How Dark Do You Like Your Mysteries?

The one point of "taste" agreement among the widely varied booklovers here at Kingdom Books seems to be that a reader may like very dark fiction, or may like the comfy chatter of "cozies" or (my favorite new term) "domestic mysteries" -- but if you're a dedicated fan of one end of this spectrum or the other, you won't often read the books at the other far end. There are plenty of readers who range across the middle and dip generously into either "dark" or "milk" (tea with milk?), and Dave and I certainly read widely. But this observation about taste applies specifically to the readers who have a preference for one side of the spectrum.

That said, here's good news for those who like it dark -- really, really dark. There's an online magazine just for you: DARK SCRIBE.

Not only that, DARK SCRIBE is holding a competition for its Black Quill Awards -- ballots are on the site now and include The Caretaker of Lorne Field, that wild horror novella by crime fiction author Dave Zeltserman -- and here's the deal:

Nominations for the Black Quills are editorial-based, with both the editors and active contributing writers submitting nominations in each of the seven categories. Once nominations are announced, the readers of DSM have an opportunity to cast their votes for their picks in each category. In a unique spin intended to celebrate both critical and popular success, two winners are announced in each category – Reader’s Choice and Editor’s Choice.
All dark genre works published between November 1st, 2009 and October 31st, 2010 are eligible. DSM does not solicit nominations, nor are there any fees associated with the Black Quills.
Please note that only one ballot per email/IP address will be accepted. Multiple ballots received from the same email/IP address will be discarded.

Reader voting closes at midnight EST on Friday, January 21st, 2011.

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 1st, 2011.