Join the Tradition: Attend Mystery in the Midlands (Virtually June 26, 2021), Part One

 by Paula Gail Benson

For the fourth summer, the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America are partnering to present a mid-summer mystery writing extravaganza, featuring award-winning novelists and short story authors that represent every aspect of the genre. Originally an in-person conference, set in “Famously Hot” Columbia, S.C., the pandemic caused us to go virtual last year and we were delighted to attract an audience of over 900.

This year, we continue the virtual tradition on Saturday, June 26, 2021, from 10:00 am to 2:45 pm ET. We hope you’ll join us for a stellar line up of authors talking about their craft.

Our guest of honor is Dr. Kathy Reichs, author of the Temperance Brennan series that became the television show Bones. Dr. Reichs will be interviewed by Debra Goldstein.

In addition to Dr. Reichs, we’ll have three panels about: writing short stories (with Frankie Bailey, Michael Bracken, and Barb Goffman); American authors penning British historicals (with Laurie R. King, Lori Rader-Day, and Caroline Todd); and writing great suspense (with Yasmin Argoe, Robert Dugoni, and Alex Segura).

Already this year, these authors have been nominated for multiple awards: Lori Rader-Day’s The Lucky One was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark award and has pending nominations for an Agatha and an Anthony. Laurie R. King’s Riviera Gold was an Edgar finalist for the Sue Grafton award. Alex Segura has Anthony nominations for Best Short Story and Best Juvenile/Young Adult Novel. Barb Goffman’s “Dear Emily Etiquette” has been nominated as Best Short Story for an Agatha and an Anthony and won the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Award. The Beat of Black Wings, an anthology that features stories by Barb Goffman and Michael Bracken, is nominated for and Anthony in the Best Anthology or Collection category.

What’s the cost to spend half a day listening to these wonderful authors? Just $5 (to help defray our costs). If you can’t listen live, by registering, you’ll have access to the recording

Just click on the following link to register:

https://www.crowdcast.io/e/mystery-in-the-midlands-2

I asked our panelists some questions and they were kind to share the following intriguing answers.

Do you have a good luck writing item or habit?

Yasmin Angoe:

No I don’t. I just have a certain set up in my workspace that I always have to have which is either music or some mindless movie (background noise I guess) playing.

Frankie Y. Bailey:

I have a small silver dragon who is reading a newspaper (Knightly News). I found him in a shop in St. Ives (Cornwall, England). That was the setting of Death’s Favorite Child, the first book in my Lizzie Stuart series. I keep him on my desk. Like Lizzie, I met up with a friend from grad school to spend a week’s vacation there.

Robert Dugoni:

As for a good luck writing instrument, I read the novel The Green Mile while I write each book. It is a novel in which the characters come to life and it inspires me to do the same when writing my own novels.

Alex Segura:

I don’t. I actually think the less we ceremonialize writing, the better - because it means we can jump into the work with more immediacy.

Who was your first favorite (for our historical panel, that can be favourite) author?

Yasmin Angoe:

My first favorite author was Beverly Cleary and then Harper Lee.

Frankie Y. Bailey:

My first favorite mystery writer was Richard Martin Stern. His Johnny Ortiz series, set in New Mexico, had the first African American (biracial) professional woman I had encountered in crime fiction. Dr. Cassandra Enright was the curator of small museum in Santa Rosa and worked on archeological sites. I wrote Mr. Stern a fan letter, and he wrote back (in the days when people used snail mail). Years later when I contacted him to ask if he would respond to the questions that I was asking authors about their black characters for the nonfiction book (Out of the Woodpile) I was writing, he graciously agreed. He also sent me the proofs of the next book in the series.  

Michael Bracken:

My first favorite author was Walter R. Brooks, author of the Freddie the Pig series of children’s books. At the time, though, it was Freddie more than Walter who caught and captured my attention.

Barb Goffman:

I believe it was in first or second grade when we first got to borrow books from our school library, and the first book I remember picking up (and adoring) was “B” is for Betsy by Carolyn Haywood. That was nearly fifty years ago, but I still remember the title of the book and its author. That book is what inspired me to write my first book, C is for Carolyn. (I know, original, right?) I don’t think I got anywhere past the title, but the seeds of wanting to write were planted. I wrote to the author (or maybe my parents wrote the letter for me), and she responded. I read every book in the series. An online search tells me there were only four, which surprises me. I feel like there were more.

Laurie R. King:

Walter Farley. All those clever, beautiful horses, lovely fantasy for a girl who lived in tract houses with back yards too small for a decent-sized dog.

Lori Rader-Day:

My first favorite was Beverly Cleary. She was the first author I was aware of, the author who made me aware authors existed. EL Konigsberg, Judy Blume—then it started to go dark with Lois Duncan, then Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark. The most lasting is probably Agatha Christie, whose books I still pick up. Writing Death at Greenway has brought me closer to her life and work, making me even more of a fan.

Alex Segura:

Probably Sherlock Holmes or HG Wells.

Caroline Todd:

Author--Dorothy Dunnett--she made the past come so alive in her historical mysteries that you felt you were THERE. She became the godmother so to speak of our books.

Check in tomorrow at Writers Who Kill for Part Two of this message! And, don't forget to register!

https://www.crowdcast.io/e/mystery-in-the-midlands-2