Black Cat Weekly #220

This issue, we feature the remarkable results of our first short story contest. We asked for submissions based around a painting by Ron Miller (featured on the cover), and we received more than a hundred entries, most of which were terrific. We had to make some painful choices to pare down the list, and we finally came up with a list of winners and runners-up. Here are the results: FIRST PLACE "e;Kat's Ninth Life,"e; by Pam Barnsley SECOND PLACE "e;La Minette,"e; by Michael Gorman THIRD PLACE (tie) "e;Passport,"e; by Darren O. Godfrey "e;The Case of the Impaled Artist,"e; by Wayne Carey HONORABLE MENTION Viviana De Cecco * Teel James Glenn * Nancy Hansen Phyllis Ann Karr * donalee Moulton * Alan Orloff Stephen D. Rogers * R.D. Simmons * Al Sirois H.K. Slade * Janice Law * Elysia Whisler This is, quite obviously, more than we fit into a typical issue of Black Cat Weekly-almost double, in fact-so we are splitting the stories up and running them in two issues. The second volume will appear in a couple of weeks with the remainder of the stories. Rounding out this issue are a mystery novel by Swedish writer and journalist Julius Regis Petersson (1889-1925), who wrote as Julius Regis, and a solve-it-yourself puzzler by Hal Charles. Hal Charles has appeared in every issue since #1 so had to appear here, too! This is the complete lineup- All Artwork by Ron Miller NOVEL The Copper House, by Julius Regis A strange metal house hides murder, rumor, and a reporter's trap. SOLVE-IT-YOURSELF MYSTERY "e;The Unlocked Home Mystery,"e; by Hal Charles Can you solve the mystery before the detective? All the clues are there! SHORT STORIES "e;Kat's Ninth Life,"e; by Pam Barnsley The director has a script. The lead actress has claws and a different plan. "e;Passport,"e; by Darren O. Godfrey A forbidden magazine becomes a portal to impossible worlds... "e;Sea Turtles All Over Again,"e; by R.D. Simmons A dashing sea yarn of cat pirates, bad choices-and homefront fury! "e;Mystery of the Pirate Tigress,"e; by Stephen D. Rogers A pirate, a password-and a puzzle worth millions. "e;Catalina's Storm,"e; by Elysia Whisler On a storm-lashed bay, a brother hunts a collector of lost women... "e;Captain Fluffy Sails Again!"e; by Alan Orloff A swashbuckling tale of cats, dogs, and the ultimate pirate showdown! "e;The Cat's Last Cry,"e; by Viviana De Cecco A threatening photo. A dead star. Can Detective Armandi find the killer? "e;Starblood,"e; by A.L. Sirois A grifter must help a cursed cat-woman steal from the Starblood...