Today is release day for A Bag of Dick’s: a 509 Crime Anthology, edited by Colin Conway. Yes, that’s the title and no, it’s not what you think. Apparently, there’s an old school burger joint in Spokane, WA that’s called Dick’s Hamburgers where you can buy burgers by the bag. Hence the title. So when I was asked to contribute a short story to this, I had to say yes. I mean who wouldn’t, right?

The stories all feature the desperate, the criminal, and the opportunists as they scramble to find a Dick’s bag to earn a Get out of Jail Free card. My story is called “Her Father’s Daughter” and it’s a dual POV with a young woman whose boyfriend isn’t the brightest criminal. She should know because her father used to be one too, but he’s left all that behind him. Or so he tells her.
Link to buy is here: A Bag of Dick’s and here’s the anthology description:
With scorching tales from Jonathan Brown, Sarah M. Chen, Bill Fitzhugh, Scott Kikkawa, Nick Kolakowski, Debbi Mack, Kat Richardson, Brian Thornton, Sam Wiebe, Jim Winter, and Frank Zafiro.
Detective Jim Morgan just gave Roy Utt the opportunity of a lifetime. What happens next is the stuff of legend.
In an instant, Roy Utt’s life changed, and it happened at Dick’s Hamburgers.
A guy ran from the parking lot with a bag of burgers clutched to his chest. To Roy, it was life on the street—weird things happen, and wondering why is wasted time.
But today is no ordinary day because Detective James Morgan was also there. Unlike Roy, Morgan isn’t in the habit of dismissing bizarre events. Instead, he wants to know what was in the bag, and he’s giving Roy the incentive to find it—a Get Out of Jail Free card.
If Roy knows one thing, it’s that Morgan’s word is better than the dry sandwiches and mushy apples in lock-up.
With the clock ticking on the deal, Roy is already sharing too much information. The allure of a Get Out of Jail Free card attracts the smart, the cunning, and the stupid. An all-out scavenger hunt is underway in the criminal underworld.
Will Roy earn his Get Out of Jail Free card, or will he become a footnote in the legacy of the streets?
A Bag of Dick’s is a collection of twelve short stories from crime fiction’s liveliest voices. Get your copy today and experience the 509 in a way you never expected.