I’m new to Spinetingler, but I understand it began as a downloadable free magazine and now—with the help of Down & Out Books—is in print. Editor Sandra Ruttan notes: “I would like to thank Jack Getze for financing this venture so that the writers could be offered a small payment.”

The first print edition is loaded with short stories and features, making it especially easy to zip ahead even when you only have five minutes to spare. The features include brief interviews, authors’ reading lists, and a review. Overall, a novel method to expand the contributor list and give up-and-comers some extra ink. The subjects of these interviews and reader lists include Leo W. Banks, James Oswald, Laura Ellen Scott, Con Lehane, Rusty Barnes, Jason Ridler, Angel Luis Colón, Mindy Tarquini, Robb White, and Eryk Pruitt. Plus, Rusty Barnes provides a review of Hank Early’s novel Heaven’s Crooked Finger.

When I first encountered this magazine, it’s title evoked visions of horror stories, but this edition of Spinetingler is a crime book. Among its nine short stories are tales of revenge, bizarro fantasy, and vigilante justice, with entries from Tracy Falenwolfe, Nick Kolakowski , B.V. Lawson, Brandon McNulty, Karin Montin, Bern Sy Moss, David Rachels, Jennifer Soosar, and S.B. Watson. All criminally good fiction, but the standout is the novelette, “Illusions” by Albert Tucher, which manages to combine the feel of a 1950’s classic with a contemporary, spartan style—it is simply terrific.

Publisher: Down & Out Books
Editor: Sandra Ruttan
Contributing Editor: Jack Getze
Cover design: Lance Wright
150 pages, 5.5” x 8.5”
$10.99 POD, $5.99 Kindle ($1.99 with print version)
Spinetingler Magazine website