Attending Authors
Transcription
Attending Authors
23 Years Celebrating the Traditional Mystery Guest of Honor Carole Nelson Douglas Message from the Chair Verena Rose The A-B-C’s of Malice 23 G reetings and welcome to the 23rd annual Malice Domestic convention. I trust you’re settled in and are now taking the time to look through your registration bag. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed because as usual our sponsors have been most generous and you will find that your bag contains a wonderful assortment of books to add to what I imagine are your ever-growing to-be-read piles. I also hope that you’ve taken a bit of time to wander around the hotel to familiarize yourself with the new venue. As you can see, it is much smaller than our former hotel, but we will essentially be the only group in the hotel for this weekend. The Hyatt served Malice Domestic well for eight of its first nine years and we are very pleased to be bringing our convention back to Bethesda. I think you’ll find that you will meet new friends and see old friends much more easily in this new environment. A short wait for the elevator or a seat in the restaurant is the perfect opportunity to chat with your neighbor in line. In addition to our new venue, Malice Domestic 23 has a few surprises for you throughout the weekend. At the very least there will be one major announcement at the Agatha Banquet on Saturday and, in addition to the sweets and savories at Tea on Sunday, we have a wonderful program event for you to enjoy as well. Now moving on to what I’m affectionately calling the A-B-C’s of Malice.... The ‘A’ stands for the Alphabet mysteries created by this year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Sue Grafton. To date she has entertained us with 21 letters of the alphabet, beginning with A is for Alibi through her most recently released title U is for Undertow. We take great pleasure in welcoming her for the first time to Malice Domestic. Birds are what the letter ‘B’ is all about for this year’s Malice Domestic. Our honored Toastmaster, Donna Andrews, writes a mystery series using birds in titles ranging from Cockatiels to Swans with Peacocks, Penguins and Puffins in between. Knowing her as I do, you can expect to be wonderfully entertained this entire weekend. The Malice Board is very pleased to be honoring Donna this weekend and I look forward to spending time with her on stage. Malice Domestic 23 I’m sure it will be no surprise that ‘C’ stands for Cat and one cat in particular. Only the very sheltered will not have heard of Midnight Louie, stellar feline investigator. We can only hope that he is as pleased as we are that his human, Carole Nelson Douglas, is this year’s Guest of Honor. I personally am very pleased that Carole is this year’s Guest of Honor because some of my earliest memories of Malice include my first meeting Carole Nelson Douglas and having her sign copies of her Midnight Louie mysteries for me over the years. Anyone who has had her sign their books knows that she takes great pains to make each personalization unique and they are always little works of art. Also being honored this year are Janet Rudolph, Editor of the Mystery Readers Journal, who will be presented with the Poirot award at the Agatha Awards Banquet and Anne Murphy, one of the Malice Faithful Few, who is this year’s Fan Guest of Honor. Finally, we will be honoring the memory of one of Malice’s own special authors, Lyn Hamilton. Lyn’s friends, Rhys Bowen and Mary Jane Maffini, will be accepting a special presentation in her honor at the Agatha Awards Banquet on Saturday. Please join with us in welcoming and congratulating all of this year’s wonderful honorees. The Malice Domestic Board of Directors is extremely proud of the work it does to present you with a fabulously entertaining weekend of mystery each year. We think you’ll agree that Malice Domestic 23 will go on record as one of the best ever. The Board and I hope you have a very enjoyable time, make a few new friends, meet a favorite author and go home with many unforgettable memories. With malicious regards, — Verena Rose Chair 1 Table of Contents Guest of Honor: Carole Nelson Douglas ......................3 Toastmaster: Donna Andrews ....................................10 Fan Guest of Honor: Anne Murphy ............................14 Lifetime Achievement: Sue Grafton ............................16 Poirot Award: Janet Rudolph ......................................22 Malice Remembers: Lyn Hamilton..............................26 Agatha Awards ............................................................32 A Brief History of Malice Domestic ............................38 William F. Deeck — Malice Domestic Grants ............40 Our Sponsors ................................................................42 Memories of Malice ......................................................43 General Information ....................................................44 Charity Auction ............................................................46 Convention Schedule ..................................................48 Attending Authors ........................................................58 Expert ............................................................................82 St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic Contest..............83 Dealers ..........................................................................84 Malice Domestic Board of Directors............................86 ILLUSTRATION DEANE NETTLES Pre-Registered Participants ........................................88 Friends of Malice ..........................................................91 Malice Domestic, Ltd. organizes the convention for the education and entertainment of attendees. The responsibility for content of all sessions is solely and strictly that of the speakers and their remarks are not to be construed in any way as reflecting on the policies of Malice Domestic, Ltd. or its Officers, Directors, Committee Members, Advisors and Employees. ©2011 Malice Domestic Ltd. Copyrights of all essays revert to authors. All rights reserved. Malice Domestic 23 Program Book: Published April 29, 2011. Editor: Rita Owen, [email protected]. Design and production by Judith Barrett Graphics, Alexandria, Virginia. Printed by HBP, Hagerstown, MD. 2 Malice Domestic 23 Guest of Honor Carole Nelson Douglas Midnight Louie’s Mama by Carolyn Hart Malice Domestic 23 maker of kaleidoscopes in the form of iconic skyscrapers and ray guns!” Carole recounts. “Our artist/writer partnership stimulates creativity without competition or conflict. He’s always been wise and funny and keeps me sane. We met when he was 25 and I was reading The Lord of the Rings. I told him he reminded me of the elderly wizard Gandalf! Of course, the trilogy has the truly heroic character of Samwise, too.” After a distinguished career as a feature writer, reporter, and later page designer and editorial writer, attaining “first woman” status in several of those endeavors, Carole left The St. Paul Pioneer Press in 1984 to become a full-time writer of fiction. Her production since then has been dazzling, featuring unforgettable characters such as Midnight Louie, surely one of the most original cats in all of fiction; Irene Adler who is so much more than what Carole calls the “Victorian bimbo” male writers after Doyle made her, and now the girly-gritty, super clever, beat-‘em-tothe-punch paranormal investigator Delilah Street. Carole never met a cat she didn’t like and Midnight Louie is her tribute to the elegant and mysterious creatures so many of us love. Louie is not only a hairy-chested dude who always gets his man in soon-to-be twenty-three entertaining books, but he has held his own in the dark streets of Vegas with élan and Damon Runyon wit. RT Book Reviews noted, “Douglas’s 22nd Midnight Louie tale is just as twisty, riveting and intriguing as the one that came before. Even longtime fans are bound to say, ‘Wow, I never saw that coming!’ to the very end.” “Like many couples,” Carole says, “Louie and I met in the newspaper classifieds. The big, black, street-savvy, hep cat had crossed the owners of a fancy Palo Alto motel by eating the expensive koi in their pond. Headed from the pond to certain death at the pound, Louie was flown to Minnesota by a woman who took out a three-inch-long, thirty-dollar Photo: Sam Douglas C arole Nelson Douglas’s sunny smile and easy warmth reflect a woman who understands happiness and welcomes challenges. Carole has insatiable curiosity, incredible energy, the enthusiasm of a six-year-old in a candy store, devotion to all creatures great and small — most especially to elegant, mysterious, fascinating cats, — and a passionate love of writing. Most authors are content to master a particular kind of fiction. Carole doesn’t believe in boundaries and never accepts limitations. In her amazing career she has written more than sixty novels. Her novels include mainstream, mystery, thriller, Tolkienesque high fantasy, science fiction, historicals, romance and women’s fiction. After winning or making the short list for more than fifty writing awards, her critically acclaimed achievements are celebrated now in her role as Guest of Honor at Malice Domestic. Carole wrote her first novel, Amberleigh, while she was still in college. She created the highly-original, post-feminist Gothic to counter the weak women characters she found in Gothic fiction. “Since then I’ve merrily reformed fiction genres, inventing women as realistic protagonists. Of course, creating true women means creating true men as partners and protagonists,” Carole said. “And I’ve never had to look far for an understanding of a man of integrity.” Carole met Sam Douglas when they were in a community theater production together and they’ve been an artistic cottage industry all through their marriage. A dedication in Six of Swords hails Sam as “husband, best friend, sounding board, wailing wall, perpetual adviser and unsung co-conspirator, unfailing partner and fellow creator, ever-ready shield and sword. And my home.” “Sam’s been an actor, folk singer, furniture and stage set designer, museum exhibition director and 3 Guest of Honor Carole Nelson Douglas Four Fascinating Facts from the Secret Files of Carole Nelson Douglas • Hollywood and Broadway director Garson Kanin took Carole’s first novel to his publisher. • Marcie Muller and Carole were among 12 finalists in Vogue‘s annual Prix de Paris writing competition for college seniors which was earlier won by Jackie O. • Carole was named a Pioneer of Publishing by Romantic Times Book Reviews magazine. • Top mystery cat: Cat Fancy magazine ranked Midnight Louie #16 when listing 45 iconic cats in all media. classified ad to offer him to the right home for a dollar. My reporter instincts were twitching to know the whole story and I put the resulting article in Louie’s ‘voice.’ He ended up lording it over a Minnesota ‘moo concession,’ but eight years later I was writing full-time in Texas and his part-time narrative voice returned loud and clear in a fanciful romance/mystery quartet set in Las Vegas.” And then there is the unforgettable and richly drawn Irene Adler, admired by Sherlock Holmes, who comes to life as a complex and independent woman. Always assumed to be the King of Bohemia’s mistress, Carole’s Irene is “far too independent to be anyone’s mistress but her own.” Readers will be thrilled to know that Irene’s adventures are now available in e-books. The last book in the series, Spiders Dance, received this praise from Publishers Weekly: “Witty, fast-paced and meticulously researched, this sepia-tinted Victorian confection also reflects a contemporary sensibility as it ponders religious fanaticism and the challenges of a female celebrity living by her own rules.” Carole “had no idea” she was the first author to make a woman from the Sherlockian Canon a protagonist. “I’d just seen another male-written Holmes 4 spin-off novel and wondered why women didn’t write in this field-founding classic mode. I didn’t even know my book would be on mystery shelves. My first thoughts skirted Adler because of the stereotyped depictions. Then I reread A Scandal in Bohemia and realized that Doyle had left room for a completely fresh and vital re-invention of the Irene Adler character.” Critics took note. “Highly eclectic writer and literary adventuress Douglas is as concerned about genre equality as she is about gender equity,” wrote Jo Ellyn Clarey in The Drood Review of Mystery. “With Good Night, Mr. Holmes Douglas ushered in a 1990s explosion of women-centered history-mystery, reschooling us about the ornery presence of women in both social and literary history.” Good Night, Mr. Holmes was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and won mystery and romantic awards. Carole’s newest exuberant character is paranormal investigator Delilah Street who can confront vampires, dark secrets from ancient Egypt, and an apocalyptically wild and dangerous 2013 Las Vegas with aplomb. Here’s a fabulous review of the third title, Vampire Sunrise, from Romance Junkies: “... a fun paranormal romp of epic proportions ... Douglas does an impeccable job of world-building and balancing mystery, romance and humor. Fascinating and scary, paranormal and urban fantasy lovers alike will love Delilah Street.” Carole wanted to make the mystery elements of the noir urban fantasy genre clear. “Delilah Street is obviously a play on Della Street. Perry Mason had a recurring role as Delilah’s father figure; she was an abandoned infant named for being found on Delilah Street, but grew up in Wichita, Kansas where there is no Delilah Street. Noir film figures from Sam Spade to Nick and Nora Charles inhabit the series. These Cinema Simulacrums, zombies blended with blackand-white film characters, are leased as tourist attractions for the Inferno, Gehenna and Karnak hotels. The CinSims pose all sorts of ethical issues, but are Delilah’s friendly neighborhood CIs. I’m a character-driven writer and Delilah gets to go up against some lulus, including a creepy CS/TV franchise mogul and a Howard Hughes who had Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 5 Guest of Honor Carole Nelson Douglas made himself into a vampire to keep his financial empire ... immortalizing the gaunt, unkempt Nosferatu-like elderly Howard Hughes, not the young dashing Hollywood womanizer.” Looking back on a fabulous career, Carole remembers the eclectic writings from the home bookshelf that inspired her as a young reader: Little Women, Edgar Allen Poe’s poetry, the Sherlock Holmes stories, The Three Musketeers, The Last of the Mohicans and the plays of Oscar Wilde. Neighbors she was babysitting for in the eighth grade came home stunned to find her halfway through the adult-rated The Caine Mutiny. They offered Carole her first cup of coffee (hated it) and sat down to ask what she thought of the book (loved it). Imagination lifted her then and now she shares the fruits of her wide-ranging interests, enthusiasms and creativity with readers who know that when they pick up a book by Carole, they will enter a world which will fascinate, thrill, amuse and entertain them on a world-class level. Carole speaks with her heart when she says, “A story is its own magical form of transport and it will accept aboard as many weary, tired, or hurting passengers as care to book passage.” Line up now ... Get your ticket ... All Aboard.... (Carolyn Hart is the author of the Bailey Ruth Raeburn, Death on Demand and Henrie O mysteries. Letter from Home, Carolyn Hart’s World War II era novel set on the home front, won the Agatha Award for Best Mystery Novel of 2003.) ✍ Bibliography SERIES Midnight Louie Playing Card Authorized Prequels The Cat and the King of Clubs (1999) The Cat and the Queen of Hearts (1999) The Cat and the Jill of Diamonds (2000) The Cat and the Jack of Spades (2000) Midnight Louie Series Catnap (1992) Pussyfoot (1993) Cat on a Blue Monday (1994) Cat in a Crimson Haze (1995) Cat in a Diamond Dazzle (1996) Cat with an Emerald Eye (1996) Cat in a Flamingo Fedora (1997) Cat in a Golden Garland (1997) Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt (1998) Cat in an Indigo Mood (1999) Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit (1999) Cat in a Kiwi Con (2000) Cat in a Leopard Spot (2001) Cat in a Midnight Choir (2002) Cat in a Neon Nightmare (2003) Cat in an Orange Twist (2004) Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit (2005) Cat in a Quicksilver Caper (2006) Cat in a Red Hot Rage (2007) Cat in a Sapphire Slipper (2008) Cat in a Topaz Tango (2009) Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme (2010) Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta (2011) Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator Series Dancing with Werewolves (2007) Brimstone Kiss (2008) Vampire Sunrise (2009) Silver Zombie (2010) Virtual Virgin (2011) 6 Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 7 Guest of Honor Carole Nelson Douglas Irene Adler Series Good Night, Mr. Holmes (1990) The Adventuress (2003) [formerly Good Morning Irene (1991)] A Soul of Steel (2006), [formerly Irene at Large (1992)] Another Scandal in Bohemia (2003) [formerly Irene’s Last Waltz (1993)] Chapel Noir (2001) Castle Rouge (2002) Femme Fatale (2003) Spider Dance (2004) ANTHOLOGIES Edited by Carole Nelson Douglas Marilyn: Shades of Blonde (1997) Midnight Louie’s Pet Detectives (1998) White House Pet Detectives (2002) NOVELS SF Thrillers Probe (1985) Counterprobe (1988) Historical Romance (*mystery) *Amberleigh (1980, reprinted 1992) Fair Wind, Fiery Star (1981), reprinted *Lady Rogue (1983), reprinted Mainstream In Her Prime (1982) Her Own Person (1982) The Best Man (1983) The Exclusive (1986) Contemporary Romance Azure Days, Quicksilver Nights (1985) “Christmas Magic,” A Dreamspun Christmas, novelette (1994) “Catch a Falling Angel,” Angel Christmas, novelette (1995) 8 Sword and Circlet Fantasy Series Six of Swords (1982) Exiles of the Rynth (1984) Keepers of Edanvant (1987) Heir of Rengarth (1988) Seven of Swords (1989) Taliswoman Fantasy Series Cup of Clay (1991) Seed Upon the Wind (1992) SHORT STORIES AND NOVELLAS Midnight Louie Short Stories & Novellas “The Maltese Double Cross,” Cat Crimes 2 (1992) “Sax and the Single Cat,” Danger in D.C.: Cat Crimes in the Nation’s Capital (1993) “Coyote Peyote,” The Mysterious West (1994) “Dog Collar,” Great Writers and Kids Write Mysteries (1996) “Iä Iä Iä Iä Cthulouie!” Cat Crimes for the Holidays (1997) “The Mummy Case,” Cat Crimes Through Time (1999) “License to Koi,” Death Dines In (2004) “Junior Partner in Crime,” Creature Cozies (2005) “The Riches There That Lie,” Poe’s Lighthouse (2006) Irene Adler Short Stories & Novellas “Parris Green,” Malice Domestic 2, (1992) “Dracula on the Rocks,” Celebrity Vampires (1995) “The Thief of Twelfth Night,” Holmes for the Holidays (1996) “Mesmerizing Bertie,” Crime Through Time 2 (1998) “A Baker Street Irregular,” Midnight Louie’s Pet Detectives (1998) “The Private Wife of Sherlock Holmes,” Sex, Lies, and Private Eyes (2009) Malice Domestic 23 Delilah Street Short Stories & Novellas “Bogieman,” Unusual Suspects (2008) “Butterfly Kiss,” Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 (2009) “Monster Mash,” Chicks Kick Butt (2011) “Snow Job,” Hex Symbol (2011) The Year’s 25 Best/Finest Crime and Mystery Stories “The Maltese Double Cross” (1993) “Parris Green” (1994) “Peyote Coyote” (1995) “Dirty Dancing” (1996) “Cold Turkey” (1997) “The Mummy Case” (2000) “Those Are Pearls That Were His Eyes” (2003) NONFICTION ESSAYS “My First Sci-Fi Fantasy,” How to Write a Romance and Get It Published (1982) “Who Reviews?” The Fine Art of Murder (1993) “Shadows of My Father,” Fathers & Daughters (1999) “Texas-bound,” Forever Texas: The Way Those Who Lived It Wrote It (2001) “I Love Stephie,” Perfectly Plum (2007) “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads (2010) Other Short Stories & Novellas “The Mummy Case” reprinted in The World’s Finest Mystery and Crime Stories I (2005) “Junior Partner in Crime,” Wolf Woman Bay and 9 More of the Finest Crime and Mystery Novellas of the Year (2007) “Cold Turkey,” Wild Women (1993) “Dirty Dancing,” Carolyn G. Hart Presents Malice Domestic 4 (1995) “Sunset,” Marilyn: Shades of Blonde (1997) “Night Owl,” Present Lives, Past Tense (1999) “Alice Holds the Cards,” written with Jennifer Waddell, First Lady Murders (1999) “Those Are Pearls That Were His Eyes,” Much Ado About Murder (2002) “A Cyber Christmas Carol,” Death by Dickens (2004) “Special Surprise Guest Appearance by ...” Murder by Magic: Twenty Tales of Crime and the Supernatural (2004) “Strangers in a Strange Land,” Thou Shalt Not Kill (2005) “Lawn and Order,” Deadly Housewives (2006) “Noah’s Ride,” chapter in collaborative western (2006) “Truth or Consequences,” Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary (2009) “Horse Trading,” More Tales of Zorro (2010) Malice Domestic 23 9 Toastmaster Donna Andrews Generous, Warm and Prolific By Ellen Crosby D onna Andrews and I first met, most appropriately, at Malice Domestic. It was 2002 and You’ve Got Murder, the first book in her Turing Hopper series about a sentient computer, had been nominated for an Agatha; that year it won as Best Novel. We were standing next to the coffeepot in the hospitality room. I introduced myself, an unknown author with one book published in the U.K. If you know Donna, you know she always has time for anyone trying to navigate the publishing world labyrinth, so we chatted. To this day I can’t say why I’m so sure that meeting took place next to the coffeepot — Donna gets her caffeine buzz from Diet Coke, even for breakfast — but what I do remember is that it was the beginning of what has become a cherished friendship. We talked books, agents, publishers — but we also spoke about the fact that she had decided she’d had enough of living in a condo with a balcony view of a busy street in Arlington, Virginia, and wanted a real house with a yard and a garden. And she was looking to move somewhere near where I lived. We began swapping e-mails, discussing real estate, school districts, neighborhoods; by July she bought a house about five minutes away, in the next town over from me. The trip between our places involves traveling a bucolic country road past a riding school and a lake surrounded by a pine grove. It’s quite idyllic and we both love it. