The guidelines ask for a summary in the cover letter. What level of summarizing do you have in mind? A one to two sentence elevator pitch? A paragraph walking through all the plot twists?
Leaning more towards the former than the latter. I should understand your twists just by reading the story and I want more like a book blurb so I can get a quick understanding of what your story is about.
I’ve just got to say – thank you for putting out this anthology call. It got me to write a whole story that I wouldn’t have written otherwise; I’m proud of how the story turned out; and, I had a blast writing it.
Thank you, and thank you for submitting as well! I’m looking forward to reading your submission and happy the turn out for stories is higher than I expected.
I helped!
In other news, getting through some of this submission queue. Definitely some…interesting stories.
This is true. I probably wouldn’t have written a story for noir at all except I was so intrigued by the challenge of your suggestion. I hope it lives up to your expectations!
Thank you again everyone who submitted. There were some hard decisions, but our selections were finalized this last weekend and everyone should have received a response from me. If you didn’t, please reach out to me.
Otherwise, we’re still looking for a good name for the anthology so feel free to offer any suggestions.
Mean Stripes
The Paw that Holds the Gun
Hard Hearts and Soft Fur
Eyes, Tails, and Squealers
…somebody jump in, I’m dying here.
Cat’s Eyes in the Dark
Claws, Fangs and a Loaded Gun
Hunters, Hunted and a Few Private Eyes
La Bête Noir (The Black Beast in French)
Ooh, I like this one!
Last I heard, he’s trying to avoid claw, fang, and fur references as they are really common.
Also tails. Tails are like, #1.
Although if you have a loaded tail, you should see a doctor.
Not Blacksad, but Just As Cool
Ruthless Rhinos and Feline Fatales
Betraying Badgers, Vicious Vixens
Okay, more seriously…
The Deep Dark Pit at the Heart of It All
Spots, Stripes, Sins, Secrets, and Souls - All Black (OR Sable Spots, Stripes, Sins, Secrets)
I like the idea of Bête Noir. Also…
Shadows and Light
A Slant of Shadow
Streets in Shadow
Eyeshine
‘Eyeshine’ is a good one!
Bete Noir is nice, but it’s already the title of one of the Grandville graphic novels (furry steampunk detective).
Bete Noir has been suggested a few times but as Huskyteer has pointed out, it’s kind of used already. Here’s some others I’ve had and been given:
Inhuman Acts
Howls in the Night
Dusk til Dawn
Whiskey and Cigarettes -> then Noir 2 can be Brandy and Cigars 
Dusk til Dawn is a series of movies, isn’t it?
I personally like Inhuman Acts or Whiskey and Cigarettes X3 The latter mainly because of the sequel suggestion!
I mentioned that I quite liked Inhuman Acts. Name it Whiskey and Cigarettes and I’m not buying it =p
Inhuman Acts + knowing it’s the title of a furry anthology would make me think extreme fetish more than noir, honestly.
Yeah, that’s an issue with some suggestions is that they can be taken sexually very easily thanks to the nature of our fandom