Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival 2022 Program

VIRTUAL PROGRAM SCHEDULE LIVE PANEL DISCUSSIONS (All times are EST): 9-9:55am Story Road: Crafting Big Stories in a Short Story Format Featuring: Teresa Inge, Jayne Ormerod, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Art Taylor (Moderator), and Heather Weidner

10-10:55am Clue and I: Writing Contemporary Crime

Featuring: Dana King (M), Thomas Kies, K. L. Murphy, Alex Segura, LynDee Walker

PRE-RECORDED CONTENT (Can be viewed any time starting March 4, 2022, after 8:00 a.m. EST):

GUEST OF HONOR INTERVIEWS

11-11:55am Batter Off Dead: Cooking Up Mystery

Featuring: Melissa Bourbon, Laura Bradford, Catherine Bruns (M), and Maya Corrigan

12-12:55pm Setting It Right: Building the Right Atmosphere

Featuring: Edwin Hill, Tim Holland, Tara Laskowski, and Amy M. Reade (M)

1-1:55pm Coming On Strong: Creating Powerful Women

Featuring: M. Kate Allen, Betsy Ashton, Diane Fanning (M), and Susan Williamson

2-2:55pm Once Upon A Time: Mining the Past for Great Historical Fiction

Award-Winning Author Shawn Reilly Simmons

interviewed by Suspense Author Edwin Hill

Popular Romance Author Nancy Naigle interviewed by Romance Author Kelsey Browning

Panel Discussion: “Writing In and Out of Identity”

featuring Suspense Authors E.A. Aymar (moderator), Eliza Nellums, and Alex Segura

Popular Suspense & True Crime Author Diane Fanning

interviewed by Suspense Author Betsy Ashton

Featuring: Eleanor Kuhns, Allie Marie, Katharine Schellman, and Christine Trent (M)

3-3:55pm Extreme Makeover: Fixing Up Fun Mysteries

Featuring: Lynn Cahoon, Diane Kelly (M), R. A. Muth, and Grace Topping

4-4:55pm Do Not Disturb: Fashioning the Perfect Romance

Featuring: Kelsey Browning, Jenna Harte, Nancy Naigle, Nan O’Berry (M), and Caridad Piñeiro

5-6pm Are We There Yet? Traveling Sleuths On The Case

Featuring: Maria Hudgins, Sara E. Johnson, Julie Moffett (M), and Rosalie Spielman

SuffolkMysteryAuthorsFestival.com

M. KATE ALLEN Also Writing as E.A. Barres

Hailing from Canton, Ohio, M. Kate Allen has made her way across the United States and around the world in search of unusual story seeds that she can nurture into full bloom. Kate is the author of numerous books, including Memory Stands Still, Playing Gauche, Life. Love. Liturgy, and the Sticky Ones series. These days her home is in Tempe, Arizona, where she craves the thundering, monsoon scent of creosote and the sensuous, springtime scent of orange blossoms. When she’s not busy writing, you can find her engaging with her precocious daughters, eating her husband’s unrivaled culinary creations, making magic with her best friends, or reading a riveting book. Visit her website at www.LifeLoveLiturgy.com.

BETSY ASHTON Also Writing as Winnie Archer

Betsy Ashton is an award-winning author for the 2021 Firebird Book Awards for Out of the Desert and Betrayal.

Born in Washington, D.C., she claims she was raised in Southern California, where she ran wild with coyotes in the hills above Malibu, even though her mother challenged her memory. She writes in multiple genres: mysteries, including the Mad Max Mystery series (Unintended Consequences, Uncharted Territory, and Unsafe Haven, all republished in 2021); serial killer psychological suspense (Eyes Without A Face, published in 2017); and literary or women’s fiction (Out of the Desert, published in 2019). Her latest is a suspense novel, Betrayal, published in 2021.

Her short stories and poetry have appeared in several anthologies, including Murder By the Glass, 50 Shades of Cabernet, and Candles of Hope.

Betsy is the past president of the commonwealthwide Virginia Writers Club and remains active in the literary communities in Roanoke and at Smith Mountain Lake. An activist in her earlier years, she earned the nickname of “Buckshot Betsy,” ​ during a march in California. You’ll have to ask her for details. Reach her at www.Betsy-Ashton.com.

E. A. AYMAR Anthony Award-nominated E.A. Aymar’s most recent thriller, They’re Gone, was published in 2020 to rave reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus (starred), and was named one of the best books of 2020 by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. His next novel, No Home For Killers, is coming out in 2023 by Thomas and Mercer.