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Donna moved to her new home that August and our e-mails continued, along with phone calls and lunches at a little restaurant nearby. I gave her the name of my plumber, my heating and air-conditioning company and an electrician I’d used. I discovered that she was an avid gardener like my husband, so she reciprocated with a list of spring- and fall- 10 blooming camellias and introduced us to the world of hellebores, flowering plants that flourish in wooded areas but, more importantly, happen to be on the extremely short yuck list of greenery deer won’t eat. I gave her extra cages when she decided to go all-out growing heirloom tomatoes. She brought gorgeous roses she’d grown in containers on her back patio over to our house. I soon learned that the warmth and affection that infuse Donna’s “Meg books” and the world of the delightful-butslightly-wacky Langslow family come from the close, loving relationships in her own family. A devoted daughter, she often made the drive to her hometown of Yorktown, Virginia to visit her parents. As her father’s health deteriorated, the trips became more frequent. Late at night when she could get to a computer, I’d get e-mails with news about the day’s visits to this or that doctor and her escalating worries about her beloved dad. When she wasn’t in Yorktown, she would regularly hop a plane to Boston to visit her brother and sister-in-law who were expecting twins, the now seven-year-old nephews who are the light of Donna’s life. It is a testimony to her strong family bonds that a few years ago Stuart, Elke and the boys left Massachusetts to relocate to Virginia, moving about fifteen minutes away from her home, and that her mom now lives in a nearby assisted-living center, after Donna spent weeks doing research until she found just the right place. Now acting as her mother’s primary caregiver, Donna also makes sure she never misses one of the twins’ school events or Little League games. A prolific author who produced 17 books in 11 years, she has been nominated for or received such top mystery awards as the Agatha, Lefty, Dilys, Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 11 Toastmaster Donna Andrews Anthony and Macavity (for a short story) and is a three-time RT winner, scooping up Best First Novel and Most Humorous Mystery. In addition to her busy career, Donna generously gives back to the writing community, finding time to serve as a volunteer mentor of a Barnes & Noble writing group, second term president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, member of the MWA National Board, Edgar Committee chair and co-editor of the Sisters in Crime Chesapeake Chapter’s multiple short story anthologies. Just reading that list leaves me exhausted — and it’s possible I may have overlooked a couple of projects or activities. As I recall, it wasn’t long after we met that I discovered another of Donna’s passions: she is a talented photographer who rarely leaves home without her camera. With a keen eye for detail, she finds beauty or a unique way of seeing what seems plain vanilla ordinary or goes unnoticed by most of us — a rake pulled through autumn leaves, snow frosting the posts of an old wooden gate, a couple of weathered Adirondack rocking chairs grouped together next to a garden in a nearby park. Which brings me to Donna’s annual Christmas gift, a photo calendar she puts together each December for her friends and family. The moment I receive mine, I flip through the pages to see which twelve pictures she’s chosen as visual memories of the past year. By now I recognize most of the scenes: her beloved garden, an animal at the Omaha Zoo where she makes an annual pilgrimage during Mayhem in the Midlands and snapshots taken at various conferences or while visiting bookstores we both know. As I write this, January’s moody picture of the woods behind her snow-covered backyard hangs on the bulletin board above my desk. And so almost a decade later, we have come full circle back to Malice Domestic, and this time Donna is Toastmaster. It’s a fitting honor since one thing I didn’t mention in that list of volunteering, family obligations and professional responsibilities is her 12 long-standing service to Malice, especially as the author liaison to the board, a position she’s held for many years. Yet as busy as she is with her Toastmaster obligations, I know she’ll still make time to reach out to someone she doesn’t know, a would-be author trying to get a first novel published and wondering how to go about it. Hang around the coffee pot. She’ll find you. (Ellen Crosby is the author of a series of mysteries set in Virginia wine country. Her latest, The Sauvignon Secret, will be published by Scribner in August, 2011.) ✍ Bibliography SERIES Meg Langslow Series Murder with Peacocks (1999) Murder with Puffins (2000) Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos (2001) Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon (2002) We’ll Always Have Parrots (2004) Owls Well That Ends Well (2005) No Nest for the Wicket (2006) The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (2007) Cockatiels at Seven (July 2008) Six Geese A-Slaying (October 2008) Swan for the Money (2009) Stork Raving Mad (2010) The Real Macaw (July 2011) Turing Hopper Series You’ve Got Murder (2002) Click Here for Murder (2003) Access Denied (2004) Delete All Suspects (2005) Malice Domestic 23 SHORT STORIES “The Unkindness of Ravens,” The Mysterious North, ed. Dana Stabenow (2002) “The Birthday Dinner” Death Dines In, ed. Claudia Bishop and Dean James, (2004) “Night Shades,” Chesapeake Crimes, ed. Donna Andrews (2004) “Cold Spell,” Powers of Detection, ed. Dana Stabenow (2004) “A Rat’s Tale,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (2007) Malice Domestic 23 “Spellbound,” Unusual Suspects,” ed. Dana Stabenow (2008) “The Haire of the Beast,” Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, ed. Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner (2008) “Normal,” Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (May 2011) ESSAYS “Sex, Lies, and MRIs,” House Unauthorized, ed. Leah Wilson (2007) 13 Fan Guest of Honor Anne Murphy Malice’s Unofficial Memory By Kay McCarty with input from Sheila Martin and Donna Beatley W hen first starting to write this biography, a low and none-too-dulcet voice over my shoulder kept saying that God was going to get me. It was Anne, of course, telling me of retribution for 1) getting her involved in Malice in the first place, 2) suggesting that belly dance class at the Rockville Senior Center would be fun (we made our sixth and seventh appearances on stage in March) and 3) for introducing her to an incredibly complete needlework shop in Catonsville, Maryland. The last was so she could crossstitch things for her granddaughters’ dollhouses. The oldest of five children, Virginia Anne Reilly Murphy is a seventh-generation Washingtonian whose family included theater and concert goers, writers, readers and those actively involved in D.C.’s Irish community. They all inspired and encouraged her lifelong love of books. She attended Sacred Heart Elementary School, Holy Cross Academy and the Catholic University of America where she earned her degree in elementary education. After graduation, she taught in the D.C. public schools for nine years. After Anne and her beloved Joe were married, they moved to the suburbs where they spent the next 12 years raising babies and Irish wolfhounds, teaching dog obedience and running the 4-H Canine Study Club. A chance encounter with their eldest son’s seventh grade teacher led to Anne’s becoming the Saint Mary’s Parochial School librarian for the next 22 years, during which time she was actively involved with the Catholic Library Association and the annual celebrations of children’s literature at Montgomery College and Loyola College of Maryland. She also serves on the CLA committee that awards the Regina Medal. She met Joe while at Catholic University when they were guinea pigs (she said) in a Naval Research 14 Lab Distance Early Warning Line experiment. Surely their romance was not one of the expected outcomes of the testing! Joe and Anne have three boys and five grandchildren: Joseph and his wife Alison have one son, Calvin Joseph; Tom is newly married to Jennifer; and Kevin and his wife Colleen have three daughters — Molly Rose, Bridget Catherine and Lillian Grace — and son, Jude Patrick. All of them are much loved and well supplied with books. Anne came into my life through our good friend, Sheila Martin, who is also a charter Malice attendee. Sheila was always referring to her friend Anne who could not only remember the names of books but their authors, characters and the plots. Sheila thought that Anne would be interested in attending the first Malice, and the rest is history. Her phenomenal memory spans plays seen, concerts heard and books (both adult and children’s) read over many years, and she has the ability to quote playwrights, lyricists, prose authors and poets at will. (Grouches might say ad nauseam.) She also has the unfortunate capability of recalling in excruciating detail stories about Malice that has lent her the unofficial title of “The Corporate Memory.” Like so many of us, Anne was introduced to mysteries through the Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames. She then proceeded through Gothics (Dorothy Eden, Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart) and on to Phyllis Whitney and Barbara Michaels. Her reading Ammie Come Home late at night in a back bedroom that looked out toward Georgetown was NOT a good idea! (KM note ... reading it while living there wasn’t either.) An “oh that sounds interesting” encounter with The Curse of the Pharaohs at the Rockville Public Library introduced her to Elizabeth Peters, and she has never looked back. Malice Domestic 23 Anne served with Sheila and me on the volunteer committee for Malice for several years under the leadership of Marolyn Caldwell and Barbara Allen. She assumed the chair position at the request of Dr. Mertz-Michaels-Peters too many years ago to count. Through all of this we have had a wonderful time reading, singing (loudly, not always in tune, but with enthusiasm) songs from various musicals we and our families have seen or been involved in, dining together, and watching over each other and our families and friends. Anne is a caring, generous person and a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend, throwing herself wholeheartedly into whatever she has become involved. (Kay McCarty is a charter member of Malice and survivor of the Silver Spring Sheraton who has known Anne for many years. Now retired, she is busier than ever with church activities, the Rockville Senior Center and various cultural events. Sheila Martin, also a charter member and survivor, met Anne through a mutual friend at church and introduced her to Kay. Sheila is currently running the library at Mother of God Elementary School and enjoying her five grandchildren. Donna Beatley became involved with Malice through the Mertz-fest that was the forerunner of what we have today. She works in the engineering library at the University of Maryland, enjoys opera and crocheting and attempts to bring order out of a house dominated by her cat and toy poodle. All three ladies have been Malice Fan Guests of Honor.) Malice Domestic 23 15 Lifetime Achievement Sue Grafton A Woman of Letters By Hank Phillippi Ryan ‘M’ is for Millhone. How did you pick that name? Is she your pal? Your nemesis? Your self? And M is for Mystery. And Malice. (That all works out very nicely, don’t you think? What did you think when you heard you were Malice’s Lifetime Achievement honoree?) I came across the name Kinsey in a copy of the Hollywood Reporter in 1977 or so in a column listing the name of babies born to various Hollywood couples. I have no idea who her parents were or what’s happened to the ‘real’ Kinsey, but I loved the name and tucked it in a mental file for later use. When I began thinking about a female private eye, up the name popped. Millhone, I came up with independently and I can’t remember the source now. Possibly the phone book. I chose it because I liked the way it sounded with Kinsey’s first name. I was delighted when I’d heard I was to be so honored! I haven’t attended Malice because it generally falls right around Kentucky Derby time and I have a house full of guests. Cleverly, Verena Rose figured out that the Derby this year is a week later than usual so here I am. 16 ‘A’ is for: Alphabet, of course. Looking back over the decision you made — when? — to do your alphabet books, do you just shake your head in amazement at how one decision can be so completely life changing? The entire alphabet?! Was I nuts? How did I know it would work?! Looking back, it seems so cheeky. When I started work on ‘A,’ I’d literally never written a mystery novel in my life. The notion that I might have the endurance and imagination to tackle twenty-six of the suckers now seems ridiculous. On the other hand, you have to do something with your life. Often, I explain that I write mysteries because when I put my application for a job at Sears, the personnel department never called me back. Photo: Laurie Roberts T alk about a woman of letters. A, she’s amazing. B, she’s a best-seller. C, she’s the contemporary icon of mystery authors. Dauntingly, extraordinarily, the flat-out genuine heart of the industry. Sue Grafton, too modest, would deny it. But where would the rest of us be without her? No matter how you spell it, her spirit, her skill, her generosity and her incredible talent light the way for any mystery author. To get the inside scoop on Sue, I had the what-I-thought-was-brilliant idea to ask her interview questions beginning with every letter of the alphabet. Sue had a better idea. ‘L’ is for Living in the past. Kinsey does. You don’t. How does that work? Are you ever tempted? When I came up with the idea of using the alphabet to teleport Kinsey Millhone through time, it seemed smarter to have her age one year for every three or four books. She was 32 when the first book was published in 1982. By my humble mathematical calculations, if she aged one year per letter, she be 58 by the time I got to ‘Z.’ I thought she’d look foolish jumping out from behind the bushes, bashing bad guys with her little old lady pocket book. Now, of course, I’m trapped in the 1980’s. I just can’t bring myself to jump her into the present while keeping her the same age. ‘I’ is for Individual. What made you take the scary step into writing by yourself? I worked solo when I started writing novels in the year oughty-ought. During my fifteen-year detour into Hollywood, the work was always by committee. Not my style at all and I chafed. I underMalice Domestic 23 stood why collaboration was necessary in the writing of film and television scripts, but I didn’t like it. I wrote ‘A’ in large part because I knew if I didn’t get back to writing on my own, I’d be ruined for life. It was the only way I knew to redeem myself. What a relief it’s been! Now no one has access to my work until the book is done. After I type ‘the end,‘ I’m open to suggestion ... not one minute before. ‘C’ is for Competition. Do you try to outdo yourself every time with each new book? Is that a Challenge? I think writing is all self-competition. I want each book to be more clever, more complex and more polished. My process has nothing to do with anyone else. My job is to better myself. I keep elaborate charts for the novels I’ve written to date, and before I begin a new one, I go back and review the summaries of my past efforts. Over time, it’s very, very tough not to repeat myself. Often I get excited about a great idea I’ve had and I’m patting myself on the back for coming up with something so new, fresh and original. Then, Shadow taps me on the shoulder and points out that it’s basically a story I’ve written before, only decked out in different clothes. I usually reject five or six ideas before I find one that works. ‘E’ is for Ego. (Tell us about it. And Shadow.) Are you still battling the “ego”? Who’s winning? Ego is a writer’s enemy. I can’t write when I’m sitting there worried about my editor, wondering if the critics will hate the book, wondering if my readers will complain, wondering if my fans will be bored. All good writing comes from Shadow, which is Ego’s opposite. Shadow holds our intuition, energy, imagination, insight and humor. Shadow also holds our rage, our pettiness and our secret, mean-spirited responses to the world. Shadow is the child in us and all She wants to do is play. I have to remind myself over and over that writing is not about money or sales or fame or glory or recognition. Writing is about play. Writing is an expression of our souls and our innermost selves. That’s a lesson I have to learn anew every day when I sit down at my computer. So far Shadow is winning out over Ego, but I’m the one fighting to keep her on top. Malice Domestic 23 ‘D’ is for Devoted. What’s the longest you’ve gone without thinking about Kinsey? Is that — Delightful? Or Depressing? I’m always thinking about Kinsey who is, after all, an extension of myself. The characters we create are variations of our own personalities, attitudes, opinions, thoughts and emotions. I think of writing as an out-of-body experience ... a form of time travel in my case, since Kinsey’s living in the 1980’s. The task takes enormous focus and concentration. When I’m writing, I want every day to look like the day before because it’s the peace and quiet that allow me to tap into Shadow. I’m a Taurus. I love my rut. ‘O’ is for omens. Are you superstitious? Do you have any rituals? I do have rituals, the prime one being the selfhypnosis I invoke before each day’s work. I learned about the practice from Julie Smith and I then read two or three books on the subject so I’d understand how to quiet the chatter in my head. I’m forever grateful to her for the concept. ‘M’ is for Magic. Which does exist, right? Magic is everywhere. Writing is a miracle. My day is filled with failure and humiliation and I’ve had to learn to be patient with myself. Failure and humiliation are the by-products of Ego. We all want to be praised and appreciated, but the work is about letting go of the world at large and operating out of our Dark Side. I’m sorry if this sounds like California woo-woo talk, but there is mysticism involved in the process. The magic is that suddenly for no reason a plot move will fall into place or I’ll find a way to pick a knot out of the thread. Persistence counts. ‘E’ is for Exercise. Body and mind. How much difference does it make in your life? I walk four miles a day, five days a week ... barring illness, bad weather, tours and laziness. Three of the five days I walk with one of three friends and this allows me to keep those relationships alive and well. The other two days I walk with 17 Lifetime Achievement Sue Grafton my iPod and headphones, listening to Dr. Laura Schlessinger wank and bang on callers for their bad behavior. In my wildest imagination, I couldn’t come up with some of the ‘problems’ people call in with. She keeps me grounded. Also, amused. ‘S’ is for Satisfaction. Are there moments you look at the computer and Smile — and say yes, I nailed this one? I do indeed smile sometimes. A great idea comes along or I fashion a sentence that comes out just as it should, or a character sparks to life, or Kinsey pokes me in the side with one of her wicked suggestions. It should be obvious by now that I’m crazy as a loon, but I suspect all writers are. I’m an introvert. I love being by myself. I work five or six hours a day and after that, I can’t wait to escape from myself and socialize with other people. The time I spend writing is divine ... but only when it’s going well. If I’m blocked or baffled, all I do is whine and wring my hands and complain and tear my hair out. You can imagine how popular this makes me with my husband, my kids and my friends. Much eye-rolling all around. ‘T’ is for Trust. I’ve heard you say “trust the process.” How does that work? Trusting the process is another lesson I have to learn over and over. One line I live by is this: I don’t tell the book ... the book tells me. When I begin work on a book, I think I know what the story is and where it should go. Most of the time I’m wrong and I waste weeks stumbling down the wrong road. Essentially, I write by trial and error so I do a lot of backing up. My job is to get out of my own way ... which is easier said than done. ‘I’ is for Introvert. You’re such a wild success, such an Icon, and you must be recognized everywhere. Do you struggle to present your “public” self? This is an example of the magic, Hank, my dear, because as I work my way through your questions, it’s almost as though you anticipate where I’m going with a question and what I’ve said. I have my ‘public’ personality ... the extroverted part of my nature. 18 What helps is that I like people and I like making connections, so the tour and conferences like Malice provide places where I can hang out and be with other writers. I don’t have an image I’m trying to project. Staying out of Ego means that I’m willing to be who I am instead of trying to impress other people. I mean, who really cares? I remember at one point coming to the staggering realization that no matter how nice and sweet and generous I might (pretend to) be, there’s always going to be someone out there who DOESN’T LIKE ME! That is so unfair. Here I am trying to be so winsome.... ‘C’ is for Cinema. It’s where you started, but you’ve always said no to a movie Kinsey. Are you still saying no? Remember when I mentioned my fifteen years in Hollywood? What I forgot to say was that more than hating to work by committee, I hate giving anyone else a vote about my work. I don’t want advice ... unless I’m stuck or blocked and begging for help. I won’t sell the film or TV rights to Kinsey Millhone because that would invite others to meddle and take over. You can’t imagine how cranky I was by the end of those fifteen years. I finally stopped and said to myself, “You know what, Grafton? Nobody’s got a gun to your head. You don’t like the work, don’t do it.” At that point, I began to plan my escape. Kinsey Millhone was the equivalent of a prison break. C is also, of course, for Congratulations. Lifetime achievement has a finality about it. It shouldn’t. Luckily for her readers, we know there’s still “V” to come (December of 2011, hurray), and then W, X, Y and Z. And after that, only Sue knows. I went to a reading the other night, the Pulitzer prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon discussing the Muse. “If you believe in her,” he said, “there’s a chance she’ll believe in you.” I’m not sure what Sue Grafton would say about the Muse — maybe we should ask her this Malice weekend — but I’m certain of one thing. The Muse believes in Sue. Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 19 Lifetime Achievement Sue Grafton (Agatha, Anthony and Macavity winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is on the air at Boston’s NBC affiliate. She’s won 26 EMMYs and dozens of other journalism honors. Her debut, Prime Time, won the Agatha. Drive Time is now an Agatha nominee for Best Novel. She is on the NE board of SinC and national board of MWA. She’s been a devoted fan of Sue Grafton ever since “A.”) ✍ 20 Bibliography NOVELS Keziah Dane (1967) The Lolly-Madonna War (1969) SERIES The Kinsey Millhone Private Eye Series “A” is for Alibi (1982) “B” is for Burglar (1985) “C” is for Corpse (1986) “D” is for Deadbeat (1987) “E” is for Evidence (1988) “F” is for Fugitive (1989) “G” is for Gumshoe (1990) “H” is for Homicide (1991) “I” is for Innocent (1992) “J” is for Judgment (1993) “K” is for Killer (1994) “L” is for Lawless (1995) “M” is for Malice (1996) “N” is for Noose (1998) “O” is for Outlaw (1999) “P” is for Peril (2001) “Q” is for Quarry (2002) “R” is for Ricochet (2004) “S” is for Silence (2005) “T” is for Trespass (2007) “U” is for Undertow (2009) “V” is for ... (December 2011) Malice Domestic 23 SHORT FICTION AND NONFICTION Southern California Lit Scene Wind California Review Articles on Writing “Where Does A Novel Begin?,” The Writer (1970) “The Creative Cycle,” The Writer (1977) “Breaking and Entering,” The Writer (1983) “How to Find Time to Write When You Don’t Have Time to Write,” The Writer (1986) “Recharging Your Batteries,” The Writer (2002) Kinsey Millhone Short Stories Kinsey and Me, Collected Short Stories (1992) “She Didn’t Come Home” (1986) “Murder Between the Sheets” (1986) “The Parker Shotgun” (1986) “Non Sung Smoke” (1988) “Falling off the Roof” (1989) “A Poison that Leaves No Trace” (1990) “Full Circle” (1991) “A Little Missionary Work” (1992) “The Lying Game” (2003) FILM AND TELEVISION Screenplay, “Lolly-Madonna XXX,” MGM, 1973 Teleplay, A Caribbean Mystery, adapted from the novel by Agatha Christie, with Steven Humphrey (1983) Teleplay, A Killer in the Family, with Steven Humphrey & Robert Aller (1983) Teleplay, Sparkling Cyanide, adapted from the novel by Agatha Christie, with Steven Humphrey & Robert Malcolm Young (1983) Malice Domestic 23 AWARDS Shamus Award, Best Hardcover Private Eye Novel of 1985 Anthony Award, Best Hardcover Mystery of 1985 Macavity Award, Best Short Story (1986) Anthony Award, Best Hardcover Mystery of 1986 Anthony Award, Best Short Story of 1986 Anthony Award, Best Hardcover Mystery of 1990 Shamus Award, Best Hardcover Private Eye Novel of 1990 Shamus Award, Best Hardcover Private Eye Novel of 1994 Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence 2002, Readers International Organization HONORS Distinguished Alumna, University of Louisville 1993 Alumna of the Year, University of Louisville, 1997 Mystery Masters Award, Magna Cum Murder, Ball State University, 1998 Induction American Academy of Achievement, Phoenix, Arizona, June 2000 Life Achievement Award, Private Eye Writers of America, October 2003 Marlowe Award, Southern California Chapter MWA, June 2004 Ross Macdonald Award, Santa Barbara Book Festival, September 2004 Cartier Diamond Dagger Award 2008, Crime Writers Association 21 Poirot Award Janet Rudolph Mystery Maven By Kate Derie J anet Rudolph has clearly found the fountain of youth. She has supported the mystery community for over twenty-five years: teaching, writing, editing, producing events and organizing the first international group for mystery readers across the spectrum. Janet is a dedicated supporter and organizer of fan conventions, moderating many panels including “Convention 101” for newcomers. On the side she hosts a long-running weekly mystery reading group, and holds literary salons with authors in her own home. She had one of the first websites for mystery readers, and continues to remain in the social networking vanguard with her blogs, Twitter posts and Facebook. Even Janet’s day job is mystery-oriented, as she runs Murder on the Menu, producing customized, interactive events for parties, meetings and corporate clients. Excuse me while I fall back on my fainting couch, as I am exhausted by merely writing about her activities. A Philadelphia native, Janet came to Berkeley for graduate school and never left. Her husband, Frank Price, a former teacher and Peace Corps volunteer, runs TeamBuilding Unlimited, the non-mystery events division of Murder on the Menu. They live in the Berkeley hills and are assisted by two cats, a golden retriever and a visiting peacock. Like many of us, Janet got her start in mystery fiction from her family. As she puts it, “I read all of my mother’s blue Nancy Drew mysteries the summer I was eight. Also read all the Judy Bolton mysteries that my sister [also named] Judy had. Then I began reading my father’s Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines, and one thing led to another.” She studied creative writing in high school and college, even taking a course from Philip Roth. This was solid preparation for her current career, as