Category Archives: Dayle A. Dermatis

Mystery, Dragons, Spies, and Custard

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Bothering With the Details: A Copyediting Cozy Mystery Short Story

Longtime copyeditor Lydia Menchin prides herself in having memorized The Chicago Manual of Style and being able to focus despite distractions. But the tech company she works for still fires her, assuming her age made her unable to understand electronic newsletters.

Lydia still reads the newsletter and finds the mistakes the new, clearly inferior editor misses.

Until she starts to suspect the errors might just be intentional….

“Bothering With the Details” originally appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, 2018.

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Dragons. Who doesn’t love them?But this collection isn’t just about the brutes or beasts. No, there are philosophical dragons. Technological dragons. Even sexy dragons.Not just fantasy dragons. But science fantasy. Or straight science fiction. Historic and future dragons.You’re going to meet dragons from all walks of life in the pages of this anthology. Mostly unexpected. Not the kinds of dragons you’ve met before.

Come and explore all the myriad facets of these fascinating creatures.

Available in both ebook and print.

This anthology contains my story “Beautiful Soul,” set in Victorian London.

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Set your cauldron to bubbling, and read these fifteen tales of magic, sorcery, and enchantment!What if you could smell magic—or go to a bar and get a shot of magic to go with your cocktail? Will an aging sorcerer’s last pupil ever learn anything? And what could possibly go wrong when a pair of witches enter the local chili cook-off?Includes stories by DeAnna Knippling, Leah R. Cutter, Robert Jeschonek, Debbie Mumford, Annie Reed, Rei Rosenquist, Alicia Cay, James Pyles, Grayson Towler, Jamie Ferguson, Dayle A. Dermatis, Thea Hutcheson, Leslie Claire Walker, Sharon Kae Reamer, and Steve Vernon.This anthology contains a reprint of my story “Telling the Bees,” part of the Holly and Willow hedgewitch series.

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The Florentine Exchange:
A Page-Turning Spy Story Full of Twists and Turns

During a sultry summer in Florence, Italy, rule-following Libby must make an information exchange when her mentor, Antonia, sprains her ankle.

But then she discovers Antonia had two identical thumb drives. Was Antonia planning to give the wrong one to her contact?

Libby must make split-second decisions while her own life is on the line.

Clever spy thriller “The Florentine Exchange” transports readers to the sticky sumer humidity and historical beauty of Italy and keeps them on the edge of their seats, as only accomplished writer Dayle A. Dermatis can do.

“The Florentine Exchange” originally appeared in Fiction River Special Edition: Spies, 2019, and was reprinted in Voices Carry, and Other Stories of Women and Crime, 2020.

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Custard: A Romeo and Juliet Story (Sort Of)

Brownies—not the little girls or the fudgy treat kind, but the Scottish pixie kind—help take care of households by being superior with household chores.

Agnes and Neil, from different brownie clans and working at different manor houses, both pride themselves in their custard. Custard, which requires the best, freshest eggs.

A chance meeting over a favorite clutch of eggs starts Agnes and Neil on an adventure, and the chance to create something new.

Their story will never be forgotten.

Editor Dean Wesley Smith says of “Custard,” “Dayle Dermatis…is a storyteller whose compelling and playful prose I will follow down virtually any path.”

“Custard: A Romeo and Juliet Story (Sort Of)” originally appeared in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, 2021.

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I’m able to continue writing and publishing thanks to my wonderful supporters on Patreon.

New Uncollected Anthology and Fiction River issues!

Uncollected Anthology: Alchemy

Enjoy the urban fantasy stories of the Uncollected Anthology: Alchemy now collected in this bundle.

Learn the secrets of a ghostly businessman or enjoy your perfect friends. Sip some very special booze and change a patron with love. Find a magical keepsake in a stoppered bottle of potion before jetting to ponder a special wall in Rome.

Explore the Uncollected Anthology with Alchemy!

My story in this issue is “Protected in Every Way.”

Amabella: intelligent, inquisitive, artistic, sporty. She leads a perfect life, with perfect friends.

