A Book(ish) Life: Debra H. Goldstein

Why a Story or Idea is Never a One and Done Deal

Sorry for the delay this week, folks - we had some technical difficulties! But I'm so pleased to share with you this fabulous guest post by award winning mystery author, Debra H Goldstein! I'm honored to have Debra here - she has a remarkable career and I'm so grateful that she's here to share her wisdom with us!

Why a Story or Idea is Never a One and Done Deal by Debra H. Goldstein

Whether you are a writer or a reader, I’m going to let you in on a secret that it often takes authors a few years to realize: a story or idea is never a one and done deal. They can often be recycled in numerous ways.

For example, the first story I ever had published, “Malicious Mischief,” featured a young married male lawyer, his mother, the players in his mother’s Mah Jongg game, and a former Nazi. The story won an award. A year later, a different version of the story and characters won another award. Three years later, when I was writing my second novel, Should Have Played Poker: a Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery, I realized that the main character, young corporate attorney Carrie Martin, was going to have a complex back story. To balance her serious nature and thought processes, I needed to introduce some form of comic relief. I tried different sidekicks, but nothing felt right. That’s when I remembered my favorite “Malicious Mischief” Mah Jongg players. Reviving them again created the perfect foil for Carrie.

In 2015, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable published my short story, “This Is Where I Buried My Wives.” The idea for it came from dating service TV commercials matching city slickers with would-be mates who enjoyed farm life. The emphasis of the commercials wasn’t on the meet-up, but what happened after the characters tried building a relationship in the country. My story was a fun one to write, but nothing I intended to visit again. Then, last year, Tough Magazine announced a call for rural stories, and they were willing to take reprints. “This Is Where I Buried My Wives” seemed perfect – it was in the word count, the theme was what they were looking for, and the story was a bit different than what I thought most of the submissions would be. I sent it in. It was accepted and published. Not only was it nice to have a story find a second home, but getting a second check for the tale was also pleasing.

Recently, Barb Goffman, as her weekly reprint selection, featured my 2019 story, “Harvey and the Red-Head,” that originally appeared in an anthology of Texas related stories, The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes from the Panhandle. Once again, the premise of a piece not being a one and done deal was proven true.

In February 2025, White City Press released a collection of eighteen of my previously published short stories that had won or been finalists for awards. The collection, With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying, deals with family and friends, their sins, and their sometimes redemption. The stories range from cozy chucklers like “Thanksgiving in Moderation” to darker tales, including the cover story, “So Beautiful or So What.” Because many of the anthologies or publications in which these stories appeared are either out of print or archived, the publisher’s willingness to make this a collection of reprints means that each of these stories will have an extended shelf life to be introduced to new readers.

I’m sold on the secret that a story or idea is never a one and done deal. What about you?

About Debra:

Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying, a collection of her short stories, as well as Kensington’s Sarah Blair mystery series, and two standalone novels: IPPY award winning Maze in Blue and Should Have Played Poker: a Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery. Her short stories, which have been named Agatha, Anthony, and Derringer finalists and won AWC, BWR, and other awards, have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies including Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Mystery Weekly, Malice Domestic Murder Most Edible, Masthead, Murder by the Glass, Jukes & Tonks, and Paranoia Blues: Songs Inspired by the Music of Paul Simon. Debra serves on the national board of Sisters in Crime and previously was on Mystery Writers of America’s national board and was president of the Guppy and SEMWA chapters. Find out more about Debra at https://www.DebraHGoldstein.com.

Contact Debra:

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Buy With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying:

White City Press | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org