Janet writes every script for Murder on the Menu mystery plays. Janet continued down the slippery slope to mys- 22 tery addiction by attending library mystery conferences and writing workshops. After completing her advanced degrees in art history, religion and literature, she taught mystery fiction at the University of California and other Bay Area colleges. Her courses often centered on a special interest such as women writers, historical mysteries or culinary crime (more on that later). Eventually some of Janet’s regular students began meeting in her home as a book group, and the rest is history. These are dedicated readers — they cover a book a week in ten-week thematic sessions, and meet for discussion every Tuesday from September to June. That group inspired Janet to start Mystery Readers of America, the first association for fans that was not focused on a single author. Before long, membership crossed the border and MRA became Mystery Readers International, with local chapters in various locations. Their Macavity Awards, named after T.S. Eliot’s elusive feline, continue to be significant recognition of excellence in mystery fiction. Janet’s favorite experiences with MRI have been her “At-Homes” with mystery authors. She welcomes authors and fans into her living room for relaxed conversations about the writer’s work and life. Guests of honor have included “just about everyone“ from newMalice Domestic 23 comers to multiple award winners, coming from as close as San Francisco to as far away as South Africa. Janet retains her thematic approach for the Mystery Readers Journal, the quarterly publication of MRI, where each edition focuses on a single subgenre or geographical area. Over the years, subjects have ranged from the popular — gardening, art, music and sports — to the more specialized, such as technological and paranormal mysteries. Another unique touch is that mystery authors write most of the articles, talking about how the topic influences their work. From the first, Janet included reviews and letters, and her “Mystery Mayhem” column was a major source of news for the mystery community in the pre-Internet era. Janet has written recurring columns for most of the major mystery periodicals, in addition to MRJ. Now she regularly posts mystery news, award nominations, upcoming events and general musings at her Mystery Fanfare blog, www.mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com, with reader comments encouraged. Janet particularly enjoys holiday mysteries, and is sure to feature a related reading list on every holiday at her blog. Meanwhile, MRJ marches on into the 21st century with PDF editions of current issues available to buy and download online. International crime fiction has always been a special interest for Janet, who is a member of the International Association of Crime Writers. She has attended the Semana Negra celebration in Spain and an unforgettable IACW conference in Cuba. Keep an eye on MRJ for the next trend in worldwide mystery. Janet was clairvoyant in featuring Scandinavian mysteries even before The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and more recently has published issues looking at Ireland and at Africa. A natural entrepreneur, Janet got the idea for Murder on the Menu when she happened to be on a radio talk show discussing mystery fiction. Another guest was an event planner who was scheduled to produce some mystery weekends, but had no idea how to put on an interactive whodunit event. Janet was in the right place at the right time to create some scripts for him, and she realized that Malice Domestic 23 this was a perfect fit for her talents. For her events, Janet interviews the client and ensures the interactive drama incorporates the reason for the get-together, jargon and in-jokes and information on specific audience members. Then she coordinates the venue, the caterer, the actors, director and audio-visual support, and all the myriad details that go into making a memorable production. Janet produces events at venues all around the Bay Area and across the U.S. Once, she faced the challenge of staging an event at a mountain location, accessible only by steam train, where her only electrical outlet was in a tree. Sounds like a perfect mystery to me. Remember the mention of culinary crime? Janet finds mystery cookbooks irresistible, and they are a large part of her collection of hundreds of literary, art and movie/TV theme cookbooks. (Yes, she does have Cooking with Malice.) She doesn’t have time to try many recipes herself, but she has hosted events where restaurants prepared Lord Peter Wimsey and Nero Wolfe dinner menus. She taught a course where she prepared the poisoned food from each book — sans poison. Janet was pleased to contribute to the A Taste of Murder cookbook, as well as other recipe collections. Believe it or not, Janet does have some unmysterious hobbies. Right now, chocolate takes center stage, as Janet writes the Dying for Chocolate blog, including lots of yummy recipes. She is a regular judge at the San Francisco International Chocolate Salon — a tough job but somebody has to do it. Janet enjoys gardening, caring for roses, camellias and irises in spite of marauding deer. She hopes to get back to botanical illustration one day, and misses working in pottery. Meanwhile her home is a work of art, decorated with her collections of Americana, embroideries and rugs. Janet has been a long-time supporter of Malice Domestic since attending the very first convention, and she was Fan Guest of Honor at the third. Of Malice, she writes, “Everyone was so friendly! ... It was wonderful to ‘come home’ every year to the same property, same people (and new people).” 23 Poirot Award Janet Rudolph She was one of the founders of Left Coast Crime and was their Fan Guest of Honor last year in Los Angeles. She has also worked on at least four (she can’t remember exactly) organizing committees for Bouchercon. One of Janet’s most cherished convention memories is winning the Don Sandstrom Award for lifetime fan activity and an Anthony Award for Special Service to the field at the 2006 Bouchercon. It would be hard to find any individual outside 24 the book industry who has done more than Janet Rudolph to celebrate and encourage mystery and crime fiction reading. She is truly deserving of the honor of the Poirot Award. (Kate Derie has been associate editor of Mystery Readers Journal for fifteen years. She is the former director of Cluelass.com and publisher of the Deadly Directory.) Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 25 Malice Remembers Lyn Hamilton A Tribute to Lyn Hamilton By Mary Jane Maffini and Rhys Bowen L yn Hamilton should have been here with us this Malice Domestic weekend, celebrating and being celebrated. She always enjoyed Malice and, without a doubt, she would have been dressed to kill. Lyn knew how to wear a jacket like nobody else. The mystery community continues to reel at her loss. When people speak of Lyn they use words like charming, intelligent, elegant, stylish, kind, high energy, witty, mentor, teacher, inspiration, role model, sterling travel companion and, of course, fierce and loyal friend. She was all of that and more. She is missed by so many, not only her colleagues but also her readers. We remember her wit, her personality, her books and that great laugh. Who was she, this red-headed Canadian writer with the bearing of a royal, the curiosity of an archaeologist, the tactics of a general and the heart of a lion? So many people in one. Lyn Hamilton was a true Renaissance woman. Writing mystery novels was just one of many successful careers in a life that ended far too early. You would never doubt that Lyn could manage any of the exploits of her likeable protagonist Lara McClintoch, antiques dealer and amateur sleuth. For one thing, as soon as Lyn had a new idea for a setting, she began to research the culture. Each book explored an ancient civilization, revealed through a human story that ran in parallel with the contemporary mystery featuring Lara. Lyn never chose a location unless she had already visited it. Even so, she would always plan another trip to check out the modern day setting before writing the book. She got those details right. Distance was no impediment. The book would be set in China? Off she’d go. Lyn sometimes traveled on her own, but she also loved to travel with her friends and with her beloved sister, Cheryl. You could frequently find her packing to head off to Thailand, Tunisia or Hungary. Easter Island? No problem. Peru? Piece of cake. You knew 26 she would never stick to the regular tourist paths, but would head to where the archaeological action was. Then when she had a bit of downtime, she might be found leading a tour in Malta, something the participants will always treasure. She brought experience, intelligence and wit to everything that interested her. And her interests were wide and varied. Lyn’s passion for ancient cultures and fascination for their artifacts led to many reallife adventures that no doubt later appeared in the Lara books. Lyn was involved in a car crash and a terrifying encounter with the power of the military while off the beaten track in China. She was offered sex on the altar of the goddess in Malta. She was almost trampled to death by a stampede of wild horses on Easter Island. All of these events found their way into her books and made for excitement that it would be impossible to invent. Lyn WAS Lara and relived her own adventures through her heroine. In real life, Lyn always traveled light, emerged looking great, got to know the locals, the history, the sense of place, the telling details — all ready to pass on to the eager readers. From the time she finished university and headed on her own to Los Angeles, Lyn’s career was varied and exciting. She held down demanding and senior jobs in the private sector and cultural sectors and in the Ontario government for many years. Yet, she still managed to give Lara many serious outings and adventures while writing on Sundays. Her friends learned quickly not to mess with this priority schedule. Her legions of fans were grateful. The pace continued when Lyn worked as Director of Communications for the Canadian Opera Company, a job she was passionate about. They needed a new opera house and she was ready to put her shoulder to the wheel to make that happen. Today, that opera house is a splendid Toronto landmark. Despite the Malice Domestic 23 travel and long hours of the day job, Lyn never failed to meet a book deadline. In the course of these years, she was nominated for the Arthur Ellis awards for best first novel (The Xibalba Murders) and for best novel (The Magyar Venus). The Celtic Riddle was adapted for television as a Murder She Wrote television movie starring Angela Lansbury. Lyn’s works were translated into many languages and appreciated around the world. Her body of work brought something enduring and unique to crime writing. Lyn gave much to the mystery community. She was writer-in-residence at two of Canada’s largest Malice Domestic 23 libraries: North York Library in 2003 and Kitchener Public Library in 2004. She met and offered encouragement and support to many new mystery writers. She was willing to go the extra distance and often stayed in touch with her students. She was generous with her time, advice and encouragement. Lyn faced her illness with pride, control and dignity. She was stylish, intelligent, funny and brave to the last. Lucky for us, she lives on in her eleven wonderful books, her protagonist, Lara McClintoch, by no coincidence having the same characteristics that endeared her creator to us. Through her books, and in our hearts, Lyn still climbs her mountains, explores 27 Malice Remembers Lyn Hamilton caves and ruins and gives a voice to long-lost civilizations, and she keeps her friends enthralled with her personality, wit and storytelling. She delighted audiences wherever she went and in the words of her colleague Elaine Viets, “There was a woman who could light up a room ... a whole auditorium!” Not a day goes by that we don’t think of our friend, Lyn. Our weekly telephone calls were an entertainment as well as an education. If there was a snippet of political news or cultural news, Lyn would have a delicious bit of background information about the players, or else an opinion more eloquent and insightful than any of the pundits. Now when reading the paper or listening to the news, we can still imagine her comments. We will even miss her phone calls to say, “I have bought a fabulous new pair of shoes and you are going to be just sick with jealousy!” And, sure enough, we would be. We are so grateful that her life and work are being honored and thank Malice for allowing us to share Lyn’s story. Bibliography LARA MCCLINTOCH ARCHAEOLOGICAL MYSTERIES The Xibalba Murders (1997) The Maltese Goddess (1998) The Moche Warrior (1999) The Celtic Riddle (2000) The African Quest (2001) The Etruscan Chimera (2002) The Thai Amulet (2003) The Magyar Venus (2004) The Moai Murders (2005) The Orkney Scroll (2006) The Chinese Alchemist (2007) (Mary Jane Maffini rides herd on three mystery series and nearly two dozen short stories. Her latest book is The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder (Berkley Prime Crime) and she is an Agatha nominee for best short story this year. Rhys Bowen writes the Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness mysteries, both featuring strong, independent women. Rhys’s books have won Agatha, Anthony and MacAvity awards among others. Rhys Bowen and Lyn developed an immediate close friendship in spite of distance, and were touring partners until Lyn’s illness made this impossible.) ✍ 28 Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 29 30 Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 31 Agatha Awards 2009 2005 Best Novel: The Brutal Telling, Louise Penny Best First Novel: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley Best Nonfiction: Dame Agatha’s Shorts, Elena Santangelo Best Short Story: “On the House,” Hank Phillippi Ryan, Quarry Best Children/Young Adult Fiction: The Hanging Hill, Chris Grabenstein Best Novel: The Body in the Snowdrift, Katherine Hall Page Best First Novel: Better Off Wed, Laura Durham Best Nonfiction: Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her, Melanie Rehak Best Short Story: “Driven to Distraction,” Marcia Talley Best Children/Young Adult Fiction: Down the Rabbit Hole, Peter Abrahams Flush, Carl Haissen 2008 Best Novel: The Cruelest Month, Louise Penny Best First Novel: Death of a Cozy Writer, G.M. Malliet Best Nonfiction: How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries, Kathy Lynn Emerson Best Short Story: “The Night Things Changed,” Dana Cameron Best Children/Young Adult Fiction: The Crossroads, Chris Grabenstein 2007 Best Novel: A Fatal Grace, Louise Penny Best First Novel: Prime Time, Hank Phillippi Ryan Best Nonfiction: Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters, Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley Best Short Story: “A Rat’s Tale,” Donna Andrews Best Children/Young Adult Fiction: A Light in the Cellar, Sarah Masters Buckey 2006 Best Novel: The Virgin Of Small Plains, Nancy Pickard Best First Novel: The Heat of the Moon, Sandra Parshall Best Nonfiction: Don’t Murder Your Mystery, Chris Roerden Best Short Story: “Sleeping with the Plush,” Toni L.P. Kelner Best Children/Young Adult Fiction: Pea Soup Poisonings, Nancy Means Wright 32 2004 Best Novel: Birds of a Feather, Jacqueline Winspear Best First Novel: Dating Dead Men, Harley Jane Kozak Best Nonfiction: Private Eye-Lashes: Radio’s Lady Detectives, Jack French Best Short Story: “Wedding Knife,” Elaine Viets Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel: Chasing Vermeer, Blue Balliett 2003 Best Novel: Letter From Home, Carolyn Hart Best First Novel: Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear Best Nonfiction: Amelia Peabody’s Egypt: A Compendium, edited by Elizabeth Peters and Kristen Whitbread; designed by Dennis Forbes Best Short Story: “No Man’s Land,” Elizabeth Foxwell Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel: The 7th Knot, Kathleen Karr 2002 Best Novel: You’ve Got Murder, Donna Andrews Best First Novel: In The Bleak Midwinter, Julia Spencer-Fleming Best Nonfiction: They Died in Vain: Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Forgotten Mystery Novels, edited by Jim Huang Best Short Story: “The Dog That Didn’t Bark,” Margaret Maron and “Too Many Cooks,” Marcia Talley Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel: Red Card: A Zeke Armstrong Mystery, Daniel J. Hale and Matthew LaBrot Malice Domestic 23 2001 1996 Best Novel: Murphy’s Law, Rhys Bowen Best First Novel: Bubbles Unbound, Sarah Strohmeyer Best Nonfiction: Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir, Tony Hillerman Best Short Story: “The Would-Be Widower,” Katherine Hall Page Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel: The Mystery of the Haunted Caves, Penny Warner Best Novel: Up Jumps the Devil, Margaret Maron Best First Novel: Murder on a Girl’s Night Out, Anne George Best Nonfiction: Detecting Women 2, Willetta Heising Best Short Story: “Accidents Will Happen,” Carolyn Wheat 2000 Best Novel: Storm Track, Margaret Maron Best First Novel: Death on a Silver Tray, Rosemary Stevens Best Nonfiction: 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century, Jim Huang, editor Best Short Story: “The Man in the Civil Suit,” Jan Burke 1999 Best Novel: Mariner’s Compass, Earlene Fowler Best First Novel: Murder, With Peacocks, Donna Andrews Best Nonfiction: Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle, Daniel Stashower Best Short Story: “Out of Africa,” Nancy Pickard 1998 Best Novel: Butcher’s Hill, Laura Lippman Best First Novel: The Doctor Digs a Grave, Robin Hathaway Best Nonfiction: Mystery Reader’s Walking Guide: Washington, D.C., Alzina Stone Dale Best Short Story: “Of Course You Know that Chocolate is a Vegetable,” Barbara D’Amato 1997 Best Novel: The Devil in Music, Kate Ross Best First Novel: The Salaryman’s Wife, Sujata Massey Best Nonfiction: Detecting Men Pocket Guide, Willetta Heising Best Short Story: “Tea for Two,” M. D. Lake Malice Domestic 23 1995 Best Novel: If I’d Killed Him When I Met Him, Sharyn McCrumb Best First Novel: The Body in the Transept, Jeanne Dams Best Nonfiction: Mystery Reader’s Walking Guide: Chicago, Alzina Stone Dale Best Short Story: “The Dog Who Remembered Too Much,” Elizabeth Daniels Squire 1994 Best Novel: She Walks These Hills, Sharyn McCrumb Best First Novel: Do Unto Others, Jeff Abbott Best Nonfiction: By A Woman’s Hand, Jean Swanson and Dean James Best Short Story: “The Family Jewels,” Dorothy Cannell 1993 Best Novel: Dead Man’s Island, Carolyn G. Hart Best First Novel: Track of the Cat, Nevada Barr Best Nonfiction: The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery, Barbara D’Amato Best Short Story: “Kim’s Game,” M. D. Lake 1992 Best Novel: Bootlegger’s Daughter, Margaret Maron Best First Novel: Blanche on the Lam, Barbara Neely Best Short Story: “Nice Gorilla,” Aaron and Charlotte Elkins 1991 Best Novel: I.O.U., Nancy Pickard Best First Novel: Zero at the Bone, Mary Willis Walker Best Short Story: “Deborah’s Judgment,” Margaret Maron 33 Agatha Awards 1990 Best Novel: Bum Steer, Nancy Pickard Best First Novel: The Body in the Belfry, Katherine Hall Page Best Short Story: “Too Much to Bare,” Joan Hess 1989 Best Novel: Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters Best First Novel: Grime and Punishment, Jill Churchill Best Short Story: “A Wee Doch and Doris,” Sharyn McCrumb 1988 Best Novel: Something Wicked, Carolyn G. Hart Best First Novel: A Great Deliverance, Elizabeth George Best Short Story: “More Final Than Divorce,” Robert Barnard 34 Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 35 36 Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 37 A Brief History of Malice Domestic Convention Guest of Honor Toastmaster Fan Guest of Honor Malice I (April 21–23, 1989) Barbara Mertz Robert Barnard Ellen Nehr Malice II (April 6–8, 1990) Patricia Moyes Sharyn McCrumb Phyllis Brown Malice III (April 26–28, 1991) Charlotte MacLeod Simon Brett Janet Rudolph Malice IV (April 24–26, 1992) Aaron Elkins Mary Higgins Clark Bill Deeck Malice V (April 23–25, 1993) Anne Perry Nancy Pickard Mary Morman Malice VI (April 22–24, 1994) Dorothy Salisbury Davis Dorothy Cannell Jim Huang Malice VII (April 28–30, 1995) Ellis Peters Edward Marston Dean James Malice VIII (April 26–28, 1996) Peter Lovesey Margaret Maron Shirley Beaird Malice IX (May 2–4, 1997) Carolyn G. Hart Joan Hess Judy & Jack Cater Malice X (May 1–3, 1998) Robert Barnard Katherine Hall Page Maureen Collins Malice XI (April 30–May 2, 1999) Mary Higgins Clark M. D. Lake Carol Harper Malice XII (May 5–7, 2000) Simon Brett Eileen Dreyer Sheila Martin Malice XIII (May 4–6, 2001) Margaret Maron Rita Mae Brown Patti Ruocco Malice XIV (May 3–5, 2002) Edward Marston Annette & Martin Meyers Gerry Letteney Malice XV(May 2–4, 2003) Barbara D’Amato Parnell Hall Donna Beatley Malice XVI* (April 30–May 2, 2004) Dorothy Cannell Jan Burke Linda Pletzke Malice XVII (April 29–May 1, 2005) Joan Hess Carole Nelson Douglas Anne Reece Malice XVIII (April 21–23, 2006) Katherine Hall Page Kate Grilley Kay McCarty Malice XIX (May 4–6, 2007) Rochelle Krich Kate Grilley Lee Mewshaw Malice XX (April 25–27, 2008) Charlaine Harris Lindsay Davis** Dan Stashower Elizabeth Foxwell Ron & Jean McMillen Malice 21 (May 1–3, 2009) Nancy Pickard Elaine Viets Laura Hyzy Malice 22 (April 30–May 2, 2010) Parnell Hall Rhys Bowen Tom & Marie O’Day Malice 23 (April 29–May 1, 2011) Carole Nelson Douglas Donna Andrews Anne Murphy Malice 24 (April 27–29, 2012) Join us at the Hyatt Regency, Bethesda, MD — April 27, 2012–April 29, 2012 * A special category for Malice XVI honored Special Malice Remembers, Carole Anne Nelson ** International Guest of Honor 38 Malice Domestic 23 Malice Remembers Lifetime Achievement Poirot Chair Agatha Christie None None Mary Morman Dorothy L. Sayers Phyllis A. Whitney None Mary Morman Mary R. Rinehart None None Gerry Letteney Margery Allingham None None Gerry Letteney William Shakespeare None None Ron McMillen Edgar Allen Poe Mignon G. Eberhart None Ron McMillen Ngaio Marsh None None Ron McMillen Josephine Tey Mary Stewart None Beth Foxwell Richard & Frances Lockridge Emma Lathen None Beth Foxwell Ellery Queen Charlotte McLeod None Carol Whitney John Dickson Carr Patricia Moyes None Carol Whitney Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Dick Francis None Cindy Silberblatt Rex Stout Mildred Wirt Benson None Cindy Silberblatt G. K. Chesterton Tony Hillerman None Cindy Silberblatt Agatha Christie Elizabeth Peters David Suchet Tom O’Day Erle Stanley Gardner Marion Babson Ruth Cavin & Thomas Dunne Tom O’Day Ellis Peters H.R.F. Keating Angela Lansbury Tom O’Day Craig Rice Robert Barnard Doug Greene Verena Rose Georgette Heyer Carolyn Hart None Verena Rose All Those Previously Honored Peter Lovesey Janet Hutchings & Linda Landrigan Verena Rose Charlotte MacLeod Anne Perry Kate Stine & Brian Skupin Louise Leftwich Ed Hoch Mary Higgins Clark William Link Verena Rose Lyn Hamilton Sue Grafton Janet Rudolph Verena Rose Malice Domestic 23 39 Grants The William F. Deeck — Malice Domestic Grants for Unpublished Writers, 1994–2011 I n October 1993, Ron McMillen, then chair of Malice Domestic, Ltd., announced on behalf of the Board of Directors, the creation of the Malice Domestic Grants for Unpublished Writers. “We see this as one way to foster quality Malice literature. We want to give back something to the field that has provided us with so much enjoyment, and encourage the next generation of Malice authors.” The first grant was awarded to Jeffrey Marks at Malice VI in April 1994. Since that time, the grants have been awarded to 30 other aspiring mystery writers. On July 2, 2004, William F. Deeck, a longtime fan and supporter of the mystery genre and of Malice Domestic, passed away. On June 27, 2004, the Malice Domestic Grants for Unpublished Writers was named The William F. Deeck — Malice Domestic Grants Program for Unpublished Writers in honor and in recognition of Bill’s advocacy of aspiring mystery writers. Winners and Titles of Submitted Manuscripts 2011 Robin Templeton, Double Exposure 2010 Patricia A. Gouthro, Lies My Professor Told Me Stephanie Evans, Standing on the Promises 2005 Hilary McGowan, A Cottage with a View Stacy Leigh Juba, Sign of the Messenger 2004 2009 Kimberly Gray, Ghost of a Chance Shirley Folwarski (writing as Clarissa Miller), Blood Is Stickier Than Holy Water Heidi Vornbrock Roosa (writing as McLean Jacobson), Hypothesis for Murder 2008 2003 Robin Hewitt, One Sweet Pickle Linda Reeder, Bricks and Murder Thomas E. Bonsall, Lilac Time Martha Crites, She Who Listens G. M. Malliet, Death of a Cozy Writer 2007 2002 (GRANT SPONSORED BY DONATION IN MEMORY OF DEAN BARTH) Dawn Dixon Cotter, Faux Finish Gigi Morrissett Pandian, Artifact Elizabeth Berry, Inn Sight 2006 Terry Hoover, Sweet Alice Kyle Z. Bell, George Washington Died Here Joseph W. Richardson, Gideon’s Inn (GRANT SPONSORED BY DONATION IN MEMORY OF CONNIE NIESER) Elizabeth