Celebrating the Agathas for Best First Novel

by Paula Gail Benson

For the past two years, the community that gathers for Malice Domestic has missed its annual reunion. From Wednesday through Saturday, the Malice board organized and presented a series of online panels and interviews that helped those of us missing the in-person event to feel as if we reconnected virtually.

More Than Malice ended on Saturday with the announcement of the Agatha awards. The teapots for the past two years will be awarded when we’re all together again, but in the meantime, today and tomorrow on Writers Who Kill, I wanted to recognize the Agatha nominees for Best First Novel and Best Short Story. They are a wonderful group of writers. If you haven’t discovered them yet, please consider reading their work.

Here are the Agatha nominees for Best First Novel (award noted by **):

2019 Agatha Nominees for Best First Novel

Connie Berry

A Dream of Death by Connie Berry (Crooked Lane Books)

**One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski (Graydon House)

Murder Once Removed by S. C. Perkins (Minotaur Books)

When It’s Time for Leaving by Ang Pompano (Thimble Island Press, 2^nd edition)

Staging for Murder by Grace Topping (Henery Press)

Tara Laskowski

Connie Berry is one of my blogging partners at Writers Who Kill. Her first Kate Hamilton novel was nominated for an Agatha. A Dream of Death also was a finalist for the Silver Falchion and won the IPPY Gold Medal for Mystery. Since then, two additional books in the series have been released, A Legacy of Murder (October 2019) and The Art of Betrayal (June 2021). The Shadow of Memory is the next Kate Hamilton adventure.

Tara Laskowski’s first novel One Night Gone, not only won the Agatha, but also the Macavity and Anthony awards and was a finalist for the Lefty, the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark, the Strand Critics, and the Library of VA Literary awards. Her second novel, The Mother Next Door, will be published in October 2021. She, her husband Art Taylor, and son Dash will be guests of honor at Murder in the Magic City in February 2022.

S.C. Perkins

S.C. Perkins is a fifth generation Texan, who grew up listening to stories about her ancestry and eating Tex Mex, experiences that contribute to her Ancestry Detective series. Her first book, Murder Once Removed, won the 2017 Malice Domestic Best First Novel competition prior to being nominated for an Agatha. Lineage Most Lethal will be released July 21, 2021, and Fatal Family Ties is next book.

Ang Pompano

Ang Pompano proves how perseverance leads to publication. In his blog post in Writers Who Kill, he describes how he kept moving the location of his novel in order to sell it. When It’s Time for Leaving takes place just outside Savannah, an evocative place that becomes a character in the story. His next novel, Diet of Death, is about a reluctant food columnist.

Grace Topping

Grace Topping, another of my blogging partners at Writers Who Kill, became an author after a career in technical writing and as an IT project manage. Her Laura Bishop home staging mystery series has made her an Agatha finalist and bestselling author. Staging for Murder has been followed by Staging Wars and Upstaged by Murder.

2020 Agatha Nominees for Best First Novel

A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addison (Crooked Lane Books)

Esme Addison

Winter Witness by Tina deBellegarde (Level Best Books)

Derailed by Mary Keliikoa (Epicenter Press, Inc.)

**Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer (Kensington)

Murder Most Sweet by Laura Jensen Walker (Crooked Lane Books)

Tina deBellegarde

Esme Addison, originally from Raleigh, NC, but having traveled a great deal as a military spouse, based her Enchanted Bay Mystery series on the Polish myth of the Mermaid of Warsaw, which she learned from marrying into a first generation Polish family. Her second book is A Hex for Danger.

Tina deBellegarde has written short stories and flash fiction. Her first novel, Winter Witness, begins the Batavia-on-Hudson series. She lives with her husband and cat Shelby in the Catskills where she tends bees and harvests shiitakes and vegetables.

Mary Keliikoa

Mary Keliikoa’s Derailed, the first in her PI Kelly Pruett books, has been nominated for the Lefty as well as the Agatha. Denied is the second book in the series. She also writes the Mystery Pines mysteries, the first book, Hidden Pieces, will be coming out in September 2022. Her experience as a legal secretary led her to write mysteries.

