Susan Elia MacNeal's Blog, page 2
October 28, 2017
THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE, Maggie Hope 8!
Big news here: just turned in THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE, Maggie Hope #8 to my editor. It's scheduled to be published on August 7, 2018!
Also, great news about THE PARIS SPY! It made the New York Times, Washington Post, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, and is currently in its third printing after less than three months on sale!
July 29, 2017
THE PARIS SPY! Finished books!
Well, here they are!
THE PARIS SPY, officially out on Tuesday, August 8th!
THE PARIS SPY, officially out on Tuesday, August 8th!
July 16, 2017
THE PARIS SPY video and author tour dates
THE PARIS SPY, Maggie Hope #8, is coming out August 8th! Here's a video, to mark the occasion and serve as a little preview for the novel:
To celebrate, I'll be doing a series of author talks and signings. Cities include Brooklyn, Houston, St. Louis, Scottsdale, Buffalo, Brooklyn again, and Toronto. Hope to see you!
Details for THE PARIS SPY author tour below:
Tuesday, August 8 – ON SALE
7:00 pmTalk & Signing Barnes & Noble
267 7th Avenue Brooklyn, NY, 11215
Wednesday, August 9
6:30 pmIn Conversation w/ John Kwiatkowski Murder By The Book 2342 Bissonnet Houston, TX 77005
Thursday, August 10
7:00 pmTalk, Q&A, SigningSt. Louis County Library1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131Moderator: Laura BenedictDetails: An onstage interview with historical suspense author Laura BenedictSusan Elia MacNeal presents the sixth installment in the popular mystery series starring World War II-era spy and code-breaker extraordinaire Maggie Hope. Maggie has come a long way since serving as a typist for Winston Churchill. Now she’s working undercover in the eerily silent city of Paris. When Maggie’s half-sister Elise goes missing, Maggie must employ all her talents for deception and spycraft to root out a traitor, find her sister, and locate the reports crucial to planning D-Day in a deadly game of wits with the Nazi intelligence elite.
Saturday, August 12
2:00 pmPoisoned Pen4014 N Goldwater Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Wednesday, August 30 – BUFFALO, NY
6:00 pmNorth Tonawanda Public Library 505 Meadow Dr, North Tonawanda, NY 14120
Thursday, August 31
4:00 – 6:30 PMBarnes & Noble4401 Transit Rd Clarence, NY 14221
Saturday, September 9
Slice Literary Conference St. Francis College in Brooklyn
10:00 - 11:10 am
Panel: What Happens Next?
Writing a book takes a long time. A rich, tightly woven manuscript can take years to complete, and that time is often spent in fits of solitude. But as you write, the marketplace keeps spinning around you. Publishers may clamor to publish a certain kind of book one year (“We want the next Wild!”) and then quickly feel fatigued by those very books (“If we get one more manuscript about a woman’s quest to find herself …”). It can seem impossible to know what agents and publishers are looking for at the moment you’re pitching your book, or where your book falls in the marketplace at any given time. Hear from a group of agents and publishing pros who are actively seeking debut authors. Find out what they think is working, what’s not, and what’s on their (and editors’) wish lists for 2018 and beyond. They’ll also share insight into how to look at your manuscript through the lens of the current marketplace and how you can make sure your project is seen as timely and timeless rather than as a passing trend.
Friday, October 13
Bouchercon—Toronto Oct 12 – 15 in Sheraton Hotel Toronto123 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2M9
11:30 to 12:30 PANEL: Mysteries set during a war
Location: Sheraton A room
To celebrate, I'll be doing a series of author talks and signings. Cities include Brooklyn, Houston, St. Louis, Scottsdale, Buffalo, Brooklyn again, and Toronto. Hope to see you!
Details for THE PARIS SPY author tour below:
Tuesday, August 8 – ON SALE
7:00 pmTalk & Signing Barnes & Noble
267 7th Avenue Brooklyn, NY, 11215
Wednesday, August 9
6:30 pmIn Conversation w/ John Kwiatkowski Murder By The Book 2342 Bissonnet Houston, TX 77005
Thursday, August 10
7:00 pmTalk, Q&A, SigningSt. Louis County Library1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63131Moderator: Laura BenedictDetails: An onstage interview with historical suspense author Laura BenedictSusan Elia MacNeal presents the sixth installment in the popular mystery series starring World War II-era spy and code-breaker extraordinaire Maggie Hope. Maggie has come a long way since serving as a typist for Winston Churchill. Now she’s working undercover in the eerily silent city of Paris. When Maggie’s half-sister Elise goes missing, Maggie must employ all her talents for deception and spycraft to root out a traitor, find her sister, and locate the reports crucial to planning D-Day in a deadly game of wits with the Nazi intelligence elite.
