Murder Circle

Do you want to learn how to buy cheese? Go to the website of Avery Aames, author of THE LONG QUICHE GOODBYE. She has tips and recipes (including gluten-free scones) at http://www.averyaames.com/  And be on the look-out for the next Charlotte Bessette Cheese Shop Mystery, LOST AND FONDUE.

Aging is international as Gladdy Gold shows us in her 6th outing, GETTING OLD IS TRES DANGEREUX. When a French redhead goes for Gladdy’s main squeeze, the young woman’s life is in jeopardy–and not from Gladdy’s wrath. Check out author Rita Lakin’s Hollywood credits, http://www.ritalakin.com You’ll recognize many of the shows.  

We all have bad days, but Stella Hardesty seems to have more than most. When a tornado uncovers a mummified female and the sheriff’s ex comes to town, it’s certain to be A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY. Sophie Littlefield continues her series following her debut with A BAD DAY FOR SORRY.

Actor, author and Jeopardy champion Boyd Morrison defied the odds and took his Kindle novel, THE ARK, to bestseller status. Be on the lookout this November for ROGUE WAVE, a tsunami set to    destroy Honolulu in one hour.

There are lots of  BROKEN PLACES in the 3rd Rachel Goddard mystery. This time author Sandra Parshall gives us blackmail, arson and several murders for the veternarian/sleuth to solve. When a newspaper publisher tries to save a dying paper, he’s the one who winds up dead.

NEWS FLASH! Murder Circle Favorite Sue Ann Jaffarian has just announced that her latest, MURDER IN VEIN, is to be the first hardcover published by Midnight Ink! The book launch is set for Sept. 18 at The Mystery Book Store in Westwood (Los Angeles).  For those of you who can’t attend, be sure and give the lady a high-five when you see her at Bouchercon in October!

Marilyn Meredith is going down an INVISIBLE PATH in the 10th Tempe Crabtree Native American mystery. Suspect Jesus Running Bear leaves Tempe with no “reservations” of finding the killer before the victim’s friends and a milita group take matters into their own hands.  

Will Jeri Westerson sport her T-shirt with the slogan “Chaucer Is My Homeboy” at Bouchercon next month? Keep an eye out. And look for the 3rd in the Crispin Guest Medieval Noir series, THE DEMON’S PARCHMENT.

Did you miss the recent book launch for the 5th Billy Boyle WWII Mystery, RAG AND BONE? The retro covers of James R. Benn’s novels take us back to  a time when we liked Ike, a relative of Boyles through marriage. This is a smartly-written book about wartime intelligence!

When she’s not doing standup comedy (?), L.J. Sellers writes the Det. Jackson mysteries. Right now she’s THRILLED TO DEATH about the freshly released third in the series. Murder brings out dirty secrets of a socialite and a suspect who hasn’t left his house in a year. Now, that’s nothing to laugh about!

ANNOUNCEMENT: I’ve been hard at work pulling together the Mystery Cruise to the Mexican Riviera in Nov.  We have 40 bookbags to fill. Many terrific authors have sent me promo items, but if you’ve got something to contribute, contact me for a snail mail address.

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

Actually, we were in Los Angeles at the Omni Hotel. Hollywood, however, was present in the persona of TV mystery writers who gave us shows like Mannix and Murder, She Wrote. CREATING–AND SUSTAINING–THE MYSTERY SERIES panel was made up of William Link, Tom Sawyer, Bob Levinson and Paul Levine. 

I’ve had three weeks to recover from Left Coast Crime, Booked in L.A. Whew! Approximately 500 people flowing through the second floor, a crush of authors, writers and fans. I saw many familiar faces, resorted to waving to them across the sea of people. Finding a quiet space and a moment to talk was nearly impossible!

I HAD to attend a panel called SEX AND THE AUTHOR because it hit on a topic I will be speaking at the Public Safety Conference this year. I learned that Denise Dietz lays it on the line in her books, L. J. Sellers is more restrained, even though her novel is THE SEX CLUB.  April Smith (NORTH OF MONTANA) says there is still resistance with readers with involving the female protagonist in sex scenes.

Robert Crais regaled us with crazy emails he receives. When asked “What kind of books do you read?” he replied “I read MY books!”

Derek Haas (THE SILVER BEAR) went against accepted advice: “I don’t write what I know. I write what’s cool.” Another tip came from Pete Goodman (SMOKING FROG LIVES!): “Belize beer is awful!” He should know as his books take place in the Yucatan. 

I found out that short stories are referred to as “popcorn fiction.” Is that because they are light and tasty or because they have moral “fiber?”