Prior to that, his 2019 thriller, The Unrepentant, received similar critical enthusiasm, was a finalist for numerous awards, and reached the top of the sales charts and was an Amazon bestseller. His column, “Decisions and Revisions,” appears monthly in the Washington Independent Review of Books. He is a former member of the national board of the International Thriller Writers and, for years, was the managing editor of The Thrill Begins, an online resource for debut and aspiring writers. He is also an active member of Crime Writers of Color, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. He also runs the Noir at the Bar series for Washington, D.C., and has hosted and spoken at a variety of crime fiction, writing, and publishing events nationwide. ​Ed was born in Panama and now lives and writes in, and generally about, the D.C./MD/VA triangle. Visit his website at www.EAymar.com.

COMING 2023

NO HOME FOR KILLERS

MELISSA BOURBON Also Writing as Winnie Archer

Melissa Bourbon Ramirez is the national bestselling author of more than 25 mystery books, including the Book Magic mysteries, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series, and the Bread Shop Mysteries, written as Winnie Archer. She is a former middle school English teacher who gave up the classroom in order to live in her imagination full time. Melissa lives in North Carolina with her educator husband, Carlos, and their two dogs, a pug named Bean and a chug named Dobby. She is beyond fortunate to be living the life of her dreams. Learn more about Melissa at her website at www.MelissaBourbon.com.

MURDER AND AN COMING IRISH SEPTEMBER CURSE 2022

LAURA BRADFORD Laura Bradford is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 35 novels in the mystery and women’s fiction arenas. Her latest work, A Plus One For Murder, is the first book in her new A Friend for Hire Mysteries with Berkley/Penguin Publishing. Her other mystery series include: An Amish Mystery series, the Emergency Dessert Squad Mysteries, the Tobi Tobias Mysteries, and the Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries (written as Elizabeth Lynn Casey). She is a former Agatha Award nominee, and the recipient of an RT Reviewer’s Choice Award in romance.

Laura enjoys baking, playing games, spending time with her family, and being an advocate for those living with Multiple Sclerosis. Visit her website at www.LauraBradford.com.

COMING JULY 2022

KELSEY BROWNING USA Today bestselling author Kelsey Browning writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and cozy mystery. Her Georgia-set, co-authored G Team mystery is described by readers as “The Golden Girls Meet Dirty Harry.” Her single title romances garner reviews that call her writing funny, sassy, and full of sizzling chemistry.

Originally from a Texas town smaller than the ones she writes about, Kelsey has also lived in the Middle East and Los Angeles, proving she’s either adventurous or downright nuts. These days, she makes her home in northeast Georgia with her tech-savvy husband, her smart-talking son, and her dog Pharaoh, who is the real head of their household. Find Kelsey online at www.KelseyBrowning.com.

CATHERINE BRUNS USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bruns lives in New York with her very patient husband, three sons, and several spoiled pets. She writes the Cookies & Chance, Italian Chef, and Cindy York mysteries. Her book, For Sale by Killer, won the 2019 Daphne du Maurier award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense. ​Her new series, the Maple Syrup Farm mysteries, debuts in 2022. Catherine has a B.A. in English and is a former newspaper reporter and press release writer. She’s written over 20 novels and has several more waiting to be told. Visit her website at www.CatherineBruns.net.

COMING OCTOBER 2022

LYNN CAHOON New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Lynn Cahoon, writes the Tourist Trap, Cat Latimer, and Farm-to-Fork mystery series. The Kitchen Witch cozy mystery series released in 2021 and is her first entry into the paranormal cozy mystery world. 2022 will bring a new series: The Survivor’s Book Club Mysteries. Book 1, The Tuesday Night Survivor’s Club, will release in June. No matter where the mystery is set, readers can expect a fun ride. Sign up for her newsletter at www.LynnCahoon.com.

COMING JUNE 2022

COMING JULY 2022

MAYA CORRIGAN Maya (Mary Ann) Corrigan writes the Five-Ingredient Mysteries, featuring a café manager and her livewire grandfather, the Codger Cook, solving murders in a Chesapeake Bay town. Each book has five suspects, five clues, and Granddad’s five-ingredient recipes. The series includes The Tell-Tale Tarte inspired by Poe, S’more Murders re-creating the last dinner on the Titanic, and the Halloween-themed Crypt Suzette. The latest title, Gingerdead Man, is “a spirited holiday cozy” (Kirkus) set during a Dickens festival. Maya is the winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award and the New England Readers’ Award for unpublished Mystery and Suspense.