Erica Ruth Neubauer

Erica Ruth Neubauer’s Murder at the Mena House, the first of the Jane Wunderly mysteries, received the Agatha for best first novel. The second in the series, Murder at Wedgefield Manor, was released in March 2021. Erica lives with her husband in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and has worked in the military, law enforcement, as a teacher, and as a reviewer.

Laura Jensen Walker

Laura Jensen Walker knew she wanted to be a writer since reading 103 books in first grade. Murder Most Sweet is the first of her Bookish Baker mysteries. The second, Deadly Delights, was released in June. Hope, Faith, and a Corpse, a new cozy series about a pastor in a small California town, came out in January.

May is Short Story Month!

by Paula Gail Benson

Since 2013, StoryaDay.org has declared May Short Story month and has set up a website (http://shortstorymonth.com/) to recommend short stories and recognize their authors.

Indeed, May has been a month where short stories have been celebrated.

During the first weekend in May, at Malice Domestic in Bethesda, Maryland, a tie-winner was announced in the short story category at the Agatha Banquet. Leslie Budewitz and Tara Laskowski’s stories were honored.

Leslie Budewitz and Tara Laskowski
Photo by Robin Templeton

That weekend also saw the announcement of the winners of the 2019 Derringer Award sponsored by The Short Mystery Fiction Society.

Best Flash Story (up to 1000 words)
“The Bicycle Thief” by James Blakey (The Norwegian American, September 21, 2018)

Best Short Story (1001 to 4000 words)
“Dying in Dokesville” by Alan Orloff (Malice Domestic 13: Mystery Most Geographical)

Best Long Story (4001 to 8000 words)
“With My Eyes” by Leslie Budewitz (Suspense Magazine, January/February 2018)

Best Novelette 
“The Cambodian Curse” by Gigi Pandian (The Cambodian Curse & Other Stories by Gigi Pandian, Henery Press)

And now, we have the Anthony awards to anticipate for October.

Anthony Nominees for Best Short Story:

“The Grass Beneath My Feet” by S.A. Cosby, in Tough (blogazine, August 20, 2018)

“Bug Appétit” by Barb Goffman, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (November/December 2018)

“Cold Beer No Flies” by Greg Herren, in Florida Happens (Three Rooms Press)

“English 398: Fiction Workshop” by Art Taylor, in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (July/August 2018)

“The Best Laid Plans” by Holly West, in Florida Happens (Three Rooms Press)

Have you read a short story lately?

Caught in the Rapids - a guest post from Annette Dashofy

As I write this, it’s pre-dawn, I’m under-caffeinated, and I’m thinking profound thoughts about how my life is like a river. For the last few months, it’s been meandering through a long stretch of winding bends, but now it’s picking up speed, heading into a series of whitewater rapids.


Like I said, I’m under-caffeinated.


I’d intentionally taken the winter and early spring “off” from events and appearances. I had cataract surgery and physical therapy for a frozen shoulder that had plagued me since last fall. My hubby had rotator cuff surgery. Yes, we’re on a first-name basis with everyone at our local PT office.


On top of trying to get myself and Hubby put back together, I had a book to write. So I made good use of those months of staying home, drifting along the lazy river of my life.

My cat loved having her humans home with her all the time.


Then I hit the whitewater, first with Malice Domestic Mystery Convention, where I was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel. I didn’t win, but I was able to play dress-up and have a few Cinderella days before my party dress turned back into yoga pants. I’m in the middle of a blog tour. I have a book due to my publisher the first of next month, which is placing me squarely in the middle of Deadline Madness.


And Fair Game, the eighth book in my Zoe Chambers Mystery Series, hits stores tomorrow, May 14!

