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MICHELLE GAGNON
San Francisco, CA
After graduating with honors from Wesleyan University, Michelle Gagnon spent five years performing as a modern dancer, modeling, tending bar, working in a Russian supper club, and walking dogs in Manhattan.
Lured to the West Coast by the promise of halcyon days, she composed web content during the fleeting dotcom boom. In the aftermath she survived by founding Infinity Personal Training, specializing in prenatal and postpartum exercise. She also found a niche writing health, lifestyle, and travel articles for a variety of publications such as Glamour, CondeNast Traveler, San Francisco Magazine, and Yoga Journal.
Michelle is a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. In her spare time she runs errands and indulges a weakness for stale cinema popcorn and Hollywood blockbusters. She lives in San Francisco with her family.

The Gatekeeper, ISBN: 978-0778326724, Mira paperback, 400 pages, $7.99, November 2009.
Boneyard, ISBN: 9780778325390, Mira paperback, 304 pages, $6.99, July 2008.
The Tunnels, ISBN: 9780778324461, Mira paperback, 304 pages, $6.99, June 2007.

 

JACK GETZE
New Jersey
An avid reader of the Hardy Boys and Sherlock Holmes, Jack Getze dreamed of being a mystery novelist while in his early teens. He wrote his first stories for the high school's newspaper and creative writing magazine.
An allergic reaction to homework pushed his writing studies toward newspaper work instead of college, and he earned his first byline as a nineteen-year-old copy boy for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. He later moved to the Los Angeles Times where as a Staff Writer and reporter he covered a variety of financial and economic issues for nearly a decade. Through the Los Angeles Times/Washington Post news syndicate, his work has been published in over five-hundred newspapers and periodicals worldwide.
Eventually finding that newspaper writing hindered the production of fiction, he switched professions and moved to the New Jersey Shore. As a retail bond salesman and stockbroker with several regional securities firms there, he learned about financial and economic issues from an entirely different perspective.
Big Numbers, his first published novel, is based on his experiences as a trader, retail broker, and financial counselor. Though no longer licensed to sell securities, he still helps manage money for several friends and family members.
His hobbies include golf, gardening, the exploration of nature, and playing the guitar.

Big Money, ISBN: 1591332397, Hilliard & Harris trade paperback, 224 pages, $16.95, March 2008.
Big Numbers, ISBN: 1591331940, Hilliard & Harris trade paperback, 208 pages, $16.95, April 2007.

 

JOHN GILSTRAP
Virginia
John Gilstrap graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1979, and armed with a degree in American history, couldn't find a job. He ended up settling for a position with a little-noticed trade journal serving the construction industry and hated it. The volunteer fire service became an important part of his life for the next 15 years. In the early eighties, he went back to graduate school and earned a Master of Science degree in safety engineering from the University of Southern California. For the next decade and a half, he became an expert on explosives safety and hazardous waste. Meanwhile, he kept writing. His first novel, Nathan's Run, was in fact his fourth novel, and when it sold, it sold big. Warner Bros. bought the movie rights to Nathan's Run two days after the first book rights were sold, and as of this date, the novel has been translated and published in one form or another in over 20 countries. With Nathan's Run in the can, as it were, he didn't quit his "day job" until after he sold the book and movie rights to his second novel, At All Costs. At that point, he started writing full-time. More novels followed, and then a few screenplays. After just a couple of years, John found himself bored with the company of imaginary friends, so he reactivated his consulting business, but then, in 2004, was handed the opportunity to work as the director of safety for a trade association in Washington, DC.
In 2006, Six Minutes to Freedom was published to considerable acclaim. He also took a foray into book-length non-fiction: Six Minutes tells the story of Kurt Muse, the only civilian of record ever rescued by the super-secret Delta Force. Thanks to Kurt's cooperation (he is co-author), John gained access to people and places that lifelong civilians usually never see. The heroic warriors he met during that research turned out to be nothing like their movie stereotypes. These were not only gentlemen, but gentle men, who remained free of the kind of boasting and self-aggrandizement that he expected. They were supreme professionals, and very nice guys. Through them he got the idea for his new series character, Jonathan Grave. He's former Delta, released from the Army under circumstances that will be revealed over time, and now he's a freelance hostage rescue specialist. He's the finest friend you could ever have, and the worst enemy. No Mercy, the first entry in the series, will hit the shelves in June of 2009. If fans like him, and if they enjoy his adventures, there'll be many more to come.