Duncan, Dead Posh (GRANT SPONSORED BY DONATIONS IN MEMORY OF DEAN BARTH) 40 2001 2000 Susan Wrona Gall (writing as Wrona Gall), Canvas Shroud Carolyn Kourofsky, Through a Shooter’s Eye Malice Domestic 23 The winners of The William F. Deeck — Malice Domestic Grants for Unpublished Writers are listed below with the name of the manuscript the writer submitted to the competition. In some cases, the titles of those manuscripts also became the title of the published work. ✍ 1999 Claire M. Johnson, Murder Underfoot Anne White, An Affinity for Murder 1998 Marcia Talley, Sing It To Her Bones Matt Witten, Breakfast at Madeline’s 1997 Grants Carol Hauswald, Avenging Angels 1996 Joan C. Curtis, The Internet Murderer Sujata Massey, The Salaryman’s Wife 1995 LeeAnna Lawrence, A Cousin Once Removed 1994 Jeffrey Marks, The Scent of Murder Malice Domestic 23 41 Our Sponsors Thanks, Sponsors! Malice just wouldn’t be the same without our sponsors! Their generosity helps Malice maintain and even improve its high standards while keeping registration costs within reach of the average mystery reader. Our deepest and most sincere appreciation is offered to the following contributors who have helped defray the costs of bringing you this year’s Malice Domestic. Their representatives will have special “Sponsor” ribbons attached to their badges — please stop them and tell them “Thank you”! SOUVENIR TOTE BAG SIMON & SCHUSTER MALICE AT-A-GLANCE BOOKLET OBSIDIAN MYSTERIES BERKLEY PRIME CRIME NEW AUTHORS BREAKFAST MYSTERY SCENE MAGAZINE HOSPITALITY ROOM COFFEE SPONSOR SISTERS IN CRIME’S CHESAPEAKE CHAPTER DAME AGATHA’S TEA HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS SOUVENIR SHORT STORY BOOKLET CRIPPEN AND LANDRU MALICE PARTNERS IN CRIME ALFRED HITCHCOCK MYSTERY MAGAZINE ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE MYSTERY SCENE MAGAZINE BOOK BAG CONTRIBUTORS ALFRED HITCHCOCK MYSTERY MAGAZINE AMERICAN GIRL BOOKS MINOTAUR BOOKS BERKLEY PRIME CRIME MYSTERY SCENE MAGAZINE CRIPPEN AND LANDRU OBSIDIAN MYSTERIES ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE POISONED PEN PRESS FELONY & MAYHEM PRESS SIMON & SCHUSTER HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS SOHO PRESS MIDNIGHT INK TOR/FORGE 42 Malice Domestic 23 Memories of Malice Absent Friends The Faithful Few Malice remembers the following individuals who have enriched the Malice Domestic genre and the mystery world in general. May they rest in peace. The following 16 participants survived Malice I in Silver Spring and have returned for every Malice since — truly the triumph of hope over experience! Eleanor Taylor Bland, Author Donna Beatley Lee Mewshaw Stephen J. Cannell, Author Lenore Boehm Anne Murphy Ruth Cavin, Editor Jack Cater C. W. Pollard Maury Chaykin, Actor Judy J. Cater Anne Reece Richard Timothy Conroy, Author Anna S. Jeffrey Patricia Schutz Claire Curzon, Author Sheila J. Martin Janine Seitz Ariana Franklin, Author Kay McCarty Gordon M. Shaw Joe Gores, Author Liz Mellett Ruth C. Shaw Brian Jacques, Author Emyl Jenkins, Author Dolores Johnson, Author H. R. F. Keating, Author James MacArthur, Actor Darren McGavin, Actor Edith (Edie) S. Embler, Fan Dorothy Sucher, Author David Thompson, Book Dealer Ann Waldron, Professor Peter Yates, Director Malice Domestic 23 43 General Information “No Smoking” Policy The hotel does not permit smoking. Hotel Check-in/out Check-in time at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Bethesda, is 4 p.m. If rooms are available, you can check-in earlier. Check-out time is 12 noon. Late check-out is available on request on a space-available basis. Attended luggage storage is available at the bell stand. To Help Us Keep Things Running Smoothly We request that you do not corner authors and panelists immediately after a program session. This keeps them from proceeding to their next session or signing, prevents the next panel from starting on time, and generally disrupts the flow of events. Please help us stay on schedule. Book Signing Autograph sessions with attending authors are scheduled at various times during the convention. We ask that you please observe the following guidelines: • Limit all autograph requests to the autograph sessions. • Limit all autograph requests to three books per person at one time. You can re-enter the line as often as time permits. • Avoid blocking the hallways outside the signing area. Agatha Awards Voting Only convention attendees may participate in the Agatha Awards voting. An official ballot is in your registration packet. If you lose your ballot, you lose your vote. The ballot box is located in the Hospitality Lounge. Ballots must be submitted by Saturday at 1:00 p.m. No exceptions! At that time, the ballot box is sealed and taken to a secret location by the Agatha Awards Committee, which does the official counting. The results are revealed at the banquet on Saturday evening and subsequently posted in the Hospitality Lounge. 44 The Hospitality Lounge The Hospitality Lounge is open during most of Malice. It provides a comfortable place to relax and discuss your favorite books. You’ll find tables with “freebies” and information about authors, organizations and activities. Limited complimentary tea and coffee service will be available. The Hospitality Lounge is also where you’ll find the “volunteers” table. In addition to being the place where you sign up to volunteer your services, here is where you turn in your Agatha ballot (on time, please!), and turn in your evaluation form. (Yes, we read them.) You’ll also find the Silent Auction items in their own special section. Look for the display about Malice with information covering this year’s special activities and Malice 24’s honorees (after they are announced at the banquet). Green Room Moderators and panelists are welcome to gather in the Hotel's Executive Boardroom, which has been designated as the Green Room, about 15 minutes prior to the start time for their panels unless they’ve made other arrangements in advance. Volunteers Volunteers should check in and pick up materials for their assignments at the “volunteers” table in the Hospitality Lounge. Anyone wishing to volunteer, who did not do so before the convention, can sign up on the chart for available slots. Volunteers who contribute four hours receive a special gift not available to others at Malice 23. Also, look for the sign-up sheet so you can be placed on the volunteers’ mailing list and get advance information about next year’s program. Evaluation Forms Your opinions count! Please fill out the evaluation form in your registration bag and deposit it in the appropriate box at the volunteers table in the Hospitality Lounge before you leave Sunday. Or you can also turn it in at the Agatha Tea and Closing Ceremonies. The Malice Board reviews these evaluations carefully in an effort to maintain our high standards and plan for future programming. Malice Domestic 23 Advance Registration Discount for Malice 24 Save time and money! Register for next year’s Malice while you’re here. A registration form with a discounted on-site convention rate will be available at the registration desk. Register now for Malice 24 and SAVE! We accept cash, check or credit cards while the registration desk is open. The registration desk will be open through the Closing Ceremonies, and this will be the last opportunity to take advantage of the onsite rate. Malice Domestic 23 45 Charity Auction Facts and Frequently Asked Questions Live Auction Silent Auction How do I register? Starting this year with Malice Domestic 23, we are simplifying the live auction registration process by assigning each attendee a number in our computer system. That number will also be the attendee’s Bid card number for the live auction. Attendees will receive their bid card at the time they sign in at registration on Thursday or Friday. There is no requirement to attend the live auction; however, the bid numbers are nontransferable. All on-site registrants will be assigned a number and given a bid card at the registration desk. When and where will the auction be held? The Malice Domestic 23 Silent Auction will be open on Friday, April 39, 2011, from 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. and on Saturday, April 30, 2011, from 8:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m. in the Hospitality Lounge. When and where will the auction be held? The live auction will be held in Lalique beginning at 9:00 p.m. on Friday evening, April 29, 2011. What organization will be receiving the auction proceeds? The John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents has been chosen as Malice Domestic 23’s auction recipient. JLG-RICA is a communitybased public educational treatment and day/residential facility serving children and adolescents, ages 10–18 with severe emotional disabilities. It is located in Rockville, Maryland. Funds will be used to develop and support residential literacy programs. If I am the winning bidder how do I claim my item? You must claim your item(s) immediately following the auction at the auction check-out table. If you are unable to remain for the entire auction, please let one of the auction volunteers know before you leave the room. What organization will be receiving the auction proceeds? As with the live auction, the John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents will be the recipient of the proceeds from the silent auction. Proceeds from this auction will be used to fund a Malice Domestic Scholarship for Graduating Seniors. How do I claim my item(s)? Winning bidders must report to the Hospitality Lounge Silent Auction check-out table between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, 2011. A list of winning bidders will be posted in the hallway outside the Hospitality Lounge. How can I pay? You may pay for your item(s) with credit card, cash or check. Receipts will be available at time of payment. When and how will I receive my donor receipt? Starting this year, the committee will have receipts prepared and ready for distribution shortly after the conclusion of the auction. For any donors who are not at the convention, we will either e-mail or mail their receipts. How can I pay? You may pay for your item(s) with credit card, cash or check. Receipts will be available at time of payment. 46 Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 47 Convention Schedule Thursday, April 28 7:00–9:00 p.m. Early Bird Registration Friday, April 29 8:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Registration 9:00–9:30 a.m. 2:10–3:00 p.m. You’ve Got Fan Mail: Honored Guests Discuss Mail from Fascinating Fans Verena Rose — Moderator Donna Andrews Carole Nelson Douglas Sue Grafton 3:10–4:00 p.m. Confessions of a Chocoholic: Poirot Honoree Janet Rudolph interviewed by Louise Penny Malice 101: An Introduction to Malice For First-time Attendees Judy Cater 4:10–5:00 p.m. 9:30–9:45 a.m. 5:15–5:45 p.m. Volunteers 101: Important Information For Attendees Who Want to Help Out 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Hospitality Lounge & Silent Auction 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Dealers 10:00–11:30 a.m. A Toast to Donna Andrews: Toastmaster Donna Andrews interviewed by Daniel Stashower Opening Ceremonies 5:45–6:30 p.m. Opening Reception 6:30 p.m. Dinner Break 8:00–8:50 p.m. Lunch Break Simply the Best: Agatha Best Novel Nominees Harriette Sackler — Moderator Donna Andrews Louise Penny Nancy Pickard Hank Phillippi Ryan Heather Webber 12:30–1:20 p.m. 9:00–10:30 p.m. The Poison Lady Presents Elemental Murder: Death by the Periodic Table Luci Zahray, The Poison Lady Live Charity Auction Auctioneers: Katherine Hall Page and Hank Phillippi Ryan Malice Go Round: It’s Like Speed Dating — with Authors Judy and Jack Cater — Moderators 11:30 a.m. 1:30–2:00 p.m. Lyn Hamilton Remembered: Honoring a Beloved Malice Alum Rhys Bowen and Mary Jane Maffini 48 Malice Domestic 23 Convention Schedule Saturday, April 30 7:30–8:30 a.m. New Authors Breakfast: Fans Eat while New Authors Talk About Their Books Host: Cindy Silberblatt 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Registration 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Hospitality Lounge & Silent Auction (Silent Auction until 1:30 p.m. only) 8:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Dealers 8:45–9:35 a.m. — PANELS All in the Family: When Murder Accusations Hit Too Close to Home Joan Boswell — Moderator Kay Finch Kaye George Kris Neri Maggie Toussaint Make It Snappy: Agatha Short Story Nominees Mary Ann Corrigan — Moderator Dana Cameron Sheila Connolly Barb Goffman Mary Jane Maffini Elizabeth Zelvin Haunted Spots, Paranormal Plots: When Ghosts Settle in For the Long Haul Becky Hutchison — Moderator Juliet Blackwell E.J. Copperman Victoria Laurie Sarah Smith Happy Holidays?: Festive Days Marred by Murder Trish Carrico — Moderator Krista Davis Sally Goldenbaum Betty Hechtman Katherine Hall Page Malice Domestic 23 Lifestyles of the Rich and Deadly: Murder Among the Upper Crust Ellery Adams — Moderator Rachel Brady Vicki Doudera Carolyn Haines P.J. Parrish 9:45 a.m. Signings on the Concours Terrace See Signing Schedule in At-A-Glance 10:15 a.m.–11:05 a.m. — PANELS Better Together: Amateur Sleuths Who Work with the Police James Lincoln Warren — Moderator Jane Cleland Paul L. Gaus B.K. Stevens Leann Sweeney Town and Country: How Setting Affects the Story Valerie O. Patterson — Moderator Donald Bain Meredith Cole Molly MacRae Renee Paley-Bain Penny Warner Shot At, Robbed, Hypothermic and More: Travails Authors Endure to Get it Right Toni L.P. Kelner — Moderator Sandi Ault JoAnna Carl Vicki Delany Beth Groundwater My Idol: Authors Discuss Other Authors Who’ve Influenced Their Work Dina Willner — Moderator Ellen Crosby Carole Nelson Douglas Liz Osborne Marcia Talley L C Tyler (continued) 49 Convention Schedule 10:15 a.m.–11:05 a.m. — PANELS (cont.) New Kids on the Block: Agatha First Novel Nominees Margaret Maron — Moderator Avery Aames Laura Alden Amanda Flower Sasscer Hill Alan Orloff 11:15 a.m. Signings on the Concours Terrace See Signing Schedule in At-A-Glance 11:45 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Hup, Two, Three, Four: Mysteries Affected by War Jack Bludis — Moderator Frankie Y. Bailey Dana Cameron Michael Dymmoch Monica Ferris Charles Todd Taboo: Authors Who Tackle Difficult Subject Matter B.K. Stevens — Moderator Julie Hyzy Toni L.P. Kelner Joanna Campbell Slan Jeri Westerson Things We Wish We Hadn’t Written: Authors with Belated Second Thoughts Joanna Campbell Slan — Moderator Dorothy Cannell Margaret Maron Nancy Pickard Hank Phillippi Ryan Elaine Viets Gumshoes with Gams: Female PIs on the Job Con Lehane — Moderator Laura DiSilverio Sue Grafton Jess Lourey Cathi Stoler 12:30 p.m. Lunch Break Signings on the Concours Terrace See Signing Schedule in At-A-Glance 1:00 p.m. 3:15–4:00 p.m. Agatha Voting Deadline 1:30 p.m. Silent Auction Bid Deadline 1:45–2:35 p.m. — PANELS It’s Not Easy Being Green: Murder in the Garden and on the Farm Christina Freeburn — Moderator Sheila Connolly Rosemary Harris Gail Oust Paige Shelton Not Your Grandmother’s Sleuth: Mysteries with Diverse Protagonists Bernadine Fagan — Moderator Allan Ansorge Sara Sue Hoklotubbe Greg Lilly Sandra Parshall 50 2:45 p.m. It’s an Honor: Guest of Honor Carole Nelson Douglas interviewed by Nancy Pickard 4:10–5:00 p.m. — PANELS Book ‘Em!: Mysteries Involving the Book World Doris Ann Norris — Moderator Ellery Adams Raymond Buckland Kate Carlisle Miranda James The Truth is Out There: Agatha Best Nonfiction Nominees Jacquelynn Morris — Moderator Deborah Blum John Curran Steven Doyle Katherine Hall Page (continued) Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 51 Convention Schedule 4:10–5:00 p.m. — PANELS (cont.) 8:45–9:35 a.m. — PANELS World Building: Making the Past Come Alive Sally Fellows — Moderator Amy Corwin Andrea Penrose Elena Santangelo Elizabeth Zelvin Psychic Cats, Angels, and Bats: Books That Put the Ooh in Woo Woo John Betancourt — Moderator Kate Collins Carole Nelson Douglas Julie Smith Mary Stanton Fatal Fashionistas: Do Clothes Make the Murderer? Peggy Ehrhart — Moderator Juliet Blackwell Ellen Byerrum Jane Cleland Elaine Viets Funny Gals, Dark Books: An Intellectual Look at Humor in Mysteries Cathy Pickens — Moderator Donna Andrews Jess Lourey Judi McCoy Lois Winston 5:10 p.m. Signings on the Concours Terrace See Signing Schedule in At-A-Glance 6:15 p.m. Reception 7:00 p.m. Agatha Awards Banquet Sunday, May 1 8:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Dealers 8:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Registration 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Hospitality Lounge 9:00 a.m. Shipping Service open 52 Welcome to the Dark Side: Different Approaches to Dark Topics Bonner Menking — Moderator Lorraine Bartlett Debbi Mack Larry Mild Rosemary Mild Roberta Rogow Here Comes the Corpse: Wedding-Themed Mysteries Ilene Schneider — Moderator Rhys Bowen Mary Jane Clark Tracy Kiely Deborah Sharp This Job’s a Killer: Some Jobs Are Safe, Others Are Murder Harriette Sackler — Moderator Sue Grafton Mary Jane Maffini Nora McFarland Victoria Thompson Murder With a Little Education on the Side: Mysteries That Tackle Social Issues C. Ellett Logan — Moderator Michael Allan Mallory Louise Penny Cynthia Riggs Leslie Wheeler 9:45 a.m. Signings on the Concours Terrace See Signing Schedule in At-A-Glance 10:15–11:05 a.m. — PANELS Indiana Jones Who?: Adventure Mysteries Carolyn Mulford — Moderator Aileen Baron Robin Hathaway Maria Hudgins Sarah Wisseman (continued) Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 53 Convention Schedule 10:15–11:05 a.m. — PANELS (cont.) Tales with Tails: Roles Animals Play in Mysteries Sandra Parshall — Moderator Rebecca M. Hale Linda O. Johnston Linda Lombardi Hannah Reed Behind the Curtain: An Inside Look at Unusual Settings John Billheimer — Moderator Kathleen Ernst Janice Hamrick James Lavene Joyce Lavene Clare O’Donohue Tea, Scones and Death: Murder in the English Countryside Molly Weston — Moderator Dorothy Cannell Jeanne M. Dams Hannah Dennison Elizabeth Duncan Town and Gown: Authors Who Write Academic-Themed Mysteries and More Patti Ruocco — Moderator Donna Andrews Maggie Barbieri Joelle Charbonneau Wendy Lyn Watson J.L. Wilson 11:15 a.m. Signings on the Concours Terrace See Signing Schedule in At-A-Glance 11:45–12:35 p.m. — PANELS Keeping It Real: When Real People Become Fictional Characters Art Taylor — Moderator Casey Daniels J.J. Murphy Daniel Stashower Nancy Means Wright Cold Winters, Deadly Nights: Murder in New England Erika Chase — Moderator Sharon Love Cook Kaitlyn Dunnett Lea Wait Heather Webber Lights, Camera, Murder!: Murder in the Entertainment Industry Judi McCoy — Moderator Peggy Ehrhart Irene Fleming Vincent H. O’Neil Sheila York Cops Versus Amateurs: Who Makes the Better Sleuth? Shawn Reilly Simmons — Moderator Barbara Graham Barbara Ross Maggie Sefton Cheryl Solimini Grannies with Guns and Trash-Talking Nuns: Characters Who Defy Stereotypes Chris Roerden — Moderator Rhys Bowen Chris Grabenstein Parnell Hall Alice Loweecey 12:45 p.m. Signings on the Concours Terrace See Signing Schedule in At-A-Glance 12:45 p.m. Malice Board of Directors Business Meeting Open to All Interested Convention Attendees Until 1:45 p.m. Lunch Break 1:45-2:30 p.m. Interview of a Lifetime: Lifetime Achievement Honoree Sue Grafton interviewed by Julie Smith 2:30 p.m. Agatha Tea and Closing Ceremonies John Curran interviewed by Charles Todd 54 Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 55 56 Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 57 Attending Authors Avery Aames Avery Aames Lucy Arlington Avery Aames, author of A Cheese Shop Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, is the pseudonym for Daryl Wood Gerber. Daryl created the format for the popular sit-com, “Out of this World” and has won awards for her screenplays. Daryl also writes thrillers and short stories. Both Avery and Daryl like to read, cook and garden. Avery blogs at Mystery Lovers Kitchen, for foodies who love mysteries. Website: www.averyaames.com Lucy Arlington is an avid reader, cook and gardener. If she had her way, she’d divide her time between preparing delectables in her kitchen, traveling the globe on her scooter, and sitting in a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee and a paperback until her legs cramped. Lucy is devoted to her husband and children. Lucy’s first cozy mystery, set in a North Carolina literary agency called A Novel Idea, will debut early 2012. Website: www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=lf Blog: www.cozychicksblog.com Lucy Arlington Ellery Adams Ellery Adams Ellery Adams grew up on a beach near the Long Island Sound. Having spent her adult life in a series of landlocked towns, she cherishes her memories of open water, violent storms and the smell of the sea. Ms. Adams has held many jobs including caterer, retail clerk, car salesperson, teacher, tutor, and tech writer, all the while penning poems, children’s books, and novels. She now writes full-time from her home in Virginia. Website: www.elleryadamsmysteries.com Sandi Ault Sandi Ault Laura Alden Laura Alden After years of nodding when anyone said “write what you know,” Laura Alden published Murder at the PTA. Oddly enough, she’s never had children or been a PTA member. But she was a child once and knows many PTA parents, so she’s thinking about revising the saying to “write what you know at least a little something about.” Laura lives in northern Michigan with her husband and two very strange cats. Website: www.lauraalden.com Frankie Y. Bailey Frankie Y. Bailey Allan E. Ansorge Allan E. Ansorge 58 Raised in a Wisconsin farming community Allan did not see a library until he got off a bus to attend high school. There he found Holmes and Christie. After business ownership he returns to writing, spreading imagination and the humor of his “Bay Harbour” mysteries to the enjoyment of we who wait to see, What Happens Next? Website: www.aeansorge.com Sandi Ault is author of the WILD Mystery Series, including Wild Indigo (winner: Mary Higgins Clark Award), Wild Inferno (WILLA and Colorado Book Award Finalist and on Publishers Weekly’s & Library Journal‘s Best Books of 2008 lists), Wild Sorrow (winner: WILLA Award and SPUR Finalist) and Wild Penance (current nominee: Mary Higgins Clark Award, Watson and Hillerman Sky Award). Sandi lives high in the Rocky Mountains with wild companions: her hunky husband, wolf and wildcat. Website: www.SandiAult.com Frankie Y. Bailey is a criminal justice professor in Albany, NY. Her nonfiction books include African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study (2008). Forty Acres and a Soggy Grave (2011), fifth of her mysteries featuring crime historian Lizzie Stuart, is set on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Frankie has completed the first book in a near-future police procedural series. A past EVP of MWA, Frankie is the 2011 VP of Sisters in Crime. Website: www.frankieybailey.com Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Donald Bain Donald Bain Lorraine Bartlett Donald Bain is the author/ghostwriter of over 100 books, including the best-selling “Murder, She Wrote” series of 37 mysteries, and Coffee, Tea or Me? which sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. His autobiography, Murder HE Wrote: A Successful Writer’s Life, was published in 2006 (Purdue University Press). He is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, the National Academy of Television Arts & Science and the Authors Guild. Website: www.donaldbain.com Lorraine Bartlett also masquerades as L.L. Bartlett and Lorna Barrett, writing the Victoria Square Mysteries, Jeff Resnick Mysteries and the New York Times Bestselling Booktown Mysteries. Website: www.LorraineBartlett.com Blog: www.LornaBarrett.blogspot.com Lorraine Bartlett John Betancourt Maggie Barbieri Maggie Barbieri Maggie Barbieri is the author of the Murder 101 series and a freelance college textbook editor. The series features college professor Alison Bergeron and her New York City Detective boyfriend, Bobby Crawford. Love, murder and mystery combine to make this couple a modern-day Nick and Nora. Third Degree, the fifth installment in the series, was published in November of 2010. Website: www.maggiebarbieri.com Blog: www.thestilettogang.blogspot.com John Betancourt John Billheimer Colleen Barnett Colleen Barnett is author of “Mystery Women” series, which covers 150 years of mysteries featuring women sleuths in three separate volumes. The updated Mystery Women, Volume 3 (1990-2000) was published by Poisoned Pen Press December, 2010. Colleen resides in St. Paul, Minnesota. John Betancourt — in addition to running Wildside Press — is a best-selling science fiction author and an award-winning mystery author. He has been a literary agent, a book packager and has worked (in one capacity or another) for most major New York publishing companies. His broad knowledge of the publishing scene offers unique insights into the past, present and future of the industry. John Billheimer John Billheimer, a native West Virginian, lives in Portola Valley, California. He holds an engineering Ph.D. from Stanford University and is the author of the “funny, sometimes touching,” Owen Allison mystery series set in Appalachia’s coalfields. The Drood Review voted his first book, The Contrary Blues, one of the ten best mysteries of 1998. Four subsequent novels, including the most recent, Stonewall Jackson’s Elbow, explore various Mountain State scams and scandals. Website: www.johnbillheimer.com Colleen Barnett Juliet Blackwell Aileen G. Baron Aileen G. Baron Malice Domestic 23 A retired Near Eastern archaeologist, Aileen G. Baron is the author of the Lily Sampson series, set in the Middle East during WW II, featuring archeologist Lily Sampson. Her latest books are The Scorpion’s Bite, the third book in the Lily Sampson series in which Lily is doing an archaeological survey of Trans-Jordan for the OSS, and The Gold of Thrace, a stand-alone, about the intrigue and deceit in the antiquities trade. Website: www.aileengbaron.com Juliet Blackwell Juliet Blackwell is the nationally bestselling author of the Witchcraft Mystery series, which features a misfit witch with a vintage clothing store in San Francisco’s Haight Ashbury (Secondhand Spirits, A Cast Off Coven). Her new Haunted Home Renovation series began with If Walls Could Talk, also a national bestseller. As Hailey Lind, Juliet penned the Art Lover’s Mystery series — including the Agatha-nominated Feint of Art. Arsenic and Old Paint was released September, 2010. Website: www.julietblackwell.net 59 Attending Authors Jack Bludis Deborah Blum Jack Bludis Joan Boswell Jack Bludis has sold sixty novels and novellas and more than 400 stories in various genres using many pseudonyms. His best works bear his own name, including the Shamus-nominated Shadow of the Dahlia, The Big Switch, The Deal Killer and the recently-released The Last Sellout. His story “Munchies” was nominated for both the Shamus and the Anthony Awards. A volume of his stories is due out shortly. Joan Boswell co-edited four of the seven Ladies’ Killing Circle anthologies. Her Hollis Grant mysteries are Cut Off His Tale, Cut to the Quick, Cut and Run and Cut to the Bone, scheduled for the fall of 2011. In 2000 she won the $10,000 Toronto Star‘s short story contest. Joan lives in Toronto where three flatcoated retrievers run her life. Website: joanboswell.ca Blog: mysterymavencdn.blogspot.com Joan Boswell Deborah Blum Rhys Bowen Deborah Blum is a Pulitzer-Prize winning science writer and author of five books, including Agatha nominee The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York, a New York Times paperback bestseller. She is a past president of the National Association of Science Writers (U.S.) and sits on the World Federation of Science Journalists board. