Barbara Nickless’s debut novel, Blood on the Tracks, won the 2017 Colorado Book Award in the mystery category. The awards are presented by Colorado Humanities and the Center for the Book.
Month: May 2017
Award Nomination: Margaret Mizushima
Stalking Ground: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Margaret Mizushima was named a 2017 International Book Awards Finalist in the mystery/suspense category.
Appearances: Chris Goff
Come celebrate the launch of RED SKY, Chris Goff’s latest thriller. She will be at the Tattered Cover-Colfax on June 15th at 7:00 p.m., and at Hearthfire Books in Evergreen on June 22nd at 5:30 p.m. As always, she’d love to see you there, and greatly appreciates your support! If you want a signed book, but can’t make it to one of the signings, please send your request to Tattered Cover or to Hearthfire Books. They’ll make it happen. ALSO, for those who haven’t had a chance to read DARK WATERS, the first in the series, Goff’s publisher has significantly down-priced the book from now until RED SKY launches. Copies can be ordered through Amazon. Visit chrisgoff.com for more information.
News: Leslie Budewitz
Mark your calendars! Author Leslie Budewitz, past president of Sisters in Crime, is coming to Colorado–she’ll be giving a book talk and signing at Tattered Cover Aspen Grove on June 7 and speaking to the Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America on June 8.
Leslie Budewitz is the bestselling author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in fictional Jewel Bay, Montana, and the Spice Shop Mysteries, set in Seattle’s famed Pike Place Market. The fourth Food Lovers’ Village Mystery, Treble at the Jam Fest, will be published in June, 2018 by Midnight Ink. The first, Death al Dente, won the 2013 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, and her guide for writers, Books, Crooks & Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law & Courtroom Procedure, won the 2011 Agatha Award for Best Nonfiction, making her the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. Leslie is the immediate past president of Sisters in Crime, and a member of the board of the Rocky Mountain chapter of Mystery Writers of America. She lives in NW Montana with her husband, Don Beans, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their tuxedo cat, an avid birdwatcher.
New Release: Trafficked by Peg Brantley
Trafficked: A Mex Anderson Novel is now available for pre-order.
Sex trafficking.
Not Thailand. Or the Philippines. Or Russia.
America.
Rich or poor, black or white, girls disappear across this country every day, pulled into the nightmarish world of prostitution and drugs.
Mex Anderson is back, tasked with finding three missing girls before it’s too late. Three girls. Three girls who could live in your town, your neighborhood, or in your own home.
Jayla Imani Thomas is fifteen. A smart kid from a poor part of town who has to fend for herself. Jayla is headed for college and a better life than her mother had.
Alexis Emily Halston is seventeen. Money provides everything she wants or needs except functional parents. Alexis has the world by the tail and she knows it.
Olivia Emma Campbell is twelve. She’s a middle child who dreams of being a veterinarian when she grows up. But right now “Livvy” just wants someone to notice her, maybe even to love her.
Caught up in a cruel system fueled by lust and money, all three young women must find the courage within themselves to survive. And Mex must come to terms with his own loss and face his demons head on—or he might not have the strength to save them.
Click here to pre-order now.
About the author:
A Colorado native, Peg is a member of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Colorado Authors’ League, and Sisters In Crime. She and her husband make their home southeast of Denver, and have shared it with the occasional pair of mallard ducks and their babies, snapping turtles, peacocks, assorted other birds, foxes, a deer named Cedric and a bichon named McKenzie.
Website: pegbrantley.com
News: SinC We Love Libraries Colorado Winner
We are delighted to extend our congratulations to the Summit County Library, winners of $1000 from the Sisters in Crime We Love Libraries program!
Author and SinC member Beth Groundwater, Library Director Joyce Dierauer, and Kathleen Martynowicz
Award: Barbara Nickless
Barbara Nickless’s Blood on the Tracks won the Colorado Authors’ League Award, Genre Fiction category. For more information, please visit Colorado Authors’ League.
New Release: “Missing & Gone” and Family Secrets by Shawn McGuire
Now Available! “Missing & Gone: A Whispering Pines Short Mystery”
It looked like an open and shut case, one that shouldn’t have landed on homicide detective Jayne O’Shea’s desk: a UW-Madison student died from an apparent opioid overdose. Except, the victim’s roommate called 911 claiming to have video proof that the death was no accident. Now, the caller has gone missing and in order to put the pieces together, Jayne will have to find her first. The fastest way to do that? The skeptical detective will have to follow the tip she just got from her grandmother’s fortune-teller friend.
Missing & Gone is a prequel short story for Shawn McGuire’s new Whispering Pines series releasing in July 2017. Download link – https://www.instafreebie.com/free/7sNVF
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Available for Pre-Order: Family Secrets: A Whispering Pines Mystery
Welcome to Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, a place for those who don’t belong.
Sixteen years after a family feud drove her from the cozy Northwoods village of Whispering Pines, Wisconsin, former detective Jayne O’Shea returns to prepare her grandparents’ lake house for sale. Once there, not only does she find that the house has been trashed, her dog discovers a dead body in the backyard.
Jayne intends to stay out of it, but when it becomes obvious the sheriff isn’t interested in investigating the death, Jayne can’t stop herself. Her list of suspects grows faster than the plants in the commons’ pentacle garden. Could it be the local Wiccan green witch with her stash of deadly plants? The shopkeeper who slips into trances and foretells death? The visitor determined to practice black magic?
What Jayne knows for sure is that the closer she gets to solving this crime, the more the sheriff wants her to back off. And when a local fortune teller provides a crucial clue, Jayne knows it’s up to her to solve this murder.