No Mercy, ISBN: 978-0786020874, Kensington/Pinnacle paperback, 400 pages, $6.99, July 2009.
The Chopin Manuscript (contributor), Audible.com audiobook, October 2007.
Six Minutes to Freedom (with Kurt Muse), ISBN: 978-0806527239, Citadel hardcover, 320 pages, $23.95, July 2006.
Scott Free, ISBN: 0671786865, Atria hardcover, 368 pages, February 2003.
Even Steven, ISBN: 978-0671786663, Atria hardcover, 368 pages, August 2000.
At All Costs, ISBN: 978-0446523158, Warner Books hardcover, 452 pages, June 1998.
Nathan's Run, ISBN: 978-0060173852, HarperCollins hardcover, 293 pages, March 1996.

 

J.D. GORDON
Glen Ellyn, IL
Firefighter and paramedic-turned-author Jimmy (J.D.) Gordon was born and raised in Chicago, where he developed a taste for the finer things in life—pan pizza, live blues and the Cubs. Jimmy loves spending time in the Florida Keys and the Caribbean. He lives with his wife and children in Glen Ellyn, a suburb of Chicago.

Caribbean Calling, ISBN: 0974565288, Red Engine Press paperback, 256 pages, $15.95, October 2006.

 

CHRIS GRABENSTEIN
New York, NY
A former improvisational comedian (he and Bruce Willis were in the same Greenwich Village comedy troupe in the early 1980s), Chris Grabenstein spent almost twenty years writing commercials for America's top advertising agencies.
You've probably seen his spots for clients such as 7-Up, Miller Lite, KFC ("Everybody needs a little KFC"), Dr Pepper, and many others. He was, perhaps most famously, the copy writer who created Trojan Man, a radio campaign that still rides the airwaves today. He ended his advertising career as an Executive Vice President/Group Creative Director at Young & Rubicam in New York.
Chris has written screenplays, made-for-TV movies, Muppet scripts, and the occasional grocery list. In fact, he's been writing since he moved to New York from Chattanooga, Tennessee—bringing along seven suitcases and the Smith-Corona typewriter he got as a high school graduation gift.
He won the Anthony Award for "Best First Mystery" (given at Bouchercon 2006) for his debut Tilt A Whirl—the first in a series of John Ceepak stories to be set "Down The Shore" in a New Jersey tourist town called Sea Haven. The second book, Mad Mouse, was called one of the "Ten Best Mysteries of 2006" by Kirkus. Whack A Mole came out to great critical acclaim in 2007. The fourth Ceepak book, Hell Hole (it's a ride like the Gravitron), will be the first to be published by St. Martin's Minotaur. Look for it in July, 2008.
Chris's fast-paced Christopher Miller Holiday Thrillers include Slay Ride and Hell for the Holidays.
On May 27, 2008, Random House will publish The Crossroads, the first installment in Chris' Middle Grades ghost story series.
Chris is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers, and this gym on West 73rd Street. He lives with his beautiful, beloved wife J.J. in Manhattan.

Mind Scrambler, ISBN: 978-0312382315, St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover, 352 pages, $24.95, June 2009.
Hell Hole, ISBN: 978-0312382308, St. Martin's Minotaur hardcover, 304 pages, $24.95, July 2008.
The Crossroads, ISBN: 978-0375846977, Random House Books for Young Readers hardcover, 336 pages, $16.99, May 2008.
Hell for the Holidays, ISBN: 978-0786720613, Carroll & Graf paperback, 400 pages, $14.95, October 2007.
Mad Mouse, ISBN: 978-0786719365, Carroll & Graf paperback, 336 pages, $14.95, May 2007.
Whack A Mole, ISBN: 978-0786718184, Carroll & Graf hardcover, 280 pages, $24.95, May 2007.
Slay Ride, ISBN: 978-0786718771, Carroll & Graf paperback, 384 pages, $14.95, October 2006.
Tilt-a-Whirl, ISBN: 978-0786717811, Carroll & Graf paperback, 321 pages, $14.95, April 2006.