Previously, she taught writing, American literature, and detective fiction at Georgetown University and Northern Virginia Community College.

Visit Maya’s website at www.MayaCorrigan.com for book news, easy recipes, and mystery history and trivia.

DIANE FANNING Diane Fanning is the Edgar-nominated author of 15 true crime books and 11 mystery novels. She has served as a consultant for 48 Hours, is a regular presence on 14 seasons of Deadly Women, and appeared on The Today Show, 20/20, Forensic Files, Snapped, the Biography Channel, Investigation Discovery, E!, and the BBC, as well as numerous cable network news shows and radio stations across the United States and Canada.

Raised in Baltimore, she moved to Virginia, then south Texas, and she now lives in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Bedford, Virginia. Visit her website at www.DianeFanning.com.

JENNA HARTE Jenna Harte is a die-hard romantic, writing about characters who are passionate about and committed to each other, and frequently get into trouble. She is the author of the Valentine Mysteries, the first of which, Deadly Valentine, reached the quarter-finals on Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013. She penned the Southern Heat contemporary romance series, and the Sophie Parker Coupon Mystery series, the second book of which, Death of a Coupon Queen, released in July 2021. When she’s not telling stories, she works by day as a ghost writer, podcaster, and runs an online community for romance writers. Keep up on the murder and mayhem at www.JennaHarte.com.

EDWIN HILL Edwin Hill’s critically-acclaimed crime novels include the standalone thriller, The Secrets We Share, and three novels featuring Hester Thursby: Little Comfort, The Missing Ones, and Watch Her. He has been nominated for Edgar and Agatha Awards, featured in Us Magazine, received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal, and was recognized as one of “Six Crime Writers to Watch” in Mystery Scene Magazine.

Edwin lives in Roslindale, Massachusetts with his partner Michael and his favorite reviewer, their lab Edith Ann, who likes his first drafts enough to eat them. Visit his website at www.Edwin-Hill.com.

COMING MARCH 29 2022

TIM HOLLAND Tim Holland is the author of three novels, including The Rising Tide, What the Mirror Doesn’t See, and The Murder of Amos Dunn; his fourth novel, Deception, will be released in 2022. He is a director of the Williamsburg Book Festival, a past director of Chesapeake Bay Writers, a member of Mystery Writers of America, and The Brönte Society of Haworth, England. He recently received a Keating award for his short fiction. Over the years, his freelance articles have appeared in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines, and he’s written book reviews and literary criticism for Recorder Publishing’s eight newspapers in New Jersey (while working in New York in the world of global trade finance). He has given speeches and presentations in 12 countries and 22 states, and served as president of the lifelong learning program at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, where he taught a course on the Brönte sisters. Visit him at www.Tim-Holland.com.

COMING JUNE 2022

MARIA HUDGINS Maria Hudgins is the author of six Dotsy Lamb Travel Mysteries and two Lacy Glass Archaeology Mysteries.

Her short stories have appeared in mystery magazines and anthologies. A former high school science teacher, her stories often have a scientific slant. Her next novel, The Gold Box, is set in Egypt in 1953. Maria is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She lives in Hampton, Virginia. Visit her website at Visit her website at www.MariaHudgins.com.

TERESA INGE Teresa Inge grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries. Combining her love of reading mysteries and writing professional articles led to writing short fiction and novellas. Today, she doesn’t carry a rod like her idol but she hot rods. She juggles assisting two busy executives and is president of the Sisters in Crime, Mystery by the Sea chapter. Teresa is the author of the Virginia is for Mysteries Series (I, II, and III), 50 Shades of Cabernet, Mutt Mysteries Series (To Fetch A Thief, To Fetch a Scoundrel, To Fetch a Villain, and To Fetch a Killer), Murder by the Glass, and Coastal Crimes: Mysteries by the Sea. ​ eresa is a Board of Director with the Chesapeake Humane Society and a Steering Committee Member of the T Guppies Chapter. She resides in Southeastern Virginia with her husband and two dogs. She can be reached on all social media or by visiting her website at www.TeresaInge.com.

