…by its cover. Yes, we’ve all heard it before, but the truth is that a cheesy or just inappropriate cover can turn off potential readers - how many times have you put a book down (or not even picked it up) just because the cover wasn’t appealing? Member Meredith Cole is blogging today about her new book cover, and book covers in general, on The Debutante Ball, a group blog for debut authors.
Member Meredith Cole announces that her long-awaited debut novel Posed for Murder will be feted at a party - all members and interested parties are invited!
Date: February 17, 2009
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Partners & Crime, 44 Greenwich Ave, NYC
Hope you’ll be there!
For those of you who have been clamoring, yes, clamoring, to see our very own collective effort featured on the site, voila. We killed ‘em good, too; two of the short stories in Murder New York Style were nominated for the 2008 Agatha award for Best Short Story: Nan Higginson’s “Casino Gamble” and Liz Zelvin’s “Death Will Get Clean Your Closet”. Nineteen other stories round out the collection.
Keep your eyes peeled for a more permanent link on the home page in the weeks to come, but just in case you’re looking for a great holiday gift right now for a mystery lover, look no further than Amazon, where the anthology got great reviews and where you can purchase a copy (or ten!) as great stocking stuffers.
In Killer Keepsakes, the fourth Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery by member Jane Cleland, Josie’s cheerful and helpful assistant, Gretchen, who turned up unexpectedly just as Josie was setting up shop in New Hampshire, doesn’t show up for work one day. Surprise turns to alarm when a dead body is found in Gretchen’s home-and Gretchen is the prime suspect. Josie sets out to find the real killer, and using her knowledge of antiques, discovers long-buried secrets that help bring Gretchen safely home.
The book will be published in April 2009. All SinC/NY members are invited to the Killer Keepsakes launch party on April 16, 2009 at Partners and Crime in Greenwich Village; Jane will be sharing the launch event with Donald Bain and Reneé Paley Bain, the husband and wife team who collaborate on the Murder, She Wrote mystery series. For details of Jane’s full appearance schedule, please see her website.
Jane also announces that she’s just signed the contract with St. Martin’s Minotaur for 2 more titles in the Josie Prescott series.
Member Jane Cleland, who is also the chair of The Wolfe Pack’s literary awards, announces that organization’s Third Annual Black Orchid Novella Award, given in conjunction with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. The postmark deadline for entries is May 31, 2009. Further details and criteria for entries may be found on the flyer for the award, found here, or at The Wolfe Pack’s website, www.nerowolfe.org. Any questions regarding the young but coveted award may be addressed to <jane at jane cleland dot net>.
Thanks to National for pointing us to this article about mystery master P.D. James, now 88 years old. Her late start at writing - she published her first novel at 42 - is an inspiration to those of us who have yet to see our names on a book cover. Her successes include authoring the wonderful Adam Dalgliesh series as well as the sci-fi book Children of Men, which was then made into a movie. The article originally appeared in the Wall Street Journal on November 14, 2008 - click here to read it.
Chapter member Liz Zelvin, whose first book Death Will Get You Sober was published in April (see cover above), has just gotten her contract from publisher St. Martin’s Minotaur/Thomas Dunne for the next installment in the series, Death Will Help You Leave Him. Look for the book late next year or early 2010.
Chapter members Peggy Ehrhart, Lina Zeldovich, Gail Stockton and Catherine Maiorisi attended the New England Crime Bake, an annual mystery conference held in November and jointly sponsored by the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. (more…)
Member Cynthia Baxter recently launched her second mystery series, Murder Packs A Suitcase, with Bantam Books. The series will feature travel writer protagonist Mallory Marlowe, a recent widow, and the freshness of a different setting in each book. The first story, out since October of this year, takes place in Orlando. The second book, Too Rich and Too Dead, is set in Aspen and expected out in March 2009. (more…)