Saturday, August 12
2:00 pmPoisoned Pen4014 N Goldwater Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Wednesday, August 30 – BUFFALO, NY
6:00 pmNorth Tonawanda Public Library 505 Meadow Dr, North Tonawanda, NY 14120
Thursday, August 31
4:00 – 6:30 PMBarnes & Noble4401 Transit Rd Clarence, NY 14221
Saturday, September 9
Slice Literary Conference St. Francis College in Brooklyn
10:00 - 11:10 am
Panel: What Happens Next?
Writing a book takes a long time. A rich, tightly woven manuscript can take years to complete, and that time is often spent in fits of solitude. But as you write, the marketplace keeps spinning around you. Publishers may clamor to publish a certain kind of book one year (“We want the next Wild!”) and then quickly feel fatigued by those very books (“If we get one more manuscript about a woman’s quest to find herself …”). It can seem impossible to know what agents and publishers are looking for at the moment you’re pitching your book, or where your book falls in the marketplace at any given time. Hear from a group of agents and publishing pros who are actively seeking debut authors. Find out what they think is working, what’s not, and what’s on their (and editors’) wish lists for 2018 and beyond. They’ll also share insight into how to look at your manuscript through the lens of the current marketplace and how you can make sure your project is seen as timely and timeless rather than as a passing trend.
Friday, October 13
Bouchercon—Toronto Oct 12 – 15 in Sheraton Hotel Toronto123 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2M9
11:30 to 12:30 PANEL: Mysteries set during a war
Location: Sheraton A room
Thank you, Dana Perino!
Dana Perino is a Fox News contributor and co-host of The Five. She served as White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush and is a nationally renowned media strategist and an active participant in the national political debate, frequently contributing opinion piDeces to FoxNews.com, National Review, and Politico. Perino is a sought-after public speaker about what’s happening in Washington, DC and how it impacts people around the world.And, what's more, she's a long-time Maggie Hope fan!
When asked on The Five what character in a book she'd most like to be, she said Maggie Hope!
Check out the clip!
May 11, 2017
Daisy Ridley Renews Rights to Maggie Hope
Always lovely to get mail from my film/TV rights agent at William Morris — Daisy Ridley (Star Wars, Murder on the Orient Express) has renewed her rights to Maggie Hope and hired a production company. Fingers crossed!
May 9, 2017
Thank you Talbots Book Club!
Delighted to share the news that the women's clothing store Talbots is featuring THE PARIS SPY and THE QUEEN'S ACCOMPLICE as part of its new summer book club.
From WWD: "As of Memorial Day weekend, Talbots will be expanding the Book Club through a partnership with Random House that will tout some of the publisher’s leading writers. Each week, a different author will be spotlighted in stores and on a designated landing page. On deck are Elizabeth Strout’s “Anything Is Possible,” Nancy Thayer’s “Secrets in Summer,” Lisa Wingate’s “Before We Were Yours,” Fannie Flagg’s “The Whole Town’s Talking” and Susan Elia MacNeal’s “The Paris Spy.” Once in full swing, shoppers will be able to get a sneak peek of chapters from their latest books, as well as exclusive interviews with big-name writers."
Happy shopping and reading!
March 9, 2017
THE QUEEN'S ACCOMPLICE nominated for Barry Award
So very honored (Barry honored, in fact) that THE QUEEN'S ACCOMPLICE, Maggie Hope #6, has been nominated for a 2017 Barry Award!
The Barry Award is a literary prize for crime fiction, awarded annually since 1997 by the editors of Deadly Pleasures, an American quarterly publication. The prize is named after Barry Gardner, an American critic.
Thank you so much — it's an honor to be nominated. The winners will be announced at Bouchercon 2017 in September in Toronto.
February 14, 2017
February 9, 2017
THE PARIS SPY, Maggie Hope #7, to be published August 8
SUSAN ELIA MACNEAL: Delighted to announce that THE PARIS SPY, Maggie Hope #8, will be published on August 8, 2017. Not too long to wait! I absolutely love the cover—art, as always, by the incredibly talented Mick Wiggins. And here's the gorgeous full painting—"without any of those pesky words!" as Mick says...
As soon as I can, I'll post more about appearances and other exciting developments. Cheers!
October 17, 2016
THE QUEEN'S ACCOMPLICE is out!
Well, THE QUEEN'S ACCOMPLICE is out and on the USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, yay!