SARA E. JOHNSON Sara E. Johnson is a mystery writer who spent a year exploring wondrous New Zealand. Everywhere she snooped, there was a mystery that needed writing. Molten Mud Murder, Sara’s debut novel, was published in 2019; it is the first in the Alexa Glock Forensics Mysteries, set in New Zealand. The second book,The Bones Remember, came out in September 2020. Number three—The Bone Track—recently debuted in February 2022. She has a contract for three more Alexa Glock mysteries.

Sara lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, Forrest, and golden doodle, Beaufort. She is a part-time educator and full-time snooper. She is president of Triangle Sisters in Crime and a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network. Visit her website at www.SaraJohnsonAuthor.com.

DIANE KELLY Diane Kelly is a fan of furry, four-footed creatures and creatively concocted whodunnits, and combines the two interests in her mystery series. Diane has published over 40 novels and novellas, including the Death & Taxes white-collar crime series, the Paw Enforcement K-9 series, the House Flipper cozy mystery series, the Busted female motorcycle cop series, the Southern Homebrew moonshine series, and the Mountain Lodge Mysteries.

Diane splits her time between a writing cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the home she shares with her husband and pets in central North Carolina. An avid though unskilled downhill skier and ice skater, you’ll often find her in winter months performing the snow plow down a bunny slope or wobbling her way around an ice rink.

Visit her website at www.DianeKelly.com.

COMING OCTOBER 2022

COMING JUNE 2022

THOMAS KIES Thomas Kies, the author of the critically acclaimed Geneva Chase Mystery Series, has worked at the newspaper and magazines for 30 years, primarily in New York and New England. His first book, Random Road, was given a starred review and was debut of the month in the Library Journal. Kirkus said about his latest book, Shadow Hill, that it is “Sleek and engaging. If you miss Kinsey Millhone, you might give Geneva a whirl.”

Thomas presently lives and writes on a barrier island in North Carolina with his wife, Cindy, and his puppy, Annie.

Visit his website at www.ThomasKiesAuthor.com.

COMING AUGUST 2022

DANA KING Dana King has earned Shamus Award nominations for two of his Nick Forte novels, A Small Sacrifice and The Man In The Window. He also writes the Penns River novels, of which Leaving the Scene is the sixth. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies, most recently The Eviction of Hope. Visit his website at www.DanaKingAuthor.com.

ELEANOR KUHNS Eleanor Kuhns is the winner of the 2011 Minotaur/MWA Mystery contest with A Simple Murder. She has now written eleven books in the Will Rees mystery series. ​A lifelong librarian, Eleanor transitioned to full time writing in March 2019. Visit her website at www.Eleanor-Kuhns.com.

TARA LASKOWSKI Tara Laskowski’s debut suspense novel One Night Gone won the Agatha Award, Macavity Award, and the Anthony Award, and was a finalist for the Lefty, the Simon and Schuster Mary Higgins Clark, the Strand Critics, and the Library of Virginia awards. Her second novel, The Mother Next Door, was published in October 2021. She has also written two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders. She has had stories published in numerous magazines and anthologies such as Mid-American Review, Barcelona Review, and the Norton anthologies Flash Fiction International and New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction, among others. Her Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine story, “The Case of the Vanishing Professor,” won the 2019 Agatha Award and her Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine story, “The Long-Term Tenant,” won the 2020 Thriller Award. Tara was the winner of the 2010 Santa Fe Writer Project’s Literary Awards Prize, was the longtime editor of the popular online flash fiction journal SmokeLong Quarterly, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime, where she serves as vice-president of her local chapter. ​ara and her husband, writer Art Taylor, write the T column “Long Story Short” at the Washington Independent Review of Books. She earned a B.A. in English with a minor in writing from Susquehanna University and an MFA in creative writing from George Mason University. She grew up in Pennsylvania and lives in Northern Virginia. Visit her website at www.TaraLaskowski.com.

ALLIE MARIE Award-winning author Allie Marie grew up in Virginia, where her favorite childhood pastime was reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden mysteries. She never expected to grow up to be a real-life police officer herself. Eventually working her way up through the ranks, Allie retired—four times—as her experiences kept leading her to other law enforcement adventures in the U.S. as well as overseas. Allie soon embarked on a quest to fulfill a long-time dream: to write mysteries and crime thrillers. After researching her family tree, she was inspired to begin The True Colors Series, a paranormal mystery series with modern local settings and colonial history, which has garnered multiple awards and lead to a spinoff collection, The True Spirits Trilogy. Her standalone historical, Return to Afton Square, has modern local settings with a WWI mystery. Not only does this story introduce the central character of the True Spirits Trilogy, it includes familiar character from the original series.

