Edith Maxwell's Blog, page 237

Guest: Wendy Tyson

Edith here, very happy to welcome our guest Wendy Tyson. I was asked to read Muddied Murder, her first Greenhouse Mystery and was delighted at how much I enjoyed it! Here’s the book blurb:

When Megan Sawyer gives up her big-city law career to care for her grandmother and run the family’s organic farm and café, she expects to find peace and tranquility in her scenic hometown of Winsome, Pennsylvania. Instead, her goat goes missing, rain muddies her fields, the town denies her business permits, and her family’s Colonial-era farm sucks up the remains of her savings.

Just when she thinks she’s reached the bottom of the rain barrel, Megan and the town’s hunky veterinarian discover the local zoning commissioner’s battered body in her barn. Now Megan is thrust into the middle of a murder investigation—and she’s the chief suspect. Can Megan dig through small-town secrets, local politics, and old grievances in time to find a killer before that killer strikes again?

Wendy’s also giving away a cool Muddied Murder gift package to one commenter (details at the end). Take it away, Wendy!

Unexpected outcomes: From an unsuccessful book signing, a new series blooms

It was October of 2014, just days before Halloween, and my husband and I had driven to the mountains of South Carolina for a book event, a solo signing at a bookstore in a small town in North Carolina, just over the state border.  I was about a year into this whole publishing thing—my first novel, Killer Image, had been released on October 1, 2013, and the second in the series, Deadly Assets, that past July—and I was still naïve enough to think “if you have one, they will come.” Readers, that is.

Only they didn’t. At least not for that solo book signing in that small town in North Carolina.  Oh, I did my best to get people there. I advertised the signing on Facebook. I tweeted about it every day leading up to the date. I created an invitation. I posted the event on my website. Still, it was me, the lovely and engaging shop owner, my husband, and a plate full of cookies. Not one reader.

I might have felt discouraged, except that a wonderful thing happened: I saw firsthand that small rural town in action. Others with shops along the petite town center stopped in to chat with the bookstore owner. Their kids popped over after school, ate a few cookies, and then quizzed the store owner and me about the latest and best books. There was a buzz in the air, an energy, and despite the town’s remote location, I felt a worldly attention to life beyond its mountainous borders.

It was early evening when we were finished, so after the signing, my husband and I visited the beer shop/café a few stores down to grab some provisions for the evening. There, we joined some of the townspeople who had congregated in the shop to share a drink and a conversation before heading home for the night. The atmosphere felt lively with laughter and debate. With the headlines blasting tragedies, atrocities and injustices at every turn, I could see the beauty of living in a place where people knew you.

And then a funny thing happened. While I stood in that beer shop, watching the locals

The Blue Ridge Mountains

relax after a tiring day, I had a vision of a similar shop. Only this one would be in rural Pennsylvania. And it would be an organic grocery and café. And the owner would be a woman returning to her roots after a stint as a lawyer in Chicago. I’d been looking for a way to weave my family’s passion for organic farming and sustainable living into my novels, and here it was, served to me after a long, peaceful day in the picturesque mountains of the South. The Greenhouse Mystery Series was born.

I’m no stranger to small towns. I may have grown up outside of Philadelphia, but I spent most of my youth and young adulthood in one small town (or “neighborhood”) or another, and my husband (we’ve been together since we were eighteen) is from a village in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Even now, with a house only ten miles from the Philadelphia city limit and a job in a sprawling suburb, my home-away-from-home is a particular small town in the Green Mountains of Vermont. But

Wendy’s organic microfarm

there was magic in that charming small town on that day in late October. Everything had come together, and I wanted to hold on to the magic.

We left the signing feeling pretty good.  Sure, the event had been a bust—at least from the perspective of book sales—and I felt bad about that. My eyes had been opened to other possibilities, though, and I couldn’t wait to get started on a new mystery.  In the end, I’m thankful to the bookstore in that small town, and the townspeople along that adorable main street, for providing inspiration. What a splendid reminder that sometimes we get what we need, not what we think we need.