My editor, who also happens to edit Lee Child, Alan Bradley, and Laurie R. King, wrote a lovely piece for Penguin Random House. Thank you, Kate!
From the Editor’s Desk: Kate Miciak, Vice President & Director of Editorial for Ballantine Bantam Dell on Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope books OCT 3, 2016 EDITOR’S DESK
Editors get very passionate about books they work on – the Editor’s Desk series is his or her place to write in-depth about what makes a certain title special. Get the real inside-scoop on how books are shaped by the people who know them best.
It all started with a title on a manuscript submission I couldn’t get out of my brain: Mr. Churchill’s Secretary . OK, I admit to a certain obsession with the British icon–but his secretary? What must it have been like to work during Britain’s darkest hours with that flamboyant, irascible, outrageously complicated figure? Biographies and memoirs abound of Churchill’s generals, his family, his aides. We know all about his pets, his bathing habits, his socks, favorite drink and books. But his secretary?As I turned the manuscript pages, I was hooked. For this debut novel wasn’t merely about life in the shadow of Winston Churchill during those scary, dangerous days of what became known as the “false war”—it was the captivating story of a brilliant, college-educated, ambitious young woman with a flair for math and codes…who found that the only job opening for a woman in wartime UK government was typing and filing: Talk about a glass ceiling!And, she wasn’t even British. She was an American.An American woman in the Blitz, working at the side of the seminal power makers of the period, forced to elbow her way into a man’s world….And crimson lipstick and cocktails….What’s not to love?Over the course of six award-winning novels, Susan and her marvelous creation, Maggie Hope, continue to enthrall me. In these gloriously researched capers, Susan has led Maggie and her spellbound readers down the bomb-torn alleyways of London, into the heart of the UK’s spy network, parachuting into enemy headquarters, conspiring with Eleanor Roosevelt in the very corridors of the White House. She’s crafted an intimate glimpse of young Princess Lisbeth and the Royal Family at Windsor; cavorted with Fala, FDR’s Scottie; and courageously shown us the suffering of those in the concentration camps. More important, she’s stripped away the bald historical facts to inveigle us deep into the hearts of women during war: women making tough choices and sacrifices, surviving, fighting back, courageously holding together their lives and their jobs and their families under unspeakable pressures.There was a real Mr. Churchill’s secretary, a woman named Elizabeth Nel who worked for the Prime Minister from 1941 to 1945 and even wrote a memoir of it, which begins: “It doesn’t really matter who I am or where I come from. Without undue modesty, the only thing of real interest about me is that during World War II I worked for four and a half years as one of the Personal Secretaries to Sir Winston Churchill….” But Susan MacNeal has proven, time and time again in her marvelous, intriguing novels, that the women behind the scenes did matter. And that’s the real triumph of the Maggie Hope novels.Learn more about the Maggie Hope books below!
Mr. Churchill's SecretaryBy Susan Elia MacNealFor fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary captures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge—and the greatness that rose to meet it.
London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by... Read more >I WANT IT
Princess Elizabeth's SpyBy Susan Elia MacNealSusan Elia MacNeal introduced the remarkable Maggie Hope in her acclaimed debut, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. Now Maggie returns to protect Britain’s beloved royals against an international plot—one that could change the course of history.
As World War II sweeps the continent and England steels itself against... Read more >I WANT IT
His Majesty's HopeBy Susan Elia MacNealNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, whip-smart heroine Maggie Hope returns to embark on a clandestine mission behind enemy lines where no one can be trusted, and even the smallest indiscretion can be deadly.
World War II has finally come home to Britain, but it... Read more >I WANT IT
The Prime Minister's Secret AgentBy Susan Elia MacNealNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry comes a gripping mystery featuring intrepid spy and code breaker Maggie Hope. This time, the fallout of a deadly plot comes straight to her own front door.
World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally... Read more >I WANT IT
Mrs. Roosevelt's ConfidanteBy Susan Elia MacNealNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this riveting mystery from Susan Elia MacNeal, England’s most daring spy, Maggie Hope, travels across the pond to America, where a looming scandal poses a grave threat to the White House and the Allied cause.December 1941. Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill... Read more >I WANT IT
The Queen's AccompliceBy Susan Elia MacNealSpy and code-breaker extraordinaire Maggie Hope returns to war-weary London, where she is thrust into the dangerous hunt for a monster, as theNew York Times bestselling mystery series for fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry continues.