Until she discovers something terribly, frighteningly wrong with her friends.

Surely there must be someone real Amabella can trust?

Gripping story “Protected in Every Way” is part of Uncollected Anthology 24: Alchemy.

“Dermatis has a love of lush language….” – Tangent Online


Fiction River: Dark and Deadly Passions

Dark and deadly passions fuel crime. Often violent crime. The stories in this compelling volume traverse an emotional rollercoaster. Some revenge stories uplift, while the very darkest stories shine a light on the disturbing underbelly of human nature. But heroism—or at least an attempt to do the right thing—provides hope. So, brace yourself for a swirl of emotions—and some dark and deadly passions.

My story, “Zero Tolerance,” is another in my series about justice-seeking Brittani Menchin, a not-quite-six-feet-tall math nerd, bank geek, and high school Fixer.


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I’m able to continue writing and publishing thanks to my wonderful supporters on Patreon.

The Real Housewitches of Calafia County: A Desperate Housewitches Short Story

When the head of their local HoA tries to impose new rules on the annual Winter Solstice ritual, the four reigning witches of the gated community resolve to fight back.

A war consisting of both paperwork and magic.

All without breaking a fingernail.

Don’t mess with this coven!

Buy “The Real Housewitches of Calafia County”


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I’m able to continue writing and publishing thanks to my wonderful supporters on Patreon.

Stupid Games: A Brittani Menchin Justice Short Story

Brittani Menchin, decidedly not popular high school student, stumbles across her former BFF, Charlotte, in the girls’ bathroom.

Cutting herself.

Despite Brittani’s pain over Char’s defection, she can’t not help someone in need.

It will take all her geeky knowledge and wit to sabotage the idiotic game Char’s new popular friends have roped her into.

Fans of Veronica Mars will love this first story featuring justice-seeking Brittani Menchin, a not-quite-six-feet-tall math nerd and high school Fixer.

Buy “Stupid Games”


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I’m able to continue writing and publishing thanks to my wonderful supporters on Patreon.

Magic, Monsters, and Myth Storybundle

The Magic, Monsters, and Myth Storybundle has a wonderful variety of work, and as curator Kristine Kathryn Rusch says, “…this bundle is all about the sparkle. Sometimes the sparkle is magic. Sometimes it’s a made-up world. Sometimes it’s love.”

When she first approached me about putting Beautiful Beast in this bundle, I warned her that there was no fantasy in it. It’s inspired by a fairy tale, but it’s contemporary YA. She didn’t care, and ended up renaming the bundle because of the variety of subgenres she was including.

I then asked her (and Jason, who runs Storybundle) if they’d like an issue of Uncollected Anthology, and they said yes. The UA cooperative agreed that our latest issue, Deities, would be perfect. So you’ll find a story from me in there as well: “Shattered, Scattered, and Saved.”

Additionally, WMG Publishing included Fiction River: Tavern Tales, which I also have a story in: “Girls That Glitter,” a Nikki Ashburne story.

If you pay $5 or more, you get five books, and if you pay $15 or more, you get twelve. A pretty damn good deal! This will be going on for only three weeks, so don’t miss out.

Once again, the charity you can donate to when you buy the bundle, is AbleGamers. As I said about the most recent Storybundle I was in, gamers with disabilities already need equipment tailored to their needs, and now, those that weren’t already housebound are stuck at home. We read for escape, and we also game for escape. Let’s let everyone have their chance!

For more information, go to Storybundle.com. You probably know the drill by now.  😉


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I’m able to continue writing and publishing thanks to my wonderful supporters on Patreon.

Publication in AHMM!

My crime story “Pirate Pete’s” is in the July/August 2019 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine!

“Pirate Pete’s” was inspired by an amusement park in Florida that my friend Gayle worked at as a teenager in the 1980s (the story is set then, too). However, I made this park up, and the events that take place are fictional. Just some of the details about the place come from her stories about it.


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The latest Uncollected Anthology: Beasties!

Enjoy the urban fantasy stories of the Uncollected Anthology: Beasties now collected in this bundle.