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with husband, sons, rescued Labrador, two ferrets and a very energetic pet mouse. Website: http://deborahblum.com Blog: blogs.plos.org/speakeasy science Rhys Bowen is a transplanted Brit who divides her time between California and Arizona. She currently writes two mystery series: the Agatha-award winning Molly Murphy mysteries set in 1900s New York and the lighter, bestselling Royal Spyness mysteries, featuring a minor royal in 1930s Britain. Rhys’s work has been nominated for every major mystery award. She had great fun as toastmaster at last year’s Malice. Website: www.rhysbowen.com Blog: www.rhysbowen.blogspot.com Rhys Bowen Rachel Brady Janet Bolin Janet Bolin Janet Bolin writes the Threadville Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime. In Dire Threads, Willow Vanderling’s machine embroidery boutique is the newest shop in Threadville, a dream village of stores for crafty people, fabriholics and textile artists. But a bullying politician picks a fight with Willow and ends up dead in her yard... Like Willow, Janet plays with machine embroidery and a pair of rescued dogs on the shores of Lake Erie. Website: www.ThreadvilleMysteries.com Blog: www.KillerCharacters.com Rachel Brady Sandra Brannan Sandra Brannan 60 Rachel lives in Houston, Texas, where she works as an engineer at NASA. Her interests include health and fitness, acoustic guitar and books of all kinds. Final Approach and Dead Lift are the first installments in her Emily Locke mystery series, which bases each story in a different sports community. Website: www.rachelbrady.net Blog: writeitanyway.blogspot.com In The Belly of Jonah is September 2010 ABA’s Indie Next Pick Notable. Author Sandra Brannan, much like her character Liv Bergen, has spent her career in the mining business. Her mystery thriller series is inspired by real-life experiences that include 25 years spent building her career from day-laborer in the mining company her grandfather founded to a top executive in the family business. Lot’s Return to Sodom, second in Liv Bergen series, in stores 6/1/11. Website: www.sandrabrannan.com Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Duffy Brown Duffy Brown Dana Cameron Duffy Brown writes for Berkley Prime Crime. Her new series is titled Consignment: Murder. Aka Dianne Castell she is a USA Today Bestseller, won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, HOLT-Medallion Award 2010, been on the cover of Romantic Times Magazine, included in Rhapsody and Doubleday Book Clubs, and made the Waldenbooks Bestseller list. Duffy lives in Cincinnati with her two cats and loves killing people off for fun and profit. Website: [email protected] Dana Cameron’s colonial noir short story, “Femme Sole,” was nominated for the Agatha, Edgar, Anthony and Macavity awards. Two more Anna Hoyt stories will appear in June. Her second Fangborn story, “Swing Shift,” appears in Crimes by Moonlight (and has been nominated for a 2010 Agatha!); a third, “Love Knot,” will be published in August. While dividing her time between the dark colonial past and the hopeful lycanthropic present, Dana lives in Massachusetts, with her husband and two ferocious tabbies. Website: www.danacameron.com Dana Cameron Raymond Buckland Raymond Buckland Raymond Buckland is the author of seven novels and almost sixty nonfiction books, translated into seventeen foreign languages. His first book was published in 1969. His latest novel is Golden Illuminati, a standalone Victorian occult mystery-thriller. He is presently working on a new Victorian cozy series, The Penny Court Enquirers. An ex-Brit, he says that he loves the Victorian era and finds the research side of his writing to be fascinating. Website: www.raybuckland.com Dorothy Cannell Dorothy Cannell Dorothy Cannell was born in Nottingham, England, and came to U.S. in 1963. She married Julian Cannell, and lived in Peoria, Illinois, from 1965 to 2004. They then moved to Maine where they reside with their dog Teddy and two cats named Killer and Bub, Jr. They have four children, Warren, Jason, Rachael, who reside in central Illinois, and Shana, who resides in Maine. Among them, there are ten grandchildren. Ellen Byerrum Ellen Byerrum Malice Domestic 23 Author of the Lacey Smithsonian Crime of Fashion Mysteries, Ellen Byerrum is happy that she is back on the publishing scene with Shot Through Velvet, the latest book in the series. Her other books include Armed and Glamorous, Grave Apparel, Raiders of the Lost Corset, Hostile Makeover, Designer Knockoff and Killer Hair. Ellen has experience as a reporter, a playwright, and she holds a Virginia PI registration. Website: www.ellenbyerrum.com Karen Cantwell Karen Cantwell Karen Cantwell’s short story “The Recollections of Rosabelle Raines” was published in the mystery anthology Chesapeake Crimes: They Had it Comin’ (Wildside Press, 2010). Her first novel, Take the Monkeys and Run, is a comedy-mystery, featuring soccermom/female sleuth Barbara Marr and is available on Kindle and in paperback. She is currently working on her second Barbara Marr Mystery novel, Citizen Insane, as well as co-authoring a chick-lit novel with a vampire twist called Foxy’s Tale. Website: www.karencantwell.com 61 Attending Authors JoAnna Carl JoAnna Carl Erika Chase JoAnna Carl writes the Chocoholic mysteries. In these a young woman who is business manager for her aunt’s chocolate company solves mysteries in a Lake Michigan resort community. The lighthearted traditional mysteries also feature lore, or information about history, science and trivia of Chocolate. Carl is a pseudonym for Eve K. Sandstrom, who earlier published six mysteries under her own name. She has attended Malice Domestic for twenty years. A former mystery bookstore owner in Ottawa, Canada, Linda Wiken will have her first mystery novel for sale in 2012 from Berkley Prime Crime, writing as Erika Chase. Her short stories have been published in the seven Ladies’ Killing Circle anthologies and mystery magazines, and she’s been short-listed for an Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada. Website: www.erikachase.com Erika Chase Mary Jane Clark Kate Carlisle Kate Carlisle New York Times bestselling author Kate Carlisle worked in television production for many years before turning to writing. A lifelong fascination with the art and craft of bookbinding led her to write the Bibliophile Mysteries, featuring Brooklyn Wainwright, whose bookbinding and restoration skills invariably uncover old secrets, treachery and murder. Kate also writes romance for Harlequin Desire. Website: katecarlisle.com Blog: romancebandits.blogspot.com Mary Jane Clark Mary Jane Clark’s books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly and other national bestseller lists. They have been published in 23 languages. “A literary magician,” the Associated Press says. “Her novels are like Agatha Christie’s whodunits...She is one of the most talented story tellers around.” After writing 12 KEY News media thrillers, To Have and to Kill is Mary Jane’s first book in her new Wedding Cake Mystery series. Website: www.maryjaneclark.com Jane K. Cleland Trish Carrico Trish Carrico Trish Carrico has been fascinated by words since she learned to read at age three. As a girl, she went from rewriting the endings of her favorite books to reviewing books for her high school paper. Later on, after a stint in the theater and public service, she was an editor and wrote freelance articles for the Washington Post. Her story, “Death near the Rim of Heaven,” appeared in Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin’. Joelle Charbonneau Joelle Charbonneau 62 Jane K. Cleland Jane K. Cleland’s multiple award-nominated Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series [St. Martin’s Minotaur] has been reviewed as an Antiques Roadshow for mystery fans. “Josie” stories have also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Jane chairs the Wolfe Pack’s literary awards, which include the Nero Award and the Black Orchid Novella Award, granted in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She is a past chapter president of the Mystery Writers of America/New York Chapter. Website: www.janecleland.net Joelle Charbonneau is a storyteller at heart. She’s performed in a variety of operas, musical theatre and children’s theatre productions across Chicago. She now uses that theatrical background to create characters for her mysteries. Joelle’s first Rebecca Robbins mystery, Skating Around the Law (St. Martin’s/ Minotaur), which Kirkus Reviews called “Funny and sexy,” is on shelves now. The second book in the series, Skating Over the Line, will be released September 27th. Website: www.joellecharbonneau.net. Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Jeffrey Cohen Jeffrey Cohen Sheila Connolly Jeffrey Cohen writes the Haunted Guesthouse mystery series (An Uninvited Ghost, Night of the Living Deed) under the name E.J. Copperman. As himself, he writes the Double Feature Mystery series (Some Like It Hot-Buttered, A Night at the Operation) and the Aaron Tucker Mystery series (For Whom the Minivan Rolls, As Dog Is My Witness). He lives in New Jersey and considers himself relatively normal. But then, it’s all relative, isn’t it? Website: www.ejcopperman.com Blog: heydeadguy.typepad.com/heydeadguy/ Sheila Connolly, former art historian, investment banker, political staffer, genealogy consultant, and non-profit fundraiser, gave them all up to become a full-time mystery writer. Her first book, Through a Glass, Deadly (written as Sarah Atwell), was an Agatha nominee for Best First Novel. Currently she writes the Orchard Mystery series and the Museum Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime, and she is also planning another series set in Ireland. Website: www.sheilaconnolly.com Sheila Connolly Sharon Love Cook Meredith Cole Meredith Cole Meredith Cole started her career as a screenwriter and filmmaker. She was the winner of the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic competition. Her first book Posed for Murder (2009) was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Mystery Novel. Her second book Dead in the Water (2010) continues the adventures of photographer Lydia McKenzie in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She teaches writing at the University of Virginia. Website: www.culturecurrent.com/cole Blog: 7criminalminds.blogspot.com= Sharon Love Cook’s mystery novel, A Nose for Hanky Panky, was released by Mainly Murder Press. An art school and Bennington College grad, Cook illustrated the cover. The book’s setting, Granite Cove, a “sleepy fishing village,” was inspired by Gloucester, Massachusetts, where she grew up and worked at a fishery. “I'd rather Sharon Love Cook write about fish than pack it.” Cook, a cartoonist, also writes a humor column for a local newspaper. Website: www.sharonlovecook.com Mary Ann Corrigan Kate Collins Kate Collins Kate Collins is the author of the popular Flower Shop Mysteries. Her books have made the New York Times Bestseller extended list, Barnes & Noble mass market mystery bestsellers lists, the Independent Booksellers lists, and are available in large print editions in the U.S. and the UK. Kate’s 12th book in the series, To Catch a Leaf, will be a November, 2011, release. Website: www.katecollinsbooks.com Mary Ann (Maya) Corrigan has taught writing, drama, and detective fiction at Georgetown University and other colleges. Her essays on drama have appeared in five anthologies. Her latest mystery story, “Delicious Death,” was published in Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin’ (2010). Mary Ann Corrigan Amy Corwin Amy Corwin Malice Domestic 23 Award-winning author, Amy Corwin, published her first historical mystery, I Bid One American, in 2008 and has since published two more historical mysteries featuring the Archer family. In 2012, Amy’s first cozy contemporary mystery, Whacked, will be released. She writes for The Wild Rose Press and Five Star/Gale. “This first novel by Ms. Corwin revealed her abilities to grip the reader’s attention ...” — The Romance Studio. Website: www.amycorwin.com Blog: amycorwin.blogspot.com 63 Attending Authors Carla Coupe Carla Coupe Jeanne M. Dams Carla Coupe is a member of both Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Two of her short stories — “Rear View Murder” in Chesapeake Crimes II and “Dangerous Crossing” in Chesapeake Crimes 3 — were nominated for Agatha Christie Awards. Her Sherlock Holmes pastiches, “The Adventure of the Elusive Emeralds” and “The Adventure of the Haunted Bagpipes” appear in Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine. Jeanne writes “cheerful mysteries” in two series. Her protagonist Dorothy Martin is a sixtyish American, living and sleuthing in contemporary England. (The first “Dorothy” book won the 1995 Agatha.) Hilda Johansson, by contrast, is a young Swedish immigrant in South Bend, Indiana in the early 1900s, housemaid to the wealthy Studebaker family. The new Dorothy, A Dark and Stormy Night, is just out, and a new Hilda, Murder in Burnt Orange, is scheduled for fall. Jeanne M. Dams Ellen Crosby Ellen Crosby John Curran Ellen Crosby is the author of a series of six mysteries set in Virginia wine country, including her most recent novel The Sauvignon Secret (Scribner, August 2011). She has also written Moscow Nights, a standalone novel published in the U.K. Previously she worked as a freelance reporter for The Washington Post, Moscow correspondent for ABC News Radio and an economist at the U.S. Senate. Crosby lives in Virginia with her family. Website: www.ellencrosby.com and Facebook and Twitter. Casey Daniels Casey Daniels Casey Daniels once applied for a job as a cemetery tour guide. She didn’t get it, but she did get the idea for Pepper Martin, her tour guide/detective heroine who investigates for the ghostly residents of her cemetery. The seventh book in the series, A Hard Day’s Fright, was published in April. In addition, writing as Kylie Logan, she writes the new Button Box Mystery series starting this September with Button Holed. Website: www.caseydaniels.com John Curran Krista Davis John Curran is the Edgar-nominated author of Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks and the forthcoming (September 2011) Agatha Christie’s Notebooks and Beyond. For many years he edited the Agatha Christie Newsletter and acted as consultant to the National Trust during the renovation of Christie’s former home, Greenway House in Devon. A life-long crime-fiction enthusiast, he is currently writing a PhD thesis on Christie and The Golden Age of Detection at Trinity College, Dublin where he lives. Website: www.johncurran.info Krista Davis writes the Domestic Diva mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime. Her first novel, The Diva Runs Out of Thyme, was nominated for an Agatha. A life-long mystery fan, Krista feels incredibly lucky to be writing mysteries and has fun developing and tasting new recipes. She blames her need to diet on her cooking sleuth, Sophie, and plans to retaliate by forcing Sophie to join her. Website: divamysteries.com Blog: mysteryloverskitchen.com Krista Davis Barbara D’Amato Barbara D’Amato 64 Barbara D’Amato has won the Mary Higgins Clark Award, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Macavity, the Carl Sandburg Award for Fiction and several Lovies. She is a past president of Mystery Writers of America and of Sisters in Crime International. Her new book is Other Eyes (Forge 2011). Website: www.barbaradamato.com Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Vicki Delany Vicki Delany Vicki Doudera Vicki Delany writes the Constable Molly Smith books, a traditional village/police procedural series set in the mountains of British Columbia (In the Shadow of the Glacier, Negative Image), a light-hearted historical series (Gold Digger, Gold Fever) set in the raucous heyday of the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as standalone novels of psychological suspense (Scare the Light Away). Vicki lives in rural Prince Edward County, Ontario, where she rarely wears a watch. Website: www.vickidelany.com Acclaimed author Vicki Doudera writes page-turners about a red-hot Realtor making multimillion dollar deals while solving bloody crimes. First in the Darby Farr Mystery Series is A House to Die For, chosen by Suspense Magazine as a top read of 2010; Killer Listing debuts in April. Vicki belongs to MWA, serves on the board of SinC New England, and is President of her local Habitat for Humanity, a cause she supports through her book sales. Website: www.vickidoudera.com Vicki Doudera Hannah Dennison Born in England, Hannah moved to California to pursue a screenwriting career. Along the road to publication she has served as an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant and Hollywood story analyst. Her fourth book in the Vicky Hill Mysteries, Thieves! (Berkley Prime Crime/Penguin USA), was published in Hannah Dennison January 2011. Hannah teaches mystery writing at UCLA in Los Angeles and still works full time for a west coast advertising agency. Website: www.hannahdennison.com Steven Doyle Steven Doyle Steven Doyle has been a Sherlockian since the age of 14, when his parents gave him a copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for Christmas. He is a member of The Baker Street Irregulars, as well as co-founder of Wessex Press/Gasogene Books, the world’s premier Sherlockian publishing house. Currently, he is the publisher of The Baker Street Journal. Sherlock Holmes for Dummies is his fifth book about The Great Detective. Website: www.facebook.com/pages/SherlockHolmes-for-Dummies/129581877077394 Laura DiSilverio Laura DiSilverio Malice Domestic 23 Laura DiSilverio spent 20 years as an Air Force intelligence officer before retiring to parent and write full time. With the release of Swift Justice and a mall cop series in the works, the writing’s going great. The jury’s still out on the parenting — check back in, oh, 30 years. She resides in Colorado with her hubby, tweenage daughters and dog, and is currently working on the second Charlie Swift book. Website: www.lauradisilverio.com Elizabeth Duncan Elizabeth Duncan Elizabeth J. Duncan’s first book, The Cold Light of Mourning, won the St. Martin’s/ Malice Domestic Award for best traditional mystery. It was nominated for an Agatha Award (US) and an Arthur Ellis Award (Canada). Her second novel, A Brush with Death, continues the Penny Brannigan traditional mystery series. Elizabeth lives in Toronto with her dog, Dolly, and spends several weeks each year in North Wales where the books are set. Website: elizabethjduncan.com 65 Attending Authors Kaitlyn Dunnett Kaitlyn Dunnett Bernadine Fagan Kaitlyn Dunnett is the author of the Liss MacCrimmon Scottish-American Heritage Mysteries. The latest entry is The Corpse Wore Tartan (2010). Kaitlyn lives on a Christmas tree farm in Maine with her husband and three cats. Under her real name, Kathy Lynn Emerson, she is the Agatha awardwinning author of How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries and the Face Down Series featuring 16th century herbalist and sleuth, Susanna Appleton. Website: KaitlynDunnett.com Website: www.KathyLynnEmerson.com Bernadine Fagan is the author of Murder by the Old Maine Stream, a recently published e-book. She particularly enjoys writing the humorous sections of her books and has been known to laugh out loud (loudly) while in front of her computer. She has written several short stories for Woman’s World and other magazines, is vice-president of the Long Island chapter of Sisters in Crime, and is a former science teacher. Website: www.bernadinefagan.com Bernadine Fagan Monica Ferris Peggy Ehrhart Peggy Ehrhart Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor who writes mysteries and plays blues guitar. As Margaret J. Ehrhart, she has published in the field of medieval literature. She is a longtime member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. As a guitar player, she performs with the Still Standing band. She is the author of the Maxx Maxwell blues mysteries, Sweet Man Is Gone and Got No Friend Anyhow (Five Star/Gale/Cengage). Website: www.PeggyEhrhart.com Monica Ferris Kay Finch Kathleen Ernst Kathleen Ernst Kathleen Ernst’s latest project taps into the decade she spent as a curator at a large historic site. Old World Murder is the first Chloe Ellefson/Historic Sites mystery, and The Heirloom Murders will be published in September. Kathleen’s fiction for young readers includes eight historical mysteries. Honors for her work include Agatha and Edgar nominations. Kathleen lives and writes in Wisconsin, but takes great pleasure in research trips to new locales! Website: www.kathleenernst.com Kay Finch Kay Finch doesn’t investigate murders in real life, but in her paralegal work on highdollar divorces she encounters many motives for murder. Her family law experience inspired the novels Final Decree and Final Cut in the Corie McKenna PI series. The first of her Klutter Killer series from Avalon Books, Relative Chaos, features professional organizer Poppy Cartwright. Website: www.kayfinch.com Irene Fleming Irene Fleming 66 Mary Monica sold her first short story to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine in 1983. Her first novel, Murder at the War, appeared from St. Martin’s Press in 1987. In 1998, writing as Monica Ferris, she began writing a new series for Berkley featuring a needleworking sleuth. The first was called Crewel World, the fourteenth, Buttons and Bones. She has finished Threadbare, and is thinking about And Then You Dye. Website:www.Monica-Ferris.com Irene Fleming has worked as a store clerk, a computer programmer, a technical writer and a museum docent. As Kate Gallison, she has published three private eye novels and five traditional mysteries. As Irene Fleming, she writes a series about silent movie production in the early twentieth century. The Edge of Ruin was the first. The second one, The Brink of Fame, comes out in August. She is descended from a convicted Salem witch. Website: www.irenefleming.com Blog: kategallison.blogspot.com Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Amanda Flower Amanda Flower Barb Goffman Maid of Murder (June 2010) is Amanda Flower’s debut novel and the first in a series featuring librarian-sleuth India Hayes. In the novel, India juggles her quirky family, an eccentric neighbor, warring cats and murder. Kirkus Reviews called the mystery, “The first