 

D.B. GRADY
Baton Rouge, LA
D.B. Grady is a freelance writer and novelist. He is a former paratrooper with US Army Special Operations Command and a veteran of Afghanistan. He received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Computer Science from Louisiana State University, and has worked as a computer systems engineer, network administrator and software developer.
D.B. Grady is a member of the Bayou Writers’ Group. He is a columnist, has written for national publication, and his debut novel, Red Planet Noir, is slated to be published in late 2009. He currently lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with his wife and family.

Red Planet Noir, ISBN: 978-0964167438, Brown Street Press trade paperback, 215 pages, $14.99, November 2009.

 

C.C. HARRISON
Anthem, AZ
C.C. Harrison remembers the first book her mother borrowed for her from the local library (Val, A Dog), and recalls closing the cover and saying, "I want to be a writer."
Since that day, she has written, working as a corporate communications writer and freelancer until she decided to join VISTA and live on the Navajo Reservation for a year, working with Monument Valley High School on their School-to-Work Program. There, she established and edited a community newspaper called Monumental Times as a way to teach students newspaper related job skills.
After leaving the reservation, Harrison went on an archaeological dig at an Anasazi site in the desert in the Four Corners and helped uncover a 1000-year-old grand kiva, and pieces of jewelry, one of which she reproduces in her novel The Charmstone.
She has also been a Guardian ad Litem in Miami, advocating in family court for children in the foster care system (which inspired her recently completed second novel, Without Permission).
Harrison is busy completing a third novel. "I've been writing all my life," she says. "I'm certainly not going to stop now."

Running from Strangers, ISBN: 978-1594147098, Five Star hardcover, 301 pages, $25.95, September 2008.
The Charmstone, ISBN: 1594145797, Five Star Expressions hardcover, 307 pages, $26.95, April 2007.

 

FORREST HASKELL
Texas
The illegitimate son of an immigrant mother, Forrest Haskell was born in the shadow of the Detroit Tigers' baseball stadium. He grew up as an apprentice racketeer in his father's bookie parlors, but never made the big time. He was saved from that life of crime when returning from the army as a military policeman he met on a blind date, a green-eyed beauty. After a short whirlwind courtship, they married and because of her Christian influence, Forrest decided to go straight. He became a successful businessman and ultimately a successful writer.
Forrest, his wife Nancy and their four children actually lived in the mansion the novel Magnetic Mansion is based upon. Many of the events depicted in this story are true, but not all—only Forrest knows which is fictional and which is not. He is leaving the guesswork up to you... the reader.
Forrest has also completed the second and third books in the Return to Eden series, The Knighthood of Zion and Mankind's Second Genesis. In this series, the author fantasizes himself living the life of the main character, Zack Heikel, who is actually his alter ego. Haskell the author strives in real life to become more like Zack, because, finally in book 3, Mankind's Second Genesis, Zack finds what all people of faith pray for in the end... LIFE after LIFE.
Since the novel Magnetic Mansion has been published, Forrest's wife of many years died suddenly in January 2008. Her illness was arrested, however the debris for that process could not pass through her liver, which was damaged from the effects of the iron overloading while living in the mansion on the hilltop in Michigan.
Haskell, while still suffering the loss of his beloved, has found another woman to share his life with. A Mrs. Sandra Wilson, who like Forrest lost her partner several years ago.

Second Genesis, ISBN: 1439229082, Book Surge trade paperback, 182 pages, $13.99, April 2009.
Knighthood of Zion, ISBN: 978-1439203378, Book Surge trade paperback, 375 pages, $16, September 2008.
Magnetic Mansion, ISBN: 978-1929976423, Top Publications trade paperback, 360 pages, $15.95, September 2007.
12th & McGraw, ISBN: 978-1929976294, Top Publications trade paperback, 272 pages, $16, July 2004.

