Susan Elia MacNeal's Blog, page 6
January 27, 2013
Mr. Churchill's Secretary Nominated for an Edgar Award!
Delighted to announce that Mr. Churchill's Secretary has been nominated for an Edgar Award, in the category of "Best First Novel by an American Author"!
The Edgars (formally known as the Edgar Allan Poe Awards) are awarded each year by the Mystery Writers of America, for distinguished work in the mystery genre: novels, television, and motion pictures.
This year's ceremony will be on Thursday, May 2, 2013 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. Dress is "dress to kill."
I'm humbled and honored to be in such distinguished company.
November 28, 2012
Oprah Loves Maggie
Oprah.com has named Princess Elizabeth's Spy "Book of the Week" and an "unputdownable mystery."
With deft, empathic prose, author MacNeal creates a wholly engrossing portrait of a coming-of-age woman under fire. Whether you read Mr. Churchill's Secretary , the first installment in this series, or you're just making Miss Hope's acquaintance, she'll draw you in from the first page. By the end, you'll be her loyal subject, ready to follow her wherever she goes—especially through the pages of a third installment.
Read more: http://www.oprah.com/book/Princess-Elizabeths-Spy-by-Susan-Elia-MacNeal#ixzz2DWcB046T
Princess Elizabeth's Spy also made the New York Times Trade Paperback Bestseller list and will be translated into Chinese!
September 6, 2012
Keep Calm and Have Faith
I recently learned from the wonderful blog World War II in Color about Faith, the Church Cat of St. Augustine's in London, who was awarded a medal for bravery during the Battle of Britain, for shielding her kitten during the Blitz. JR at World War II in Color says it better than I ever could:
"This is Faith, church cat at Church of England (Episcopalean) Church of St Augustine's and St Faith's, Watling Street, London. She was awarded the Dicken Medal in Silver, and a silver medal from the Greenwich Village Humane Society of New York, for her her courage in sheltering her kitten (Panda - he was black and white) in a hidey-hole in the rectory basement, to which she had retreated from her more comfortable position upstairs, in the course of a severe bombing raid on the night of 9 September, 1940. The church and rectory were, basically, battered and burned to destruction by the Luftwaffe, but Faith continued to shield her kitten, under a heap of smouldering rubble, until rescued by her human friends the following day. Shortly afterwards, the remainder of the church fell down, destroying her position of refuge. Faith resumed her life as church cat, dying peacefully some years later on her mat in front of an ecclesiastical fireplace. The kitten, Panda, went on to a successful career as resident cat in a care home. Yes, I know - this will seem silly to many In Here. But consider. Apart from the fact that it is true, Faith's story became widely known in London at the time, and must have contributed to the morale of many hard-pressed Londoners. Her courage and endurance reflected something that Londoners hoped to find in themselves - and generally did. I am a cat person, by the way ... Best regards, JR."
August 20, 2012
"O.M.G., Mr. Churchill!"
Not only is the expression O.M.G. over 100 years old, but it's one Winston Churchill knew.
In a letter dated 9/9/17 Lord Fisher wrote to the Right Hon. Winston Churchill: "I hear a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis — O.M.G! (Oh! My God!). Shower it on the Admiralty!"
Just goes to show — sometimes language that sounds modern really, like, isn't.
July 13, 2012
His Majesty's Hope: A Maggie Hope Mystery #3
And here it is — The cover for His Majesty's Spy, to be published in the spring of 2013!
(This is the entire painting, which will wrap around both covers.)
June 20, 2012
May 8, 2012
Happy V.E. Day!
Happy V.E. Day! Our friend posted this picture of his father on V.E. Day by the Arc de Triomphe today to celebrate — he's the soldier on the far left and served under Patton.
Now his son, our friend Charles Rivkin, is revisiting the same spot today, as the U.S. Ambassador to France.
May 7, 2012
Mr. Churchill's Daffodils
From a friend in Manhattan who gardens — Winston Churchill daffodils. Apparently, they smell as wonderful as they look.
April 25, 2012
Author Accessories
LOVE this!
April 20, 2012
Keep Calm and Read On
I was introduced to this amazing photograph by James R. Benn, a fellow World War II novelist and author of the Billy Boyle World War II series, and a new novel, Souvenir.
Isn't it amazing? According to Jim, it's a bombed library at Holland House, Kensington, London, 1940.