We held my launch party this past Saturday at Mystery Lovers Bookshop, which is always a fabulous venue. If you’re ever in the Pittsburgh area, check it out! This Wednesday, a local restaurant is hosting a Dinner with the Author (me), and next Wednesday, a local church is hosting Coffee with the Author (me). In between, I’ll be teaching a workshop at the Pennwriters Conference while pimping—I mean promoting—Fair Game.


Did I mention, I have a deadline on June 1? There’s that too.


So, yes, for the rest of May, I’ll have my oars in the water, paddling like crazy to keep from getting dumped from my raft before I make it to the next stretch of calm.

By the way, the book has nothing to do with rafting. Nor have I ever rafted in whitewater. Like I said earlier: pre-dawn, under-caffeinated.


Seriously though, Fair Game takes Zoe Chambers to the county fair with her horse for what is supposed to be an escape from the turmoil of her recent family traumas. Instead, she’s thrown into the drama of someone else’s family as she becomes drawn to a grief-stricken father and tries to help a troubled teen with parental problems of his own. Meanwhile Chief of Police Pete Adams attempts to piece together the final hours of a young woman’s life, leading to a mysterious death that may or may not have been murder.

Annette Dashofy is the USA Today best-selling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series about a paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township. A lifelong resident of Washington County (PA), Annette has garnered four Agatha nominations including Best Contemporary Novel of 2018 for CRY WOLF. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers, the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime, and is on the board of directors of Pennwriters. FAIR GAME (May 2019) is the eighth in her series.

Interview with Agatha Nominees for Best Short Story!

Each year, I feel very privileged to be able to host interviews with the Agatha nominees for best short story in The Stiletto Gang and Writers Who Kill. I always learn from their answers and appreciate so much what goes into the craft.




Following is a list of the nominated stories with links on the titles so you can read and enjoy. Thanks to Gretchen, Barb, Debra, Gigi, and Art for taking the time to answer the questions. And check in at Writers Who Kill tomorrow to hear more from these talented authors. Best wishes to all. — PGB




“Double Deck the Halls” by Gretchen Archer (Henery Press)
“Whose Wine is it Anyway” by Barb Goffman in 50 Shades of Cabernet (Koehler Books)
“The Night They Burned Miss Dixie’s Place” by Debra Goldstein in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (May/June 2017)
“The Library Ghost of Tanglewood Inn” by Gigi Pandian (Henery Press)
“A Necessary Ingredient” by Art Taylor in Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Seat (Down & Out Books)

How do you know an idea is “short story worthy”?

Gretchen Archer: If the elements are there—story arc, strong characters, interesting setting, and a puzzle to solve—I find the idea worthy. There are many colorful characters in the Davis Way series, so I had a surfeit of choices for a protagonist in Double Deck the Halls. From my character list, I chose Granny. The setting is always the same—the Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. And the puzzle? What could be more fun than an octogenarian MacGyver?

Barb Goffman: When considering if an idea is better suited to be developed into a short story or a novel, I think the key is how complicated the plot is and how early you want to bring your main character in on the action. If your story involves multiple murders, for instance, and you want to show that your protagonist is on the case from the beginning, then you're likely describing a novel. That idea seems too complicated to develop properly in a short story. But if you have the same scenario and your protagonist comes in at the last murder and quickly figures out whodunit, then that could be a short story. Which way to go? I think that's a style decision for the author. 

This is why I tell people that a short story is about one thing. One specific tight tale. The more complicated the idea, the more detail you need to show, the more pages your tale will take. The plot of my story "Whose Wine Is It Anyway?" has two inciting incidents-- twice within a few days my main character, a legal secretary, feels slighted by her long-time boss--and the resolution comes quickly thereafter, so it was well suited for a short story. (For those who haven't read the story, in Myra's last week before retirement, she learns her boss has hired an airhead to replace her and he does something that makes her realize he's been taking her for granted. So Myra devises a plan to teach him a lesson.)

