Ep29: Stacy Woodson is a US Army combat veteran and award-winning author of 40 short stories. Don’t miss her interview at Elaine’s

Meet the Author: Stacy Woodson is a US Army combat veteran. Memories of her time in the military are often a source of inspiration for her stories. She made her crime fiction debut in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine’s Department of First Stories and won the 2018 Readers Award, the second time in the award’s history a debut took first place.

Awards: Since then, she has placed over 40 short stories in various publications, three winning the Derringer award for excellence in short mystery fiction. (She is a five-time nominee.) Her short fiction has also been nominated for a Macavity Award, Thriller Award, Anthony Award (anthology, co-editor), selected for The Best Mystery Stories of the Year, named a finalist for ScreenCraft’s Best Cinematic Short Story, and adapted for animation. Stacy also writes screenplays and was recently accepted to the Writers Guild Foundation’s Veterans Writing Project. Her pilot script, “Poppins,” was named a Second Rounder in the Drama Teleplay Pilot category in the 2025 Austin Film Festival Script Competition.

When she’s not writing: Stacy co-edits anthologies with Michael Bracken for Down and Out Books and Level Best Books and teaches at Outliers Writing University. She is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild and works as background talent for movies and television which has deepened her understanding of the filmmaking process and the need for practical scripts. Past projects include Homeland, Jack Ryan, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Silo, Terminal List: Dark Wolf, Wonder Woman 1984, and A House of Dynamite. Learn more: stacywoodson.com

About Stacy’s books:

Latest Novella: The Cadillac Job, a Chop Shop Series Created by Michael Bracken

Loyalty beyond the battlefield sends Carly and Knuckles on one last mission to save a dying teammate. When Carly isn’t slinging drinks at the local VFW, she boosts cars—a job much like the one she had on a vehicle recovery team in Afghanistan. Except her team isn’t the same.

Sweets is dying. And the last time Knuckles scouted for a Mustang, he ended up at a dude ranch off Highway 175. Her commanding officer is different, too. She no longer answers to Captain Shrader. She answers to Huey, and the consequences for disobeying orders are deadly.

Determined to save Sweets, Carly steals cars to pay for a lifesaving surgery. But progress is slow, and Sweets is running out of time—until the Cadillac Job. The payout is big. So are the risks. If Carly succeeds, Sweets lives. If she fails, they both die.

“Two Tamales, One Tokarev and a Lifetime of Broken Promises:” A minister, a taco truck, and a gun, what could possibly go wrong?

Vivian, an ex-con turned prison minister, discovers her brother, Tommy, is in debt to the Chicago Outfit. And they’re calling the note—20 grand plus the juice.

If Tommy doesn’t come up with the money in 72 hours, he will be a permanent resident of Lake Michigan. As kids, she and her brother grew up on the streets and lived by a set of rules: #1 no drugs, #2 no turning tricks, #3 no tangling with the mob. And they’d have each other’s back—always.

Vivian can’t abandon her brother, despite the risk to her church and the new life she’s built for herself.

So, she comes up with a plan—a way to turn the tables on the Outfit and save her brother. An Eastside bookie, a taco truck, and a Russian-made pistol are key. But even she knows the plan is a long shot. There was a reason why she made rule #3. When it comes to the mob, someone always pays a price.

 Guns & Tacos Vol. 5 (Compilation Volume Episodes 13-15)

There’s a taco truck in Chicago known among a certain segment of the population for its daily specials. Late at night and during the wee hours of the morning, it isn’t the food selection that attracts customers, it’s the illegal weapons available with the special order.

Each episode of Guns & Tacos features the story of one Chicagoland resident who visits the taco truck seeking a solution to life’s problems, a solution that always comes in a to-go bag.

Click here to learn more and buy Stacy’s books.

Bestselling thriller novelist Jeffrey James Higgins, host, Elaine’s Literary Salon podcast show

About our Elaine’s Literary Salon Host, Jeffrey James Higgins: A retired superviso