She has contributed short stories to the Tis the Season Sweet Romance Novelettes and the bestselling Feisty Heroines Romance Collection of Short Stories. Allie has also contributed her first murder mystery to the anthology, Murder by the Glass Cocktail Mysteries.

Besides family, Allie’s passions are travel (anywhere), and camping with her husband, Jack. Visit her on her website at AllieMarieBooks.wordpress.com.

JULIE MOFFETT Julie Moffett is the bestselling author of the long-running, geeky Lexi Carmichael Mystery Series that USA Today says “...runs a riveting gamut from hilarious to deadly, and the perfectly paced action in between will have you hanging on to Lexi’s every word and breathless for her next geeked-out adventure.” Julie also writes the young adult White Knights spin-off series featuring really a cool, teenage hacker girl. Julie’s been publishing books for 25 years, but writing for a lot longer. She writes in the genres of mystery, young adult, historical romance, and paranormal romance. Julie has won numerous awards, including the Mystery & Mayhem Award for Best YA/New Adult Mystery, the HOLT Award for Best Novel with Romantic Elements, a HOLT Merit Award for Best Novel by a Virginia Author (twice!), the Award of Excellence, a PRISM Award for Best Romantic Time-Travel, AND Best of the Best Paranormal Books, and an EPIC Award for Best Action/Adventure Novel. She has also garnered additional nominations for the Booksellers’ Best Award, Daphne du Maurier Award, the Dante Rossetti Award, and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Visit her website at www.JulieMoffett.com.

K.L. MURPHY K.L. Murphy is the author of the Detective Cancini Mystery Series: A Guilty Mind, Stay of Execution, and The Last Sin, as well as the upcoming suspense, Her Sister’s Death (December 2022). Her short stories are featured in Deadly Southern Charm and Murder by the Glass. A member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, and James River Writers, K.L. lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, children, and amazing dogs. When she’s not writing, she loves to vacation at the beach, read, entertain friends, catch up on everything she ignored, and always—walk the dogs. Visit her website at www.KellieLarsenMurphy.com.

COMING DECEMBER 2022

R. A. MUTH Also Writing as Becky Muth

R. A. Muth is a coffee addict who entertains readers with quirky characters who solve not-too-scary murders in places she’d like to live in real life. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, and the South Carolina Writers Association.

When she isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time at the beach with her family and binge-watching Netflix with her golden retriever. Visit her website at www.BeckyMuth.com.

NANCY NAIGLE USA Today bestselling author of over 30 novels, Nancy Naigle writes small-town love stories with lots of heart.

Her latest release, The Shell Collector, debuted at #20 on the ECPA Bestseller List. Four of her novels have been made into Hallmark movies, and she wrote the accompanying novels for the ever-popular Christmas in Evergreen Hallmark Original movies.

Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Nancy now resides in Patrick County near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Visit her website at www.NancyNaigle.com.

COMING DECEMBER 2022

COMING MAY 2022

ELIZA NELLUMS Raised in the Detroit suburbs, Eliza Nellums now lives with her cat outside Washington, D.C. Her first novel, All That’s Bright And Gone, was named as an Amazon Editor’s Pick for December, and was praised in the Washington Post and RealSimple Magazine. She is a member of the Metro Wriders, a weekly critique group that meets in Dupont Circle. An amateur botanist and avid gardener, she divides her time between plants, books, and cats. Visit her website at www.ElizaNellums.com.

NAN O’BERRY Growing up in a storytellers environment, it’s not surprising that Nan O’Berry loves a good tale. Matching hero and heroine to their virtues and flaws...the positives are always exciting. A trustworthy notebook at hand, she’s always armed for adventure and romance. Now a USA Today Bestseller for her story, “The Foundling,” in A Place To Belong! Check out Nan’s homespun charm and bigger-than-life heroes—visit her website at oberrynan.wixsite.com/nanoberryauthor.

JAYNE ORMEROD Jayne Ormerod grew up in a small Ohio town and attended a small-town Ohio college. Upon earning her accountancy degree, she became a CIA (that’s not a sexy spy thing but a Certified Internal Auditor).

She married a naval officer and off they sailed to see the world. After 19 moves, they, along with their two rescue dogs, Tiller and Scout, settled in a cottage by the Chesapeake Bay. Jayne writes what she knows: cozy mysteries about small towns in beach settings. You can read more about Jayne and her many publications at www.JayneOrmerod.com.