When Naomi Hirahara interviewed Barry Eisler he said he didn’t think working in CIA Covert Operations was that big a deal until it came to light by fans. I had to pick up a copy of REQUIEM FOR AN ASSASSIN as I’m a fan of his John Rain series.

We all watched our pennies at this conference. I bought Lou Allin’s MAN CORN MURDERS about cannabilism among Native American tribes. I was also interested in Juliet Blackwell’s SECONDHAND SPIRITS and Sue Ann Jaffarian’s GHOST A LA MODE. These books are a departure for both and I had to see what the ladies were up to.    

Not that we didn’t get a great selection in our book bags. I managed to barter for all three of Robert Fate’s BABY SHARK series. PHILIPPINE FEVER by Bruce Cook and THE ONE MINUTE ASSASSIN by his son Troy Cook found their way into my carry-on. I also came away with a copy of THE ARK by Boyd Morrison. Score!     

I met an interesting New Yorker while fighting over the last purple conference T-shirt. It turned out to be the wrong size for both of us, but Kenneth Wishnia and I discovered we’re both friends of Jonathan Santlofer. Kenneth did the impossible: he got Edgar and Anthony nominations for his self-pubbed book, 23 SHADES OF BLACK. He also got a publisher for his latest, THE FIFTH SERVANT. 

I roomed with Madeline Gornell (DEATH OF A PERFECT MAN); attended panels where the lethal ladies of Central Coast spoke including Victoria Heckman (KAPU, A COCONUT MAN MYSTERY OF ANCIENT HAWAII), Sue McGinty (MURDER IN LOS LOBOS), and Karen Kavanaugh, who premiered her mystery ROCK OF MORRO BAY at the conference. I sat at the banquet with my Sisters from Sacramento: Pat Canterbury (EVERY THURSDAY), Nan Mahon (JUNKYARD BLUES) and Cindy Sample, soon to publish DYING FOR A DATE.

My own panel was very well attended, though it was one of the last on Saturday. BEHIND THE BADGE were Robin Burcell (THE BONE CHAMBER), Steven M. Thomas (CRIMINAL KARMA) and Adam Eisenburg (A DIFFERENT SHADE OF BLUE: How Women Changed the Face of Police Work).  Unfortunately, our signing was bumped because the cocktail party had to be set up in the signing area. Bummer!   

Speaking of the banquet, they held our desserts hostage until the award ceremony was over. Thousands of dollars were raised for the literacy program in the auction and four signed Mickey Spillane novels went for a whopping $2,000.

Winner this year for the Lefty Award for best humorous mystery went to Rita Lakin for GETTING OLD IS A DISASTER. The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery was awarded to Rebecca Cantrell for A TRACE OF SMOKE. You can see a photo of her right after the win was announced being supported (literally!) by Kelli Stanley. The Panik Award for L.A. Noir was created in honor of Paul Anik, chairman of 2010 LCC who died prior to the event. Linda Richards picked up the Panik for DEATH WAS IN THE PICTURE.

And that’s my take on the conference. As we all waved good-bye we called “See you in Santa Fe next year!”

I can’t believe LCC is this weekend! There are many friends I’m excited to see–it’s going to be like a “family” reunion.

I’ll be roommates with M.M. Gornell, better known as Madeline and author of DEATH OF A PERFECT MAN. I plan to meet up with my Sisters in Crime from the Central Coast, Sue McGinty (MURDER IN LOS LOBOS), Karen Kavanagh (ROCK OF MORRO BAY: A Rock Martinez Mystery) and Victoria Heckman. Victoria has a new series out: KAPU: A Coconut Man Mystery of Ancient Hawaii. Just the thing for beach reading on my upcoming trip to Kauai.

The Sacramento Sisters that I just met will join me there. Pre-published author Cindy Sample (DYING FOR A DATE), Patricia Canterbury (EVERY THURSDAY) and Nan Mahon (JUNKYARD BLUES) were fun women and we’ll have a great time.

Another Sister I hope to finally meet, this one from Nevada, is Morgan St. James (THE SEVEN DEADLY SAMOVARS). We have tried to connect up while I’m in Vegas for the Public Safety Writers conference, but it never seems to happen. However, there will be two authors attending who I met at PSWA last year. Forensic handwriting expert Shelia Lowe is the author of the Claudia Rose mysteries. The latest is DEAD WRITE. Also, Michael A. Black, who has written I AM NOT A PSYCHIC with Law & Order SVU’s Richard Belzer. Pretty heady stuff!           

I have promised Lou Allin, who I met at LCC Big Island, a bag of pistachios from the Central Valley. We grow ‘em, you love ‘em! I’ll also be picking up a copy of MAN CORN MURDERS because I’m eager to learn more about the Anasazi tribe of the Southwest.

