On Sunday, March 5, Matt Witten spoke about Writing For Multiple Genres: Novels, TV, Movies, and Stage Plays. Matt is a TV writer and novelist who has written for House, Pretty Little Liars, Law & Order, CSI: Miami, and several other shows. His six novels include The Necklace, which came out from Oceanview Publishing last year and has been optioned for film by Leonardo DiCaprio. Matt has won the Malice Domestic Award and been nominated for two Edgars and an Emmy. His latest novel is Killer Story, set in the world of true-crime podcasting. He is currently writing a pilot for NBC and Hallmark Mystery Movie based on A Dark and Stormy Night, by Julia Buckley.
The reader was Matt Coyle, author of the bestselling Rick Cahill crime series. He knew he wanted to be a mystery writer at the age of thirteen when his father gave him Raymond Chandler’s THE SIMPLE ART OF MURDER. Matt’s books have won the Anthony, Shamus, Lefty, Authors on the Air Book of the Year, Ben Franklin Silver, Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Silver, and San Diego Book Awards. He was named the Mystery Writer of the Year for 2021 by the San Diego Writers Festival. DOOMED LEGACY is the ninth book in the Rick Cahill series.
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On Sunday, February 5, Naomi Hirahara was the speaker, talking about “Strategies to Make Your Historical Mystery Stand Out” and Linda O. Johnston was the reader.
Naomi Hirahara is an Edgar Award-winning author of multiple traditional mystery series and noir short stories. Her Mas Arai mysteries, which have been published in Japanese, Korean and French, feature a Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor who solves crimes. The seventh and final Mas Arai mystery is Hiroshima Boy, which was nominated for an Edgar Award for best paperback original. Her first historical mystery is Clark and Division, which follows a Japanese American family’s move to Chicago in 1944 after being released from a California wartime detention center. Her second Leilani Santiago Hawai‘i mystery, An Eternal Lei, is scheduled to be released in 2022. A former journalist with The Rafu Shimpo newspaper, Naomi has also written numerous non-fiction history books and curated exhibitions. She has also written a middle-grade novel, 1001 Cranes.
Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, has published 57 books so far, including mysteries and romantic suspense. More than twenty-five of them are romances for Harlequin, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense and Harlequin Nocturne. Her latest release is Shielding Colton’s Witness for Harlequin Romantic Suspense. She has also written several mystery series including the Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries and Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, and the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mysteries and Pet Rescue Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime, and her current mystery series is the Alaska Untamed Mysteries for Crooked Lane under the pseudonym Lark O. Jensen. Nearly all Linda’s current stories involve dogs!
Meeting dates for the first half of 2023 are: Jan 8, Feb 5, March 5, April 2, May 7.
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On Sunday, January 8, Sheila Lowe read from her book, The Last Door, and Denise M. Colby did a presentation on 10 Tips for SEO.
SEO stands for search engine optimization, a digital marketing strategy that concentrates on your website’s presence in search outcomes on search engines like Google. When you know how SEO works, you can use different tactics to improve your visibility (or how high you rank) in search results.
Denise M. Colby began her marketing career when she landed a PR internship with a Fortune 500 company right out of college. She liked it so much that she went on to earn her MBA while working through the ranks. Over the past 30 years, she has held positions in Marketing Services, Product Marketing, and Trade Marketing, and has also been a freelance Marketing Professional for several small and medium-sized companies. Taking the lessons learned from creating her own author brand, Denise M. Colby, Denise enjoys sharing her combined knowledge with other authors. She lives in Southern California with her husband and three sons and by day is an E-Commerce Content Marketing Manager for a drainage company. You can find out more about Denise and sign up for her Marketing for Authors Newsletter at Marketing for Authors Newsletter – Denise M. Colby, Writer
Award-winning author Sheila Lowe writes stories of psychological suspense that put ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Like her fictional character Claudia Rose in the award-winning Forensic Handwriting series, Sheila is a real-life forensic handwriting examiner who is recognized as an expert in the court system. She also writes the Beyond the Veil paranormal suspense series and nonfiction books about handwriting and personality.