CARIDAD PIÑEIRO Caridad Piñeiro is a transplanted Long Island girl who has fallen in love with the Jersey Shore. When Caridad isn’t taking long strolls along the boardwalk, she’s also a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, with over a million romance novels sold worldwide. Caridad is passionate about writing and helping others explore and develop their skills as writers. She is a founding member of the Liberty States Fiction Writers and has presented workshops at the RT Book Club Convention and Romance Writers of America National Conference, as well as various writing organizations throughout the country. Visit her website at www.Caridad.com.

AMY M. READE Amy M. Reade is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of cozy, historical, and Gothic mysteries. A former practicing attorney, Amy discovered a passion for fiction writing and has never looked back.

She has so far penned 14 novels, including three standalone Gothic mysteries, the Malice series of Gothic novels, the Juniper Junction Holiday Mystery series, and the Cape May Historical Mystery collection. In addition to writing, she loves to read, cook, and travel. Amy lives in New Jersey and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Visit her website at www.AmyMReade.com.

COMING APRIL 2022

SHAWN REILLY SIMMONS Shawn Reilly Simmons is the author of seven novels in the Red Carpet Catering mysteries. She’s also written several short stories which have been published in various anthologies, including “Burnt Orange” in Passport to Murder: the 2017 Bouchercon Anthology; “The Prodigy” in Mystery Tour, the Crime Writers’ Association Anthology; and “Now is the Hour” in Writers Crushing Covid-19. Shawn’s story “The Last Word,” appearing in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible, won the Agatha Award for Best Short Story of 2019. Shawn also won the Anthony Award as editor of the Best Anthology or Collection for the same anthology. In addition, her story “The Red Herrings at Killington Inn” received an Agatha Nomination in 2020 for Best Short Story. Shawn serves on the Board of Malice Domestic and is co-owner/publisher/editor at Level Best Books. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and the Crime Writers’ Association in the UK. She lives in historic downtown Frederick, Maryland, with her husband, son, and French Bulldog. Visit her website at www.ShawnReillySimmons.com.

KATHARINE SCHELLMAN Katharine Schellman is the author of the Lily Adler Mysteries and the forthcoming Nightingale Mysteries. Her debut novel, The Body in the Garden, was one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2020 and led to her being named one of BookPage’s 16 Women to Watch in 2020. Her second novel, Silence in the Library, was praised as “worthy of Rex Stout or Agatha Christie” (Library Journal).

Katharine lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia in the company of her husband, children, and the many houseplants she keeps accidentally murdering. ​Visit her website at www.KatharineSchellman.com.

COMING AUGUST 2022

COMING JUNE 2022

ALEX SEGURA Alex Segura is an acclaimed, award-winning writer of novels, comic books, short stories, and podcasts. He is the author of the upcoming noir novel, Secret Identity, Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall, and the Pete Fernandez Mystery series (including the Anthony Award-nominated crime novels Dangerous Ends, Blackout, and Miami Midnight). His short story “Red Zone” won the 2020 Anthony Award for Best Short Story, and his border noir short story, “90 Miles,” won the Best Short Story Anthony Award for 2021 and will be included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2021.

Alex has also written a number of comic books, most notably the superhero noir The Black Ghost, the YA music series The Archies, and the “Archie Meets” collection of crossovers, featuring real-life cameos from the Ramones, B-52s, the upcoming all-ages superhero adventure The Dusk, and more. He is also the co-creator/co-writer of the Lethal Lit crime/YA podcast from iHeart Radio, which was named one of the best podcasts of 2018 by The New York Times.

By day, Alex is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Oni Press, with previous stints at Archie Comics and DC Comics.

A Miami native, he lives in New York with his wife and children. Visit his website at www.AlexSegura.com.

COMING MARCH 15 2022

ROSALIE SPIELMAN Rosalie Spielman enjoys moving to clean out her closets. After meeting her husband when they were both in the Army, they moved 11 times in 24 years, to multiple states and three countries. Somewhere along the way, Rosalie discovered that she could make other people laugh with her writing. She finds joy in giving people a humorous escape from the real world.

Rosalie’s first book, Death Under The Sea, was the 16th installment of the Aloha Lagoon mystery series and was published by Gemma Halliday Publishing in November 2021. She will also have a short story appear in the Chesapeake Crimes: Magic is Murder! anthology, set for publication in 2022. Rosalie is a member of Sisters in Crime and currently lives in Maryland with her husband and four creatures—two teens and two fur babies.