Wendy Tyson is an author, lawyer and former therapist from Philadelphia.  She writes two series, the Allison Campbell Mystery Series and the Greenhouse Mystery Series. The first book in the Campbell Series, Killer Image, was named a 2014 best mystery for book clubs by Examiner.com. The first Greenhouse mystery, A Muddied Murder, will be released March 29, 2016 by Henery Press. Wendy is a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers, and she is a contributing editor for The Big Thrill and The Thrill Begins, International Thriller Writers’ online magazines. Find Wendy at www.WATyson.com.

Readers: Where have you found unexpected inspiration? When has the universe given you what you really needed?

Wendy’s giving away this awesome gift package to one commenter today! It includes a signed copy of the book, two seed packets, and a Muddied Murder farmers’ market bag.

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: A Muddied Murder, Greenhouse Mysteries, Henery Press, Wendy Tyson

Getting Organized

Wicked Wednesday. A month before Tax Day. All of us with deadlines. So let’s talk organization.

Edith here, churning out word count on a very messy desk. Behind me my office futon couch has turned into an ad hoc filing cabinet. One more year has gone by without entering my professional expenses, trips, and income into some nice application throughout the year as I incur them. I manage to get to talks on time and turn in blog posts on time, usually. But I’m kind of hopeless at the rest.

So Wickeds, what’s your favorite organizational tip? What helps you get through it all without throwing your hands in the air and giving up?

Liz: I’m not the greatest at this sort of thing. That said, when this writing thing turned into a real business I did start a spreadsheet to track my expenses. I track all my appearances, conferences, etc. and associated costs in one section, then in another I track all the other expenses–website costs, office supplies, book stock, and on and on. Now, do I add to it religiously, you ask? No. But I do remember to keep the information in a nice pile so I can go in and add to it a few times a year just to keep the end of year stress to a minimum.

Sherry: I have files in the drawer of my desk marked “Income Tax 2015” and “Book Business 2015”. As I open mail or when I have a receipt I can just plop them in the appropriate file so it’s ready to take to the accountant at the end of the year. I also try to use only one credit card for all of my business expenses.

Edith: I have one credit card for all business expenses, too, Sherry. That helps a lot. As does making lists. A to-do list every day on a pad of paper next to my keyboard. It always starts with “Write.” And I maintain another list on the white board in front of me, which includes longer-term items, things I don’t want to forget to do in the next few weeks. I also keep a paper calendar on the way (a lovely small one from the Tibetan Nuns) and I write all my book events on that, and the mileage for ones I drive to, so at tax time I can easily add them all up.

Jessie: I color code the calendar on my computer. When I add events to my  schedule I select the color I use for business, volunteerism or personal. When I add a work or volunteerism event I go to Google Maps and map out the route I plan to take and then add the mileage to the title line for the event. At the end of the year I go through the calendar with a calculator and add up the mileage by category very quickly and easily by looking for the color. For places I visit frequently , using the same route, I keep a sticky note on my computer listing the mileage in order to skip the Google Maps step.

Barb: I keep my paper monthly calendar and all my to do lists in my Levenger junior-size notebook, along with all my “chrono notes,”–notes from meetings, conference calls, etc. kept chronologically through the year. I have done this for YEARS, to the point where my business colleagues were like, “Oh man, the notebook…” All paper–receipts and revenue–get thrown in the cubby over my desk, to be pulled out when it gets full, twice a year or so, and filed.

What about you, dear readers? How do you stay organized?

Filed under: Group posts, Wicked Wednesday Tagged: Google Maps, Income tax, mileage, organizing tips, Tax Day

Wicked Late Winter Reads

By Sherry

Okay, Wickeds we haven’t talked about what we are reading in a long time. This is perfect reading weather, so what are you reading and why did you pick the book?

