What do you think?
Rate this book
Malice in Memphis: Elmwood: Stories to Die For
The amazing storytellers of Malice in Memphis specialize in taking historical locations and fictionally embellishing them with new characters, mysteries, and murder. They have now taken on Memphis' finest and oldest active burial ground, the famous Elmwood Cemetery. Founded in 1852, it is the final resting place of over 75,000 residents. From the common to the infamous, from the powerful to the famous, they are all here. The tapestry of life and death in the Mid-South is laid out in a beautiful garden cemetery with sweeping vistas, massive ancient trees, and spectacular monuments from the Victorian age to modern sculptures. Malice in Memphis is now adding their special touch to the myriad of stories drifting among the mausoleums.
300 pages, Paperback
Published October 2, 2017
6 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn McSparren
44 books13 followersCarolyn McSparren started writing when she was a teenager, and always planned to be a professional writer and a college professor. That is, until she fell madly in love, dropped out of graduate school, and became a wife supporting a burgeoning opera singer husband. That led to a three-month trip to Germany that stretched into five years.
She wound up living in Germany, France, Italy, and came home with a different husband and a 14-year-old stepdaughter. The writing got put on the back burner while she produced a daughter of her own and went back to graduate school at the University of Memphis to finish her Master’s degree in English. At that point she discovered that a graduate degree in English wouldn’t buy a cup of coffee in a diner.
She became a program coordinator at the executive center of the University of Memphis, where she designed management training, wrote brochures and press releases, designed and laid out brochures, and did everything from pour coffee to transport dignitaries.
On the home front, she and her family moved to the country to breed and train hunter-jumper horses. About the time they moved, her daughter decided she preferred a social life to cleaning out the barn and left Carolyn with the whole operation. With 18 horses, a full-time job, a husband and family, four cats, and three dogs, there wasn’t much time left for writing.
Finally, Martha Shields, who is now a Silhouette author, dragged Carolyn to the meeting of the River City Romance Writers, and thence into a critique group. Suddenly the time seemed right to get on with what she’d longed to do all her life.
That fall, Carolyn won a Maggie Award for an unpublished manuscript (which has still not been published, by the way), and three years later she took early retirement from the university to write full-time. By that time, only three horses remained — none of which Carolyn had ridden for much too long.
The day that Harlequin called with an offer to buy The Only Child, the editor said, "We want the book but... " Guess which were the only words Carolyn heard? She didn’t even tell her best friend about the offer for three weeks.
Now, with seven Harlequin Superromances under her belt, and another couple in the works, she’s finally living in what southerners call "hog heaven." She rides horses, writes books, works with the local chapter of RWA and with Sisters in Crime, is a member of Mystery Writers of America, and just so that she’ll stay balanced, is a member of the Delta Dressage Association—the local horse training group.
She loves speaking to aspiring writers and adores book signings. Finally, years after she first wanted to be a writer, she’s managed to achieve her goal. Now, if she can just manage to stay on her horse, everything should be great.
She wound up living in Germany, France, Italy, and came home with a different husband and a 14-year-old stepdaughter. The writing got put on the back burner while she produced a daughter of her own and went back to graduate school at the University of Memphis to finish her Master’s degree in English. At that point she discovered that a graduate degree in English wouldn’t buy a cup of coffee in a diner.
She became a program coordinator at the executive center of the University of Memphis, where she designed management training, wrote brochures and press releases, designed and laid out brochures, and did everything from pour coffee to transport dignitaries.
On the home front, she and her family moved to the country to breed and train hunter-jumper horses. About the time they moved, her daughter decided she preferred a social life to cleaning out the barn and left Carolyn with the whole operation. With 18 horses, a full-time job, a husband and family, four cats, and three dogs, there wasn’t much time left for writing.
Finally, Martha Shields, who is now a Silhouette author, dragged Carolyn to the meeting of the River City Romance Writers, and thence into a critique group. Suddenly the time seemed right to get on with what she’d longed to do all her life.
That fall, Carolyn won a Maggie Award for an unpublished manuscript (which has still not been published, by the way), and three years later she took early retirement from the university to write full-time. By that time, only three horses remained — none of which Carolyn had ridden for much too long.
The day that Harlequin called with an offer to buy The Only Child, the editor said, "We want the book but... " Guess which were the only words Carolyn heard? She didn’t even tell her best friend about the offer for three weeks.
Now, with seven Harlequin Superromances under her belt, and another couple in the works, she’s finally living in what southerners call "hog heaven." She rides horses, writes books, works with the local chapter of RWA and with Sisters in Crime, is a member of Mystery Writers of America, and just so that she’ll stay balanced, is a member of the Delta Dressage Association—the local horse training group.
She loves speaking to aspiring writers and adores book signings. Finally, years after she first wanted to be a writer, she’s managed to achieve her goal. Now, if she can just manage to stay on her horse, everything should be great.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 5, 2018
What an outstanding anthology! Elmwood is an historic spot in Memphis, a veritable who's who of famous people who have lived and died in the region. But more to the point for fiction, it's old, and there's no faking the creepiness of ancient tombstones and bent oak trees. It's the perfect setting for this stellar collection of stories guaranteed to make you want to visit this iconic cemetery.
December 23, 2021
I first found about this book when I met Larry Hoy at Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention (MCFC) in November of 2021. Since I was craving for stories centered around death and cemeteries at the time, I thought that this one seemed worth a buy. I'm pleased to say that it is thanks to Larry's recommendation!
Not only did the book feature a diverse group of genre fiction stories ranging from mystery to romance, they also give unique perspectives on Elmwood Cemetery in relation to Memphis past and present without disrespecting the dead.
While I still don't quite understand what Larry meant by "putting the big rocks in first" when he signed my book, overall, I am very pleased with what I've received. I definitely recommend this to any goth, historian and death junkie out there! Thank you again Larry Hoy for recommending this book to me! :)
Not only did the book feature a diverse group of genre fiction stories ranging from mystery to romance, they also give unique perspectives on Elmwood Cemetery in relation to Memphis past and present without disrespecting the dead.
While I still don't quite understand what Larry meant by "putting the big rocks in first" when he signed my book, overall, I am very pleased with what I've received. I definitely recommend this to any goth, historian and death junkie out there! Thank you again Larry Hoy for recommending this book to me! :)
April 3, 2018
This anthology contains stories from most of Memphis' leading writers. Like it's predecessor two were selected as Finalists for the Darrell award. For a fun read I would recommend this and any other book in the series
Read
March 10, 2018Mixed bag. Some good. Some weird. Some not so good
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews