Hi y'all. Just a note. I needed some time--perspective--away from short stories to get a handle on Tough for the future. During 2026 and early 2027, I am and will be working with other presses to help further their plans, mostly involving novellas. More on that on my socials--(@rustybarnes23-- in the near future. Tough will continue eventually with an updated website and perhaps better pay. I'm hopeful to have this straight before 2/27. But that's the plan right now. :-)
In a small corner of Philadelphia, a funeral director steals a man’s car as payment on a debt… “Where’s my fucking car?” Joey shouted over the phone. “Where’s my fucking money?” Dean shouted back. “You can’t just—” “But I did,” said Dean interrupting him. “I need the money you owe me.” “You don’t understand,” Joey implored. “This ain’t a fucking charity, Joey.” And he hung up. Dean Sassuolo tossed his cellphone onto the stainless-steel table next to him and went back to preparing Mrs. Chalmers for embalming. As he tied the rubber apron around his substantial girth, the phone buzzed angrily on the table, resonating with the steel. Joey again. He could wait. Friendships, good intentions. That’s what fucks you , he thought. Not that Joey was a friend. Not really. His father, Old Joe Tedesco, had been someone Dean looked up to, and for Old Joe’s sake, he had tried to be kindly with Little Joe, had agreed to work with him when he was short on funds for burying his...
I want to let our readers and writers know that TOUGH is going on an indefinite hiatus. I have been fortunate to have had a number of amazing partners and editors to help me make the sausages since 2017. And I have been fortunate to showcase the talents of award-winning writers from around the globe. I will still be active in the crime fiction community in some capacity, and I look forward to what the future will bring. Thanks-- Rusty
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