Visit her website at www.Rosalie-Spielman-Author.com.

CHESAPEAKE CRIMES: MAGIC IS MURDER COMING 2022

ART TAYLOR Art Taylor is the author of the story collection The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense and of the novel in stories On the Road with Del & Louise, winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. He won the 2019 Edgar Award for Best Short Story for “English 398: Fiction Workshop,” originally published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and he has won three additional Agatha Awards, an Anthony Award, four Macavity Awards, and four Derringer Awards for his short fiction. His work has also appeared in Best American Mystery Stories, and he edited Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015, winner of the Anthony Award for Best Anthology or Collection, and California Schemin’: Bouchercon Anthology 2020. He is an associate professor of English at George Mason University, and he has contributed frequently to the Washington Post, the Washington Independent Review of Books, and Mystery Scene Magazine. Visit his website at www.ArtTaylorWriter.com.

GRACE TOPPING Grace Topping is an Agatha Award finalist and the USA Today bestselling author of the Laura Bishop home staging cozy mystery series. She’s a recovering technical writer and IT project manager accustomed to writing lean, boring documents. Let loose to write fiction, she’s now killing off characters who remind her of people she dealt with during her career. She is the former VP of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, the Membership Guppy of the SINC Guppy Chapter, and a member of Mystery Writers of America. Visit her website at www.GraceTopping.com.

CHRISTINE TRENT Christine Trent is the author of the Florence Nightingale Mysteries, as well as the Lady of Ashes historical mystery series and three other historical novels. Her most recent book, The Deadly Hours, is a four-part historical mystery novel written with Susanna Kearsley, C.S. Harris, and Anna Lee Huber. Christine manages to write books with at least one of her five cats walking relentlessly across the keyboard, demanding food and attention.

Learn more about Christine at www.ChristineTrent.com.

LYNDEE WALKER LynDee Walker is the national bestselling author of two crime fiction series featuring strong heroines and “twisty, absorbing mysteries.” Her first Nichelle Clarke crime thriller, Front Page Fatality, was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and is an Amazon Charts Bestseller. In 2018, she introduced readers to Texas Ranger Faith McClellan in Fear No Truth. Reviews have praised her work as “well-crafted, compelling, and fast-paced,” and “an edge-of-your-seat ride” with ​“a spider web of twists and turns that will keep you reading until the end.”

Before she started writing fiction, LynDee was an award-winning journalist who covered everything from ribbon cuttings to high level police corruption. She worked closely with the various law enforcement agencies that she reported on, and her work has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the U.S. Aside from books, LynDee loves her family, her readers, travel, and coffee. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she is working on her next novel when she’s not juggling laundry and children’s sports schedules. Visit her website at www.LynDeeWalker.com.

COMING JUNE 2022

COMING NOVEMBER 2022

HEATHER WEIDNER Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. Vintage Trailers and Blackmailers is the first in her cozy mystery series, the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries. She also writes the Delanie Fitzgerald mystery series set in Virginia. Her short stories appear in the Virginia is for Mysteries series, 50 Shades of Cabernet, Deadly Southern Charm, and Murder by the Glass, and her novellas appear in The Mutt Mysteries series.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby Doo and Nancy Drew.

She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers. Visit her website at www.HeatherWeidner.com.

SUSAN WILLIAMSON Susan Williamson is a freelance writer, novelist, former newspaper editor, extension agent, college adjunct, and life-long horsewoman. She is a former officer of Winston-Salem Writers and regular contributor to Next Door Neighbors Magazine and Horses and People (Australia). She holds degrees from the University of Kentucky and the University of California, Davis. She is the author of four mysteries published by Blue Fortune Enterprises and a children’s book published by High Tide Publications. Visit her website at www.SusanWilliamsonAuthor.com.

THANK YOU Thank you for joining us for the 2022 Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival!

Special thanks to all our Featured Authors who are appearing virtually this year.

Thank you also to the City of Suffolk’s Media & Community Relations Department, for providing editing help; special recognition goes to Valorie Baker, Video Production Assistant.

We hope to be back to an in-person format on March 4, 2023!

Stay up-to-date by liking our Facebook page (@SuffolkMysteryAuthorsFestival) and visiting our website, www.SuffolkMysteryAuthorsFestival.com.