bud in a new series that fans of Donna Andrews’s lighthearted Meg Langslow mysteries will be eager to see bloom.” Like her protagonist, Amanda is a librarian for a small college near Cleveland. Website: www.amandaflower.com Barb Goffman is thrilled to have received her third Agatha Award nomination this year for her short story “Volunteer of the Year,” which was published in Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin’. Barb solely writes short mystery fiction and had four new short stories published in 2010. She’s a member of the national board of Sisters in Crime, a past president of the SinC Chesapeake Chapter, and is program chair of Malice Domestic. Website: www.barbgoffman.com Barb Goffman Christina Freeburn Christina Freeburn Christina Freeburn’s romantic suspense series that features a skip-tracing business that specializes in relocating abused and stalked women will be published by Desert Breeze Publishing. The first book, Lost Then Found, will be released November 2011. The second, Led Astray, will come out May 2012 with three other books scheduled to follow. Websites: www.chrisfreeburn.com www.theselfrescueprincess.wordpress.com Sally Goldenbaum Sally Goldenbaum is the author of 35 published novels — nine of those mysteries. The fifth book in the Seaside Knitting Mystery series, The Wedding Shawl, will be published this May. In addition to writing and researching the most comfortable coffee shops with the best ambiance in Kansas City, Sally hikes, bikes, and — along with Sally Goldenbaum her husband — works diligently at spoiling four amazing grandbabies. Website: www.sallygoldenbaum.com Paul L. Gaus Paul L. Gaus Paul L. Gaus is the author of six novels in The Amish-Country Mysteries series, published by Plume (a division of Penguin Group USA). He lives with his wife Madonna in Wooster, Ohio, just a few miles north of Holmes County, where the world’s largest settlement of Amish and Mennonite people is found. Paul lectures widely about the Amish people he has met and about the lifestyles, culture and religion of this remarkable community of Christian pacifists. Website: www.plgaus.com Chris Grabenstein Chris Grabenstein Chris Grabenstein’s Haunted Mystery series for middle grades readers (The Crossroads, The Hanging Hill, The Smoky Corridor) have won Agatha and Anthony Awards. Chris’s new middle grades caper series, Riley Mack and the Other Known Troublemakers will debut in 2012 from HarperCollins. Chris also writes the Anthony award-winning John Ceepak Jersey Shore mysteries for adults. His dog Fred has better credits: Fred starred on Broadway in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Website: www.ChrisGrabenstein.com Kaye George Kaye George Malice Domestic 23 Kaye George, an Agatha nominated short story writer, is the author of Choke, Mainly Murder Press, May 2011, as well as A Patchwork of Stories, a collection of her previously published stories. She reviews for “Suspense Magazine,” and writes for several newsletters and blogs. She, her husband and a cat named Agamemnon live together in Texas, near Austin. Website: KayeGeorge.com Blog: TravelsWithKaye.blogspot.com Barbara Graham Barbara Graham began making up stories in the third grade instead of learning math. Always a “book nut” and later a “quilting nut” she combines the two sides of her personality in her Quilted Mystery series. The third book in the series, Murder by Music: The Wedding Quilt releases October 2011. Website: www.bgmysteries.com Barbara Graham 67 Attending Authors Beth Groundwater Beth Groundwater Janice Hamrick Beth Groundwater writes the Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series (A Real Basket Case, a 2007 Best First Novel Agatha Award finalist, and To Hell in a Handbasket, 2009) and the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures mystery series starring whitewater river ranger Mandy Tanner. The first, Deadly Currents, was just released in March, 2011. Beth lives in Colorado and enjoys its many outdoor activities, including skiing and whitewater rafting, and loves talking to book clubs. Website: www.bethgroundwater.com Blog: www.bethgroundwater.blogspot.com Janice Hamrick is the winner of the 2010 Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur Books First Crime Novel competition for Death on Tour, the first novel in a series starring Texas high school history teacher Jocelyn Shore. Born in Oklahoma and raised in Kansas, Janice now lives in Austin, Texas, with her two daughters. When she is not writing, she spends her time traveling, planning to travel, or plotting murders (usually fictional). Website: www.janicehamrick.com Janice Hamrick Rosemary Harris Carolyn Haines Carolyn Haines Rebecca M. Hale The 2010 recipient of the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Writing, Carolyn Haines is the author of the Sarah Booth Delaney Mississippi Delta mysteries. The latest book in the series, Bone Appetit, is the 10th featuring the characters of Zinnia, Mississippi. A former journalist and photographer, Haines currently teaches fiction writing at the University of South Alabama. She is also an advocate for animal rights. She lives on a farm with 21 critters. Website: www.carolynhaines.com Rebecca M. Hale Robin Hathaway Rebecca M. Hale is the author of the San Francisco based Cats and Curios mystery series, featuring the New York Times Bestseller, How to Wash a Cat. The next installment, How to Moon a Cat, will be out this summer. She is also working on a mystery novel set in the US Virgin Islands called The Water Taxi. Rebecca and her cats Rupert and Isabella live in Western Colorado. Website: www.HowtoWashaCat.com Robin Hathaway’s first novel, The Doctor Digs a Grave, won the St. Martin’s/Malice Domestic prize in 1997, and an Agatha Award in 1998. Since then Robin has published five Dr. Fenimore mysteries and three novels in her Jo Banks series. The third in this series, Sleight of Hand, won the 2009 Deadly Ink “David Award.” Robin recently completed a stand-alone espionage novel set during WWII in southern NJ. She lives in New York City. Website: www.RobinHathaway.com Parnell Hall Parnell Hall is the author of the Puzzle Lady crossword puzzle mysteries, the Stanley Hastings private eye novels, and the Steve Winslow courtroom dramas. His music video, Signing in the Waldenbooks, filmed last year at Malice, has had over 50,000 hits on YouTube. Parnell Hall 68 Rosemary Harris Rosemary Harris writes the Agatha-nominated Dirty Business books featuring amateur sleuth Paula Holliday. Her newest release is Slugfest, the story of horticultural sabotage, homicide and something called “the Javits Curse” at a legendary northeast flower show. Her latest paperback, Dead Head, was given four stars by RT Magazine and was called “a perfect summer read” by NPR (CT.) She lives in NY and CT with her husband and a sloppy golden retriever named Max. Website: www.rosemaryharris.com Robin Hathaway Betty Hechtman Betty Hechtman is the author of the best-selling Berkley Prime Crime crochet mystery series featuring Molly Pink and the Tarzana Hookers. She lives in Southern California with her family and ever growing stash of yarn. Website: www.BettyHechtman.com Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Betty Hechtman Sasscer Hill Sara Sue Hoklotubbe Sasscer Hill Coco Ilhe Sasscer Hill lives on a Maryland farm and has bred racehorses for many years. A winner of amateur steeplechase events, she has galloped her horses on the farm and trained them into the winner’s circle. She is the author of several mysteries in the Chesapeake Crimes anthology series, and her articles have appeared in numerous magazines. Full Mortality is her first novel. Blog: sasscerhill.blogspot.com Blog: fullmortality.blogspot.com Coco Ihle, a product of foster care and adoption, spent over fifty years searching for her sister, whom she found in 1994. She discovered Scottish roots and plays harp and bagpipes, along with piano and cello. Her debut mystery, She Had to Know, premièred in April 2011. Coco is a member of MWA; SinC; FWA; The Alma Society, for family searches; the DorothyL Digest and the Scottish St. Andrew’s Society. Website: www.cocoihle.com Coco Ilhe Sara Sue Hoklotubbe Miranda James Sara Sue Hoklotubbe is a Cherokee citizen who loves to transport readers into modern-day Cherokee life by using her childhood home in Oklahoma as the setting for her mystery novels. Her latest mystery, The American Café, is the second in the Sadie Walela Mystery Series. Her first mystery, Deception on All Accounts, garnered Sara the “Writer of the Year” award by Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers. Sara and her husband live in Colorado. Website: www.hoklotubbe.com Dean James is a multi-award-winning author of over twenty books of mystery fiction and nonfiction. He has written as Jimmie Ruth Evans and Honor Hartman. Writing as Miranda James, he is the New York Times bestselling author of Murder Past Due (Berkley Prime Crime 2010) and Classified as Murder (Berkley Prime Crime 2011). This new series features widowed librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine coon cat, Diesel. Website: www.catinthestacks.com Miranda James Linda O. Johnston Maria Hudgins Maria Hudgins Maria Hudgins writes the Dotsy Lamb Travel Mysteries. Book three, Death on the Aegean Queen, was published by Five Star/Cengage in 2010. Death of an Obnoxious Tourist and Death of a Lovable Geek also starred sixtysomething Dotsy and best friend, Lettie Osgood. Setting each story in a different country, Maria first visits the place and looks for good places to commit a murder. Her last trip was to Istanbul, Turkey, the setting for her current work-in-progress. Website: www.mariahudgins.com Linda O. Johnston’s first published fiction, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, won the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for Best First Mystery Short Story of the year. Linda now writes romance and mystery novels. Linda’s new Pet Rescue Mysteries, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter series for Berkley Prime Crime, features Lauren Vancouver, a deterLinda O. Johnston mined pet rescuer who runs a no-kill shelter. In this cozy series, “no-kill” refers to animals, not people. Website: www.LindaOJohnston.com Tammy Kaehler Julie Hyzy Anthony and Barry Award winning author Julie Hyzy writes both the White House Chef Mystery series and the Manor House Mystery series for Berkley Prime Crime. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and three daughters. Julie is a regular contributor at MysteryLoversKitchen.com Tammy Kaehler Julie Hyzy Malice Domestic 23 Before trying her hand at fiction, Tammy Kaehler established a career writing marketing materials, feature articles, executive speeches, and technical documentation. A fateful stint in corporate hospitality introduced her to the world of automobile racing, which inspired the first Kate Reilly racing mystery. Tammy works as a technical writer in the Los Angeles area, where she lives with her husband and many cars. Website: www.tammykaehler.com Blog: tammykaehler.blogspot.com 69 Attending Authors schuyler kaufman In 2001, schuyler kaufman launched her murder mystery Dear Mouse ... Since then, she’s been working on stories of a historical figure in 17th-century London’s criminal underworld. Moll Cutpurse (1586-1659) had both booted feet in the criminal world, and both trousered buttocks on an ad-hoc magistrate’s seat during that tumultuous, underschuyler kaufman researched period. Because eating, rent, and printers demand attention, schuyler edits fiction for Ingalls Publishing Group and international biblical interpretation scholarship for Appalachian State University. Victoria Laurie Victoria Laurie Professional Psychic, Victoria Laurie has been predicting the future and talking to the dead for most of her life. In 2003 she decided to borrow from her rather unusual career and began writing the Psychic Eye Mysteries and Ghost Hunter Mysteries. In 2008 she also started a paranormal series aimed at middle-grade children, Oracles of Delphi Keep. Her next book featuring police psychic Abby Cooper, Vision Impossible, will be released in hardcover July 2011. Website: www.victorialaurie.com Jim Lavene Toni L.P. Kelner Toni L.P. Kelner Toni L.P. Kelner doesn’t have time to get bored. She writes the “Where are they now?” mysteries featuring Boston-based freelance entertainment reporter Tilda Harper (the latest is Blast From the Past), co-edits urban fantasy anthologies with Charlaine Harris (their most recent is the NYT bestseller Death’s Excellent Vacation), and sneaks in short stories (about PIs, zombies, and demonic phone calls.) Kelner lives north of Boston with author/husband Stephen P. Kelner, two daughters, and two guinea pigs. Website: www.tonilpkelner.com Jim Lavene Joyce Lavene Tracy Kiely Tracy Kiely 70 Tracy Kiely was raised in Northern Virginia, an only child born to two only children. Family reunions were held in a broom closet. A die-hard fan of both Jane Austen and Agatha Christie, she decided to morph the two into a humorous update of the classic English cozy. The results so far are Murder at Longbourn and Murder on the Bride’s Side. Website: www.tracykielymysteries.com Joyce and Jim Lavene are a married writing couple who live in North Carolina with their family. They get help from their cat, Quincy, and their big puppy, Rudi, who they rescued in 2010. They have been writing together since 1994 and published since 1999. Last year marked their 52nd book in print. They enjoy writing mysteries but are at home with fantasy, romance and nonfiction too. The couple both work for their small, hometown newspaper, The Weekly Post. They are active in Sisters-in-Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Joyce Lavene Joyce and Jim Lavene are a married writing couple who live in North Carolina with their family. They get help from their cat, Quincy, and their big puppy, Rudi, who they rescued in 2010. They have been writing together since 1994 and published since 1999. Last year marked their 52nd book in print. They enjoy writing mysteries but are at home with fantasy, romance and nonfiction too. The couple both work for their small, hometown newspaper, The Weekly Post. They are active in Sisters-in-Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Con Lehane Con Lehane C. Ellett Logan Con Lehane has published three mysteries featuring New York City bartender Brian McNulty. You can read reviews of them at www.conlehane.com/reviews.html. He has recently completed a new mystery novel, featuring New York City librarian Raymond Ambler (who happens to be a friend of the aforementioned McNulty), that he hopes is the beginning of a new series. Over the years, he has worked as a college professor, a union organizer, a labor journalist, and bartender. C. Ellett Logan spent the first half of her life in the Deep South, an experience that informs her fiction settings, and troubles her characters, Southern-Gothic-style. Currently Vice President of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime in Northern Virginia, her stories “Backseat” and “Anchors Away” appear in the Chesapeake Crimes anthology series. Her novel, Miasma, is set in Georgia’s low country. Website: www.celogan.com C. Ellett Logan Linda Lombardi Audrey Liebross Audrey Liebross, a federal government procurement attorney by day, is finishing a novel, Chicken Soup Justice, in which Rabbi Cindy Katzmann solves the murder of an elderly lady. Audrey’s latest short story is “Passing Through” in Chesapeake Crimes: They Had it Comin’. The mother of three sons, Audrey lives in Annandale, Virginia. Linda Lombardi Audrey Liebross Greg Lilly Greg Lilly Greg Lilly writes the Derek Mason Mystery series. The newest release Scalping the Red Rocks (Cherokee McGhee, July 2010) is nominated for the Lambda Literary Award. He is also the author of the novel Devil’s Bridge and the historical novel Under a Copper Moon. When not writing novels, Greg is a workshop presenter, freelance writer, magazine editor, and publishing house representative. He writes and lives in the Tidewater area of Virginia. Website: www.GregLilly.com Jess Lourey Jess Lourey Clyde Linsley Clyde Linsley is the author of three historical mysteries set in pre-Civil War America, featuring Josiah Beede, a New England lawyer and farmer who was a “hero” of the Battle of New Orleans. Linsley and his wife live in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Jess Lourey is the author of the Booklist starreviewed Murder-by-Month comic caper mysteries. Octoberfest, the sixth in the series, hits bookshelves May 2011. Jess is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the Loft, and a founding faculty member of the Mystery Writers of America’s MWA University. She lives in Minnesota, where she is a professor of writing and sociology. Website: www.jesslourey.com Alice Loweecey Clyde Linsley Alice Loweecey Malice Domestic 23 As a child Linda Lombardi played with a basketful of plastic animals instead of human dolls. Later she left a tenured professorship for a zookeeping job and wrote a pets column for the Associated Press. Her mystery The Sloth’s Eye draws on that experience. Her next book, Animals Behaving Badly (Perigee, Fall 2011) takes humorous revenge on her fellow creatures by exposing why animals aren’t as cute as they want you to think. Website: www.lindalombardi.com Blog: animalsbehavingbadly.blogspot.com/ Alice Loweecey is a former nun who went from the convent to playing prostitutes on stage to accepting her husband’s marriage proposal on the second date. Her teenage sons clamor for dramatic cameos in future books, but she thinks they’ll make good Redshirts. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Force of Habit is her first novel. Website: www.aliceloweecey.com 71 Attending Authors Molly MacRae Molly MacRae Michael Allan Mallory Molly MacRae’s Lawn Order was hailed by The Boston Globe as “murder with a dose of drollery” and by Publishers Weekly as “the witty first of a new cozy series.” Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine since 1990. She recently signed a three book contract with Penguin/NAL. MacRae spent twenty years in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She now lives with her family in Champaign, Illinois. Website: www.mollymacrae.com Michael Allan Mallory’s latest book, Killer Instinct, sends zoologist Lavender “Snake” Jones to the North Woods of Minnesota to investigate a wild wolf killing that escalates into the murder of a key suspect . Michael’s short story “BOO!” will be out this fall in Deadly Treats, Anne Frasier’s invitation-only Halloween anthology. Michael lives in Minnesota with his wife and an elderly and bodacious Maine Coon cat. Website: www.snakejones.com Michael Allan Mallory Margaret Maron Debbi Mack Debbi Mack Debbi Mack is the author of two hardboiled mystery novels: Identity Crisis and the sequel Least Wanted, featuring her lawyer protagonist Sam McRae. She’s a 2010 Derringer nominee for her short story “The Right to Remain Silent.” Debbi’s short stories have appeared in Chesapeake Crimes, The Back Alley Webzine and Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin’. A former attorney, Debbi has also worked as a journalist, librarian and freelance writer/researcher. Website: www.debbimack.com Margaret Maron Mary Jane Maffini Mary Jane Maffini rides herd on three protagonists and mystery series: Charlotte Adams is a professional organizer in upstate New York, while lawyer Camilla MacPhee snoops around Canada’s capital, and Fiona Silk is definitely the most reluctant sleuth in West Quebec. Before turning to crime, Mary Jane had lots of mysterious fun as a librarian and a mystery bookseller. She lives Mary Jane Maffini and plots in Ottawa, Ontario with her long-suffering husband and two princessy dachshunds. Websites: www.maryjanemaffini.com, www.killercharacters.com 72 Margaret Maron has served as national president of SinC, American Crime Writers League, and MWA. Winner of several awards, including the Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, Macavity, her Judge Deborah Knott mysteries are the pegs upon which she hangs her love and concern for North Carolina as it transitions from its rural agricultural past to a more urban hi-tech future. Her first series, set against the NYC art world (now an eBook), featured Lt. Sigrid Harald, NYPD. Website: www.MargaretMaron.com Judi McCoy Judi McCoy Judi McCoy, author of 17 novels, teaches the two-day aspiring author course at the RT Booklover’s convention. Her new series, the dog walker mysteries, features Ellie Engleman, a dog walker on the Upper East Side of Manhattan who solves mysteries with the help of her dogs. These fun, innovative books have made her a National Best-Selling Author, while her first book, Hounding the Pavement, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly. Website: www.judimccoy.com Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Nora McFarland Nora McFarland Carolyn Mulford Nora McFarland’s debut mystery A Bad Day’s Work, follows the adventures of TV news photographer Lilly Hawkins as she attempts to shoot great video, dodge the police, fall in love, and solve a murder-all in one day. Hot, Shot, and Bothered, the second in the series, will be published in August of 2011. Nora has worked in national news at CNN and has an MFA from USC’s school of cinematic arts. Website: www.noramcfarland.com. Carolyn Mulford worked as a magazine editor before opening her own editorial business. She wrote and edited thousands of articles, several nonfiction books and numerous other materials before turning to fiction. A short story, “Crossing the Bridge,” appeared in an anthology, Chesapeake Crimes 3, in 2008. The Missouri Center for the Book selected her middle-reader historical novel, The Feedsack Dress, as the State’s recommended read at the 2009 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. Blog: www.FeedsackKids.typepad.com Carolyn Mulford Jenn McKinlay Jenn McKinlay Bonner Menking Jenn McKinlay is a dessert-freakosaurus. She is known for eating leftover birthday cake for breakfast and the frozen top of her wedding cake didn’t stand a chance of seeing its first anniversary. Writing a New York Times best-selling mystery series based upon her favorite food (cupcakes) is as enjoyable as licking the beater. She also writes under the name “Lucy Lawrence” and lives in Arizona in a house overrun with kids, pets and guitars. Website: www.jennmckinlay.com J.J. Murphy When not writing the Algonquin Round Table Mysteries, J.J. Murphy is an awardwinning health care writer and very busy parent of twin daughters in suburban Philadelphia. Website: www.RoundTableMysteries.com J.J. Murphy Bonner Menking Kris Neri Bonner Menking is an estate tax attorney working on a legal thriller about an estate tax attorney who leads a far more exciting life than most of her peers. If that doesn’t sound too thrilling, remember — half her clients are already dead and the other half are busy writing motives. Bonner’s short story “Climacophobia” was published in last year’s anthology, Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin’. The latest adventure in Kris Neri’s Agatha, Anthony, Macavity Award-nominated Tracy Eaton mysteries, Revenge for Old Times’ Sake, received a 2011 Lefty Award nomination for Best Humorous Mystery. The first book in her paranormal series, High Crimes on the Magical Plane, was also a Lefty Award nominee. 