Another Canadian author I hope to spend time with is Mary Jane Maffini. She launched my career at Bcon Vegas years ago when she put me on a panel. She’s got 3 series going, but I’m attracted to THE DEAD DON’T GET OUT MUCH from the Camilla MacPhee line.

Since I’ll be on a panel called “Behind the Badge” on Saturday with Steven M. Thomas, I decided to prep by reading CRIMINAL KARMA. Fun stuff. Easy to like con man Robert Rivers when he goes up against guru Baba Raba.

Ditto with panelist Robert Ellis. I chose THE LOST WITNESS to sample his writing. This is the 4th in the series of the Lena Gamble L.A. Detective mysteries. I’m already a fan.

Robin Burcell will be up there with us. I’ve read her Kate Gillespie books, but I’m eager to try THE BONE CHAMBER featuring forensic artist Sydney Fitzpatrick.

Between witches and ghosts, there are strange things happening in the mystery world. SECONDHAND SPIRITS by Juliet Blackwell introduces Lily Ivory and the new Witchcraft Mystery series. Sue Ann Jaffarian simultaneously wrote the Odelia Grey series and produced the new Ghost of Granny Apples series with GHOST A LA MODE. I’ll take a bite of that apple!

Naomi Hirahara will no doubt be launching BLOOD HINA at the conference. I also want a look at Kelli Stanley’s latest, CITY OF DRAGONS. Friend Ann Parker continues to strike gold from her books about the silver mining town of Leadville in LEADEN SKIES.

I plan to ask Tim Wohlforth about his upcoming title, HARRY.  I’m going to pick Penny Warner’s brain to find out HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY. And Denise Hamilton has a stand-alone out: THE LAST EMBRACE. The latest in the Special Agent Kelly Jones series, THE GATEKEEPER by Michelle Gagnon is on my list.   

Who can resist assassin John Rain–or Barry Eisler, for that matter? I’m dying to read REQUIEM FOR AN ASSASSIN, the 6th in the Rain series. Wait, he has a stand-alone too? It will be my fault if I don’t check out FAULT LINE. 

Cynthia Riggs, author of the Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries, will be sailing to the Mexican Riviera with me on the Mystery Cruise in November–I’m sure we’ll have much to talk about.    

I know her as Camille Minichino, author of the Perodic Table Mysteries, but now she’s AKA Margaret Grace writing the Miniatures Mysteries. My dad made me a dollhouse for my 40th birthday and I’m a collector. Guess I’ll have to start collecting Camille’s series.

LCC isn’t over until THE FAT LADY SINGS. That’s the title of Kit Sloan’s latest Margot & Max Mystery. I want to welcome Kit in person to Oak Tree Press, the publishing house we both share.

So many authors, so little time! Guess I need to get packing.

Was it really TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY that a cocktail waitress obsessed with mythology was murdered? Rookie obit writer Kris Langley intends to find out in this cold case by author Stacy Juba. The book will be out on Oct. 27 by Mainly Murder Press.

When there’s a murder in Bradley, NC, 80-something Myrtle Clover is on the case. Her son, the chief of police, would rather she stayed in a rocking chair, but Mama has something to prove. Armed with “a heavy cane, venomous tongue, and a widower sidekick,” Elizabeth Spann Craig’s senior sleuth goes after a killer in PRETTY IS AS PRETTY DIES.

Lisa Donahue got her promotion as Interim Director of the Boston University Museum after someone dropped a Roman statue on her boss.  As if struggling with his murder isn’t tough enough, the new Director is a vicious woman from Lisa’s past. Sarah Wisseman delivers the goods in THE FALL OF AUGUSTUS.

Dr. Carole Shmurak is the author of the YA Matty Trescott series, as well as the Susan Lombardi mysteries for adults. Lombardi is of the academic sleuth variety. All is not well in Hilliard, Connecticut, when raciest pranks point to a gifted/twisted student or jealous colleague–and where did a teacher disappear to when is wife’s body is found in the basement? It all adds up in DEATH AT HILLIARD HIGH.

Mary Montegue Sikes has set a mystery on one of my favorite Caribbean Islands, Antigua. SECRETS BY THE SEA was nominated for a Library of Virginia Literary Award.

If Antigua is one of my favorite islands, WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS is one of my favorite songs. It’s also the title of Deborah Grabien’s latest rock ‘n roll mystery. JP Kinkaid is an aging musician on a mission when a singer’s head is bashed in with a flaming-red guitar. He must fight his multiple sclerosis to solve the murder.