Debra Goldstein: I don’t initially know if an idea is “short story worthy.” When a story works, it flows and ends exactly where it should. The idea of the story may come from a prompt, a phrase stuck in my mind, or a character’s voice. In “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place,” the opening sentence “I remember the night they burned Ms. Dixie’s Place” was the first thing I thought of, but then I realized that most of the story had to be told on that night, when the main character was only nine years old. Once I recognized the voice would be a child’s, the importance of the premise became evident. I write both novels and short stories, but there was no question that this idea and the portrayed characters and incident would only work as a tightly written short story.

Gigi Pandian: I love short stories that have a satisfying twist. In my own short fiction, the twists that I like to play with are seemingly impossible crimes that have a rational explanation.

My full-length novels are adventures in addition to being mysteries, so while my books do have twists in them, the twists and the puzzle aren’t necessarily as important to keep the story going as the characters themselves and the adventures they’re having.

Therefore when I come up with an idea for a story involving an impossible crime twist, instead of an idea that centers around a specific character or a larger plot, then I know it’s a short story rather than a novel.

Art Taylor: I’m primarily a short story writer, so most of my ideas seem suited to that length—it just seems to be the form I’m most naturally drawn toward, the one I’m most comfortable in. Ideas come from a variety of places, of course: a bit of overheard conversation, a dream, a trip (the travel kind, not the hallucinogenic kind!), even other short stories or novels that prompt the imagination along. While I tend to think in narrative arcs at short story length, I also try to fold in other threads as well to help enrich the story’s texture and its breadth—by which I mean balancing several characters’ narrative arc and the ways they intertwine, for example, or by layering in some thematic arc alongside the arc of the plot, letting several things speak one to another. I may not be able to write long very often, but I try to write dense at least—dense in a good way, I hope!

Tell us about the publisher of your nominated short story and how the story came to be published.

Gretchen Archer: “Double Deck the Halls: is a short-story companion to my Davis Way Crime Caper mystery series published by Henery Press. I knew where Deck would land before I wrote it.

Barb Goffman: "Whose Wine Is It Anyway?" appeared in the anthology 50 Shades of Cabernet, which was published by Koehler Books. This book is the brainchild of author Teresa Inge. She came up with the idea of a lighthearted anthology involving mystery and wine. She wanted to help promote the Virginia wine industry. So she reached out to a bunch of Virginia authors and asked if we'd be interested in submitting stories for the book. After doing a lot of interesting research I came up with a workable story idea, wrote my story, and submitted it. Teresa shopped the manuscript around and Koehler ended up picking it up. They're based in Virginia Beach, near where Teresa lives, so it all worked out very nicely. Koehler gave us multiple rounds of edits and proofreading. And royalties. What's fun about them is for each book they publish, they put two potential covers on their website and the general public can vote on which one they like better. The cover with the most votes becomes the cover of the book.

Debra Goldstein: Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine not only published my first submission to it, “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place,” in its May/June 2017 issue, but featured it on its cover. Neither of these exciting events almost happened. Even though several of my short stories had been accepted by other publications, I lacked the confidence to send my work to AHMM or Ellery Queen. Several friends, including Art, Barb, Bob Mangeot and Terrie Moran encouraged me to submit my work to these Dell magazines, but the one who made me believe in myself was B.K. (Bonnie) Stevens.

When I read her story, “Thea’s First Husband,” I was so blown away by it that I wrote her a fan email asking if she taught online classes. She didn’t, but she sent me suggested readings and we subsequently became friends. She encouraged me to reach beyond my fears. Last year, every Malice Domestic recipient received the AHMM which contained “The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place” in their book bags. A few weeks after Malice, I received a package and note from Bonnie. She wrote she believed it was an award-winning story and knew, because it was my first Alfred Hitchcock submission and acceptance, I would want extra copies of the issue. I wish she had lived to see that her encouragement, as well as that of so many friends, made this wonderful ride happen.

