Gwen Mayo and I joined the other authors at the Florida Writers Association today for the Tampa Bay Times Festival of Reading. The event was popular and well organized. There were volunteers everywhere to help us as needed, and the canopy covers over the booths were welcome when the afternoon heat struck. We appreciated the opportunity to introduce our novels to a new audience.

​Preview of our schedule next year below: Bouchercon 2018, which will be held in St. Petersburg!

 Hello again!
I hope you had a good summer. Gwen and I toured the Tampa Bay area with Murder on the Mullet Express, meeting new people and generally having a good time.

I am now an “award-winning author”. On August 5th, we took the silver at the Florida Authors & Publishers Association President’s Awards. We saw many familiar faces from the book fairs we’ve attended this year, including other members of our Sisters in Crime chapter. I’m really pleased to win an award for a book I helped write; I did receive an award in 2015 on behalf of a book I edited. Gwen Mayo won the silver in 2016 for Concealed in Ash, a Nessa Donnelly mystery, so she has two medals to show off.

I'm sorry it's been so long between posts. At least you know I've been working.  :)

The writers all belong to the Gulf Coast Chapter of Sisters in Crime, including me.

• Cheryl Hollon, author of Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery Series: Pane and Suffering, Shards of Murder and Cracked to Death. The stories revolve around the adventures of the new proprietor of a St. Petersburg craft-glass shop.
• Gwen Mayo and Sarah Glenn, authors of the Florida historical mystery, Murder on the Mullet Express.
• Wendy Dingwall, author of the Florida-based Yvonne Suarez Travel Mysteries including Hera’s Revenge, Celtic Curse and The Toxic Cruise
• Shannon O. Esposito, author of the St. Petersburg Pet Psychic Series. Titles are: Karma’s a Bitch, Lady Luck Runs Out, and Silence is Golden

This is a great opportunity to partake of some homicidal Florida fun!

We attended the Southwest Florida Reading Festival this past weekend, located in Ft. Myers. It was our first time at this fair, so I’m glad we had plenty of company in the Sisters in Crime booth.

Wendy Dingwall, our chapter president, gave us plenty of useful advice we’ll use in future books fairs. We met both readers and writers, and I hope we made some new friends, too.

Next week: the Venice Book Fair.

Amelia Island is located near Jacksonville, so it was quite a drive. It was worth it, though. There was plenty to see and hordes of authors to meet.

The fair took place at the local middle school. Our friends from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association were also there, including Diane Wilson Harper and illustrator/author Mark Wayne Adams.

The evening after the author expo, the Golden Crown Literary Society held readings and a book signing at Sliders Seaside Grill. That's Gwen seated at the table.

Great fun was had by all!

Amelia Island Book Festival
Amelia Island, February 18th
Look for us at the Golden Crown booth.

Southwest Florida Reading Festival
Ft Myers, March 18th
You'll find us with the Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime.

Venice Book Fair and Writers Festival
Venice, March 25th
We'll be with the Sisters again.

Saturday, Gwen and I will
be at the Local Author Fair in Homosassa. Come join us where the story begins!
The fair will be this Saturday, January 21st, from 11 am - 3 pm.
The location:
Homosassa Public Library
4100 S Grandmarch Ave, Homosassa, Florida 34446

Win one of two free copies of Murder on the Mullet Express through Goodreads!