After being wounded in a school shooting, Professor Reed Stubblefield goes to rural Illinois to heal. But he finds he’s not the only one–people are flocking to a priest who exhibits the stigmata. Is it a miracle or murder when the priest bleeds to death? John Desjarlais raises some intriguing questions in BLEEDER.

Martha Cheves has whet our appetites again with a recipe for Carne Asada to accompany Brian L. Porter’s book, LEGACY OF THE RIPPER. To have a recipe paired with your book, go to http://marthaskitchenkorner.blogspot.com and tell her Sunny sent you. Here’s my books and the recipes Martha came up with for them: FOOLS RUSH IN–Raisin Oatmeal Cookies; and WHERE ANGELS FEAR–Lennie’s Devil’s Food Cake.

What are 5 Berkley Prime Crime authors cooking up? Find out by going over to http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com The site is manned by Julie Hyzy, who writes the White House Chef mysteries; Krista Davis, who pens the Domestic Diva series; Cleo Coyle, author of the Coffee House Mysteries; and three authors with a new series coming in 2010: Avery Aames, the Cheese Shop Mysteries; Riley Adams, the Memphis Barbecue Mysteries; and Jenn McKinlay, the Cupcake Mysteries. Sounds like they’ve got their plates full!

And HUGE congrats to Julie Hyzy for winning both the Barry and Anthony Awards for STATE OF THE ONION. Way to saute!

Anthony Boucher would be pleased with Jeffrey Marks Anthony win at this year’s Bouchercon for ANTHONY BOUCHER: A BIBLIOGRAPHY. Kudos!

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. . . .Carolyn Hart dips her mistletoe into the paranormal with MERRY, MERRY GHOST. When a wealthy woman discovers an orphan is her grandson, she sets out to change her will. One heir has murder in mind, but redheaded ghost Bailey Ruth Raeburn won’t let the “spirit” of Christmas being ruined. Set to hit the shelves on Oct. 27, Carolyn is offering a special gift price right now.

For more mystery news, head over to my cohort-in-crime Karyne Corum and see what she’s croaking about: http://theravencroaks.blogspot.com/

Want to see your title in miniature print? Chris Verstraete offers “printies,” book covers for the well-read dollhouse. See her work and get your own book on tiny shelves at http://cverstraete.com/mb/miniature_book_printies.html  What a collectible idea!

Like a bit of mysticism with your mystery? Luisa Buehler offers THE INN KEEPER: AN UNREGISTERED DEATH. Finding the bodies of a runaway slave and a socialite buried in the basement of an old boarding house is strange enough, but when forensics proves the burials were 80 years apart, amateur sleuth Grace Marsden has her 6th case to investigate. Spirits are raised when she spies the specter of the slave haunting the boarding house looking for justice.

What happened in Vegas shouldn’t stay in Vegas! This year’s Public Safety Writers Conference nearly doubled in size from 2008. Videos are up at You Tube, just put in PSWA Conference. Kathleen Ryan posted a terrific description on Women of Mystery  http://www.womenofmystery.net/2009/06/mtm-las-vegas-nevada.html

I was in the room when Holli Castillo and W.S. Gager (Wendy) got the first glimpse of their debut novels. Remember that feeling? Castillo is a former New Orleans prosecutor and the author of GUMBO JUSTICE featuring Ryan Murphy, an assistant DA “who likes her Tequila cold and her cops hot.” A CASE OF INFATUATION lets Gager dust off her credits as a newspaper reporter with the creation of crime beat reporter Mitch Malone. Malone has 3 rules: blood & gore on the job doesn’t bother him, he always works alone, and he hates kids. Rules are broken when he is accused of murder and must go into hiding with a preschooler.   

Forensic handwriting expert Sheila Lowe gave a fascinating presentation of cases she’s worked on and samples of killer handwriting. Lowe uses her expertise in DEAD WRITE, the 3rd book in the Claudia Rose series. When a Russian matchmaker hires Claudia to find out why her clients are dying, the court qualified handwriting expert finds dating is more dangerous than ever before.

Keynote speaker Betty Webb told of death threats after the publication of DESERT WIVES. The book, featuring PI Lena Jones, is about polygamy practices in Arizona. Webb has launched a new zoo series with ANTEATER OF DEATH featuring zookeeper Theodora “Teddy” Bentley. Let’s hope there are no death threats from the animal kingdom.

THE POT THIEF WHO STUDIED PYTHAGORAS is another discovery I dug up at the Vegas conference. Author J. Michael Orenduff introduces Hubert Schuze, a man who digs for ancient pottery in the New Mexico soil. The government calls him a pot thief, but he believes in finders/keepers. When a customer comes to his shop asking him to steal a thousand-year-old pot from a museum, things really get dirty.