Gigi Pandian: Henery Press publishes my Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries. The most recent book The Ninja’s Illusion, is set in Japan, and I had an idea for a locked-room mystery twist that needed to have the characters stranded in a remote place. I was having such fun with the characters in The Ninja’s Illusion that I wondered if Jaya and her friend Tamarind could get waylaid on their way home from Japan. I came up with the idea to have them get stranded due to bad weather, so “The Library Ghost of Tanglewood Inn” is set at the remote inn where they’re forced to seek shelter from a storm.

I had a lot of fun writing a story-within-a-story, because in “The Library Ghost of Tanglewood Inn” there’s a ghost story about an avenging ghost that killed an unscrupulous man who was reading an Agatha Christie novel at the hotel nearly a century ago—and now the “ghost” is striking again while the guests are trapped. Can Jaya figure out what’s really going on? The team at Henery Press loved the story idea, and they published it as a short story single the month after the novel came out last fall.

Art Taylor: “A Necessary Ingredient” was published in Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea. Paul D. Marks—a good friend, fellow blogger at SleuthSayers, and co-editor of the first volume of the Coast to Coast—reached out to say he was doing this second volume with the same publisher, Down & Out Books, in this case focused on private eyes, and would I like to contribute something? I don’t generally write private eye stories, but the geographical slant on the anthology attracted me—the opportunity to explore the intersection of that subgenre of crime fiction and my home state of North Carolina, which was the region I was assigned. That’s also one of the things I enjoyed about writing the story, trying to navigate the shadow of one tradition (hardboiled PI stories) against another (traditional, regional mystery fiction, specifically here with nods toward one of my own mentors, Margaret Maron, another North Carolina native). An additional inspiration was the tonka bean itself, the “necessary ingredient” of the title, which I’d first heard about from another NC-based writer, Wilton Barnhardt—but to reveal more about that story would give away too much about the story I wrote.

 

If you could bring your protagonist as a guest to the Agatha banquet, what shoes would he or she be wearing?

 

Gretchen Archer: Easy Spirit Happy Feet Walkabouts. With Velcro. She’d pair them with a gold velour track suit.

Barb Goffman: Myra would choose something stylish and practical. I'm not quite sure what that would be, but it surely would be nicer than what I'll be wearing. I go for comfort, so I'll be in the equivalent of stylish slippers.

Debra Goldstein: My protagonist would be wearing these scuffed basketball shoes:

Gigi Pandian: “The Library Ghost of Tanglewood Inn” has two main characters, historian Jaya Jones and her librarian friend Tamarind Ortega. Jaya is only five feet tall in socks, so she loves her heels. She’d dress in black slacks, a sleeveless black blouse, and three-inch shiny black stilettos. Tamarind is tall and big-boned, with short hair she dyes different colors (it’s blue right now). She thinks of herself as post-punk and loves her purple combat boots, so for the Agatha banquet she’d wear those boots with a homemade dress that looks like Molly Ringwald’s dress from Pretty in Pink.

Art Taylor: Ambrose Thornton comes from a fairly proper Southern family, so I’m sure he could spiffy up if he needed to: a sharply polished pair of wingtips maybe? But honestly, he strikes me as someone who would rather be back home reading than out socializing most nights. 

Interview with Agatha Nominees for Best First Novel!

Each year at Malice Domestic, writing excellence is recognized by the Agatha awards. This year’s nominees for Best First Novel are:

Best First Novel:
Adrift: A Mer Cavallo Mystery by Micki Browning (Alibi-Random House)
The Plot is Murder: A Mystery Bookshop Mystery by V.M. Burns (Kensington)
Hollywood Homicide: A Detective by Day Mystery by Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink)
Daughters of Bad Men by Laura Oles (Red Adept Publishing)
Protocol: A Maggie O’Malley Mystery by Kathleen Valenti (Henery Press)

Today, the Stiletto Gang welcomes Micki, Valerie, Kellye, Laura, and Kathleen. Thanks for stopping by to share your work and thoughts with us!—Paula Gail Benson

What writing habits enabled you to complete a novel?

