DANGEROUS TO KNOW is up for an award!

The little novella that could, a video interview, and moving house online

Dear Friends,

I know, I know — the title of this post contains a huge spoiler. But I couldn’t be more thrilled about the news that my 2022 novella, Dangerous to Know, is a finalist for an Award of Excellence from the Crime Writers of Canada! The novella is part of the ongoing series A Grifter’s Song, created by Frank Zafiro and published by Down & Out Books. While it’s written as a standalone story, I highly recommend diving into other installments of the series, which includes novellas written by Shawn Cosby, Gary Phillips, Holly West, Eric Beetner, and a host of other terrific writers.

Dangerous to Know has two covers: a gloriously pulpy one for the digital edition, and a crisp paperback version where my novella shares space with episodes written by Kat Richardson and Paul Garth.

Erik D’Souza from the Crime Writers of Canada interviewed me about Dangerous to Know. Want to hear me spill the story-behind-the-story, what inspired the British Columbia setting, and why it can take me years between coming up with a story idea and writing it? Check it out on YouTube:

If you’ve been getting my (very sporadic) newsletter for a while, you might notice that it looks different. That’s because I finally made the move to Substack. The last few months with TinyLetter have been rough, with TL losing basic functionality along the way.

I hope you’ll enjoy my new Substack home. It should go without saying that while Substack is known for charging a fee for newsletters, this one is forever free. But since there are tons of features available on this site — and I’m still learning about them! — I’d love to hear from you about any Substack features you’d like to see me use. I’m not promising to start a podcast, but I’m intrigued by the chat feature and by the Twitter-like Notes.

Hope you’re having a great spring.

Thanks for reading!

Hilary

PS My Anthony Award–winning debut novel, The Damage Done, is on sale this month on Kindle. Normally $9.99, it’s $3.99 now. Get it while it’s hot!

PPS Congrats to Sara Herchenroether! Her debut novel, The Night Flowers, was just published by Tin House. I had the pleasure of getting an advance read, and I ended up blurbing the book. Here’s what I wrote: “Hypnotic, heart-wrenching, and harrowing, THE NIGHT FLOWERS is an exceptional debut. The twisted path of long-buried wrongs coming to light will keep you on the edge of your seat. Still, it’s the honest exploration of violence, trauma, and scars that never heal that will haunt you. Sara Herchenroether is a true talent.” Add it to your reading list!