Welcome to Black Cat Weekly. We can’t believe it’s been 100 issues! Time flies when you’re having fun. To celebrate, we are offering this issue at a special price.

To help make this issue special, we asked Acquiring Editors Barb Goffman and Michael Bracken to contribute some special stories of their own. We think you’ll agree, they are among the highlights of this issue. On the mystery side, we also have stories by Nancy Pickard, Bradley Harper, and a novel from the legendary Fredric Brown—his classic Knock Three-One-Two. And what issue is complete without a solve-it-yourself mystery by Hal Charles?

On the more fantastic side of things, we have another of Darrell Schweitzer’s historical interviews with a legend of science fiction, this time Robert Sheckley. Conducted in 1981, it talks about his becoming fiction editor of Omni magazine, the science fiction community in New York City, and more.

As for fiction, we have that, too, of course. Fantasy from Joseph Payne Brennan and Aeryn Rudel. Science fiction from Larry Tritten, Frank Belknap Long, and a rare novel, The Green Girl, from Grandmaster Jack Williamson.

Here’s the complete lineup:

Mysteries / Suspense / Adventure:

“Wolfhound” 2023 by Bradley Harper [short story]
“Things That Go Bump” 2022 by Hal Charles [Solve-It-Yourself Mystery]
“If Only You Would Leave Me” by Nancy Pickard [Barb Goffman Presents short story]
“The Lord Is My Shamus” 2012 by Barb Goffman [short story]
“The Downeaster ‘Alexa’” 2021 by Michael Bracken [short story]
Knock Three-One-Two, by Fredric Brown [novel]

Nonfiction:

“Speaking with Robert Sheckley” by Darrell Schweitzer [interview]

Science Fiction & Fantasy:

“The Smile Price” by Aeryn Rudel [Michael Bracken Presents short story]
“Exit Laughing” by Larry Tritten [short story]
“The Miniature Menace,” by Frank Belknap Long [short story]
“The Seventh Incantation,” by Joseph Payne Brennan [short story]
The Green Girl, by Jack Williamson [novel]

Black Cat Mystery Magazine #9