2011 will see the publication of her next funny paranormal, Magical Alienation. Also a bookseller, Kris owns The Well Red Coyote bookstore in Sedona, AZ. Blog: femmesfatales.typepad.com/my_weblog Kris Neri Rosemary and Larry Mild Rosemary and Larry Mild Malice Domestic 23 Rosemary and Larry Mild’s new novel is Cry Ohana, Adventure and Suspense in Hawaii, where murder, blackmail and passion thrust a Hawaiian family into the tentacles of Honolulu’s dark side. They also coauthor the Paco and Molly Mysteries: Boston Scream Pie, Locks and Cream Cheese and Hot Grudge Sunday, and teach “Mystery and Thriller Writing” at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Maryland. They’re members of both Chessie and Hawaii chapters of Sisters in Crime. Website: www.magicile.com Clare O’Donohue Clare O’Donohue Clare O’Donohue is the author of the Someday Quilts Mysteries and the Kate Conway Mysteries. Clare worked for more than a decade as a television producer on HGTV’s Simply Quilts, truTV’s Forensic Files and shows on The History Channel, Food Network, A&E and others. In 2007, Clare wrote The Lover’s Knot. She has since written The Drunkard’s Path, The Double Cross, and Missing Persons, to be published in June 2011. Website: www.clareodonohue.com 73 Attending Authors Vincent H. O’Neil Vincent H. O’Neil Katherine Hall Page Vincent H. O’Neil is the Malice Award-winning author of the Frank Cole mysteries. His latest novel, Death Troupe, is the first book in a new series featuring a high-end mystery theater troupe that comes together once a year, each year in a different town. This year’s a little different, though: Their playwright is dead, a phantom is stalking them, and their new writer isn’t sure he’ll be alive when the troupe finally comes to town. Website: www.vincenthoneil.com Katherine Hall Page’s series features amateur sleuth/caterer, Faith Fairchild. The Body in the Belfry (1991) won an Agatha for Best First; “The Would-Be Widower” (2001) won Best SS; and The Body in the Snowdrift (2005) won Best Novel when Katherine was Malice XVIII’s Guest of Honor. The Body in the Gazebo, the 19th book in the series, and Have Faith in Your Kitchen: a Faith Fairchild Cookbook are out now. Katherine Hall Page Renée Paley-Bain Alan Orloff Alan Orloff Liz Osborne Gail Oust 74 Alan Orloff’s latest release is Killer Routine, a Last Laff Mystery, featuring Channing Hayes, a stand-up comic with a tragic past (Midnight Ink). His debut mystery, Diamonds for the Dead (also from Midnight Ink), came out last April. A former engineer, marketing manager, and newsletter editor, he lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and two children. He’s also Treasurer of the MWA Mid-Atlantic chapter. Website: www.alanorloff.com Blog: www.alanorloff.blogspot.com Renée Paley-Bain Renée Paley-Bain collaborates with her husband Donald Bain on the “Murder, She Wrote” series of original mysteries. She is also a freelance nonfiction book doctor. Earlier in her career, she worked as a public relations professional, newspaper editor and reporter, and advertising and speech writer. She is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, the Romance Writers of America, and the Authors Guild. Website: www.donaldbain.com Liz Osborne P.J. Parrish Liz Osborne writes the Robyn Kelly mystery series based on her own experiences as a patient relations manager for a large healthcare organization. Publishers Weekly called Dirty Laundry, the second book in the series, a “delightful ... clean-as-a-whistle cozy.” An avid gardener and genealogist, she lives in Western Washington with her husband and Brittany spaniel. Website: www.lizosborne.com P.J. Parrish (sisters Kelly Nichols and Kris Montee) is the author of the Louis Kincaid and Joe Frye books, which have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today best seller lists. Their books have won two Shamus Awards, an Anthony and Thriller award and been nominated for the Edgar. Their first stand-alone thriller, The Killing Song, will be published this July. Website: www.pjparrish.com P.J. Parrish Gail Oust Sandra Parshall Gail Oust is the author of the Bunco Babe Mysteries for Obsidian (NAL.) While working as a nurse/vascular technologist, she had nine historical romances published under the pseudonym Elizabeth Turner. But it wasn’t until she and her husband retired to South Carolina that inspiration struck for a mystery. She remembers distinctly when her partner smelled something foul in the underbrush and uttered the immortal words, “Maybe it’s a dead body.” Gail’s imagination took off running. Website: www.gailoust.com Sandra Parshall writes the Rachel Goddard mysteries and won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel with her debut, The Heat of the Moon. Her current release is Broken Places, and her next, Under the Dog Star, will be out September 1. She lives in Northern Virginia. Website: www.sandraparshall.com Blog: www.poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.com Sandra Parshall Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Valerie O. Patterson Louise Penny Valerie Patterson Nancy Pickard Valerie Patterson was raised in the Florida panhandle where the Gulf of Mexico inspired a love of blue. Her first novel for teens, The Other Side of Blue, was published by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, in October 2009, and nominated for an Agatha last year. She has an MFA in Children’s Literature from Hollins University. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Virginia. Website: www.valerieopatterson.com Nancy Pickard loves teapots. Especially the ones she won for Bum Steer, I.O.U., The Virgin of Small Plains, and a short story, “I Had a Farm in Africa.” Teapots are her very favorite collectible. She would hug them if they didn’t look a little scary with those skull and crossbones on them. She also loves Malice Domestic, and wishes it success for years to come. Her latest book is The Scent of Rain and Lightning, and she’s working on the next one. Website: www.NancyPickard.com Nancy Pickard Louise Penny Cathy Pickens In Louise Penny’s Bury Your Dead, Chief Inspector Gamache is in Quebec City to recover from a devastating event. There he investigates a 400-year-old mystery and realizes the past holds the key to a murder, and his own healing. Bury Your Dead has been named Best Mystery by the American Library Association and a top crime novel for 2010 by Amazon, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly among others. She lives in Quebec with her husband Michael. Website: www.louisepenny.com Blog: louisepenny.blogspot.com Publishers Weekly called Southern Fried (St. Martin’s Malice Domestic Award winner) an “assured debut, a cozy with some sharp edges.” Can’t Never Tell is the 5th in the series. Cathy is also president of Sisters in Crime, on the national board for Mystery Writers of America, and president of the Mecklenburg Forensic Medicine Program (collaborative for evidence collection and preservation training). She teaches graduate courses in both law and creativity at Queens University in Charlotte. Website: www.cathypickens.com Blog: southernauthors.blogspot.com Cathy Pickens Andrea Penrose Andrea Penrose Malice Domestic 23 Andrea Penrose made her debut into the world of historical mystery this spring with Sweet Revenge, the first book in a Regencyset series featuring two unconventional aristocrats as amateur sleuths. She also writes historical romance under the pen name Cara Elliott, and recently co-taught an undergraduate seminar on Regency Romance Novels at Yale. A graduate of Yale, she has an MFA in Graphic Design from the Yale Art School, and resides in southern Connecticut. Website: www.andreapenrose.com Blog: www.wordwenches.typepad.com Hannah Reed Hannah Reed Hannah Reed (aka Deb Baker) writes the Queen Bee Mystery series — Buzz Off (9/2010), Mind Your Own Beeswax (5/2011). (Number 3 is due out 2/2012.) As Deb, she writes the award-winning Gertie Johnson Backwoods series. Look for book number 4 in the series soon. When not struggling with her split personality, she is busy writing, gardening, and enjoying life in the rolling wooded hills of Southeastern Wisconsin. Website: www.debbakerbooks.com Blog: www.cozychicksblog.com 75 Attending Authors Cynthia Riggs Cynthia Riggs Hank Phillippi Ryan Cynthia Riggs lives on Martha’s Vineyard in her family homestead, now a bed-andbreakfast catering to poets and writers. She has a degree in geology from Antioch College, an MFA from Vermont College, and holds a U.S. Coast Guard Masters License (100-ton). The Bee Balm Murders is her 10th book. Website: www.cynthiariggs.com Agatha, Anthony and Macavity winning reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is on the air at Boston’s NBC affiliate. She’s won 26 EMMYs and other journalism honors. Her debut, Prime Time, won the Agatha. Face Time is a BookSense Notable Book; Air Time an Agatha and Anthony nominee. Drive Time (Feb. 2010) is her latest. Hank’s story “On the House” won the Agatha, Anthony and Macavity. On the NE board of SinC and national of MWA. Website: www.HankPhillippiRyan.com Hank Phillippi Ryan Chris Roerden Chris Roerden Chris received the Agatha Award for Don’t Murder Your Mystery (Macavity and Anthony finalist), later revised as the nongenre Don’t Sabotage Your Submission (2009 Benjamin Franklin Award winner). Coming soon as e-book chapters. She’s edited authors published by Berkley Prime Crime, Harlequin, Intrigue, Midnight Ink, Oceanview, Perseverance, Rodale, St. Martin’s, Viking, and the 1995 Agatha Best First Novel from Walker & Co. She’s been invited to teach more than 300 workshops in 3 countries. Website: writersinfo.info Harriette Sackler Harriette Sackler Roberta Rogow Elena Santangelo Roberta Rogow has had stories published in both Science Fiction and Mystery anthologies. Her most recent novel, The Root of the Matter (Deadly Ink Press, 2010) is set in Gilded Age New York City. Roberta recently retired, after 37 years as a Children’s Librarian in public libraries in New Jersey. Elena Santangelo won the Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction of 2009 with Dame Agatha’s Shorts: An Agatha Christie Short Story Companion. She also pens the Possessed Mystery series, which begins with Agatha Award finalist By Blood Possessed. Her latest novel, Fear Itself, will be out this spring and features ghosts from the Great Depression, murder in Pat’s hometown, a cat with more than nine lives, and a dog who only understands Czech. Website: www.elenasantangelo.com Roberta Rogow Elena Santangelo Barbara Ross Barbara Ross Barbara Ross’ first mystery novel, The Death of an Ambitious Woman, was published by Five Star/Gale/Cengage in August 2010. Also in 2010, Barbara became one of the co-editor/co-publishers of Level Best Books, which released its eighth anthology, Thin Ice: Crime Stories by New England Writers in November 2010. Website: www.barbaraannross.com Blog: www.levelbestbooks.com/thin-ice-authors Ilene Schneider Ilene Schneider 76 Harriette Sackler is a longtime member of the Malice Domestic Board of Directors and serves as Grants Chair. She is a former Agatha nominee for her short story, “Mother Love.” Harriette is currently working on a book about her experiences with abandoned and neglected dogs at a senior pet sanctuary. She lives in the D.C. suburbs with her husband and five pups. She has two married daughters and looks forward to thoroughly spoiling Ethan, her first grandchild. Rabbi Ilene Schneider’s mystery Chanukah Guilt was nominated for Best Mystery of 2007 by Deadly Ink. It was also one of My Shelf’s 2007’s Top Ten Reads and a Midwest Book Review Reviewers Choice Book. Her second book, Talk Dirty Yiddish, was reviewed by The Forward, an independent national Jewish newspaper: “Such a breezy, engaging book, I should be so lucky to write.” She has completed her second Rabbi Aviva Cohen mystery, Unleavened Dead. Website: www.rabbiavivacohenmysteries.com Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Maggie Sefton Maggie Sefton Joanna Campbell Slan Maggie Sefton is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Berkley Prime Crime Knitting Mysteries. Skein of the Crime, 6/2010, was Barnes & Noble’s #5 Bestselling Hardcover Mystery and on their Bestseller list five months. An anthology entitled Double Knit Murders came out 11/2010. Publishers Weekly has said about the series, “Readers will enjoy visiting with Kelly and her knitting buddies, who, in their carefree way, resemble the cast of Friends.” Website: www.maggiesefton.com, Blog: www.cozychicksblog.com, www.killercharacters.com Joanna Campbell Slan is the author of a mystery series featuring Kiki Lowenstein, a spunky single mom who is an expert scrapbooker. Paper, Scissors, Death (Midnight Ink) was an Agatha Award finalist. Photo, Snap, Shot has been praised as “a cut above the usual craft-themed cozy.” Make, Take, Murder has just been released in time for Malice! Website: www.JoannaSlan.com Joanna Campbell Slan Julie Smith Deborah Sharp Deborah Sharp Deborah Sharp left her reporting job at USA Today to write funny fiction. She sets her Mace Bauer Mysteries in a Southern-fried slice of her native Florida. Think Stephanie Plum, if she trapped alligators and had a couple of cousins named Bubba. On NBC’s Today show, Deborah talked about becoming a bit too involved in her character’s fifth wedding for Mama Gets Hitched. Book No. 4, Mama Sees Stars, comes out this fall. Deborah lives in south Florida with her husband, TV reporter Kerry Sanders. Website: www.DeborahSharp.com Blog: ask-mama.blogspot.com Julie Smith Sarah Smith Paige Shelton Paige Shelton Paige Shelton is the best-selling author of Farm Fresh Murder and Fruit of All Evil, the first two books in the Farmers’ Market mysteries. The third book of the series, Crops and Robbers, will publish December 2011. She also writes the Gram’s Cooking School mysteries, the first of which, If Fried Chicken Could Fly, will publish January 2012. Website: www.paigeshelton.com Sarah Smith Sarah studied English at Harvard (and hid out in the library reading mysteries). She is the bestselling author of an adult mystery series set in Edwardian Boston and Paris; The Vanished Child is being made into a musical. The Other Side Of Dark, her first YA, is inspired by her multicultural relatives and her love of ghost stories. She’s thrilled that it’s nominated for an Agatha! See her on Facebook and Twitter @sarahwriter. Website: www.sarahsmith.com Cheryl Solimini Cheryl Solimini Malice Domestic 23 Julie Smith is the author of twenty-odd novels, most of them set in New Orleans (where she lives) and starring one of her detective heroes, a cop named Skip Langdon, and a PI named Talba Wallis. (Both female, both tough and wily.) Her latest book is Cursebusters! for young adults. She’s also the founder of a new digital publishing venture, www.booksbnimble.com. Her novel, New Orleans Mourning, won the Edgar for best novel. C. (Cheryl) Solimini’s novel, Across the River, was published by Deadly Ink Press in 2008. Featuring Baby Boomer tabloid reporter Andie Rinaldi, ATR was a Best First Novel finalist at the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. (Yes, it’s an honor just to be finalized!) A former Features Editor of Mary Higgins Clark Mystery, Cheryl is currently a Mystery Scene Consulting Editor, and profiles bestselling authors such as Michael Connelly, Lisa Lutz and Sara Paretsky. Website: www.acrosstheriver.info 77 Attending Authors Mary Stanton Sylvia A. Straub Mary Stanton is the author of the Beaufort and Company mystery series. She has just turned the fifth one, Angel Condemned, to Berkley Prime Crime. As Claudia Bishop, she writes the popular Hemlock Falls mystery series. She is hard at work on the eighteenth in that series, Dread On Arrival. Sylvia A. Straub’s short story, “Dog’s Best Friend,” was published in the anthology A Shaker of Margaritas, Mozark Press, 2010. Straub turned to mystery writing following careers in academia and non-profit management. An earlier version of her novelin-progress Blood of the Shepherd earned a second-place award in Shepherd University’s writing competition. Mary Stanton Sylvia A. Straub Daniel Stashower Daniel Stashower Daniel Stashower is a two-time Edgar and Agatha award winner whose most recent nonfiction books are The Beautiful Cigar Girl and (as co-editor) Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters. Dan is also the author of five mystery novels, and was the toastmaster of Malice Domestic XX. His short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies, and in The Best American Mystery Stories. He lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and their two sons. Leann Sweeney Leann Sweeney is the author of two cozy series from NAL/Obsidian, the Cats in Trouble mysteries and the Yellow Rose mysteries. Her newest release is The Cat, The Lady and The Liar. She lives in Texas with her husband, three inspirational cats and a dog that thinks she’s a cat. Website: www.leannsweeney.com Leann Sweeney Marcia Talley B.K. Stevens B.K. Stevens B.K. (Bonnie) Stevens recently published a novella, One Shot, with Untreed Reads. This online whodunit takes a satirical look at issues ranging from gun control to reality shows. Over thirty-five of Bonnie’s stories have appeared in print, most in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine; her latest was “Death in Rehab” (May). Some stories are reprinted in the Women of Mystery anthologies. Bonnie and her husband, Dennis, live in Virginia, where Bonnie teaches at Lynchburg College. Website: www.bkstevensmysteries.com Marcia Talley Art Taylor Cathi Stoler Cathi Stoler 78 Cathi Stoler was an award-winning advertising copywriter. Telling Lies, her first mystery/suspense novel, takes on the subject of stolen Nazi art. Other novels in this series will include Keeping Secrets, which delves into the subject of hidden identity, and, The Hard Way, a story about the international diamond trade. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and the New York Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Website: www.cathistoler.com Marcia Talley is the Agatha and Anthony award-winning author of A Quiet Death and nine previous mysteries featuring survivor and sleuth, Hannah Ives. Marcia’s short stories appear in more than a dozen collections, including “Can You Hear Me Now?” in Two of the Deadliest edited by Elizabeth George. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland with a husband who loves to sail and a cat who doesn’t. Website: www.marciatalley.com Art Taylor Art Taylor’s short fiction has appeared in several national magazines (including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and North American Review), online at Fiction Weekly, Prick of the Spindle, and SmokeLong Quarterly, and in various regional journals/newspapers. His story “A Voice from the Past” was short-listed for the 2010 Best American Mystery Stories anthology. He regularly reviews mysteries and thrillers for the Washington Post Book World and contributes frequently to Mystery Scene and other publications. Website: www.arttaylorwriter.com Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Victoria Thompson Edgar Nominated author Victoria Thompson writes the Gaslight Mystery series set in turn-of-the-century New York City and featuring midwife Sarah Brandt and detective Frank Malloy. Her latest is Murder on Lexington Avenue, June 2010, and the twelfth book in the series will be Murder on Sisters’ Row, June 2011. A popular Victoria Thompson speaker, Victoria has taught at Penn State University and currently teaches in the Seton Hill University master’s program in creative writing. Website: www.victoriathompson.com Caroline Todd Maggie Toussaint Malice Domestic 23 Elaine Viets Elaine Viets Elaine Viets writes two national bestselling mystery series. In her tenth Dead-End Job mystery, Pumped for Murder, Helen Hawthorne investigates extreme bodybuilding and a death from South Florida’s cocaine cowboy days. Elaine’s second series features St. Louis mystery shopper Josie Marcus. An Uplifting Murder is the sixth book. Elaine has won the Agatha, Anthony and Lefty Awards and has been praised in the New York Times. She blogs for The Lipstick Chronicles and the Femmes Fatales. Website: www.elaineviets.com Caroline Todd Lea Wait Charles Todd is author of the best-selling Inspector Ian Rutledge series, set in 1919 England after the Great War, and the new Bess Crawford series, set during the fierce fighting of that war. The only mother and son team of mystery writers, Caroline and Charles live on the East Coast, and travel to England as often as possible. And when they aren’t traveling, they enjoy meeting their many fans. Caroline returns to Malice this year. Website: www.charlestodd.com Maine author and antique dealer Lea Wait writes the Shadows Antique Print Mystery Series starring protagonist Maggie Summer. Shadows at the Fair was honored by a “best first” Agatha nomination. Her latest, Shadows of a Down East Summer, finds Maggie back in Maine, finding clues to a current murder in the diary of a young woman who posed for Winslow Homer in 1891. Lea also writes historical novels for ages 8-14. Website: www.leawait.com and on FB. Lea Wait Maggie Toussaint Penny Warner Maggie Toussaint is the author of the popular Cleopatra Jones cozy mystery series, In for a Penny and On The Nickel. She also writes romantic suspense with her first book, House of Lies, winning Best Romantic Suspense from the 2007 National Readers Choice Awards. She’s a member of Southeastern Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Sisters In Crime, and Guppies. She’s a freelance reporter in coastal Georgia and enjoys yoga. Website: maggietoussaint.com Blog: mudpiesandmagnolias.blogspot.com Penny Warner’s new mystery series features event planner Presley Parker, and includes How To Host A Killer Party, set on Treasure Island and Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay Area, How To Crash A Killer Bash, set at the de Young Museum, and How To Survive A Killer Séance, set at the Winchester Mystery House (Penguin). Her nonfiction book, The Official Nancy Drew Handbook, was nominated for an Agatha Award. Website: www.pennywarner.com Penny Warner 79 Attending Authors James Lincoln Warren Wendy Lyn Watson James Lincoln Warren Jeri Westerson James Lincoln Warren is the author of the Treviscoe of Lloyd’s series of 18th century mystery stories (one of which, “Black Spartacus,” was featured in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Presents Fifty Years of Crime and Suspense) and of the Cal Ops series concerning a multiracial Beverly Hills detective agency. He is the founder and editor of “Criminal Brief: The Mystery Short Story Web Log Project” (www.criminalbrief.com), and a past President of MWA’s SoCal Chapter. Website: www.swordquill.com Jeri Westerson writes an acclaimed medieval mystery series. Her protagonist Crispin Guest is an ex-knight turned private eye, plying his trade on the mean streets of fourteenth century London. The third in the series, The Demon’s Parchment, was released by St. Martin’s Press last October. She also writes a gay mystery series under the name Haley Walsh. Foxe Tail, featuring gay English teacher Skyler Foxe, was also released last October by MLR Press. Websites: www.JeriWesterson.com and www.SkylerFoxeMysteries.com Jeri Westerson Wendy Lyn Watson Leslie Wheeler Wendy Lyn Watson writes deliciously funny cozy mysteries with a dollop of romance. Her Mysteries a la Mode feature amateur sleuth Tallulah Jones, who solves murders in between scooping sundaes. While she does not commit — or solve — murders in real life, Wendy can kill a pint of ice cream in nothing flat. She’s also passionately devoted to 80s music, Asian horror films, and reality TV. Website: www.wendylynwatson.com An award-winning author of American history books, Leslie Wheeler writes the Miranda Lewis “living history” mystery series, including Murder at Spouters Point, released last fall. Previous titles are: Murder at Plimoth Plantation and Murder at Gettysburg. Leslie’s short crime fiction has appeared in five anthologies published by Level Best Books, to which she recently became a contributing editor. A member of MWA and SinC, she is Speakers Bureau Coordinator of the New England chapter. Website: www.lesliewheeler.com Leslie Wheeler Heather Webber Heather Webber Former Agatha nominee Heather Webber is the author of the humorous Nina Quinn landscaping mystery series (A Hoe Lot of Trouble, et al.), and also the popular romantic mystery series featuring psychic Lucy Valentine that includes recent titles Truly, Madly; Deeply, Desperately; and Absolutely, Positively (St. Martin’s Press). Heather’s next release, It Takes a Witch, a mystery written under the pen name Heather Blake, will debut in January 2012 from NAL. Websites: www.heatherwebber.com www.heatherblakebooks.com Cathy Wiley Cathy Wiley Cathy Wiley is happiest when plotting stories in her head or on the computer, or when she’s delving into research. She draws upon her experience as a human resources manager to show the lighter, quirkier side of people and upon her own morbid mind to show the darker side. She lives outside of Baltimore, Maryland, with two very spoiled cats. Website: www.cathywiley.com J. L. Wilson J. L. Wilson 80 J. L. Wilson is a Midwestern author who writes “mysteries with a touch of romance ... and romance with a touch of gray.” She also writes time travel books and has a paranormal-political thriller series that’s set on another planet. She can be found on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace (this link tells you where to find her: tinyurl.com/ak8hl8). Website: jayellwilson.com Malice Domestic 23 Attending Authors Lois Winston Lois Winston Sheila York Award-winning author Lois Winston writes the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series featuring magazine crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun, a January 2011 release, is the first book in the series and was dubbed “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum” by Kirkus Reviews. Lois is also published in women’s fiction, romantic suspense, and nonfiction as well as being an awardwinning crafts and needlework designer. Website: www.loiswinston.com Blog: www.anastasiapollack.blogspot.com Sheila enjoyed a long career in radio and television, and occasionally as an actress, before she began her Lauren Atwill screenwriter series, set in the glamorous, dangerous Hollywood of the late 1940s. Publishers Weekly called her latest, A Good Knife’s Work, “(A) snappy puzzler ... this crime caper is as much fun as a good game of Clue.” She serves as treasurer of the New York regional chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. Website: sheilayork.com Sheila York Elizabeth Zelvin Sarah Wisseman Sarah Wisseman Archaeologist Sarah Wisseman writes the Lisa Donahue Archaeological Mysteries. Lisa, like her creator, is an archaeologist and museum curator who works in a creepy old attic museum in Boston. Book 3, The Fall of Augustus (Wings Press 2009) is set in Boston, while Book 4, The House of the Sphinx (Hilliard and Harris 2009) is set in Egypt. Sarah is currently working on a historical mystery set in Prohibition-era central Illinois. Website: www.sarahwisseman.com Elizabeth Zelvin Elizabeth Zelvin is a New York City psychotherapist whose new mystery, Death Will Extend Your Vacation, comes out next year. The series includes Death Will Get You Sober and Death Will Help You Leave Him. Three of Liz’s short stories have been nominated for Agathas. They have appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and in various anthologies and e-zines. Liz is writing a YA novel about the characters in “The Green Cross,” the current nominee. Website: www.elizabethzelvin.com Blog: www.poesdeadlydaughters.blogspot.com Nancy Means Wright Nancy Means Wright Malice Domestic 23 Nancy Means Wright is the author of 16 books, including 5 mysteries from St. Martin’s Press-now ebooks. An historical novel, Midnight Fires, came out in 2010; a sequel, The Nightmare, is forthcoming this fall. She won an Agatha Award, and Agatha nomination, for her children’s mysteries, and has published stories in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, in Level Best Books’ anthologies, and elsewhere. She lives in Vermont with her spouse and two Maine Coon cats. Website: www.nancymeanswright.com 81 Expert Expert Luci Zahray aka The Poison Lady Luci Zahray is a registered Pharmacist with a Masters Degree in Toxicology from Texas A&M University. A fan of the mystery novel since childhood, she has combined her vocation with her avocation to tell hundreds of people how to kill someone. Using her personal collection of poisons as props, Luci has presented programs to writers groups throughout the Midwest and Canada, including Dark & Stormy in Chicago, Magna Cum Murder in Muncie, Bouchercon in Toronto and the MWA Chicago Chapter. 