Click here to order now. > http://hyperurl.co/FamilySecrets
About the author:
Fantasy and suspense author Shawn McGuire started writing after seeing the first Star Wars movie (that’s episode IV) as a kid. She couldn’t wait for the next installment to come out so wrote her own. Sadly, those notebooks are long lost, but her desire to tell a tale is as strong now as it was then. She grew up in the beautiful Mississippi River town of Winona, Minnesota, called the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin (Go Pack Go!) home for many years, and now lives in Colorado where she loves to read, craft, cook and bake, and spend time in the spectacular Rocky Mountains. You can learn more about Shawn’s work on her website www.Shawn-McGuire.com.
Website: www.Shawn-McGuire.com
Email: Shawn@Shawn-McGuire.com
Event: Bree Weber, Sandra Murphy, Robert Toth
Quarterly Chapter Meeting/Event: June 10, 2017
Lone Tree Library, 10055 Library Way, Lone Tree, Colorado 80124 (303-791-READ)
9:30-10:00 am Coffee, Donuts, Welcome, Announcements
10:00-11:00 am Bree Weber of The Book Octopus: “The ABCs of Author Branding”
You’ve written a great story and you’re ready to get your book into the hands of readers. Whether this is your first book or your 50th, you might find that your marketing isn’t attracting the right readers or bringing in enough sales. The most common cause of meager sales or marketing campaigns falling flat is branding. Your author brand should clearly and consistently express who you are as a writer and what readers can expect from you, yet we often feel unsure of how much to reveal or uncomfortable with promoting ourselves. In this workshop, we’ll explore what makes up an author brand and how you can incorporate your values, goals, and personality into your own author brand. Then we’ll put it into practice!
- The ABCs of Author Branding
- What Your Author Brand is Missing
- Getting to Know Your Target Reader
- How to Create Your Brand Guidelines
11:00 am-12:00 pm Sandra Murphy, the Voice Mama™: “Giving Your Book A Voice”
Did you know that over the course of the past three years the highest growing segment of publishing is audiobooks? You’ve worked tirelessly to have your amazing, phenomenal, beautiful book published. Why not leverage your existing customer
base to try out a new format and generate more sales?
Whether you specialize in short story, fiction, or non-fiction, choosing the right voice for your book is essential to bringing your message to life. The attention span of a contemporary American is 30 seconds at best. If you don’t have them hooked in the first few minutes – you’ve lost your listener. If they make it to 10 minutes, you possibly have a fan for life. That’s why choosing the right voice for your book is so important. We’ll discuss all the details needed to help you give your book a voice and secure more lifetime fans of your work. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Why Audiobooks?
- Writing Music for Your Ears
- Top Audiobook Genres
- Audiobook Rights
- Audiobook Distribution
- Finding the Right Voice
- Making Your Audiobook Profitable
12:00-1:00 pm Lunch (brown bag or visit nearby restaurants)
1:00-3:00 pm Robert Toth: “Anatomy of an Arson”
The presentation is a case study of a Colorado fire/arson where three children were murdered by their parents. The theme of the subsequent trials was “Money, Meth, and Murder.”
3:00-4:00 pm Board Meeting (all are welcome, location to be announced at the meeting)
About the Presenters:
Bree Weber is an author branding consultant, creative marketer, book designer, and publishing coach. Bree has had the pleasure of working with internationally and #1 bestselling authors including Catherine Coulter, Lisa Scottoline, and J.T. Ellison. As Founder of The Book Octopus, she works with authors to develop brand platforms, design beautiful books, and grow author readership.
Her presentation explores the essentials of an author brand and through the workshop, members will be able to put those concepts into practice. For those interested in taking it a step further, she provides one-on-one brand development for authors and will create an exclusive offer for members of Sisters in Crime Colorado. Talk to her about this after the workshop.
www.thebookoctopus.com
www.twitter.com/thebookoctopus
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Sandra Murphy, the Voice Mama™, is a versatile voice over artist and storyteller. Whether in front of a camera or behind a microphone she uses her love of the English language, creativity, and business background to deliver amazing results on projects ranging from commercials to audiobooks for clients around the globe. Regardless of the genre, Sandra feels blessed to have the opportunity to bring her clients’ stories to life.
www.voicemama.com
https://www.facebook.com/theVoiceMama/
https://twitter.com/VoiceMama_
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Robert Toth’s professional career started with nearly 21 years in the fire service. The last 10 years included law enforcement and conducting fire investigations in both the public and private sector. Retiring from the fire service in 2002, he started IRIS Fire Investigations, Inc. and has conducted and assisted in origin and cause investigations in Colorado, surrounding states, Hong Kong, and South Africa.
In addition to running his business, Robert is also sought after for his lectures and presentations on fire investigations, NFPA 921, interviewing, internet technology, and digital photography training. He has presented various topics to public agencies and private enterprises across the United States, in Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Botswana, and South Africa.
He is a past president of the Colorado Chapter, and past director of the International Association of Arson Investigators. Currently, he is a member of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC), Fire Scene and Explosives Subcommittee’s Documentation and Report Writing Task Group
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Please RSVP above. This event is funded and presented by Sisters in Crime-Colorado and is not sponsored by Douglas County Libraries. For more information, please contact sinc.colorado@gmail.com.
Awards: Jennifer Kincheloe and Cynthia Kuhn
Jennifer Kincheloe’s The Secret Life of Anna Blanc won the Murder and Mayhem category of the Chanticleer International Book Awards. For more information, please visit Chanticleer Book Reviews.
Cynthia Kuhn’s The Semester of Our Discontent has received an Agatha Award in the Best First Novel category. For more information, please visit Malice Domestic.
Sisters in Crime-Colorado 