nick Kolakowski is a finalist for Best Flash Story (ranges up to 1,000 words) with "Sonny the Wonder Beast", published September 16, 2018 at The Flash Fiction Offensive.
Describe your story in up to 20 words.
“Sonny the Wonder Beast” is about a very special dog and his equally special, washed-up hitman friend.
What were the most difficult and most enjoyable parts of writing the story?
My wife and I were having dinner at a friend’s house, and our host told us the story of Clever Hans, a horse that could supposedly perform arithmetic—it clopped its hooves to indicate answers to math puzzles. On the bus back to our house, I began thinking about animals with extraordinary abilities, and—poof!—the beginnings of “Sonny” dropped into my head.
I pulled out my iPhone, opened the Notes app, and began to write. Arguably the most difficult part was typing out the tale on my screen while the bus bounced over potholes and took hard corners (plus I had a glass or two of wine in me, which helped). I also had to re-do the ending—my original one didn’t work (I blame the wine).
Do you have a juicy story about how your story came to be published?
That creation part is the juiciest bit—I’ve never written a first draft on my iPhone while riding public transportation. Given the reaction to the story, maybe I should do it more often.
How does it feel to be a Derringer finalist?
It’s awesome. It was a hard month, and hearing I was a nominee made things at least a bit better.
In the meantime, I'm inviting the finalists for interviews. If you'd like to participate, email me your answers to the same following questions.
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| Nick Kolakowski |
Describe your story in up to 20 words.
“Sonny the Wonder Beast” is about a very special dog and his equally special, washed-up hitman friend.
What were the most difficult and most enjoyable parts of writing the story?
My wife and I were having dinner at a friend’s house, and our host told us the story of Clever Hans, a horse that could supposedly perform arithmetic—it clopped its hooves to indicate answers to math puzzles. On the bus back to our house, I began thinking about animals with extraordinary abilities, and—poof!—the beginnings of “Sonny” dropped into my head.
I pulled out my iPhone, opened the Notes app, and began to write. Arguably the most difficult part was typing out the tale on my screen while the bus bounced over potholes and took hard corners (plus I had a glass or two of wine in me, which helped). I also had to re-do the ending—my original one didn’t work (I blame the wine).
Do you have a juicy story about how your story came to be published?
That creation part is the juiciest bit—I’ve never written a first draft on my iPhone while riding public transportation. Given the reaction to the story, maybe I should do it more often.
How does it feel to be a Derringer finalist?
It’s awesome. It was a hard month, and hearing I was a nominee made things at least a bit better.
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