Micki Browning

Micki Browning:  The word habit suggests I have a routine, and sadly, that just isn’t the case. I’m a freestyle writer who works best when there is a looming deadline. I’m a somewhat recent convert to outlining. I’ve found that plotting the milestones ensures I don’t get lost along the way. But by keeping the outline spare, it doesn’t stifle my ability to take the occasional road less traveled to get to where I want to go. 

Valerie Burns:  I set a weekly goal of writing between 7,500 to 10,000 words per week. If I write 1,000 to 1,500 per night, then I can easily make my goal. 

Kellye Garrett

Kellye Garrett:  I wish was one of those writers who got up at 5 am every morning and pounded out 1,000 amazing words before I even had a dose of caffeine. I am not. My favorite quote is from Dorothy Parker: “I hate writing. I love having written.” For me, I write after there is literally nothing else for me to do. Like I will clean my toilet and yours before I write a single word. For me, the key is having a detailed outline. I may go a bit overboard. (My 25-plus page outlines are legendary among my friends.) But the blank page scares me as much as a good horror movie villain. So I like to know exactly what I need to write and what comes next. I also allow myself to do a “vomit draft” where I just throw things on the page to clean up in later drafts. My books aren’t anywhere near decent until around the draft number three.  

Laura Oles:  I was fortunate in that I spent many years writing for digital photography magazines and publications, so the writing practice had been part of my regular routine.  I managed deadlines and worked with editors, and I came from the perspective of writing being not only craft but also a business. Still, writing fiction is completely different and I had a great deal to learn.

My critique group, Austin Mystery Writers, has also been a huge support.  AMW is truly focused on helping each member produce the best work possible.  Writing can be such a solitary pursuit, so having other authors to bounce ideas off of has been a wonderful thing.

Kathleen Valenti

Kathleen Valenti:  The single best piece of writing advice came from a romance novelist in my hometown. When she saw how much (little?) I had on the page after writing for longer than I care to admit, she gave me some tough author love: stop fannying about and write. (Okay, so maybe she didn’t say “fannying about,” but sometimes my bookish memories have an English accent.)

She taught me about the importance of word counts and to meet them daily, come hell or Dateline marathons. Her advice proved invaluable. Not only did making (and meeting) word count goals help me move from page one to page 300, it helped me silence the internal editor that kept me polishing the same phrase again and again without moving forward. This habit of writing toward a goal helped me finish my second book ahead of its deadline and have the confidence to realize that even when plots or characters don’t seem to cooperate, I’ll get there, one word at a time. As other wise novelists have pointed out, sometimes you have to let the rusty water out first for the good stuff to run clean.  

Is your debut novel part of a series or a stand alone?

Micki Browning:  Adrift is the first of the Mer Cavallo Mysteries. Book two, Beached, launched in January. I’m currently writing a stand-alone police procedural, and then it’s back to Mer with Chum. 

V.M. "Valerie" Burns

Valerie Burns:  My debut novel is part of The Mystery Bookshop Mystery series. 

Kellye Garrett:  It’s a series, which is a good thing since Hollywood Homicide ends on a bit of a cliff hanger. The second book, Hollywood Ending, comes out in August 2018 and features three of my favorite things: gossip blogs, blind items, and fancy award shows. The third book will be out sometime in 2019.

Laura Oles

Laura Oles:  Daughters of Bad Men is the first book in the Jamie Rush mystery series. Jamie Rush is a skip tracer working in the coastal town of Port Alene, Texas.  Jamie and her partner, Cookie Hinojosa, take on the emotional task of finding Jamie’s missing niece. Accepting Kristen’s case isn’t an easy ask.  Jamie’s relationship with her family is a complicated one.  She doesn’t trust them, and for very good reason. Still, when Kristen goes silent, she agrees to take the case because…well, she’s family.  You don’t turn your back on family.

Kathleen Valenti:  Protocol is the first of the Maggie O’Malley mystery series. The second book, 39 Winks, releases May 22nd.

What shoes would you, your protagonist, or another character from your novel wear to the Agathas banquet?