England, 1942. The Nazis’ relentless Blitz may have... Read more >
I WANT IT
My editor, who also happens to edit Lee Child, Alan Bradley, and Laurie R. King, wrote a lovely piece for Penguin Random House. Thank you, Kate!
From the Editor’s Desk: Kate Miciak, Vice President & Director of Editorial for Ballantine Bantam Dell on Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope books OCT 3, 2016 EDITOR’S DESK
Editors get very passionate about books they work on – the Editor’s Desk series is his or her place to write in-depth about what makes a certain title special. Get the real inside-scoop on how books are shaped by the people who know them best.It all started with a title on a manuscript submission I couldn’t get out of my brain: Mr. Churchill’s Secretary . OK, I admit to a certain obsession with the British icon–but his secretary? What must it have been like to work during Britain’s darkest hours with that flamboyant, irascible, outrageously complicated figure? Biographies and memoirs abound of Churchill’s generals, his family, his aides. We know all about his pets, his bathing habits, his socks, favorite drink and books. But his secretary?As I turned the manuscript pages, I was hooked. For this debut novel wasn’t merely about life in the shadow of Winston Churchill during those scary, dangerous days of what became known as the “false war”—it was the captivating story of a brilliant, college-educated, ambitious young woman with a flair for math and codes…who found that the only job opening for a woman in wartime UK government was typing and filing: Talk about a glass ceiling!And, she wasn’t even British. She was an American.An American woman in the Blitz, working at the side of the seminal power makers of the period, forced to elbow her way into a man’s world….And crimson lipstick and cocktails….What’s not to love?Over the course of six award-winning novels, Susan and her marvelous creation, Maggie Hope, continue to enthrall me. In these gloriously researched capers, Susan has led Maggie and her spellbound readers down the bomb-torn alleyways of London, into the heart of the UK’s spy network, parachuting into enemy headquarters, conspiring with Eleanor Roosevelt in the very corridors of the White House. She’s crafted an intimate glimpse of young Princess Lisbeth and the Royal Family at Windsor; cavorted with Fala, FDR’s Scottie; and courageously shown us the suffering of those in the concentration camps. More important, she’s stripped away the bald historical facts to inveigle us deep into the hearts of women during war: women making tough choices and sacrifices, surviving, fighting back, courageously holding together their lives and their jobs and their families under unspeakable pressures.There was a real Mr. Churchill’s secretary, a woman named Elizabeth Nel who worked for the Prime Minister from 1941 to 1945 and even wrote a memoir of it, which begins: “It doesn’t really matter who I am or where I come from. Without undue modesty, the only thing of real interest about me is that during World War II I worked for four and a half years as one of the Personal Secretaries to Sir Winston Churchill….” But Susan MacNeal has proven, time and time again in her marvelous, intriguing novels, that the women behind the scenes did matter. And that’s the real triumph of the Maggie Hope novels.Learn more about the Maggie Hope books below!
Mr. Churchill's SecretaryBy Susan Elia MacNealFor fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary captures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge—and the greatness that rose to meet it.London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by... Read more >I WANT IT
Princess Elizabeth's SpyBy Susan Elia MacNealSusan Elia MacNeal introduced the remarkable Maggie Hope in her acclaimed debut, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. Now Maggie returns to protect Britain’s beloved royals against an international plot—one that could change the course of history. As World War II sweeps the continent and England steels itself against... Read more >I WANT IT
His Majesty's HopeBy Susan Elia MacNealNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFor fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, whip-smart heroine Maggie Hope returns to embark on a clandestine mission behind enemy lines where no one can be trusted, and even the smallest indiscretion can be deadly.
World War II has finally come home to Britain, but it... Read more >I WANT IT
The Prime Minister's Secret AgentBy Susan Elia MacNealNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry comes a gripping mystery featuring intrepid spy and code breaker Maggie Hope. This time, the fallout of a deadly plot comes straight to her own front door.World War II rages on across Europe, but Maggie Hope has finally... Read more >I WANT IT
Mrs. Roosevelt's ConfidanteBy Susan Elia MacNealNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this riveting mystery from Susan Elia MacNeal, England’s most daring spy, Maggie Hope, travels across the pond to America, where a looming scandal poses a grave threat to the White House and the Allied cause.December 1941. Soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Winston Churchill... Read more >I WANT IT
The Queen's AccompliceBy Susan Elia MacNealSpy and code-breaker extraordinaire Maggie Hope returns to war-weary London, where she is thrust into the dangerous hunt for a monster, as theNew York Times bestselling mystery series for fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry continues.England, 1942. The Nazis’ relentless Blitz may have... Read more >
I WANT IT