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On November 6, our guests were two FBI agents, Michael Dehncke and Amy Whitman. Agent Dehncke has a background in white collar crime and counterterrorism. Agent Whitman works on violent crime and coordinates with local law enforcement. They give background information on how the FBI functions and answered questions.
Gay Totl Kinman read from her new book, Mystery at the Rodeo Ranch.
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On October 2nd, Laurie Stevens shared her thoughts on “How to Avoid Annoying Your Die Hard Thriller Fan”. She talked about adding paranormal elements to thrillers without annoying your current fans.
Laurie Stevens is the author of the Gabriel McRay thriller novels, a series that has won twelve awards, among them Kirkus Reviews Best of 2011 and a Random House Editors’ Book of the Month. Laurie’s latest, In Twilight’s Hush, was named to Killer Nashville’s Top 6 Books of 2021 and Kindle Book Review’s 2021 Top 10 Mystery/Thrillers. In regards to writing thrillers, Suspense Magazine says Laurie is “the leader of the pack,” while International Thriller Writers claims she’s “cracked the code” of writing psychological suspense. An active member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime, Laurie co-edited the SinC anthology, Fatally Haunted. She loves the natural world and serves on the board of the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, which inspired her to write her latest novel, The Return, a finalist for this year’s Claymore Award.
Nancy Cole Silverman read from her latest book, The Navigator’s Daughter, which centers on a daughter’s promise to her dying father to go to Hungary, where he was shot down during the Second World War, to find his rescuers. Nancy spent nearly twenty-five in Los Angeles Talk Radio, beginning her career on the talent side as one of the first female voices on the air and then moving into the business side. She retired as one of two female general managers in the nation’s second-largest radio market. After her radio career, Silverman turned to write fiction. Her crime-focused novels and short stories have attracted readers throughout America. For more on Nancy, please visit her website at https://www.nancycolesilverman.com/
https://www.sistersincrimela.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SiC-ID-156px-ColorPrimary.jpg00Sisters in Crime/LAhttps://www.sistersincrimela.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SiC-ID-156px-ColorPrimary.jpgSisters in Crime/LA2022-10-04 11:01:002022-10-11 21:07:47October 2022 Chapter Meeting
FOURTH SIZZLING SUMMER EVENT! Hosted by the NorCal Chapter of Sisters in Crime
Live From Paris! Cara Black
Om September 24, the Northern Cal chapter arranged for a scintillating program featuring New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cara Black talking about “Doing Research in Another Land.”
Ms. Black knows whereof she speaks: she is the author of the Aimee Leduc series, set in Paris. The series has sold over 400,000 books in print, has received multiple awards, and has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, Norwegian, and Japanese.
In case you missed it, you can access the recording here:
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July 21, 2022 Studio City Library Via Zoom; 6 p.m.
Mystery on the Menu: SinCLA Authors Discuss All Things Mystery
On Thursday, July 21, 2022 at 5p.m., the Studio City Library will host a Zoom panel of SinCLA authors who will discuss the mystery writing process. The featured authors are Beverly Graf, Linda O Johnston, Paula Bernstein, Ellen Byron, August Norman ,and moderator Jacqueline Vick.
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In celebration of Bouchercon 2023, Partners in Crime: The San Diego Chapter of Sisters in Crime welcomes members of the San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles chapters to submit a short story to their second anthology titled CRIME UNDER THE SUN. Submissions are free and open! Due June 15th.
Stories will be chosen in a blind-read process and edited by Matt Coyle, best-selling author of the Rick Cahill crime novels; Naomi Hirahara, best-selling author of several mystery series and short stories; and Tammy Kaehler, award-winning author of the Kate Reilly mystery series.
CRIME UNDER THE SUN will be an official Sisters in Crime Anthology. Partners in Crime will market the anthology with press releases and social media. In addition, Partners in Crime will host an anthology signing party at Bouchercon 2023, which will take place August 30-September 3, 2023 in San Diego.
All proceeds from the sale of the anthology will support the ongoing efforts of Partners in Crime to bring workshops of interest to crime writers and readers.