Edith: Right now, having finished an ARC of Catriona McPherson’s Quiet Neighbors (LOVED it) and Gigi Pandian’s The Masquerading Magician (also LOVED it), I’m reading G.M. Malliet’s new book, The Haunted Season. I scored the copy at the midwinter meeting of the American Library Association, but I would have read it, anyway. I love the series. And now I can picture Grantchester as Max Tudor. ;^)

Jessie: I just finished Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart. It was a great read and I just loved the cover!

Yesterday I started The Witch of Lime Street: Seance, Seduction, and Houdini in the Spirit World by David Jaher. So far it has been really a great read.

Liz: I just finished Every Dead Thing by John Connolly. I’m a huge Connolly fan, and this one didn’t disappoint. I think it hit a world record for number of deaths, though! Next up – more Liane Moriarty. I absolutely loved Big Little Lies and now I want to read everything else she’s written. I think The Husband’s Secret is next!

Sherry: I just finished What You See by Hank Phillippi Ryan.  It’s great and Hank’s books just keep getting better and better! I also just read Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger — what beautiful writing. He’s going to be the guest of honor at Crime Bake this year so I wanted to read him before then. Now I’m reading the nonfiction book Story: Subsance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screen Writing by Robert McKee. It’s giving me a lot to think about.

Barb: I have been reading The Words in My Hand, by Guinevere Glasfurd. It’s an amazing book about Helena Jans, a housemaid in 1600s Holland who became the lover of Rene Descartes and the mother of at least one child by him. The work is historical fiction, much of the record has been lost, though it does honor the facts that are known. One of the most intriguing questions–Descartes and Jans carried on a correspondence for years, but why was a housemaid in 1600s Holland literate in the first place? The book is only available in the United Kingdom, Germany and a few other countries so far, but I hope it comes out here because it is beautifully, beautifully written. It has been tearing it up in the UK, including being named January Book of the Month in the Times of London. The author, who lives in Cambridge, England, is a work friend of mine from a business totally unrelated to fiction writing, but I do remember when neither of us was published, walking around Manhattan wondering if it would ever happen.

Readers: What are you reading? How did you decide to read it?

 

Filed under: Group posts Tagged: Amy Stewart, Catriona McPherson, David Jaher, Gigi Pandian, Girl Waits with Gun, GM Malliet, Guinevere Glasfurd, hank phillippi ryan, Helena Jans, Iron Lake, Rene Descartes, Robert McKee, Story, The Haunted Season, The Witch of Lime Street, The Words in My Hand, What You See, William Kent Krueger

Politics and Sharks

by Sheila Connolly

Happy first Monday of March! Only eight months left until the national election.

Since I write about Ireland, I’ve bookmarked the website for RTE News (that’s Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the sort of semi-public news source for the Republic of Ireland). I read the headlines, which vary from serious to funny, and include a lot of weather reports.

Recently one headline caught my eye: “Shark attacks and democratic elections.” No, this was not written as an election summary, either American or Irish. It’s a slightly tongue-in-cheek commentary on how elections are reported and interpreted.

It begins with a statement by a Trinity College emeritus professor, who wrote that a record number of shark attacks were reported worldwide in the past year. Most were in Florida, no surprise. But then he went on to say that there was a series of shark attacks in New Jersey early in the last century (1916, to be precise)—a first for the state—as reported by two senior professors at Princeton at the time.

What, the author of the RTE article asked, does this have to do with 2016 elections? Apparently the New Jersey attacks occurred in a presidential election year. Evidence shows that the incumbent, Woodrow Wilson, lost in those counties where the shark attacks took place. And somehow, in the press, the president was blamed for the attacks.

The message seems to be that when unpredictable disasters that no government could possibly control occur, elected officials pay a penalty at the polls.

It’s not logical, but it’s true. And it makes an entertaining story, doesn’t it? Sharks sink president? Which leads me to think about how both campaign personnel and reporters craft a story (albeit from opposite directions)—one that is intended to sell either the candidate or more papers (or digital subscriptions these days). Keep your articles short and sensationalistic and people will pay attention—and believe what they say. The headlines don’t have to be accurate, and few readers are checking the facts.