Civilized society meets the frontier when former president Ulysses S. Grant visits Leadville in Ann Parker’s 3rd novel, LEADEN SKIES. Set in a Colorado mining town, saloon owner Inez Stannert is the secret partner of the local madam. When a prostitute gets murdered, Inez must protect her investment. Even in the old West, girls gotta stick together!  

Juliet Blackwell (AKA half of the sister writing duo, Haily Lind) informs us that a group blog is known as a “grog.” She belongs to one with seven other California writers known as Pens Fatales.  Julie is also going woo-woo on us with SECONDHAND SPIRITS. Her protag is Lily Ivory, owner of a vintage clothing boutique in the Haight-Asberry area of San Francisco (and Julie’s stomping ground).

News on the street is that La-La Land has optioned Sue Ann Jaffarian’s first Odelia Grey mystery, TOO BIG TO MISS. The book’s a winner–how could it miss on the big screen?  

I want to give a shout-out to Murder Circle Favorites who made the short list for B-con nominees. Best novel: THE CRUELEST MONTH by Louise Penny; Best First Novel: PUSHING UP DAISIES by Rosemary Harris and DEATH OF A COZY WRITER by G.M. Malliet; Best Paperback Original: STATE OF THE ONION by Julie Hyzy; Best Short Story: KILLING TIME by Jane K. Cleland; Best Critical Nonfiction Work: ANTHONY BOUCHER: A BIOBIBLIOGRAPHY by Jeffrey Marks; and Best Children’s/YA: CROSSROADS by Chirs Grabenstein. Good luck to all in Indianapolis on Oct. 17.

There’s no GUMBO JUSTICE for DA Ryan Murphy. With four brothers on the police force and an overprotective police captain for a daddy, the New Orleans lawyer has enough on her hands. She certainly doesn’t need a psychotic killer helping her climb the ladder. This is Holli Castillo’s debut novel.

Good egg that he is, Chris Grabenstein made buttons that read: “Has Your Mind Been Scrambled?” What a way to promote the 5th John Ceepak Mystery, MIND SCRAMBLER. Ceepack can’t get away from murder, not even on vacation in Atlantic City. When a magician’s nanny turns up dead, there’s more to the killing than meets the eye. Grabenstein always lines up a wild ride on the Midway for readers.

Sammi Carter has just come out with Candy Shop Mystery #5, SUCKER PUNCH. Stop by Abby Shaw’s store, Divinity, in Paradise, Colorado. You’re in for a mystery treat!

And, speaking of sweets, Deb Baker is on a quest to find honey-based recipes for her beekeeping series. Got a sweet tip for her? Send to uperbaker@wi.rr.com

For just desserts, try THE DIVA TAKES THE CAKE, the second in the Domestic Diva Mysteries by Krista Davis. Sophie’s sister is ready to get married until the groom’s ex-wife is found hanging from a tree. Could her sister be marrying a killer? Speak now or forever hold your peace!

The second installment of the Scrap-n-Craft Mysterie is icing on the cake when Joanna Campbell Slan kills off a character with frosting. The party’s over at Kiki Lowenstein’s shop, Time in a Bottle, unless she can determine which of the scrapbookers is out to CUT, CROP & DIE.

Simon Wood announces that he WILL MARRY FOR FOOD, SEX & LAUNDRY. Look for the title under his alias, Simon Oaks.

Hungry for the above books? Well, I think that’s enough “food for thought.” Let’s see what else is happening in the mystery community.

How far does author Lou Allin go for a cover shot? She hiked into rattlesnake country of the Red-Rock Desert of Utah, 10 hours from help, to get the beautiful cover for MAN CORN MURDERS. Reporter Terry Hart and her aunt go exploring the Escalante-Grand Staircase Monument. The discover of a dead girl in a remote cave brings up the question: is the body related to the theory of cannibalism of the ancient Pueblos? See the bookcover at Amazon–and buy a copy while you’re there!

Social worker Clare Conover wonders if her instincts failed when she returned a boy to his mother’s custody and he dies. LITTLE LAMB LOST from author and social worker Margaret Fenton takes Clare to the upper echelons of Birmingham, Alabama, in search of a murderer.

Can we talk? Over at Author Meeting Place, Anastasia Cassella-Young is offering audio interviews for the site and the author’s files for only $5. http://www.authormeetingplace.com/

St. Martin’s Press wants Jeri Westerson to get more Medieval! They just offered her a two-book deal. Look for A CONSPIRACY OF PARCHMENT and TROUBLED BONES in the future. Jeri is also up for a Macavity for VEIL OF LIES awarded at Bouchercon. Double kudos! 