Why CRIME UNDER THE SUN? Southern California offers a wide variety of settings. Beaches, mountains, deserts. We’re urban. We’re rural. We have something for everyone. All under the sun. We’d love to see stories set in SoCal that reflect the California experience. Mysteries of all genres, suspense, thrillers and true crime are encouraged.
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Calls for Submission New Releases Awards Nominations The Next Chapter Meeting Author Appearances Festivals & Fairs Upcoming Webinars Writers’ Conferences and More!
CALLS FOR SUBMISSION:
1) The deadline to submit a short story to Los Angeles Chapter of Sisters in Crime for its 2023 anthology, “Entertainment To Die For,” is May 31, 2022. The judges of this blind contest will consider stories up to 7500 words in any sub-genre of crime. Guidelines here: https://www.sistersincrimela.com/anthologies/
2) Partners In Crime, the San Diego Chapter of Sisters in Crime, seeks stories of up to 5000 words for its 2023 short story collection, “Crime Under The Sun.” The deadline is 6/15/22. Stores will be chosen blind and edited by none other than SinCLA’s own Matt Coyle, Naomi Hirahara, add Tammy Kaehler! https://sistersincrimesd.org
3) Bouchercon’s 2023 anthology, tentatively titled Peril Under The Palms, is open for submissions. The deadline is October 15, 2022 https://bouchercon2023.com/anthology/
5) Check out the Calls for Submission on “Published To Death,” a website for authors. There aren’t any calls specifically for mystery/crime stories, but these outlets, with deadlines in May, could be appropriate for your work: Riddlebird, Dark Recesses, Lamplight, Alphabet Box, Chicken Soup for the Soul (true stories), Prairie Fire, Split Lip Magazine, One Story. https://publishedtodeath.blogspot.com/2022/04/110-calls-for-submissions-in-may-2022.html
New Releases !
Vanessa Ryan’s latest novel
The Trouble with Murder has hit the shelves!
Hetty Carson was once one of the upwardly mobile of the Los Angeles jet-set. Then her husband walked off with millions of embezzled funds and all of Hetty’s credibility. What began as a search for the ex has turned into a new career: detective. https://vanessaaryan.com
… the first in a new series by Agatha award-winning author, Ellen Byron
Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans. Her career dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet. Ricki is excited about launching the museum’s gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware, but then, digging through a trunk of vintage cookbooks, she discovers the body of a cantankerous Bon Vee employee who was fired for stealing books.
The skills Ricky has developed ferreting out hidden vintage treasures come in handy for investigations. But both her business and Bon Vee could wind up as deadstock when Ricki’s past as curator of a billionaire’s first edition collection comes back to haunt her.
Will Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware be a success… or a recipe for disaster?
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He’ll Steal Your Heart!
A medieval thief and conman attempts the ultimate crime: stealing the Crown Jewels from The Tower of London. It’s Ocean’s 11 in the Middle Ages!
Jeri Westerson’s new novel Oswald the Thief comes out May 28. It’ll be available on Amazon in ebook, hardcover, and paperback, Google Play Books, Smashwords (that includes Apple and Overdrive), Kobo, and Nook.
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Tori Eldridge’s latest novel,
Dance Among the Flames, will be released May 24
A “stunningly original novel” (F. Paul Wilson) about a desperate mother who rises from the slums of Brazil to become a powerful wielder of Quimbanda magic.
“Astonishing and challenging… An emotional powerhouse!” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
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Mike Befeler’s mystery novel,
Old Detectives Home, the first book in the Omnipodge Trilogy,
was published April 27 by Encircle Publications in both print and e-book editions. Imagine a retirement home populated with residents including an aging Hercule Poirot and a dementia-suffering Sherlock Holmes and run by staff including E. A Poe, Art Doyle, Dot Sayers and Dash Hammett. In this light-hearted spoof, every character is either a namesake of a person from the mystery writing world or a character from a mystery novel.
due out on June 14 from Penguin / Random House is the latest novel from Nina Sadowsky
Nina explains: “Privacy was conceived at the height of Southern California’s Covid lockdown. I was asking myself: ‘How much can I take before I break?’ and watching as others all around me reached their limits. Racial tensions were heaving, fear seemed to lurk everywhere. The psychological stress of human isolation and a reliance on technological connection permeated every interaction. We are all dangerously exposed, I realized. We live in a constant cycle of sharing and gathering information, and all that data is a form of currency. These whirling thoughts led to a thriller in which I tested the limits of all of my characters against these topical themes.”