Micki Browning:  Mer is a flip-flop and bare feet kind of gal. She’d dig around in the back of her closet until she located the pumps she’d worn when she defended her dissertation--black, no nonsense, perfectly serviceable. And she’d kick them off under the banquet table when no one was looking.

Valerie Burns:  Irma, one of the sleuthing seniors who helps Samantha in the series is very fond of six inch hooker heels. She’d rock these shoes. 

Kellye Garrett:  In Hollywood Homicide, my main character Dayna covets a pair of Pink Panthers, described as “a hot pink stiletto with panther spots that was the shoe of the moment.” She wears them the entire book, including when chasing a suspect. They play such a big role in the story that we even had her wearing them in an early version of the cover. So she’d definitely proudly rock her Pink Panthers to the Agathas.

Laura Oles:  Jamie would wear Chuck Taylor Converse. Burgundy since it’s a special occasion.  But she would make sure to pair them with a jacket and dark jeans.  It’s about as dressed up as she gets.  Formal gowns make her nervous.

 Kathleen Valenti:  Maggie is the antithesis of the girly-girl. While I’d gladly don cute sling-backs or a kitten heel for the Agathas banquet, Maggie would show up in running shoes, even if she were forced to shimmy into a ball gown. Since she’s a new college grad on a serious budget, she’d be sporting Court Classics rather than, say, Nike or New Balance. And because she doesn’t care about her appearance—or anyone else’s opinion—she’d wear those bright white kicks with pride.

Here’s more information about these novelists and their work. Check them out!

Micki Browning

A retired police captain, Micki Browning writes the Mer Cavallo Mystery series set in the Florida Keys. In addition to the Agatha nomination for Best First Novel, Adrift, has won both the Daphne du Maurier and the Royal Palm Literary Awards. Beached, her second novel, launched January 2018. Micki’s work has appeared in dive magazines, anthologies, mystery magazines, and textbooks. She lives in South Florida with her partner in crime and a vast array of scuba equipment she uses for "research." Learn more about Micki at MickiBrowning.com

Adrift~

Marine biologist-turned-divemaster Meredith Cavallo thought adjusting to a laid-back life in the Florida Keys would be a breeze. But when the host of a ghost-hunting documentary crew hires her as a safety diver and then vanishes during the midnight dive, Mer’s caught in a storm of supernatural intrigue.

Determined to find a rational explanation, Mer approaches the man’s disappearance as any scientist would—by asking questions, gathering data, and deducing the truth. But the victim’s life is as shrouded in mystery as his disappearance. Still, something happened under the water and before long, she’s in over her head. When someone tries to kill her, she knows the truth is about to surface. Maybe dead men do tell tales.

Valerie Burns:

V.M. (Valerie) Burns was born in Northwestern Indiana and spent many years in Southwestern Michigan on the Lake Michigan shoreline. She is a lover of dogs, British historic cozies, and scones with clotted cream. After many years in the Midwest she went in search of milder winters and currently lives in Eastern Tennessee with her poodles. Receiving the Agatha nomination for Best First Novel has been a dream come true. Valerie is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and a lifetime member of Sisters in Crime. Readers can learn more by visiting her website at vmburns.com.

The Plot is Murder~

Samantha Washington has dreamed of owning a mystery bookstore for as long as she can remember. And as she prepares for the store’s grand opening, she’s also realizing another dream—penning a cozy mystery set in England between the wars. While Samantha hires employees and fills the shelves with the latest mysteries, quick-witted Lady Penelope Marsh, long-overshadowed by her beautiful sister Daphne, refuses to lose the besotted Victor Carlston to her sibling's charms. When one of Daphne's suitors is murdered in a maze, Penelope steps in to solve the labyrinthine puzzle and win Victor. But as Samantha indulges her imagination, the unimaginable happens in real life. A shady realtor turns up dead in her backyard, and the police suspect her—after all, the owner of a mystery bookstore might know a thing or two about murder. Aided by her feisty grandmother and an enthusiastic ensemble of colorful retirees, Samantha is determined to close the case before she opens her store. But will she live to conclude her own story when the killer has a revised ending in mind for her?