Discover how to deal with raising chickens and feathered serpents or enjoy some tasty ice cream with a side of monsters. Rid your apartment of something small and…blue? Commute with the dogs or take a strange-looking bird to the vet.

Explore the Uncollected Anthology with Beasties!

My story, “Telling the Bees,” is another Holly and Willow Hedgewitch tale. Enjoy!


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Surprise publication news!

My YA SF story “Get Inside” is the lead story in Fiction River Presents: Among the Stars! This is a reprint anthology (“Get Inside” originally appeared in Fiction River: Feel the Fear) and I had no idea it was going to be reprinted, much less be the lead story in a volume. Hurrah!

Even better, Among the Stars is currently part of the Space Opera Storybundle that just went live. Get TEN ebooks for just $15! That means you can get Among the Stars and nine other space opera books. That’s a helluva deal.


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Another Anthology Workshop in the books (haha!)

Last week I once again attended the Anthology Workshop, which is now in Las Vegas. I had the great privilege of once again being an editor as well. Two years ago I edited a volume of portal fantasy called Fiction River: Doorways to Enchantment (due out this summer), and this time I was buying for Fiction River: Secrets.

Coming July 2019!

I had an amazing time, and bought some spectacular stories. The quality was so high that I more than once begged for a second anthology to fit everything in. Some of the stories I couldn’t take were purchased for Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, which made me very happy, and one will be included in the annual editors’ choice issue, which is all of the stories the editors thought should have been purchased. That’s always a fun debate (again in front of all the writers), arguing for the stories we felt were slighted.

Because of a personal crisis (more on that soon), I had to fly out late, arriving in time for the Sunday session having missed Thursday through Saturday. So my trip flew by, and I didn’t get to hang out with nearly enough of the wonderful authors and great friends there. I’m stunned that a couple of the authors from whom I bought stories were fairly new writers. Apparently they’d taken a number of workshops via WMG Publishing, and that was obvious from the skill they showed.

Fiction River: Secretsis going to be a kick-ass volume.

I was back home as of very late Wednesday, and life is good. Now that I’m done reading all those stories for the workshop (I got waaaay behind), I’m immersing myself in all the books I’d set aside. I’ve written one short story, and now I need to tweak the end of one and write another before I dive into a nonfiction book that now has a hard deadline (eep!). I get to cuddle with Ken and all the cats.

There are some downsides, sure. The fridge stopped working before I left for the workshop, and although it’s working now, it still needs a part that had to be ordered, and so it won’t be completely fixed until Wednesday. So we haven’t put much back in it, in case it gives up the ghost again before then. Then this morning, our lodger woke us up at 5:30 a.m. to let us know the water heater was flooding the basement. He took the day off (did some work at home) so he could help us sweep water towards the drain, mop, and repack boxes that had gotten sodden on the bottom. Ah, the life of a homeowner!

I have more news, but that can wait for another day!


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Orycon schedule!

I’ll be at Orycon this weekend, and if you want to track me down (not in a creepy way), here’s where I”ll be!

Friday, November 9

7:00pm
Writer Retreats
Bob Brown • Brenda Cooper • Dayle A. Dermatis • Diana Pharaoh Francis

8:00pm
Self-Publishing 101
EM Prazeman • Blythe Ayne • Dayle A. Dermatis • Shawna Reppert • S. B. Sebrick

Saturday, November 10

6:00pm
Sex and the modern market
Dayle A. Dermatis • Audiobook Narrator • Theresa Reed • Anna Snyder

8:00pm
Indie Publishing Tools are getting easy
Jennifer Willis • Dayle A. Dermatis • Sienna Saint-Cyr • S. B. Sebrick • Dale Ivan Smith

Sunday, November 11

12:00pm
Autograph Session: Sunday Noon
Jennifer Brozek • Dayle A. Dermatis • David D. Levine

1:00pm
Tropes, Memes, and literary devices
Dayle A. Dermatis • Frog Jones • Seanan McGuire • EM Prazeman • Cat Rambo


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