On this episode, Mary Wilson reads "The Bottom Line" by James Grady.

James Grady is the author of the classic thriller Six Days of the Condor, which was made into a movie starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway called Three Days of the Condor. He’s written more than a dozen other novels, including Last Days of the Condor, Nature of the Game, and Mad Dogs.

On top of all that, I can report first hand that James Grady is also a heck of a nice guy.

"The Bottom Line" by James Grady was originally published in the anthology D.C. Noir, edited by George Pelecanos and published by Akashic Books.

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On this episode, Mary Wilson reads "Autumn at the Automat" by Lawrence Block.

Lawrence Block is one of my literary heroes. He's published more than 100 books, including novels about Keller, a hitman who collects stamps; Matthews Scudder, a cop turned private investigator; and Bernie Rhodenbarr, a gentleman burglar; among many others. His non-fiction books about writing are outstanding.

Lawrence Block is a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America. He's won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, and the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards. Among his many other recognitions is the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story.

And he rides the train whenever possible. The man is cool, and his writing is amazing.

"Autumn at the Automat" was originally published in the anthology In Sunlight or in Shadow, a collection of short stories inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper.

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On this episode, Mary Wilson reads "A Nice Pair of Guns" by Nick Kolakowski.

Nick Kolakowski is a writer and editor. He's the author of the short story collection Somebody's Trying to Kill Me and the humorous How to Become an Intellectual: 100 Mandatory Maxims to Metamorphose into the Most Learned of Thinkers. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper, WebMD, McSweeney's, North American Review, Crime Syndicate, and many others. He's also an editor at the great flash fiction website Shotgun Honey.

This story, "A Nice Pair of Guns," was originally published by Thuglit.

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Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker living in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife Lana and cat Busey. His short films FOODIE and LIYANA, ON COMMAND have won several awards at film festivals across the United States. His short fiction has appeared in The Avalon Literary Review, Pulp Modern, Thuglit, and Zymbol, to name a few. His novels DIRTBAGS and HASHTAG are available in ebook and paperback.

Eryk’s the host of the radio show “The Crime Scene with Eryk Pruitt” and the Noir at the Bar series in Durham, and his next novel will be published by Polis Books in October 2017.

This story, “Knockout,” was originally published by The Flash Fiction Offensive at Out of the Gutter Online and was a finalist for a 2015 Derringer Award.

April Kelly is an Emmy-nominated television writer and producer. Her debut novel WINGED won first place in Kindle’s 2013 International Book Competition in the General Fiction category. Her novel MURDER: TAKE THREE, the third book in the detective series she co-writes with former federal prosecutor Marsha Lyons, was a finalist for a 2014 Shamus Award.

April’s short fiction has appeared in DASH Literary Journal, the Mark Twain House online magazine, Seven Hills Review, DECASP, Floyd County Moonshine and Hunger Mountain Literary Journal. The story featured on this episode, “Thoroughly Murdered Millie,” was originally published by Shotgun Honey.

This episode features two stories from the anthology WAITING TO BE FORGOTTEN: STORIES OF CRIME AND HEARTBREAK INSPIRED BY THE REPLACEMENTS. S.W. Lauden reads his story "Customer" and Erik Arneson reads his story "Election Day."

Published by Gutter Books and edited by Jay Stringer, WAITING TO BE FORGOTTEN is available now.

"Three Cases Only a Desperate, Below-Average Private Investigator Would Take" is included in my new short story collection THE THROES OF CRIME, which features 26 short stories and six brief true crime essays.

All proceeds from THE THROES OF CRIME go to the James and Jeanne Arneson Memorial Scholarship Fund, created in memory of my parents, which benefits graduates of Wilmot High School in Wilmot, South Dakota, who display an aptitude in creative writing by authoring a short story.

THE THROES OF CRIME includes stories published by Thuglit, Needle, Otto Penzler's Kwik Krimes, Shotgun Honey, Out of the Gutter Online, and more. It also includes six stories that have never been published anywhere, including the one featured on this episode.

Eric Beetner writes hardboiled crime fiction. A lot of it. He won the 2012 Stalker Award for Most Criminally Underrated author.

His books include RUMRUNNERS and its sequel LEADFOOT, which is coming out in November. Also: THE DEVIL DOESN'T WANT ME and WHEN THE DEVIL COMES TO CALL. Book 3 in that trilogy, THE DEVIL AT YOUR DOOR, is due out in 2017.

The list doesn’t stop there. DIG TWO GRAVES, WHITE HOT PISTOL, THE YEAR I DIED SEVEN TIMES, and the story collection A BOUQUET OF BULLETS. And many more.

Eric Beetner lives in Los Angeles where he co-hosts the Noir At The Bar reading series. He has toured as a musician, painted, written screenplays, acted in short films, been to China twice, fished in the Mississippi, once met Barry Manilow, and his name has been on television more than a hundred times. He also designs book covers.

Eryk Pruitt is a screenwriter, author and filmmaker living in Durham, North Carolina, with his wife Lana and cat Busey.

His short films FOODIE and LIYANA, ON COMMAND have won several awards at film festivals across the United States.

His short fiction has appeared in The Avalon Literary Review, Pulp Modern, Thuglit, and Zymbol, to name a few. In 2015, Eryk Pruitt was a finalist for the Derringer Award for his short story "Knockout."

His novels DIRTBAGS and HASHTAG are available in ebook and paperback.

He's the host of the radio show "The Crime Scene with Eryk Pruitt" and the Noir at the Bar series in Durham, and his next novel will be published by Polis Books in October 2017.

On this episode of Word Crimes, Eryk Pruitt reads "Farewell from a Desert Rat" by Erik Storey.

Erik Storey is a former ranch hand, wilderness guide, dogsled musher, and hunter. He spent his childhood summers on his great-grandfather's homestead or in a remote cabin in Colorado's Flat Tops wilderness. He has earned a number of sharpshooter and marksman qualifications. He and his family live in Grand Junction, Colorado.

NOTHING SHORT OF DYING is Erik Storey's first novel, and it's won praise from a lot of people, including bestselling author William Kent Krueger, who called it "the year's best thriller debut."

NOTHING SHORT OF DYING features a drifter with lethal skills, whose mission to rescue his abducted sister pits him against a ruthless meth kingpin and his army of killers.