 

LIBBY FISCHER HELLMANN
Illinois
According to the Chicago Tribune, "There's a new no-nonsense female private detective in town: Georgia Davis, a former cop who is tough and smart enough to give even the legendary V.I. Warshawski a run for her money." The Tribune was referring Georgia Davis, the protagonist of Libby Fischer Hellmann's fifth novel, Easy Innocence.
Easy Innocence is a dark, disturbing tale about high school girls and the lengths they go to be accepted by their peers. It came out of Libby's experience with her own daughter, and what she imagined as "every mother's nightmare." Easy Innocence is a spin-off from her award-winning series featuring video producer and single mother Ellie Foreman. (Georgia was a character in An Image of Death).
The Ellie Foreman series made its debut in 2002 with An Eye For Murder. In an unusual partnership, Eye was simultaneously published by Poisoned Pen Press (hardcover) and Berkley Prime Crime (mass market). Publishers Weekly called Eye a "masterful blend of politics, history, and suspense." Kirkus Reviews called Ellie "the true stuff of working-mom sleuths." The book was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best First and also won the Readers' Choice award for Best First at the Love is Murder conference.
The second Ellie Foreman novel, A Picture of Guilt, was released July, 2003, also in dual publication. It won the Reader's Choice award for Best Traditional Series at the 2004 Love is Murder conference, and was a finalist in the Benjamin Franklin Awards (mystery-suspense category) given by Publishers Marketing Association for excellence in independent publishing. An Image of Death, the third book in the series was released in February, 2004, also in dual publication. Publishers Weekly called it "a powerful tale," and the Chicago Sun-Times "recommends it highly, even if you don't live in Illinois." Her fourth novel, A Shot to Die For, was released in September, 2005, again in both hard cover and mass market. The Chicago Sun-Times raved about it, saying "Hellmann reaches next level with latest mystery novel." It won the 2005 Readers Choice Award at the Love is Murder conference.
Libby has published over 12 short stories, and edited the acclaimed crime fiction anthology, Chicago Blues, which was released in October, 2007 by Bleak House Books.
A transplant from Washington, D.C., Libby has lived in the Chicago area thirty years. When not writing fiction, she conducts executive training programs in presentation skills, speech delivery, and media interviews. She also writes video scripts, articles, and speeches. She holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA in Film Production from New York University. After an eight year stint in television news, including PBS and NBC, she spent eight years at Burson-Marsteller, the large public relations firm.

Doubleback, ISBN: 978-1606480533, Bleak House Books trade paperback, $14.95, October 2009
Easy Innocence, ISBN: 978-1932557671, Bleak House Books trade paperback, 396 pages, $14.95, April 2008.
A Shot to Die For, ISBN: 978-0425203101, Berkley paperback, 336 pages, $6.99, September 2005.
An Image of Death, ISBN: 978-0425195048, Berkley paperback, 320 pages, $6.50, February 2004.
A Picture of Guilt, ISBN: 978-0425191071, Berkley paperback, 336 pages, $6.50, July 2003.
An Eye for Murder, ISBN: 978-1590580356, Poisoned Pen Press hardcover, 300 pages, $24.95, November 2002.

 

RICHARD HELMS

More info soon

 

PATRICK HYDE
Washington, DC
Patrick Hyde is an author and attorney who began his career as a trial lawyer in Pikeville, KY, representing miners and indigents in court actions against pension funds and small coal operators. In 1982 Patrick joined the Special Litigation Division of the U.S. Solicitor of Labor and moved to the Washington, D.C. area.
Patrick went on to become a specialist in internal labor union affairs. Eager to gain more courtroom experience, he left government law practice to found a private D.C. law firm.
His first published work of fiction was "The Suit," carried in the April, 1991 edition of the Washington City Paper. Throughout the nineties Patrick published various criminal law articles. His first novel, The Only Pure Thing, was released in January 2007 and Patrick is presently working on the second novel, Scorpio Rising. Patrick is active in the Mystery Writers of America and has served on the Executive Board and as Vice-President of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter, consisting of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

The Only Pure Thing, ISBN: 0931761614, Beckham Publishing Group paperback, 272 pages, $14.95, January 2007.

 

JULIE HYZY
Illinois
As a youngster on Chicago's south side, Julie Hyzy flipped burgers and chopped onions at a neighborhood hot dog stand for spending money. She soon moved up in the world, becoming a singing waitress at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour—a job she loved even though she couldn't sing (still can't). Over the years, she's acted in community theater productions, appeared in television commercials, and crashed a previously all-male fraternity to become one of the first female brothers in Loyola University's Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi. Julie had every intention to major in English and become a writer, but family, friends, and frat brothers convinced her otherwise. Having held positions as junior officer at a downtown bank, office manager at an architectural firm, and financial advisor at a prestigious wealth management company, she realizes that the business degree was probably a good choice—but fiction is truly her passion. She's delighted to finally be able to make writing a priority in her life.
Julie's first novel, Artistic License, a stand-alone romantic suspense (Five Star), won the Love Is Murder Readers' Choice Award (Lovey) for Best First Novel in 2004. It was subsequently released in both large print and trade paperback. Her next novel, Deadly Blessings (June 2005), was the first in her mystery series featuring Chicago-based reporter Alex St. James. Deadly Interest, the second in the series, garnered great reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, and won a Lovey for Best Traditional/Amateur Sleuth in 2007. Julie's short stories have won awards, too. Most recently, her "Strictly Business" from the Bleak House anthology These Guns For Hire won the Short Mystery Fiction Society's Derringer Award in the Longer-short story category.
Her latest series features White House Chef Olivia Paras, who feeds the First Family... and saves the world in her spare time ;-) To research it, Julie visited the White House, spoke with a former White House chef, took cooking lessons, and learned to shoot a variety of firearms.
Presently, Julie is the Vice President of the Midwest Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. She's always juggling several projects at once, but makes it a point to write every day.

Grace Under Pressure: A Manor of Murder Mystery, ISBN: 978-0425235218, Berkley Publishing paperback, $7.99, June 2010.
Eggsecutive Orders, ISBN: 978-0425232033, Berkley Publishing paperback, 336 pages, $7.99, January 2010.
Hail to the Chef, ISBN: 978-0425224991, Berkley Publishing paperback, 336 pages, $7.99, December 2008.
State of the Onion: A White House Chef Mystery, ISBN: 0425218693, Berkley Publishing paperback, 336 pages, $7.99, January 2008.
Deadly Interest, ISBN: 159414494X, Five Star hardcover, 390 pages, $25.95, September 2006.
Deadly Blessings, ISBN: 1410402533, Five Star paperback, 347 pages, July 2006.
Artistic License, ISBN: 1410402231, Five Star paperback, 344 pages, March 2005.

 

JENNIFER JEFFERSON
Massachusetts
Jennifer Jefferson is an attorney who worked on domestic violence and child abuse and neglect cases in the New Jersey Family Courts for several years. She has also practiced in the areas of child custody, child support, and divorce mediation and litigation. Jefferson lists her interests as: "Read. Watch sports, especially the New York Giants and the New York Mets. Go hiking with my dog Casey. Bake cookies. Read. Listen to ESPN radio and shows and archives on WFUV radio. Read. Spend time with my family. Read." She earned an M.F.A. from the Columbia University writing program and lives in Massachusetts with her husband, three sons, and Casey, an Australian Shepherd.

Defending Violet, ISBN: 1594145369, Five Star Publishing hardcover, 281 pages, $25.95, November 2006.

 

MARGOT JUSTES
Illinois
Born in Poland, Margot Justes has lived in some of the world's most wonderful places, including Israel, France and South Africa. Currently living in the Midwest, and working as a Human Resources Coordinator for a major corporation, she has taken her love of art and travel and cultivated it into unique settings and stories for her writing.
In the past she has been a PTA Board Member, a Volunteer Board Member, a grade school Picture Lady and library volunteer. She is a Member of Romance Writers of American and Sisters in Crime; she serves on the local board of both organizations.
She is the proud mother of two daughters, grandmother to two grandchildren and the wife of one husband. In her spare time she enjoys reading, gardening, music and the occasional shopping spree. She is now working on her second novel, A Hotel in Bath.