So it’s all about crafting a story, in both the short and the long term. That often means stringing together a series of “highs” that grab attention and that people will remember (like all those “-gate” titles). Kind of like a thriller novel, right? Something must always be happening, to keep you turning the pages. You the reader don’t even stop to think about the credibility of the event (oh, sure, I believe that character jumped off the Empire State Building and landed on that helicopter strut, grabbing it with one hand while he shot the pilot with the gun he managed to hold on to during his frantic leap, and he then flew the helicopter to safety with the kidnapped wife of a foreign leader and her dog), because you’re so caught up in the story. For a writer, that’s good, but for a politician? Not so much.

Should we as writers be encouraged or depressed? It seems that people are eager to embrace fiction, if it’s exciting enough. As writers we can produce that. We can structure a story to keep the reader turning the pages. But in the real world? Let’s hope that voters can distinguish fact from fiction.

Do you have any favorite political headlines? Like “Thomas Dewey beats Harry S. Truman” from 1936? (If you try your best to ignore all political noise, I don’t blame you!)

Filed under: Politics, Sheila's Posts Tagged: A Turn for the Bad, cozy mysteries, sheila connolly, writing

Where Are the Wickeds?

First Saturday: where are the Wickeds appearing this month? In person or in cyberspace, anything goes.

Barb: In March, I’m finishing up the blog tour for my latest release, Fogged Inn, with visits to Jungle Red Writers and on Thursday, March 3, 2016. On March 20, I’ll blog on author M. K. Graff’s blog, Auntie Em Writes.

Edith: Today I’m in person at the Author, Author fair at the Rowley Congregational Church from ten-thirty until noon. On March 24 I’m Patricia Stoltey’s blog guest. On March 25 I’ll be over at the Henery Press blog talking craft of writing, and also a guest on Connie Hambley’s Strong Women series, with tales of strong 1888 women.

Liz: On March 14, I’m at the South Windsor Public Library here in Connecticut, talking to the Murder & Mayhem Group about the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries. I’m also making an appearance on the Club Hen House blog on March 14, talking about my process (or lack thereof!).

Sherry: I’m so excited to attend Lights Camera Action Sisters in Crime in Hollywood! Beyond learning a lot I’ll get to see Julie and Jessie! Bonus!

Filed under: Group posts, Where Are the Wickeds? Tagged: Barbara Ross, Club Henhouse, Connie Hambley, Jungle Red Writers, Killer Characters, Patricia Stoltey

Opening Lines

Thanks Caroline Hennrikus Lentz for letting us use this incredible photo for opening lines!

Jessie: Patrice thought she heard a soft splash just before she felt a strike against the back of her head.

Liz: I wasn’t sure if it was the fog or if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I swore I saw my sister Cara walking along the banks of the lake, like she always did when we were kids here on summer vacation. But it couldn’t have been – Cara has been dead for ten years.

Edith: I’ve never been a strong swimmer. But after someone pulled on my foot from underwater, you can bet I got to the dock in triple time.

Barb: Never plan a destination wedding on the River Styx.

Julie: My sister always took her theme parties a little too seriously. Getting the fog just right took a few hours to figure out, but as long as the dry ice didn’t sink, it was all good. She was a little worried about her husband in the Loch Ness suit, but he promised he’d figure out the breathing apparatus. Fifteen ten year old boys were going to arrive within the hour. What could possibly go wrong?

Readers: Add your opening line for this photo!

Filed under: Group posts, Opening Lines Tagged: fog, lake

Prioritizing…or Avoiding?

Edith here, trying not to get whiplash from the New England winter weather of the last couple of weeks.

I recently faced a conundrum and put it out, as one sometimes does, on Facebook to gather insights from others.

I wrote, “Saturday poll: When you’re kind of stuck on a project (like a book…) and you have three other smaller projects looming (like TAXES, writing a short story, and final read-through on another book), do you power through on the first one, or knock off the other ones so they’ll stop looming?”

This wasn’t only a case of muddling through the middle, which we’ve discussed before on this blog here, among other places. The “stuck” part did have something to do with where I was in my fifth Local Foods mystery, but this isn’t that post.

My conundrum was more a product of staring at my whiteboard, which is directly above my writing computer, and seeing:

Taxes
Ch breaks & recipes for GRITS
New short for Bouchercon

Every time I sat to write, those items stared at me from directly below the “WRITE THE %&!$@# story!” graphic.

All four of those things needed to be done, in a certain order of urgency. GRITS was due March first. The story, March fifteenth. Taxes, well, you know, April fifteenth. And the book I’m writing, May first. Still, I wanted to get the first draft of the book done before I go on a trip on March tenth.

I know that often when I’m a bit stuck I just need to stay in my chair and start typing (thus the “Write the Blankety-Blank Book” bit). I type, stuff comes out, and I get unstuck. But this particular book has been going more sludgelike than most lately, and I wondered if it was because of those other tasks looming. If I prioritized my to-do list, would I be helping myself or just avoiding the inevitable?

What do you think the 52 replies to my highly unscientific Facebook poll said? You got it. The vast majority suggested knocking off the small things so I’d have the peace of mind to do the big thing. Here’s a sampling of suggestions on that theme:

Ramona DeFelice Long started the reply thread with, ” I have to do the small stuff, because they drive me nuts.” Another friend wrote, “Gotta remove distractions from my creative flow.” Author Anna Loan-Wilsey said, “I get at least one of the other small projects done so I feel like I’ve accomplished something and gotten a break from the project I’m stuck on.” Cori Arnold chimed in with, “I’m totally on board with everything Anna is saying [wink emoticon]. One small project and take a walk.”

My friend Elizabeth added,  “Use each one as the relief task when you get sick of working on one of the others.”  And Sisters In Crime President Leslie Budewitz offered one of the only views from the other side: “Oh, Lordy. An eternal debate. Today, I’m choosing the big project, but other days, other choices!”

So here’s what I did last Saturday. GRITS was nearly done. Besides being first on the “due” list, it was also the easiest and most straightforward to accomplish. I touched up the recipes, inserted chapter breaks, made a final copy, and hit Send. One item to cross off the list! And it only took two hours of my morning.

Then I went for a long fast walk, which always helps me when I’m stuck on anything. Not only did the exercise start to unstick the book, it also let me talk through the short story to myself. Yes, out loud. In public. I think by now people around town know me as that crazy author lady who talks to herself on her power walks.

I took the next two days to draft and revise the short story for the Blood on the Bayou anthology. The tale almost wrote itself, which in the past has led to some of my best stories (I hope it’s true this time!). Another item was well on its way to being crossed off. I let it mull for a few days, read it to my critique group, and gave it a final polish before sending it in on Tuesday for consideration in the anthology.

Now I’m back on the book, Mulch Ado About Murder. I needed a new suspect and he gave birth right there in my mind. I needed one character’s secret and, bingo, she told it to me on another walk. I’m at over the 56000-word mark and heading into the end. I’ve finally removed enough obstacles to let the story flow again.

Taxes, you say? Hey, I still have six weeks…

Wickeds and Readers – What works for you to remove obstacles? Do you power through, or wash the kitchen floor/do your taxes/knock off an easy task so you can keep going? Share your tips!

Filed under: Craft, Edith's posts Tagged: anna loan-wilsey, Blood on the Bayou, Cori Arnold, inspiration, Leslie Budewitz, lists, Muddle in the middle, Ramona DeFelice Long

Wicked Wednesday: And the Seasons, They Go Round and Round…

The first Wicked Wednesday of five in March, with the first day of spring in sight, at last. 

Wickeds, how do you feel about the passing of the seasons? Do you savor the one you’re in, or eagerly anticipate the next one? Or does it depend on WHICH season you’re in? And in your writing, what’s your favorite season to set a murder in?

Liz: I love all the seasons except winter. I enjoy spring, but as the spring season has become shorter the last few years I find myself wishing summer would just get here. Then I want it to stick around a lot longer. When I finally can accept it’s ending, I look forward to fall very much. I just wish we could go from fall straight back to spring. As far as murder goes, all seasons offer unique opportunities to commit murder. I’ve never killed anyone in winter, so perhaps I should try that. It goes with the general mood of the season, after all!

Edith: I had a lot of fun writing Cam Flaherty stuck outside in a blizzard in Farmed and Dangerous, Liz. You should try it! As for real seasons, I find they each have their appeal. I guess I’m particularly fond of summer. I grew up in Los Angeles, after all. I love it when it’s hot out, and I love even more all the fresh local produce.

Jessie: I like them all equally, at least at the beginning of them. I find that I am ready for each of them to turn when the time comes for the change. I think I would have a very hard time adapting to life in a climate where the seasons were less defined because I think I would be really bored.

Barb: I love all the seasons, and I love marking them–changing out the decor in the house in little ways, taking familiar trips, repeating holiday rituals. It seems odd to say, now that we’ve been spending a couple of the winter months in Key West, but I do love a snowy day at home. I used to love it more before the internet made “working at home” such a reality–back when it was an unexpected day off with the family. The Maine Clambake Mysteries have marched through the seasons. We’re in the depths of winter now. Can’t wait to find out what happens in the spring!

Julie: Barb, ain’t that the truth about snow days! This winter has been easy, so I am grateful for that. I do love the move into spring, when you can start layering less, and actually put the long underwear away. Spring/Summer are my favorite times of year, for sure.

Sherry: I love the promise of spring, the light green colors of budding trees (but not the sneezing with it) and of course spring means the start of garage sale season! But I also love cool fall days and its spectacular colors. I guess I don’t like the extremes of winter and summer anymore.

Readers: Favorite season, in New England or elsewhere? Which season do you prefer for a fictional murder?

Filed under: Group posts, Wicked Wednesday Tagged: blizzard, fall, Fictional murder, garage sales, Seasons, spring, writing

Westward Ho — Julie and Sherry go to Left Coast Crime

The view from our room!

Julie and Sherry were so excited to attend Left Coast Crime not only to spend some time with each other but it’s a fabulous conference. The weather was perfect and February is a great time to leave the northern tier and visit the West!

It didn’t take long to start running into friends!

Click to view slideshow.

Sherry reunited with the women from her very first panel at LCC in 2014. It was a panel for debut authors and what an amazing bunch of women and writers.

Holly West, Sherry Harris Carlene O’Neil, Lori Rader Day and Martha Cooley

Guppy Karragh Arndt left a message on the Guppy list serve that she wanted some pitch advice. We met her at the bar. Julie and Dru Ann Love gave her some great advice.

 

THE NEW AUTHOR BREAKFAST

 

PANELS

Julie and Sherry were both on panels, and enjoyed others!

Click to view slideshow.

What to do between panels? Run outside and enjoy the warm weather!

So many fun things to do!

Click to view slideshow.

THE LEFTY AWARDS BANQUET!

What a fun night! We sat at the table sponsored by Lori Rader Day and nominee Jim Ziskin.

 

THANK YOU PHOENIX!

Filed under: Left Coast Crime Tagged: Carlene O'Neil, Catriona McPherson, Cheryl Hollon, Diane Vallere, Dru Ann Love, Holly West, James W. Ziskin, Kate Carlisle, Left Coast Crime, Lisa Alber, Lori Rader-Day, Martha Cooley, Ray Daniel

A Debut Author You May Have Heard From Before: Guest Shawn Reilly Simmons

Welcome, Shawn Reilly Simmons! Thanks for taking time to stop by during your busy debut week! Shawn is giving away an ebook of both books to one commenter!