82 Malice Domestic 23 Contest St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic™ Contest for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel S ince the early years of Malice Domestic, St. Martin’s Press has been sponsoring this contest. Although Malice’s name is featured, the contest is conducted solely by St. Martin’s Press. It is open to any professional or non-professional writer, regardless of nationality, who has never been the author of a published traditional mystery, as defined by St. Martin’s guidelines, and is not under contract with a publisher for publication of a traditional mystery. Ruth Cavin, senior editor and associate publisher of Thomas Dunne Books, said, “In 1988, when we received word of the first Malice convention, Tom Dunne, who with Bob Randisi of Private Eye Writers of America had created the Best First Private Eye Novel contest, quickly realized that we needed another 1990 contest for books with less sex and violence, suspects who were somehow related personally…in other words, ‘Malice-type’ books. We did it with informal permission from Barbara Mertz and her fellow founders, and over time, with the invaluable assistance of our volunteer judges, it became a just-enough formalized arrangement to make everyone happy.” Additional information and guidelines for this contest must be obtained from St. Martin’s Press. The website link to the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic™ Contest is: http://us.macmillan.com/ Content.aspx?publisher=minotaurbooks&id=4933. Previous winners are listed below. The year shown is the year of the contest, with the books usually published the following year. 1998 2006 The Winter Widow by Charlene Weir 1999 2007 1992 2000 Piano Man by Noreen Gilpatrick 1991 The Man Who Understood Cats by Michael Allen Dymmoch 1993 Something to Kill For by Susan Holtzer Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews Jackpot Justice by Marilyn Wooley The Gripping Beast by Margot Wadley* 2001 In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming 1994 2002 1995 2003 1996 2004 1997 2005 Lie Down With Dogs by Jan Gleiter Simon Said by Sarah Shaber Final Closing by Barbara Lee The Doctor Digs a Grave by Robin Hathaway Malice Domestic 23 Murder Off Mike by Joyce Krieg Southern Fried by Cathy Pickens A Stranger Lies Here by Stephen Santogrossi Copy Cat Murders, retitled to Posted for Murder by Meredith S. Cole 2008 Dead Posh, retitled to The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan 2009 The End Game, by Gerrie FerrisFinger *Sadly, Margot Wadley died in an auto accident shortly after she won. Eight of Swords by David Skibbins Murder in Exile by Vincent O’Neal 83 Dealers The Book House Mystery Loves Company Sisters in Crime 11 North U.S. Rt. 15, shop #5 Dillsburg, PA 17019 717-432-2720 202 S. Morris Street Box 160 Oxford MD 21654 410-226-0010 or 1-800-538-0042 P.O. Box 442124 Lawrence, KS 66044 785-842-1325 [email protected] Contact: Joanne or Larry Klase Located on Rt. 15 halfway between Harrisburg and Gettysburg. 25,000 plus hardbacks and paperbacks. Areas of specialty: History, Mystery, Children’s and vintage paperbacks. Hours: Mon. and Tues. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Wed. and Thurs. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Fri. 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; First and Third Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m Felony & Mayhem Press 156 Waverly Place New York, NY 10014 Fax: 212-656-1227 Contacts: Maggie Topkis ([email protected]) Julia Musha ([email protected]) Felony & Mayhem publishes “the best in intelligent mystery fiction,” with a definite tilt toward the literary end. We offer reprints of titles that had previously — and inexplicably — gone out of print; first paperback editions of books previously published in hardcover; and first U.S. editions of books previously published overseas. Look for our first original title next year. Flying Coyote 1307 Hornsbyville Road Yorktown, VA 23692 757-898-1504 [email protected] Contact: Phyllis White Flying Coyote deals in matted images, objets d’art, and books relating to predators. Frozen Light 4459 S. Gary Ave. Tulsa, OK 74105 918-492-1212 or 1-918-381-4449 Contact: Mona Betz Sells silk velvet shawls and ruanas with coordinating dresses and pant sets along with sterling silver jewelry gathered from all over the world. 84 www.mysterylovescompany.com blog: www.mysterysalon.com Contact: Kathy Harig Visit us in historic Oxford, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. We feature new, gentlyused books, signed first editions, and collectible mysteries. We host author events, and do custom gift baskets. Or now you can order online on our website. Follow us on Facebook. Novel Places 23341 Frederick Road Clarksburg, MD 20871 301-442-4972 www.novelplacesusa.com [email protected] Contact: Patrick Darby Located in the original John Clark Trading Post of Clarksburg’s Historic District, Novel Places offers a wide variety of new and used books. We specialize in children, mystery, and science fiction categories. Stop by and be a part of the family with vintage service, where we find books a good home. Scene of the Crime Books 20 Hawthorne Avenue St. Catharines Ontario Canada L2M 6A9 905-646-0214 [email protected] http://www.alibris.com/stores/crimesce ne?slr_ref=crimescene Contact: Don or Jenn Longmuir We’ve been selling books online for 15 years primarily on ABE but you can also find us on Alibris, Amazon.com, Ebay and Biblio. In 2004, we opened a brick and mortar store where authors such as Linwood Barclay and Kelley Armstrong had regular signing events. But in 2006 we closed the store and moved everything home. We specialize in signatures and first editions. If you’re ever in the area please give a call — we are home most days. [email protected] www.SistersInCrime.org Sisters in Crime (SinC) is an international organization founded in 1986 to promote the professional development and advancement of women writing crime fiction. Today, SinC is made up of more than 3,000 members in 48 chapters worldwide — authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers, librarians, and others who love mysteries. This year, we’re celebrating 25 years of opening doors to strengthen the voice of women in the mystery field. We hope you’ll join us. For more information, Sisters in Crime is online at www.sistersincrime.org. SinC into a great mystery! Undiscovered Treasures 9619 Pierrpont Street Burke, VA 22015 703-978-1959 [email protected] Contact: Chris Cowan Undiscovered Treasures carries jewelry ranging from hand-strung semiprecious/ pearl sets and silver through “costume” pieces. Wildside Press 9710 Traville Gateway Dr. #234 Rockville MD 20850 (301) 762-1305 phone (301) 762-1306 fax www.wildsidebooks.com [email protected] Contacts: John Betancourt, Carla Coupe Wildside Press is an independent publishing company with more than 11,000 books in print in a variety of genres, including Mystery, Science Fiction, and Classics. Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 85 Malice Board and Committees Board of Directors Chair Verena Rose Malice Domestic 23 marks Verena Rose’s 13th year of service on the Board of Directors. In the past she’s served in several positions and also Chaired the first Malice Domestic sponsored Charity Auction ten years ago. For Malice Domestic 23, she continues to serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors. Additionally, she is also CoChairing the Charity Auction along with the Treasurer, Angel Trapp. While she happily spends a great deal of her free time working on the Malice Domestic Board, Verena also enjoys spending time with her very active grandchildren. That is, when they can fit her into their schedules. She also very much enjoys the company of her wonderful Ragdoll cats, Jasper and Alice, who recently appeared in the newest Domestic Diva novel by Krista Davis. Secretary Janet Blizard Janet recently retired after a 40-year career with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. For the last 20 years, she was actively involved in the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Janet survived law school by reading mysteries. She “discovered” mystery conventions at Malice Domestic II, has attended almost every Malice since then, and has been a member of the Board for the last 10 years. When she is not reading, Janet is an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and a loyal employee of the Siamese cat who runs her home. ward to the rewarding challenges of the position. When not performing the tasks required for Malice, Marian is employed full-time with a local Maryland CPA firm. In addition to reading mysteries, Marian enjoys cooking, travel and time spent with family. Grants Chair Harriette Sackler Harriette Sackler considers “retirement” a silly misnomer for that wonderful time when you can finally do whatever you want. Since she left her fulltime profession, she’s busier than ever. She’s served on the Malice Board for many years, loves her position as Grants Chair and feels like a mother hen when one of her grants recipients is published. Aside from spending more time reading and writing, Harriette is the Vice President of House with a Heart Senior Pet Sanctuary and derives tremendous joy working with the senior critters. She currently spends time in the world of adolescent mental health as a juvenile forensic competency instructor. Harriette and husband Bob live in the D.C. suburbs with their five dogs. They have two beautiful daughters and two terrific sons-in-law. They are the proud grandparents of one beautiful grandson and have another grandchild on the way. She is a former Agatha Award nominee for Best Short Story. Treasurer Angel Trapp Angel is fairly new to Malice and is the newest addition to the Malice Board. She is very excited about functioning as both Treasurer and Co-Auction Chair. Angel has her own accounting company and enjoys working closely with her clients. Angel is actively working with and contributing to KEEN Greater D.C., a local nonprofit volunteer-led organization that provides one-to-one recreational opportunities for children and young adults with developmental and physical disabilities. Angel loves to travel with her husband, Jason, and she is also looking forward to meeting everyone at Malice and getting more immersed into the Malice community. Hotel Liaison Caroline L. Craig Caroline Craig is a third-generation native of the Washington D.C. area and has been an avid reader since the age of four. Retired after 35 years as a civil servant, she worked as a comptroller for the Department of Defense (DoD), the last 24 years for the Missile Defense Agency (formerly Strategic Defense Initiative Organization). She attended Arlington County Public Schools and graduated from Madison College (now James Madison University) with a double major of Russian language and political science and a minor in Soviet studies. She has two sisters and two brothers-in-law who also live in the D.C. area. A long-time mystery reader, she was a volunteer at Malice for several years before being elected to the Board in 2007 and currently serves as the Hotel Liaison. Convention Events Coordinator Marian Lesko Marian Lesko has served as Treasurer on the Malice Board for the last five years. Starting with Malice Domestic 23 Marian has taken on the position of Agatha Chair and Dealer Liaison and is looking for- Publisher Liaison Joni Langevoort A lifelong fan of books in general and mysteries in particular, Joni is a recovering lawyer whose license hangs on the wall of the laundry room, right over the litter boxes. The proud mother of Kate (a teacher) and 86 Malice Domestic 23 Jackson (a student at Penn State), Joni keeps busy by serving on several charitable boards, volunteering, taking piano lessons, scrapbooking, worrying about her children, watching ice hockey games live and on TV, and, of course, reading. She and her Georgetown Law Center professor husband Don live in Virginia with one dog, three cats, a tank full of fish, and thousands upon thousands of books. ✍ Committee Chairs/Board Advisors Author Liaison Donna Andrews Like Meg Langslow, the ornamental blacksmith heroine of her series from St. Martin’s Press, Donna Andrews was born and raised in Yorktown, Virginia. These days she spends almost as much time in cyberspace as Turing Hopper, the artificial intelligence who appears in her technocozy series from Berkley Prime Crime. In the fall of 1997 she started on the road to publication by submitting her first completed mystery manuscript to the Malice Domestic/St. Martin’s Press Best First Traditional Mystery contest. Upon learning that Murder with Peacocks had won, she acquired a copy of Peterson’s Field Guide to Eastern Birds and settled down to have fun in her fictional world for as long as she could get away with it. Her books have won many awards, and appeared on the New York Times bestseller lists. The most recent, Stork Raving Mad, was released in July 2010, and The Real Macaw will be released in July 2011. A member of MWA, Sisters in Crime, and the Private Investigators and Security Association, Andrews spends her free time killing innocent weeds in her garden and corrupting her mind with computer games. Programs Barb Goffman Being Malice program chair is perfect for shortstory author Barb Goffman, as she believes the best crime stories are those of the domestic variety. Mothers. Husbands. Sisters. All are fair game when Barb chooses her victims, including the one in “Volunteer of the Year,” which has been nominated this year for the Agatha Award. Barb’s stories have appeared in several anthologies, and two others have been past nominees for the Agatha Award. In her spare time, Barb works as an attorney, serves on the national board of Sisters in Crime, and is a co-coordinating editor of the upcoming Chesapeake Crimes: This Job is Murder (Wildside Press 2012). She lives in Virginia with her miracle dog, Scout (a three-time cancer survivor!). Website: www.barbgoffman.com Malice Domestic 23 Publications Rita Owen Rita Owen retired after a career in human resources and Six Sigma. A native of Washington, D.C., her passions include reading (mysteries, of course), quilting, family history and genealogy, writing, folk music, and friends and family. She lives in New Jersey, where she teaches quilting and designs original quilts. She has been providing signage support to Malice for six years and publications for three years. She’s delighted to be aunt and great-aunt to seven nieces and nephews and seven great-nieces and great-nephews. She’s also hooked on her Kindle. Volunteers Anne Murphy Anne and her retired nuclear engineer husband Joe have three wonderful sons, three beautiful daughters-in-law, three gorgeous granddaughters, two handsome grandsons, and an Irish wolfhound with a sense of humor. A charter member of Malice Domestic and survivor of the Silver Spring Sheraton, she often wonders what life might have been like had she ignored Sheila Martin and Kay McCarty when they insisted, “This Malice Domestic thing sounds like fun. Let’s go!” Registration Services Shawn Reilly Shawn Reilly Simmons has been working with Malice since 2003, starting out as PR Chair and then moving on to the position of Registrar. She now handles Registration Services and Malice PR. Graduating from the University of Maryland with a degree in English Literature, she then moved to New York City and worked in sales and marketing. Shawn now does freelance editing and works for News Post Media, the Washington Post company. She lives in Frederick, Maryland with her husband, son and two English Bulldogs. Shawn’s editing website is www.GroundFloorPromotions.net. 87 Pre-Registered Participants (Authors in bold) Avery Aames Ellery Adams Judith Akers Gloria Alden Laura Alden Carolyn Allen Sheila Anderson Donna Andrews Allan Ansorge Jim Archambault Kris Archambault Lucy Arlington Sandi Ault Doris Austin David Autry Frankie Y. Bailey Donald Bain Irma Baker Mary K. Balintfy Maggie Barbieri Tammy Barker Colleen Barnett Vonne Barnett Aileen G. Baron Elizabeth Barrett Lorraine Bartlett Beverly Battillo Donna Beatley Paula Benson Sky Benson Barbara Berman Dorothy Bermudez Carol Bessette John Betancourt Mona Betz John Billheimer Jane Bird Terri Bischoff Debbie Bishop Juliet Blackwell Les Blatt Leslie Blatt Peter Blau Janet Blizard Jack Bludis Deborah Blum Lenore Boehm Janet Bolin Nikki Bonanni Joan Boswell 88 Rhys Bowen Rachel Brady Sandra Brannan Duffy Brown Sarah Brown Deborah Buchanan Raymond Buckland Maxine Buckles Ellen Byerrum Valerie Caires Dana Cameron Laura Campos Dorothy Cannell Karen Cantwell Diane Card JoAnna Carl Kate Carlisle Trish Carrico Anita Carter Judy Castell Jack Cater Judy Cater Mary Chamberlain Joelle Charbonneau Erika Chase Cathy Chatham Lexa Christopher Debbie Clark Mary Jane Clark Nancy Jo Clark Jane Cleland Penny Clifton Jeff Cohen Jayne Colangelo Mary Beth Cole Meredith Cole Kate Collins Maureen Collins Sheila Connolly Sharon Love Cook Mary Ann Corrigan Amy Corwin Carla Coupe Chris Cowan Caroline Craig Ellen Crosby Rebecca Crowley John Curran Barbara D’Amato Jeanne M. Dams Patrick Darby Laura DiSilverio Christine Davis Krista Davis Nancy M. Davis Vicki Delany Hannah Dennison Mary Elizabeth Devine Louise Dietz Jenny Dietzel Susan Dill Deborah Dingboom Gina Dolin Vicki Doudera Carole Nelson Douglas Steven Doyle Pat Drucker Susan Duchek Ann Duff Elizabeth J. Duncan Kaitlyn Dunnett Jeanne Durrer Michael Dymmoch Claire Eddy Pam Edmondson Peggy Ehrhart Sheryl Ehrlich Barbara Ernst Kathleen Ernst Karen S. Esibill Donna Evans Sue Evans Bernadine Fagan Sally Fellows Monica Ferris Nancy Fifield Kay Finch Lola Troy Fiur Kendel Flaum Irene Fleming Amanda Flower Christina Freeburn Suzanne Frisbee Irene Fleming Eileen Garforth Pauline Gary Madonna Gaus Paul L. Gaus Dawn Gentner Kaye George Jan Giles Anne Godden-Segard Barb Goffman Sally Goldenbaum Phyllis Gonigam John Gordon Chris Grabenstein Sue Grafton Barbara Graham Kimberly Gray Douglas Greene Patricia Griffith Beth Groundwater Elizabeth Gwiazdowski Rose Hackman Nicole Hagood Carolyn Haines Rebecca M. Hale Parnell Hall Janet Hamlet Janice Hamrick Marji Hankins Kathy Harig Tom Harig Linda Harris Nancy Harris Rosemary Harris Sherry Harris Robin Hathaway Mary Hawkes Betty Hechtman Maureen Heedles Shirley Heintz Freda Heisser Anita Herbert Sasscer Hill Lois Foster Hirt Aimee Hix Judy Hogan Angie Hogencamp Sara Sue Hoklotubbe Sue Horowitz Maria Hudgins Elizabeth Hunt Becky Bartlett Hutchison DiAnna R. Hyre Julie Hyzy Coco Ihle Teresa Inge (continued) Malice Domestic 23 Malice Domestic 23 89 Pre-Registered Participants Smita H. Jain Miranda James Anna S. Jeffrey Linda O. Johnston Velma V. G. Jordan Tammy Kaehler schuyler kaufman Kathleen Kearns Toni L. P. Kelner Kaitlyn Kennedy Tracy Kiely Judith Kindell Margaret L. Kramer Jan Kurtz Norma Kurtz Shirley J. Landes Joni Langevoort Chris Lanphere Victoria Laurie Casey Daniels Jim Lavene Joyce Lavene Alan Leathers Cheryl Leathers Laurie Leff Con Lehane Amanda Lemire David Lemire Penny Lemire Marian Lesko Kelly Letourneau Marilyn Levinson Judy Levitan Vera Libeau Audrey Liebross Greg Lilly Clyde Linsley C. Ellett Logan Linda Lombardi Don Longmuir Jennifer Longmuir Jess Lourey Dru Ann Love Alice Loweecey Kathleen Lyons Debbi Mack Molly MacRae Mary Jane Maffini Michael Allan Mallory 90 Colleen Manning Sherry Markowitz Rosemary MarloweDziuk Margaret Maron Sheila J. Martin Edith Maxwell Sherri Mayer Kay McCarty Daisy McClelland Greg McClure Judi McCoy Nora McFarland Maureen McKenna Jenn McKinlay Julie McKuras Hulda McLachlen Jaime McLellan Liz Mellett Carolyn Melvin Bonner Menking Lea Mesner Gail A. Metzgar Marvin E. Metzgar Lee Mewshaw Joan Meyers Larry Mild Rosemary Mild Gwynyth Mislin Jacquelynn Morris Susan Morrison Helen Morse Barbara K. Mueller Carolyn A. Mulford Melinda Mullet Anne Murphy J. J. Murphy Elaine Naiman Elaine C. Neal Richard G. Neal, Jr. Karen E. Neary Mary Nelson Kris Neri Kathleen A. Nordstrom Doris Ann Norris Jennifer Waddell Null Betty Occhiogrosso Francesca Occhiogrosso Marie O’Day Tom O’Day Clare O’Donohue Vincent H. O’Neil Alan Orloff Liz Osborne Gail Oust Kathleen Owen Rita Owen Katherine Hall Page Renee Paley-Bain Mary Faith Pankin P. J. Parrish Sandra Parshall Valerie Patterson Louise Penny Andrea Penrose Jackie Petersen Caroline Petrequin Donna Jeanne Phillips Nancy Pickard Cathy Pickens Deanna Pivoroff Lynn Pixley Toni Plummer Louise Pohl C. W. Pollard Janet Powell Frank Price Greg Puhl Linda Randig Maggie Range Pam Rau Anne Reece Hannah Reed Judy Reese Audrey Reith John Reisinger Cynthia Riggs Norine Ripple Dianne Rodman R. Rodriguez de Williams Chris Roerden Janet M. Rogerson Roberta Rogow Verena Rose Natalee Rosenstein Barbara Ross Janet Rudolph Patti Ruocco Dodie Ruskie Sammi Russell Linda Smith Rutledge Hank Phillippi Ryan Margaret Ryan Harriette Sackler Nancy Sampson Christine Sannerud Elena Santangelo Anne Marie Santos Peggy Rae Sapienza Sinya Schaeffer Ilene Schneider Patricia Schutz Sandy Sechrest Maggie Sefton Janine Seitz Deborah Sharp Gordon Shaw Ruth Shaw Judy Sheard Mary Jane Sheffet Paige Shelton Ruth Sickafus Shawn Reilly Simmons Brian Skupin Joanna Slan Ardis Smith Julie Smith Sarah Smith Geraldine Smithson Cheryl Solimini Beth Sorenson Beth St. Clair Denise Stablein Mary Stanton Daniel Stashower B. K. Stevens Dennis Stevens Mimi Stevens Kate Stine Cathi Stoler Sylvia A. Straub Verna Suit Donnetta Summers Patricia Summers Leann Sweeney Marcia Talley Art Taylor Malice Domestic 23 Maureen Taylor Mike Taylor Robin Templeton Victoria Thompson Sheila M. Tierney Caroline Todd Maggie Toussaint Angel Trapp Arleen Trundy Mary Turner Elizabeth Vaccaro Robert Vaccaro Patricia Valoon Donna Van Dyke Mary Van Dyke Polly Van Hyning Susan E. Van Hyning Pat Vasaio Elaine Viets Lea Wait Penny Warner James Lincoln Warren Wendy Lyn Watson Heather Webber Susan Werner Jeri Westerson Molly Weston Leslie Wheeler Kathy Whelan Michael Whitehead K. G. Whitehurst Pam Wieland Cathy Wiley Dina S. Willner J. L. Wilson Lois Winston Sarah Wisseman Beverly Wolov Anne Woodman MaryLee Woods Nancy Means Wright Sharon Yamasaki Sheila York Marisa Young Luci Hansson Zahray Elizabeth Zelvin Malice Domestic 23 Friends of Malice Sarah Masters Buckey Maureen Grace Burns John F. Dobbyn Lois M. Dobbyn Gerrie Ferris-Finger Arlene Gagnon Nancy Gill Carolyn Hart L. C. Hayden Marion Moore Hill Dorothy Howell Judy Ilkena June Kennedy Rhonda Lane G. M. Malliet Diane Martin Peg Ross Richard Steelman Robert Steventon Bonnie Vanaman Kathryn R. Wall Nancy Glass West Valerie Wolzien www.MaliceDomestic.org 91 See you next year at Malice Domestic 24! April 27–29, 2012 Check the Malice website for hotel information. Special Discount for those who register and pay at this year’s Malice: Forms are available at the Registration desk. Use credit card, cash or check. Comprehensive Registration (includes Agatha Banquet): $275 until 12/31/2011 — $300 1/01 – 4/15/2012 if space is available Basic Registration (no Banquet): $225 until 12/31/2011 — $250 1/01 – 4/15/2012 if space is available Deadline all registrations: 4/15/2012 if space is available www.MaliceDomestic.org 92 Malice Domestic 23