Month: April 2021

New Release: Punning with Scissors by Becky Clark

/ Sisters in Crime-Colorado
Punning With Scissors 300x464

Publication date: May 11, 2021 from Kensington

Punning with Scissors (A Crossword Puzzle Mystery Book 2) by Becky Clark

1 DOWN: A PERSON OF INTEREST
Quinn Carr has been quietly creating crosswords for the Chestnut Station Chronicle in her small Colorado town since she was in high school, but she has yet to solve the puzzle of how to make a living from her passion. So she lives with her parents and works at the local diner, catering to regulars like The Retireds, a charming if cantankerous crew of elderly men. The most recent member to join the group is a recently retired tailor, the unfortunately named Hugh Pugh.
 
4-LETTER WORD FOR “IMPALE”
But Hugh’s misfortune dramatically increases when he’s arrested for stabbing his husband with a pair of fabric shears. With a cryptic crossword clue left at the crime scene, Quinn seems tailor-made for solving this murder. The local police may be determined to pin the crime on the kindly tailor, but Quinn will use her penchant for puzzles and what her therapist calls her “obsessive coping mechanism” to get the clues to line up and catch the real culprit—before the killer boxes her in. . . .

Includes original crossword puzzles!

What people are saying…

• Was already a fan of Becky Clark’s Mystery Writer Series and now I’m a fan of the Crossword Puzzle Mysteries too! Highly engaging characters, setting, and plot with LOTS of humor and heart.

• In a year full of heaviness, I think cozy mysteries are a great escape. Puzzling Ink is a fun escape for a few hours, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Quinn is up to in her next crossword puzzle adventure.

• I love the Mystery Writer’s Mystery series from this writer, and this series is starting off a winner just like that series. It was so funny, and I did find myself laughing out loud in parts. There’s just something so fun about her writing style!

Punning With Scissors—https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FXTDJST

Puzzling Ink on sale for $1.99 — https://www.amazon.com/Puzzling-Ink-Crossword-Puzzle-Mystery-ebook/dp/B085LTVY49

More info— https://beckyclarkbooks.com/

Publication Deal: Fleur Bradley

/ Sisters in Crime-Colorado

Fleur (F.T.) Bradley author photo 300x300

Aneeka Kalia at Viking has acquired Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley (Midnight at the Barclay Hotel).

When three kids miss the last ferry to get off Raven Island during a school field trip and are stuck on the island overnight, they must outrun a killer, a weird ghost hunting crew, and a creepy flock of birds—and solve a generations-old mystery—if they want to survive until daybreak.

Publication is set for summer 2022; Laurel Symonds at the Bent Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.

For more information about Fleur and her work, please visit: http://www.ftbradley.com/

Event: May 2021 Book Club

/ Sisters in Crime-Colorado

May SinC Book Clubs FB (400x335)The Sisters in Crime-CO Book Club May 2021 reads are Witches and Wedding Cake by Bailey Cates (Longmont), The Mona Lisa Sisters by George Cramer (Fort Collins), and The Mermaid Brokers by Sue Hinkin (Parker).

Free and open to the public. Come chat with the author and other readers! And if you don’t have a chance to read the book, that’s quite all right. Many times we discuss craft and the publishing process as well as the book, so all are welcome!

PLEASE NOTE: During the current coronavirus situation, our book clubs are meeting online via Zoom. Sisters in Crime-Colorado members can get the link to the Zoom meeting on the chapter groups.io listserv. Non-members may request the meeting link by sending an email to: sinccoloradobookclubs@gmail.com.

For more information, including specific dates, times, and locations, please visit https://sistersincrimecolorado.org/book-club/.

Hope you can join us!

New Release: Renegade by Jodi Burnett

/ Sisters in Crime-Colorado

RENEGADE book coverPublication date: April 22, 2021

RENEGADE ~ Tin Star K9 Series – Book 1

Caitlyn Reed and her dog, Renegade, are thrown into the midst of murder and intrigue when they discover a dead body while on a trail ride in the black hills of Wyoming.

The local sheriff is hell bent on a conviction, and Caitlyn’s brother, Dylan, is in his crosshairs. Desperate to prove his innocence, Caitlyn turns to Deputy Colt Branson for help, but she must grapple with their rocky romantic past to gain his aid.

