SMFS Vice President

Today begins my two-year term as vice president of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, a large discussion group for writers, editors, publishers, and readers. The SMFS also presents the annual Derringer Awards.

#verseday Patriotism

#verseday is a Twitter hashtag I came up with to promote poetry writing. I invite Twitter people to suggest poetry topics by noon Eastern each Thursday. Participants must then draft poems by noon Eastern Friday. The resulting poems can be submitted anywhere.

Even if you've never written a poem before, you're invited. Taking the time to think poetically can help your creativity on other projects. If you'd like to participate, tweet your topics, tagged #verseday, by noon Thursday, June 28. My topic this week is patriotism.

Write a poem about patriotism by noon Friday, June 29.

Murderati: The Pace of Prose

I commented on David Corbett's post about whether a writer's success can be measured by quantity or quality.

At The 5-2: "Pantoum by a Puzzled Policeman" by Dorothy James

Enjoy.

The deadline for an original poem inspired by Raymond Chandler or Philip Marlowe is this Sunday, July 1. Please pass the word to anyone interested.

Spread the word about The 5-2 on your site with these promotional graphics.

Also, California Casualty Insurance, which named The 5-2 a top law enforcement blog, presents this profile of The 5-2.

Get 5-2 updates on Twitter @PJPress.

New 5-2 T-Shirts

Revamping my CafePress shop, I've made a small line of products for you who enjoy The 5-2: Crime Poetry Weekly and want to spread the word without breaking the bank. The t-shirt pictured, the main product, is only $11.

Now through June 28, use the coupon code, INDEPEN60, for $15 off orders of $60 or more. (An order of $73 could buy you one of every 5-2 product: t-shirt, cap, tote bag, gym bag, mug, and calendar poster.)

And speaking of spreading the word, feel free to add 5-2 promotional graphics to your website.

Heroes Behind The Badge

Seeing The 5-2 had been selected as a top law enforcement blog by California Casualty Insurance, retired Miami-Dade Police Lt. Bill Erfurth asked me to spread the word about a documentary film he's working on, Heroes Behind The Badge.

You can view the trailer below. When completed, fifty percent of the film's proceeds will go to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. More about Heroes Behind The Badge is on Facebook, Twitter, and in this news story.

Meanwhile, there are still a few days left to vote for The 5-2 to win California Casualty's June competition and a $200 donation to the American Red Cross.

The Heat Overwhelms the Thunder

I wanted Oklahoma City to foil Miami in the NBA Finals. I don't resent Miami's big three. LeBron's departure from Cleveland wasn't the first time I'd seen a sports hero alienate his hometown fanbase. My issue with Miami's big three was that none of them were that big physically. On paper, the Heat can't match up with the more traditionally balanced team the Thunder appeared to be, and paying so much salary to three players prohibits the Heat from improving their bench.

The Heat proved conventional wisdom wrong, but that's the best reason to watch sports, for unpredictable outcomes, for personal performances that defy the odds. I wanted the Lakers to beat the Bulls in the 1990-91 Finals that ended in Michael Jordan's first championship. I wanted the Red Sox to lose in 2004. Neither happened. You may want to continue throwing cold water on the Heat, but if you don't acknowledge they won this year's title by a wide margin, you are deeply in denial.