writer Trey Dowell

Results are in!!

"Heat" ties for 6th place in EQ Readers Award voting!

Every year, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine has a "Readers Award" vote where subscribers select their favorite out of all the stories published in that year. For 2019, my flash short "Heat" placed 6th overall--a fabulous honor, particularly considering it was my first time being published in the magazine (and hopefully not the last.)

"Lucky" announced as a Derringer Award Finalist

My crime short story "Lucky", published in December 2019 by Close To The Bone Publishing has just been announced as a finalist for the 2020 Derringer Award! The Derringers honor excellence in short mystery/crime fiction, and the finalists are voted on by members of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, a collection of writing professionals from around the world. This is my third time as a Finalist--so hopefully, third time is the charm. Winners will be announced on May 1st, 2020!

"Heat" published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

The July/August issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine will be available at a bookstore/newstand near you on June 13th, 2019. Included in this issue's fare is my short story "Heat"--one of the most emotional, horrifying stories I've ever written. I'm honored that such a prestigious magazine would include me with some of the world's finest mystery/crime writers. Leave me a comment/angry outburst here after reading if you'd like.

Results are in!!!

Back in July 2017, I entered the NYC Midnight Flash Fiction Challenge--a six month endeavor, involving 2500 writers around the world from more than 30 countries. Flash Fiction (short stories less than 1000 words) is something I enjoy, but becomes a different animal when you're assigned prompts and you only have 48 hours to create a compelling story. Three rounds and four stories later--the results have been announced. Spoiler alert: Um, I won.

The Protectors

(Simon & Schuster - 2014)

Don’t call Scott McAlister a hero.

Heroes change the world, and the only thing Scott changes these days is his underwear.

It wasn’t always this way. One of only four meta-humans in existence, Scott used to be part of something special...something amazing.

The Protectors. A United Nations-sponsored team of unique individuals--people with astonishing genetic abilities--banded together for the good of mankind.

Or at least, that was the shiny facade the C.I.A. wanted the public to see. Scott knew the darker reality. He tolerated the publicity stunts, the lies, even the ham-fisted government handlers--but when one of the Protectors tragically died under his command, Scott stepped down and into self-imposed "retirement."

Now, five years later, a desperate C.I.A. chief shows up on Scott’s doorstep with a polite request and a cadre of shock troops to ensure that Scott accepts. His ex-teammate and ex-lover, Lyla Ravzi, has gone rogue. The former Protector has the ability to control minds, and her focus isn’t about “protecting” any longer. It’s about world domination.

Scott’s mission is simple: find Lyla and stop her. The messy little details are up to him. It’s the last thing he needs after five years spent trying to forget the Protectors and get over Lyla, but the alternative is worse. The C.I.A. would rather have a dead asset than a rogue asset--and that goes for both Lyla and Scott.

As he closes in on his target, Scott is forced to confront his past and face a chilling reality: can he save the world and the woman he once loved? Or will he have to choose?

Buy it now