A Hotel in Paris, ISBN: 978-1590805343, Echelon Publishing paperback, 288 pages, $12.99, March 2008.

 

TONI L.P. KELNER
Malden, MA
Toni L.P. Kelner began writing in junior high, but never finished a novel until she read Lawrence Block's Write for Your Life and was inspired—and challenged by an assignment.
Her books have followed Laura Fleming, a North Carolina girl transplanted to New England, much like Kelner herself (she wanted to be closer to her boyfriend, who was in college in Massachusetts). Eight books into the series, Kelner decided to try something else, and the Tilda Harper "Where Are They Now" series was born with the first title, Curse of the Kissing Cousins.
Kelner, whose short stories have been nominated for many awards (and won the Agatha Award for short fiction), has also co-edited paranormal short fiction anthologies with Charlaine Harris, author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels on which the HBO series True Blood is based.
The first, Many Bloody Returns, focused on vampires and birthdays, and the second, Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, is a werewolf Christmas anthology.
A second Tilda Harper book, Who Killed the Pinup Queen, will be published in January 2010, and a number of short pieces will be published this year and next.
And Kelner recently celebrated her 21st wedding anniversary with the man for whom she moved to New England.

Who Killed the Pinup Queen, ISBN: 978-0425232057, Berkley Prime Crime paperback, 288 pages, $6.99, January 2010.
Curse of the Kissing Cousins, ISBN: 978-0425228128, Berkley Prime Crime paperback, 240 pages, $6.99, May 2009.

 

CHERYL KERR
Cheryl Kerr is a native of Austin, Texas, where she lives and raised her daughters. Her life has held challenges that she's faced, head-on. She's known for not taking "no" as an answer. Professionally, Cheryl holds a BA from the University of Texas in Austin, TX and an MBA from St. Edward's University, also in Austin. She's a CPA (Certified Public Accountant), licensed in Texas and a CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner), International. In addition to her present position in a Texas state agency, she has also been a sole proprietor accountant and consultant, a college professor, writer, auditor. She is also a speaker and consultant on risk assessment and fraud, taking over all referrals from David and Justina Crawford, at JD Enterprises.
As a writer, Cheryl has published columns, essays, articles in newspapers and periodicals. She has also published a book on employment law. See Ya is her second novel. Her desire is to continue as a selling writer of good, esoteric, evocative work. She believes readers are hungry for such. In her off time, Cheryl enjoys travel, horses and writing.
In 2008, she traveled to Greece with a women's-only tour group, a trip she has wanted to take for years. "The Acropolis by moonlight and Ancient Thera, on Santorini were the best moments of a wonderful trip," she says.
Currently, she is beginning her next novel and is working with one of her horses in the field of equine therapy for disabled people. Her goal is to help people hope.

See Ya, ISBN: 978-0615279695, ChanterPress paperback, May 2009.

 

LORI LACEFIELD
Colorado
Lori Lacefield has worked a varied career, including stints as a restaurant manager, retail manager, runway model, actress, corporate financial researcher, and data analyst. These days, in addition to writing mystery novels, she works as a product support manager for a consultant firm to higher education.
A member of Pikes Peak Writers, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Kiss of Death, and Sisters in Crime, Lori frequently attends workshops and writer's conferences, including Colorado Gold, Bouchercon, and Maui Writers. Now a published author, she also plans to become an active speaker, presenting her own writing topics at future workshops and conferences.
Lori is active in literacy education for children and adults and is also a large supporter of the arts. It is her hope to one day run the Foundation for Aspiring Writers & Artists, in which she would fund annual living expenses for struggling writers and artists with promise.

The Seventh Survivor, ISBN: 09776276, Capital Crime Press trade paperback, 284 pages, $14.95, September 2006.

