Who is Francelia and why read her stories?
Well, I’m glad you asked. ☺️
My love of short stories came from watching old Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents television shows as a kid. In fact, I watched ALL of the old television anthologies: Amazing Stories, Tales from the Darkside, Tales from the Crypt, Outer Limits...you name it, most likely I watched it.
I still love anthology TV shows and movies. Love the updated Twilight Zone with Jordan Peele and love Black Mirror.
So, being inspired by what amazing tales could be told in half an hour, I was naturally drawn to short fiction. And lucky me, I’ve been published in a few places:
My short story, “Dreaming of Ella,” appears in Denver Noir and was listed as Other Distinguished Mystery and Suspense of 2022 in The Best American Mystery Stories 2023. The story was also a Second Rounder in the 7th Annual Launch Pad Prose Competition and a Quarterfinalist in the 2023 Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition.
In April of 2023, “Dreaming of Ella” was one of the selected stories for Stories on Stage’s performance of Denver Noir at the Su Teatro Cultural and Performing Arts Center in Denver, Colorado. (Nothing like having your story “performed” in front of a live audience. Dream come true!!)
The story also earned the 2024 Page Turner Book Award for Best Short Story.
My other stories haven’t done half bad: “Knife Girl,” was a finalist in the 2020-2021 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition and a semi-finalist in the 2021 Outstanding Screenplays Shorts Competition.
“The Brotherhood of Tricks and Tricks” was a quarterfinalist in the 2022 ScreenCraft Cinematic Short Story Competition. And was originally published in Festive Mayhem 2.
And I’ve also published a collection titled, Crime & Passion: Three Short Stories, and the story, “Lewenda Gets Married” appears on the Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast.
I am an active member of the Colorado chapter of Sisters in Crime and in the past has served as Vice President and President. I am also a member of Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color and Short Mystery Fiction Society.
My stories often explore the complexities of love, loss, and betrayal—because why else do good people do bad things? I invite readers to dive into the darker corners of human nature, one story at a time.
Discover more of my work at: https://Francel.Be/Writing-Stories
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