As Caitlyn and Renegade pursue the killer, the investigation catapults their lives in a dangerous new direction, one with mysterious strangers, convoluted clues, and deadly violence. In a whip-cracking turn of events, Caitlyn finds herself under suspicion. When all the chips fall, Caitlyn uncovers shocking evidence that rocks their small-town community to its core.

Purchase at: Amazon.com

For more information, visit Jodi-Burnett.com.

Appearances: 2021 Colorado Book Awards

/ Sisters in Crime-Colorado

CBA-Logo-2021_CMYK 300x300Several Sisters in Crime-Colorado members are 2021 Colorado Book Award finalists and will or have appeared for live readings.

Sue Hinkin’s thriller The Burn Patient, the third in her Bea Middleton and Lucy Vega series, is nominated for a Colorado Book Award in the thriller category.

David Heska Wanbli Weiden‘s Winter Counts is also a nominee in the thriller category.

Barbara Nickless has her novel, Gone to Darkness, as a finalist in the mystery category.

They will all be reading from their work on May 26, 2021, at 6PM, Pacific Time on Zoom.

Fleur Bradley is a finalist in the Juvenile Literature category for Midnight at the Barclay Hotel. She read from her story on April 9th.

For details and to register, check out the Colorado Humanities website at https://coloradohumanities.org/programs/colorado-book-awards/.

CONGRATULATIONS to all!

New Release: Blood Kills by Nanci Rathbun

/ Sisters in Crime-Colorado

blood-kills 300x480Publication date: April 20, 2021 from Dark Chocolate Press LLC

Blood Kills (Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries, Book 4) by Nanci Rathbun

A murdered metal sculptor. A mafia mystery. Can a talented PI outsmart a vindictive killer before she sleeps with the fishes?

Private investigator Angelina Bonaparte can barely contain her excitement. Thrilled to reunite with her detective boyfriend after an obligatory embargo of several years, she’s preparing every detail for his return. But she’s forced to put passion on the backburner when she discovers a local artist brutally slain.

When the dead man’s own last will and testament shockingly predicts his death, the seasoned sleuth ignores her lover’s warnings and digs into the victim’s treacherous links with the Russian mob. But with the culprit still on the loose and the evidence not matching up, Angelina’s life could be snuffed out the ultimate criminal mastermind.

Is Angelina’s romantic reunion in danger of being fatally cut short?

Blood Kills is the spine-tingling fourth tale in the Angelina Bonaparte Mysteries thriller series. If you like riveting twists, blossoming love affairs, and pulse-pounding close calls, then you’ll adore Nanci Rathbun’s high-octane story.

Finalist in the 2021 Book Excellence Awards for Mystery/Thriller.

For more information about the PI Angelina Bonaparte Crime Thrillers series and Nanci, visit https://nancirathbun.com.

Appearances: 2021 Northern Colorado Writers Conference

/ Sisters in Crime-Colorado

2021 Northern Colorado Writers Conference

2021 Northern Colorado Writers Conference
April 24 – May 1, 2021

https://www.northerncoloradowriters.com/conference

Join several Sisters in Crime-Colorado members at the 2021 Northern Colorado Writers Conference.

Amy Rivers is Director of this annual event. The NCW Conference caters to a variety of genres including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenwriting. This year, they’ve adopted a hybrid model in response to the current pandemic conditions. The conference will be split into two parts.

The online conference will feature a wide array of sessions, presented via Zoom and with state-of-the-art interactivity and networking tools by Whova. The in-person component will include hands-on workshopping with top-notch author presenters and industry professionals.

Including:

Cynthia Swanson presenting The Cross Genre Novel and Working With Beta Readers.

Sandra Murphy presenting Audiobooks 101: Giving Your Book a Voice and Audiobooks 201: The Nitty Gritty of Audiobook Production.

LS Hawker presenting Let’s Make Marketing Fun!, There’s No Crying in Critique Groups: How to Give & Take Criticism, and Ask the Experts Panel.

For more information and to register, please visit: https://www.northerncoloradowriters.com/conference

Award Nomination and Finalist: David Heska Wanbli Weiden

/ Sisters in Crime-Colorado
winter counts 200x300David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s debut novel, Winter Counts (Ecco), has been nominated for the Colorado Book Award in the Thriller category.  The awards ceremony will be held June 26. 
 
 
 
Weiden’s novel has also been shortlisted for the Reading the West Awards in the Debut Fiction category.  All readers are invited to vote for the winners at the Reading the West web site by the May 15 deadline.