 

CLARE LANGLEY-HAWTHORNE
California
As the child of British parents, Clare Langley-Hawthorne grew up in Australia with a strong sense of history. Her parents had immigrated to Canada from England, where she was born, and in the mid-1960s returned to England and then immigrated to Australia in the early 1970s.
Clare's mother, a history teacher, and father, an economics professor, instilled in their daughter a love of art, history, and literature. She dreamed of being a writer but instead studied law at the University of Melbourne in Australia. Clare practiced commercial law before switching careers and moving to the United States in 1995.
She obtained Master's degrees in economics and international trade law and subsequently worked as an economist in the health care industry. But the dream of being a writer never died: Clare published articles on both law and economics and soon realized that what she really wanted to do was pursue her life-long dream of becoming a fiction writer.
The opportunity arose when she was pursuing a PhD only to discover she was pregnant with twins. "I put the PhD to one side and focused entirely on writing a novel," she says. And so Consequences of Sin was born (and needless to say, the PhD fell totally by the wayside...). Despite being the mother of two active toddlers, Clare still has a passion for travel and regularly visits family in England and Australia.

The Serpent and the Scorpion, ISBN: 978-0143113393, Penguin trade paperback, 304 pages, $14, September 2008.
Consequences of Sin, ISBN: 978-0143112938, Penguin trade paperback, 272 pages, $14, January 2008.

 

KATHRYN LILLEY
As a pre-teen, Kathryn Lilley had two passions: Nancy Drew mysteries and Pralines 'n Cream ice cream. So it was perhaps inevitable that she grew up to write a series called the Fat City Mysteries.
Her stories are set in Durham, North Carolina, the self-proclaimed "Diet Capital of the World." And like her journalist sleuth, Kate Gallagher, Kathryn understands the Battle of the Bulge all too well. She once lost 90 pounds to land a job on camera as a TV reporter. And even today, Kathryn avoids the street that goes past 31 Flavors.
The first book in the Fat City Mysteries series is Dying to Be Thin. It's a story about dieting, sex and murder set in a residential diet clinic (read: "fat farm"). In this clinic, the only things more dangerous than the food are the fondue forks...
Kathryn blogs at Killer Hobbies.

Makeovers Can Be Murder, ISBN: 978-0451228260, Obsidian paperback, 261 pages, September 2009, $6.99.
A Killer Workout, ISBN: 978-0451225351, Signet paperback, 304 pages, $6.99, October 2008.
Dying to Be Thin, ISBN: 0451222407, Signet paperback, 304 pages, $6.99, October 2007.

 

S.L. LINNEA
New York/Germany
"S.L. Linnea," the author name on the cover of the Eden thrillers, is actually a pseudonym for two persons, Sharon Linnéa and B.K. Sherer.
Sharon Linnéa is the author of the biographies Raoul Wallenberg, The Man Who Stopped Death and Princess Ka'iulani: Hope of a Nation, Heart of a People, which won the prestigious Carter G. Woodson Award, as well as the upcoming nonfiction book, Lost Civilizations. Sharon has been a staff writer for five national magazines and a ghostwriter for dozens of celebrities. She lives with her family outside of New York City.
B.K. Sherer holds a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and a doctorate from Oklahoma State University. A Presbyterian minister, she currently serves on active duty as a chaplain in the United States Army. Her work has taken her to Argentina, Somalia, Korea, Costa Rica, Germany, Kuwait and Iraq.
The authors first collaborated on a play for their sixth grade talent show in Springfield, Missouri, and have been best friends ever since.

Treasure of Eden, ISBN: 978-0312942168, St. Martin's Press paperback, 368 pages, $6.99, October 2008.
Beyond Eden, ISBN: 031294215X, St. Martin's Press paperback, 384 pages, $6.99, October 2007.
Chasing Eden, ISBN: 0312949617, St. Martin's Press paperback, 352 pages, $6.99, June 2007 .

 

CLYDE LINSLEY
Virginia
After graduating from the Missouri School of Journalism in 1964, Clyde Linsley embarked on a series of jobs—in radio, newspaper and magazine journalism—before turning to full-time freelance writing in 1986. He also spent two years in a Protestant seminary, studying theology and social ethics.
He also decided to pursue a lifelong dream as a novelist. His first mystery novel, a contemporary private-eye mystery titled Death Spiral, appeared in 2000. It was reissued in paperback in 2004.
While working as a newspaper reporter in Connecticut, Linsley developed an interest in the history of New England. He explored that interest in a series of historical mysteries, which were published by Berkley under its Prime Crime imprint. The first of these novels, Death of a Mill Girl, appeared in 2002 and has just been re-released by iUniverse through the Author's Guild Back in Print program.
Linsley lives with his wife of 40 years in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. They have three children, who are now grown and making their way in the world.