It seems Camille Minachino and Beth Groundwater made a “small scene” at Mayhem in the Midlands this year. In exchange for a set of Beth’s Claire Hanover series, Camille created a scene from the elements of the novels. I love a good miniature and a good mystery! You can view the piece at http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com

I want to give a shout-out to the Blood Stained Bookshelf. A list of forthcoming print mysteries are up at http://www.mirlacca.com/bookshelf.html   Be the first on your block to track your favorite authors and see when their latest will be out.

And, on the home front, I was just interviewed at http://damesofdialogue.tripost.com/id18.html as well as Spicy Romances: http://authorspotlights.wordpress.com/  Jenny Gilliam was open to hosting a mystery author. I had a few hot scenes in WHERE ANGELS FEAR, so I put an excerpt where my heroine and her gal-pal go to try on some leather outfits for an “adult” party. These ladies always get their man! Jenny wanted me to put the word out to other interested author that she’s looking for interviewees. Contact her at jennygilliam@rocketmail.com  Tell her Sunny sent you!

As if the Death on Demand and Henry O series weren’t enough, Carolyn Hart is adding a new series starring ghostly busybody Bailey Ruth Raeburn. A member of Heaven’s Dept. of Good Intentions, she is obliged to help any Earth-bound person who needs her. When the pastor’s wife finds a corpse on the porch, Bailey Ruth grabs her sidekick Wiggins and becomes a GHOST AT WORK.

Speaking of BEST INTENTIONS, even the elite of New York City have to downsize their privileged lifestyle. Lisa Barkley is willing to give up those jaunts to Europe, but she draws the line at giving up her husband to another woman. The price is too high in Emily Listfield’s novel. 

Things are also on the downhill slope for Claire Hanover in the second Gift Bag Mystery, TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET. A ski trip turns chilly when a young woman gets killed. Beth Groundwater keeps it slippery! 

The Murder Circle found out that Jeri Westerson turned more than a few heads at the LA Times Festival of Books with her T-shirt that announced “Chaucer Is My Homeboy.” Westerson is up for a Macavity for VEIL OF LIES. In September, the Murder Circle will tout her latest, SERPENT IN THE THORNS.  

Is motherhood the best training for a Private Eye? The writing team of Evelyn David makes the case on a blog titled “Gumshoe Moms” over at http://meanderingsandmuses.blogspot.com  And MURDER TAKES THE CAKE is their latest Sullivan Investigation Mystery. 

Another confession a la blog comes from Jane Cleland. Over at www.thedebutantball.com  the author says her mom omitted details on her recipe cards so nobody could replicate her cooking. Is that “just desserts?” Cleland’s latest Josie Prescott Antique Mystery KILLER KEEPSAKES is on the shelves.

I had my own fun ride over at http://booklandheights.blogspot.com earlier this month. I have no filters and let my sassy mouth run the show. Good friend Marilyn Meredith is over there right now. Ask her a question about her latest, NO SANCTUARY.

Fellow Oak Tree Press author Dennis Griffin paid a visit to my hometown with mobster Henry Hill in tow. Henry is portrayed by Ray Liotta in the movie ”Goodfellows.” Griffin, who knows all about the Vegas mob scene, has just released his novel VEGAS VIXEN.

The three of us are part of the Public Safety Writers Association. We’re very proud of members Sarah Cortez and Liz Martinez, editors fo the 1st ever anthology of short crime fiction penned by Latino writers. HIT LIST: THE BEST OF LATINO MYSTERY takes readers on a trip through the barrios and imaginations of such writers as Mario Acevedo, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera and Steven Torres. Published by Arte Publico Press, this is a ground-breaking collection.

Congrats to Agatha winners and Murder Circle favorites G.M. Malliet, Louise Penny, Kathy Lynn Emerson andChris Grabenstein. Enjoy those teapots! For more on their award-winning books, scroll down to the previous MC.

The Murder Circle is very excited about this year’s nominees for the Agatha, to be presented at Malice Domestic in May. Two of the authors up for Best First Novel are past Murder Circle favorites!

Rosemary Harris’ PUSHING UP DAISIES is pushing for the award. This Dirty Business Mystery stars Paula Holliday, media exec/gardener. While restoring the garden at a historical landmark, she uncovers a mummified body. A more recent corpse is found impaled on a gardening tool. Paula has to get her hands dirty digging for clues to find the killer. Harris already has the sequel out: THE BIG DIRT NAP.