See below for invite to an interactive workshop with the author on “From Film to Books and Back Again”
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Anne Louise Bannon’s newest novel,
My Sweet Lisa, is now out.
Finally, it’s real love… Now what?
Lisa Wycherly’s surprise birthday party ends in disaster when she’s kidnapped off the street. Her partner, Sid Hackbirn, is so devastated that he loses his interest in sleeping around – the one thing keeping the two of them apart. It turns out the kidnappers got the wrong target. There’s also a defecting KGB agent playing games with the CIA, who are involved with the Colombian kidnappers. Then Lisa’s recovery sets in motion a whole other set of challenges as she and Sid deal with her trauma and try to get the KGB agent under control, only to find that Sid’s randy past will continue to haunt them. The only thing worse? Figuring out how to be a couple.
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The Alaskan Blonde: Sex, Secrets, and the Hollywood Story that Shocked America,
a true crime tale by James Bartlett
The Alaskan Blonde: Sex, Secrets, and the Hollywood Story that Shocked America was released in March and can be purchased on Amazon and at local bookstores.
Wealthy businessman Cecil Wells was killed in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1953, and his younger, blonde wife Diane – and her lover, Black musician Johnny Warren – were indicted for the crime, though it remains unsolved to this day. This book reexamines the FBI/police investigation, interviews living family members, uncovers new evidence, and looks again at a case that was a huge scandal in Jim Crow America, made the pages of Life, Newsweek, Jet and the pulp magazines, and was a rare story from then-territorial Alaska that hit the headlines around the world.
“All the nail-biting suspense and secretive plot of a thriller …” — Looks at Books
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Gay Toltl Kinman’s new novel Burials
is out now from Mysterious Women press. You can find it on Kindle and in trade paperback on Amazon.
Judge Macklin of the Los Angeles Superior Court is on administrative leave. He and his wife go on a sailing trip—and he comes back alone. Then his goddaughter disappears. Kidnapping is suspected, but the ransom request does not come right away and is a strange one when it does. Macklin can’t save his wife, but he is determined to save his goddaughter. Cover Art by Peggie Chan
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Gay Toltl Kinman’s The Mystery at the Stables
is the first in a middle reader series featuring three 11-year-olds in the summer before they go into the sixth grade. They live near a racetrack in Southern California. In this story, a valuable racehorse is missing. Horsenapped? It’s a mystery that the young detectives investigate—and solve. On Kindle and in trade paperback Cover Art by Peggie Chan
Awards
Congratulations to Naomi Hirahara for her Edgar Award / Mary Higgins Clark Award, given by Mystery Writers of America, for her novel, Clark and Division
We also congratulate Naomi for her Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel , given by Left Coast Crime, for her novel, Clark and Division
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Congratulations to Ellen Byron for her Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel, given by Malice Domestic, for her novel, Cajun Kiss of Death. Pending Nominations
CONGRATS to Matt Coyle and Naomi Hirahara for their Barry Award nominations for Best Novel.
Matt’s nominated book is Last Redemption. Naomi’s nominated book is Clark and Division.
Their fellow Barry Award nominees include Michael Connelly, S.A. Crosby, and Stephen King. The winner will be announced at the opening of Bouchercon in Minneapolis on September 8, 2022.
