27 March 2022

Me & Ol' Bobble Head


Years ago at one of the Edgar Award Banquets back when I served on the MWA Board of Directors, Margery gave out Edgar Allan Poe Bobble Heads as party favors. Mine, still in the original box, sits on my computer desk where I write my short stories. Call it a nod to the muses for a little extra assistance in creativity.

For many years, I assumed that Ol' Bobble Head would be the only Edgar to grace my writing area, and that could still be the way things turn out yet. But this year, I do have a slim chance to get a real one. You see, on the early morning of Wednesday, January 19, 2022,my wife informed me that my story, "The Road to Hana," had been nominated for an Edgar in the Short Story category. To say I was astounded, elated and/or greatly pleased would be an understatement. I tried to be cool, but nope, my feet did not touch the floor. In the end, it made no difference, I still had to do the breakfast dishes. So much for fame.

So now you're asking yourself, what are this guy's odds of getting a real Edgar? Well, since I have interviewed an illegal bookie during my professional past, I do feel somewhat qualified to come up with the proper odds for this particular event. Normally, there are five nominations in an Edgar category, so that would give me a 20% chance of winning, however there must have been a tie when it came to the top five short stories this time because for the 2022 competition there are six nominations in the Short Story category. This now gives me a 16.67% chance of winning. Oops, my odds just dropped. Sonuvagun.

Of course, since two of the six nominations are stories published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, this means that the editor, Linda Landrigan, has a 33.33% chance of having one of the two stories in her magazine which were nominated by the judges to receive an Edgar. That's better odds for her.

Now, to throw a ringer into the competition, one of the nominees would have to be awarded posthumously if he wins. It seems this really famous author passed back in 1968, roughly two months after I came back to "the world" from my twelve-month, all-expenses, government-paid vacation in a tropical climate, if you don't count the monsoon season. I was barely trying my hand at writing war poems, much less trying to create short stories for publication. Damn. I think you can see how hard it is for a guy to get a real Edgar these days.

In any case, I would like to commend the judges for their high intellect in nominating my story and throwing my hat in the ring this time. As the saying goes, "It's an honor just to be nominated." I'll stick with that because regardless how it comes out on April 28th at the Banquet in Manhattan, I definitely do feel honored to have even been mentioned in this group of distinguished authors.

As for Michael Bracken and James A. Hearn, I have read your excellent nominated short story, "Blindsided," also in AHMM. So, I'm sure you'll pardon me at this stage if I go find a bar and wish myself some luck, so that my story can at least give yours a little bit of competition. See you guys at the AHMM table at the banquet.

Well, Ol' Bobble Head, I would surely love to introduce you to Ed, but if nothing else, we will always have Manhattan.

16 comments:

  1. Me and de boys here in Leavenworth got sort of a Lawton fan club. We don't bear you no bad will, you was just doing your job like we was doing ours. So anyway me and the boys figure we could help ya out a little, see. I don't mean no one demised unless you say so, but some punks might have a little trouble walking up to receive awards if they can't walk, if ya know what I mean. You just say the woid.

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    1. Dear Benny, glad to hear that you and the boys are doing so well. The warden tells me you have become a model prisoner and should be up for parole soon. In the meantime, I'll put a little dough in your canteen account so you can buy plastic zip-lock bags to make your pruno in.

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  2. Congratulations RT and Michael. That is marvelous.

    RT, at the one MWA event I attended, bobble heads were given out. I sat at Janet's table with Ed Hoch. We probably crossed paths and didn't know it.

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    1. I agree. And that was probably the year I told Ed I was going to follow him to Janet's table because my table (AHMM) was right next to it. I should have paid more attention as to who else was sitting at the EQMM table.

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  3. Congratulations on your Edgar nomination and best of luck at the awards!

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    1. Thanks.

      I keep following the progress on your Kindle books when you write about them. Best wishes there.

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  4. Again, congratulations to you, RT, and to Michael and James for your nominations. I think I have read all the nominated stories this year (that's probably a first), and I'm glad I don't have to make a decision because they were all excellent. Well, duh! Right?

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    1. Thanks, Steve. There's still a couple of the nominated stories I need to find and read.

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  5. Congratulations, RT and Michael! Woo-hoo!

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    1. Thanks, Eve. For twenty years I could bitch about the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune at having not been nominated. Well, they pulled that rug out from under me. Now what do I do?

      Keep on writing. As the football coaches say, there's always next year.

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  6. Thanks, O'Neil. I'll expect to see you in the line up next year.

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  7. Best of luck, R.T. (And Michael!) And you're right. It is an honor to be nominated.

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  8. Congratulations, R. T.! Well deserved.

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  9. Every year I read the nominated stories and am so totally impressed. Good luck, R.T. Well deserved.

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  10. Looks like your odds went to 100%. You won ! Congratulations

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