Last month, I mentioned G.M. Malliet and DEATH OF A COZY WRITER because she was up for the Hawaii Five-O award. Her St. Just mystery just keeps drawing attention! When an English millionaire mystery writer announces his elopement to a woman who might be a murderess, an heir gets maced. No, not with the aerosol, but a real medieval mace. Detective Inspector St. Just is on the case! The next St. Just mystery, DEATH AND THE CHICK LIT, continues this “literary” series.

Scrapbookers get their day in Joanna Campbell Slan’s PAPER, SCISSORS, DEATH. Scrappy heroine Kiki Lowenstein is the prime murder suspect after her husband and his college girlfriend both wind up dead. This is the first Scrap-N-Craft mystery and crafty tips are sprinkled like glitter throughout the novel. CUT, CROP & DIE will be on the shelves in June.

Run right out and buy THE DIVA RUNS OUT OF THYME. This is the first of Krista Davis’ Domestic Diva mysteries starring Sophie Winston. Although she lost her husband to another cook, Sophie’s determined not to lose a contest for the best stuffing. Instead of finding a turkey to stuff, she finds a man snuffed out. What’s her name and photo doing in her car? Look for the 2nd in the series, THE DIVA TAKES THE CAKE in June.

Sarah Atwell’s intentions are clear in her first Glassblowing Mystery, THROUGH A GLASS, DEADLY.  Somebody got baked in Emmeline Dowell’s 2,000 degree furnace (ouch!) and now she has to work with her ex-lover, the Tucson police chief. And why is the FBI so interested in the case? The follow-up, PANE OF DEATH, should get readers fired up.    

I SHALL NOT WANT to miss the opportunity to mention this 6th mystery for Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson and Police Chief Russ Van Altstyne. Julia Spencer-Fleming serves up a tale involving Mexican immigrant workers in New York, drug smuggling and gang turf wars.

Award time is not THE CRUELEST MONTH for Louise Penny and the Quebec town of Three Pines. When the villagers gather for a seance in a haunted house, one person dies of fright. Chief Inspector Armand Gamache must scare up a suspect, even as he fears there is a mole in the investigation team. The 4th in the series, A RULE AGAINST MURDER, came out in January of this year.

Donna Andrews award-winning mysteries are strictly for the birds. #10 of the series, SIX GEESE A-SLAYING, has Meg Langslow in the middle of organizing a Xmas parade when somebody offs a not-so-jolly Santa. Look for COCKATIELS AT SEVEN in June. P.S. I met Donna at LCC Hawaii, there’s a photo of the two of us with Sue Ann Jaffarian on my News page.

Lady Georgiana Rannoch is 34th in line for the throne in Rhys Bowen’s Her Royal Spyness Myseries. But, it’s 1930’s England and Georgiana is finding life A ROYAL PAIN as she earns a living as a maid. When called on by the royal relatives to chaperone the Prince of Wales and keep him from marrying the Ugly American divorcee, things become untidy with murder. ROYAL FLUSH, the 3rd in the series, is due out in July. And yes, that’s Rhys and me in Hawaii on my News page.

The Prince of Wales from Victorian times is also in trouble when a prostitute is found dead at BUCKINGHAM PALACE GARDENs after a stag party. Inspector Thomas Pitt takes on his 25th case in this series penned by Anne Perry. 

Want to know HOW TO WRITE KILLER HISTORICAL MYSTERIES like Rhys Bowen and Anne Perry? Check out Kathy Lynn Emerson’s Agatha nominee guide for writers of this genre.

Up for the non-fiction catagory is Frankie Y. Bailey’s AFRICAN AMERICAN MYSTERY WRITERS: A HISTORICAL & THEMATIC STUDY. From slave narratives to today’s fiction market, Bailey explores black genre fiction, the sleuths, victims and offenders as well as the cultural vernacular in mystery novels.

He was an American author, editor and critic by the name of William Parker White, AKA Anthony Boucher. In Jeffrey Marks’ ANTHONY BOUCHER: A BIOBIBLIOGRAPHY, we get the best of the man’s writing. No wonder the mystery community holds Bouchercon in his honor.

Final bit of gossip: My latest, WHERE ANGELS FEAR, just came out by Oak Tree Press. It follows FOOLS RUSH IN in the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries.

Left Coast Crime is just around the corner and here are some of the attendees I hope to hook up with!

A Canadian who writes about Los Angeles, Pat Brown creates a little LA MISCHIEF. LAPD homicide detective David Laine has trouble coming out of the closet. What’s worse is that a potential significant other is either the prime suspect in the investigation of a sadistic killer or the next victim. If you want to see Detective Laine’s hot ride, go on Brown’s website and take a gander at the ‘56 Chevy sport coupe.   