Kellye Garrett

Kellye Garrett writes the Detective by Day mysteries about a semi-famous, mega-broke black actress who takes on the deadliest role of her life; Homicide Detective. The first, Hollywood Homicide, was recently nominated for Agatha, Lefty and Barry awards. The second, Hollywood Ending, will be released on August 8, 2018 from Midnight Ink. Prior to writing novels, Kellye spent eight years working in Hollywood, including a stint writing for the TV drama Cold Case. The New Jersey native now works for a leading media company in New York City and serves on the national Board of Directors for Sisters in Crime. You can learn more about her at KellyeGarrett.com and ChicksontheCase.com.

Hollywood Homicide~

Actress Dayna Anderson’s Deadly New Role: Homicide Detective

Dayna Anderson doesn’t set out to solve a murder. All the semifamous, mega-broke actress wants is to help her parents keep their house. So after witnessing a deadly hit-and-run, she pursues the fifteen grand reward. But Dayna soon finds herself doing a full-on investigation, wanting more than just money—she wants justice for the victim. She chases down leads at paparazzi hot spots, celeb homes, and movie premieres, loving every second of it—until someone tries to kill her. And there are no second takes in real life.

Laura Oles

Laura Oles is a photo industry journalist who spent twenty years covering tech and trends before turning to crime fiction. She served as a columnist for numerous photography magazines and publications. Laura’s short stories have appeared in several anthologies, including MURDER ON WHEELS, which won the Silver Falchion Award in 2016. Her debut mystery, DAUGHTERS OF BAD MEN, is a Claymore Award Finalist and an Agatha nominee for Best First Novel. She is also a Writers’ League of Texas Award Finalist. Laura is a member of Austin Mystery Writers, Sisters in Crime and Writers’ League of Texas. Laura lives on the edge of the Texas Hill Country with her husband, daughter and twin sons. Visit her online at lauraoles.com.

Daughters of Bad Men~

Jamie Rush understands what it takes to disappear because her parents taught her that long ago. Leveraging her knowledge of why and how people run from their own lives, Jamie has built a business based on bringing those in hiding back to answer for their actions. She takes pride in using her skills to work both inside and outside the law.

When her estranged brother, Brian, calls and says his daughter is missing, Jamie initially turns down the case. Kristen has always been a bit wild, frequently dropping off the grid then showing up a few days later. But Brian swears this time is different, and even though Jamie vowed years ago to keep her conniving sibling at arm’s length, she can’t walk away if Kristen could be in real trouble.

As Jamie begins digging into Kristen’s life, she uncovers her niece’s most guarded secrets. Uncovering the truth will put a target on Jamie’s back and endanger the lives of those she loves.

Kathy Valenti

Kathleen Valenti is the author of the Maggie O’Malley mystery series. The series’ first book, Agatha- and Lefty-nominated Protocol, introduces us to Maggie, a pharmaceutical researcher with a new job, a used phone and a deadly problem. The series’ second book, 39 Winks, releases May 22. When Kathleen isn’t writing page-turning mysteries that combine humor and suspense, she works as a nationally award-winning advertising copywriter. She lives in Oregon with her family where she pretends to enjoy running. Learn more at www.kathleenvalenti.com.

Protocol~

Freshly minted college graduate Maggie O’Malley embarks on a career fueled by professional ambition and a desire to escape the past. As a pharmaceutical researcher, she’s determined to save lives from the shelter of her lab. But on her very first day she’s pulled into a world of uncertainty. Reminders appear on her phone for meetings she’s never scheduled with people she’s never met. People who end up dead.

With help from her best friend, Maggie discovers the victims on her phone are connected to each other and her new employer. She soon unearths a treacherous plot that threatens her mission—and her life. Maggie must unlock deadly secrets to stop horrific abuses of power before death comes calling for her.