The Fish That Got Away

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTIONThe Fish That Got Away: The Sixth Guppy Anthology is a collection of twenty stories written by Guppies, more formally called members of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime. In this sixth anthology, you’ll find stories that contain themes of criminal plans gone awry or the ones who slipped through the net. What might that mean? To me, it could be any number of possible scenarios. The criminal got away, but the case remains in the memory of the investigator. A felon gets out of prison vowing to discover the partner who got away with the money. A betrayed lover vows revenge on the person who is now off to their next conquest. Our Guppy writers imagined twenty different variations about the fish that got away.

Why Guppies? The Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime is a 1,000+ organization of mystery writers in all phases of writing careers. The chapter began as “the great unpublished” in 1995, a group of writers who were determined to share ideas and support each other. Today, the chapter has grown significantly, but the mission remains the same: “to create an environment in which members can share information, knowledge, opinions, motivation and inspiration without fear of ridicule or rejection.” While SinC has many land-based chapters, the Guppy Chapter is wholly online with classes, manuscript swaps, critique groups, a listserv, and a sensational newsletter. The Guppy anthology, published every other year, is an opportunity for writers of all experiences to see their words in print. Various mystery genres are presented in this collection.

Linda Rodriguez is the editor of this edition, and the stories submitted were judged by three non-Guppies from the writing world who are experienced in short story and mystery writing.

Our entire chapter, 1,000-members strong, hopes you will enjoy The Fish That Got Away.

—Susan Van Kirk

Guppy Chapter President