Here’s a bit about Murder On A Silver Platter: Penelope Sutherland and her Red Carpet Catering company just got their big break as the on-set caterer for an upcoming blockbuster. But when she discovers a dead body outside her house, Penelope finds herself in hot water. Things start to boil over when serious accidents threaten the lives of the cast and crew. And when the film’s star, who happens to be Penelope’s best friend, is poisoned, the entire production is nearly shut down. Threats and accusations send Penelope out of the frying pan and into the fire as she struggles to keep her company afloat. Before Penelope can dish up dessert, she must find the killer or she’ll be the one served up on a silver platter.

Shawn: It finally happened. Last Tuesday, I became a traditionally published author, twice over, when my first two Red Carpet Catering mysteries were released by Henery Press. It’s been a whirlwind of activity: good wishes, blog posts, Facebook likes, friend requests, checking sales ranks and reading reviews (I know you’re not supposed to but I can’t help myself). It’s been so hectic that I’ve had a hard time remembering the other things, like buying groceries and paying bills, you know…regular life stuff. (What day is it again?) Release Day was also my final rewrite deadline on the third book in my series, Murder on a Designer Diet, which will be published in June. I made my deadline, and somehow managed to maintain my sanity. At least that’s the story I’m sticking with.

When momentous things like this happen in my life, I tend to reflect on how I got to that particular point. For publication day, it was a series of firsts: the first time I sat down to write the initial draft of Murder On A Silver Platter; the first time someone I respected encouraged me to pursue my dream of being a writer; the first phone call from Henery Press saying how much they loved my books. Those are all excellent memories.

One of the most important firsts was attending Malice Domestic in 2003.

I didn’t know anyone there, but I was excited at the prospect of making new friends who liked mysteries as much as me, and I was thrilled to listen to people like Edward Marston and Tony Hillerman talk about their writing careers. I attended the Malice Board Meeting panel that year and sat behind Anne Murphy, the Volunteer Chair. She noticed that my last name at the time was Reilly, which happens to be her maiden name, and we started chatting. We realized quickly we weren’t related, at least in the immediate sense, but shortly afterwards I was invited onto the Malice Board to fill the vacant PR Chair position.

I went from sending out a few press releases about the Agathas in those early years to taking over the registration duties and communications in addition to PR. We’ve evolved from the snail mail era to today, where I get to interact regularly with a huge community of mystery writers and fans, a vast number of whom I consider close friends. Malice is my favorite part of every spring, my mystery family reunion. Much of the confidence I needed when writing my books is a direct result of the love and nurturing I’ve received from that sweetly malicious family.

I’ll always be grateful for that first conversation with Anne, which led to so many other firsts. I’m anxious to see what else it has in store for me.

Readers: What is your best “first step” memory? What got you started on a path that you always wanted to take? Or alternately, what steps are you contemplating taking going forward?

BIO:

Shawn Reilly Simmons is the author of the Red Carpet Catering mysteries published by Henery Press. The first two books in the series, Murder on a Silver Platter and Murder on the Half Shell,  were released on February 23rd. The third, Murder on a Designer Diet will be published in June. Besides being a Board Member of Malice Domestic, Shawn is co-editor/owner of Level Best Books, which publishes the annual Best New England Crime Stories Anthology each fall, debuting at Crimebake. Her short story “A Gathering of Great Detectives” will appear in the upcoming Malice Domestic anthology: Murder Most Conventional. When she isn’t writing, Shawn is usually running, reading, cooking, watching movies or drinking wine. She lives in Maryland with her husband, son and English Bulldog.

www.ShawnReillySimmons.com

@ShawnRSimmons

Filed under: Guest posts Tagged: Annie's Book Stop, book release, Malice Domestic, Murder on a Silver Platter, Murder on the Half Shell, New beginnings, shawn reilly simmons