A Hawaii Five-O nominee at LCC Hawaii is DEATH OF A COZY WRITER. In her debut novel, G.M. Malliet takes us to England where a millionaire mystery writer rewrites his life by announcing his elopement to a possible murderess. An heir falls when smashed with a medieval mace, and Detective Inspector St. Just is called in to break through the English reserve of the wealthy to solve the crime.

ANGEL FALLS, the third Mike Travis mystery by Baron R. Bircher, is also in the running for the Hawaii Five-O award. What can draw Travis away from his scuba charter business and back to being a detective? The disappearance of a teenage girl. Designer drugs, violent sex and his own demons turn paradise into a tropical hell. Bircher, who lives in Hawaii, is tempting LCC attendees to try two Kona lethal brews: Killer Coffee and Tropical Noir.

Where there’s A TRACE OF SMOKE, there’s fire. We’ll all have to wait until May to get copies of Rebecca Cantrell’s novel of 1931 Berlin, a crime reporter with a cross-dressing brother and an orphan who thinks they are both his parents. Hannah Vogel, devastated by her brother’s murder, conducts an investigation that goes to the top ranks of the Nazi party.

Fast forward 7 years to Jerusalem in 1938. WWII is on the horizon, but American graduate student Lily Sampson is busy with an important archeology dig. When murder, theft of artifacts and no help coming from British authorities, Sampson must conduct her own investigation. A FLY HAS A HUNDRED EYES and Aileen Baron has a terrific mystery.

Attorney Ken Isaacson makes his fiction debut with SILENT COUNSEL. When a wealthy man commits a hit-and-run, he contacts attorney Scott Heller. Keeping the man’s identity secret while negotiating a plea agreement brings in the question of attorney-client privilege.

Out just in time for Left Coast Crime is Sue Ann Jafferian’s latest, BOOBY TRAP. In the fourth outing, plus-size Odelia Grey is after the Blond Bomber, a serial killer who targets busty blonds. She would never suspect the plastic surgeon except that the info came straight from the doctor’s mother. Can she “bust” the killer? A titillating read (I did NOT just say that!).

Final note: Congrats to Murder Circle favorite Julie Hyzy for the Lovey win for STATE OF THE ONION, as well an award in the Thriller category with Michael Black for DEAD RINGER. Good show!

O Canada! I’m devoting the Murder Circle to Canadian authors I hope to meet in Hawaii next month.

Author Lou Allin relocated to Vancouver Island, Canada, and set a new series in the region. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Holly Martin works the Fossil Bay beat with Sikh sidekick Knox Singh. Methamphetamine is the scourge of the island in AND ON THE SURFACE DIE.

Heroin is the source of murder in the sleepy village of Trafalgar, BC. Constable Molly Smith and Sgt. John Winters are on the case in this second book of the series by Vicki Delany. VALLEY OF THE LOST is coming out this month and hopefully will find its way to Left Coast Crime, Hawaii. 

Drugs are also involved with a teen’s murder in DREAM CHASERS. In the 6th book of her award-winning series, Barbara Fradkin’s Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green deals with the nightmare of people protecting a suspect. The Inspector’s own daughter is at risk!  

THE RIVER RUNS ORANGE in R.J. Harlick’s latest Meg Harris mystery. During a whitewater trip, Meg finds skeletal remains that stuns the archaeological world. However, her friends, the Migiskan Algonquin, claim rights to the find as part of their ancient beliefs. New blood is shed and Meg faces raging waters and a forest fire in her search of a killer. 

By the time Denise Dietz returns from LCC, the large print version of STRANGLE A LOAF OF ITALIAN BREAD should be ready to hit the shelves. Pass the flavored dipping oil!

With three series from Mary Jane Maffini to choose from, it’s hard to decide which to feature on the Murder Circle. I’m going with the latest Charlotte Adams mystery (my sister’s name is Charlotte). Love the title: THE CLUTTERED CORPSE. Charlotte is a professional organizer who is forced to come out of the closets when murder messes up her life. This is the second in the series that brings a new meaning to “Law and Order.”

Alex Brett manages to straddle the line at the LCC Hawaii convention. COLD DARK MATTER has sleuth Morgan O’Brien traveling from Ottowa to Big Island when an astronomer is found hanging from a telescope. Colleagues don’t care if it’s suicide or murder–just where the hell are the research diaries?

Ditto with ALOHA, CANDY HEARTS. The official book launch isn’t until May, but I’m hoping Anthony Bidulka has copies at LCC. Russell Quant is a PI I think I’d like to get to know. He’s on a treasure hunt in this latest adventure, but I think the real treasure is the colorful character from Saskatoon.

Look for photos of these authors and more when I return from the convention. Life’s a beach, isn’t it? ALOHA!