2) TESS GERRITSEN, author of Rizzoli and Isles, will join the Gand Canyon Chapter of Sisters in Crime on the evening of May 5 to talk about “Building a Blockbuster Career One Step at a Time.” Begins ad 5 pm. Attendance is free but you must register in advance. https://grandcanyonwriters.com/draft-2-fireside-chats-2021/
4) JANE FRIEDMAN’S WRITING ADVICE ARCHIVES Free. https://www.janefriedman.com/writing-advice-archive/ Jane Friedman has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in business strategy for authors and publishers. She’s the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential industry newsletter for authors, and has previously worked for Writer’s Digest and the Virginia Quarterly Review. In 2019, Jane was awarded Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World; her newsletter was awarded Media Outlet of the Year in 2020.
Monthly Meeting of Sisters in Crime Los Angeles Summer Sizzle!
Our Sizzling Summer Series is a collaboration between the Sisters in Crime Chapters in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and Northern California. During the months of June through September, each chapter takes a turn hosting a zoom meeting for the four chapters. The combined audience builds a broader community and wider perspective.
The next meeting will be hosted by the San Diego Chapter of Sisters in Crime Saturday June 11 at 2 pm on Zoom link to follow Matt Coyle will interview special guest, author Allison Brennan.
Upcoming Author Appearances & Events:
Tori Eldridge celebrates the release of Dance Among the Flames
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If you are coming in person, please send an email to mail@sistersincrimela.com so we know how many to expect.
Location: The Hollywood Women’s Club 1749 N. La Brea Ave. (just South of Franklin) Los Angeles CA 90046 Parking: The club has its own parking lot, which we are welcome to use. Enter using the driveway just South of the building. Entry: The club does not use the front entrance. Please enter the side door from the driveway. Our meeting room is the lounge.
Covid Precautions:
Although LA County has relaxed its indoor masking requirements, we want everyone to feel safe and comfortable, and no one to get sick. We will be requiring proof of vaccination at entry and ask that you wear a mask during the meeting unless you are a speaker. We continue to follow the case counts and will revise our requirements when indicated.
Featured Speaker
Dennis Palumbo
Dennis Palumbo
Writer’s Block: What it Means—and What it Doesn’t
Formerly a Hollywood screenwriter (My Favorite Year; Welcome Back, Kotter, etc.), Dennis Palumbo is a licensed psychotherapist and author. His mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand and elsewhere, and is collected in From Crime to Crime (Tallfellow Press). His series of award-winning mystery thrillers (Mirror Image, Fever Dream, Night Terrors, Phantom Limb, Head Wounds, and the latest, Panic Attack) feature Daniel Rinaldi, a psychologist and trauma expert who consults with the Pittsburgh Police.
About Panic Attack: Psychologist Daniel Rinaldi is no stranger to trauma. A survivor of not one, but two attempts on his life by a deranged killer, the therapist also counsels trauma patients in his private practice, and contracts with the Pittsburgh Police to help victims of violent crime cope with their experience.
Readers: HJ Forman (our Corresponding Secretary, Henry Jay) was born and raised in New York City. In the latter part of a long and successful career as an award-winning academic biomedical scientist, he began writing mysteries. He is willing to admit that a small percentage of the inhabitants of academia are unworthy of admiration.
Alexia Forman, a proud Philadelphian, went from painting pictures with oils to painting them with words. In her long history as an academic librarian, she also discovered how academia mirrors the rest of society. The Formans live in Southern California. They have one daughter of whom they are extremely proud and a tiny Yorkshire Terrier who is delighted to be the only real character in the book.
In Toxic Vengeance, bodies of respected, highly educated men and women are dropping in different parts of the country. Why are all the victims poisoned even when they die by different means? It takes fiery redhead police detective Cindy Firestone from a Washington, D.C. suburb to spot a connection. She brings the case to the attention of FBI Special Agent Steve Jude, who recognizes her intelligence and enjoys her packaging. Together, they investigate the many suspects and learn about the world of academic science, which most outsiders assume to be sedate. How wrong is that!
https://www.sistersincrimela.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SiC-ID-156px-ColorPrimary.jpg00Sisters in Crime/LAhttps://www.sistersincrimela.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/SiC-ID-156px-ColorPrimary.jpgSisters in Crime/LA2022-03-28 16:43:242022-08-29 17:11:14April Hybrid meeting! Come join us April 3rd,