Death of a Mill Girl, ISBN: 978-1440125010, Author's Guild Back in Print iUniverse trade paperback, 283 pages, $16.95, June 2009.

 

MICHAEL LISTER
Florida
A prison chaplain has insight into the institution as unique as any. Ministering to inmates of all denominations, he offers spiritual advice in a most un-spiritual of worlds.
Michael Lister understands this environment well. Having served as a prison chaplain (he was the youngest in the Florida Department of Corrections), he knows the challenges and difficulties inherent in the job. And as a novelist, he has portrayed them with realism and drama.
Lister is the author of the John Jordan mystery series, which began with Power in the Blood and continued with Blood of the Lamb, Flesh and Blood and then started a new series with North Florida Noir.
His latest project is Double Exposure, and a new John Jordan mystery, The Body and the Blood, is in the works.
Lister also serves as an adjunct professor at Gulf Coast Community College and teaches, speaks and conducts workshops on writing, inspiration and the relationship between art, life and religion.
He is also the author of a collection of meditations derived from those lectures, The Breath of Life: Meditations on Inspiration and Creativity. He has two columns that appear online and in print: River Readings and Sunshine and Crimes.
He continues to volunteer as a prison chaplain, although he has been a full-time writer since 2000. Lister is quick to note that his character, John Jordan, is an ex-cop battling a drinking problem, and that as such, any comparisons between character and author, beyond their sharing a vocation, are ill-advised.
He is also part-owner of the Gulf County Breeze, and founder of Michael Lister Ministries, Pottersville Press, and Pottersville Productions.

Double Exposure, ISBN: 978-0982520925, Tyrus Books trade paperback, $14.95, September 2009.

 

GAIL LUKASIK
Libertyville, IL
Gail Lukasik was born in Cleveland, OH and was a dancer with the Cleveland Civic Ballet Company. She has worked as a choreographer and freelance writer. She began her writing career as a poet and her work has appeared in over sixty literary journals, including The Georgia Review, Carolina Quarterly, and The Illinois Review. Lisel Mueller described her book of poetry, Landscape Toward a Proper Silence, as a "splendid collection." In 2002, she was awarded an Illinois Arts Council Literary Award for her poem, "In County."
She earned a Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois/Chicago, with a specialization in creative writing/poetry and has taught writing and literature courses for over twenty years on the university level.
She also has given writing workshops at libraries, nature centers, and other venues such as the Ragdale Foundation, a nationally known artist retreat in Lake Forest, IL.
Lukasik is the author of two Leigh Girard mystery novels, Destroying Angels and Death's Door. Kirkus Reviews called Destroying Angels "a riveting debut thriller," and described Death's Door as "fast-paced and literate, with a strong protagonist and a puzzle that keeps you guessing." The books are part of in a four-part seasonal series set in the resort community of Door County, WI.

Death's Door, ISBN: 978-1594147142, Five Star hardcover, 306 pages, $25.95, March 2009.
Destroying Angels, ISBN: 1594143609, Five Star hardcover, 296 pages, $25.95, March 2006; reprint edition: ISBN: 978-0373266722, Worldwide Library paperback, $5.99, May 2009.

 

RADINE TREES NEHRING
Arkansas
For more than twenty years, Radine Trees Nehring's magazine features, essays, newspaper articles, and radio broadcasts have been sharing colorful stories about the people, places, events, and natural world near her Arkansas home. She's also the author of a book of essays set in the Ozarks. DEAR EARTH: A Love Letter from Spring Hollow was published in 1995.
"Until I began to write about Carrie McCrite, I'd dealt only in facts," she says. "What fun it is to take those facts and the settings I love, add people entangled in problems and seeking answers to important life questions, and come up with mystery fiction that shares my world with readers everywhere."
Nehring's research takes her to the places her characters go. She's visited Arkansas tourist destinations, hiked hills and hollows, crawled through caves, spent time in jail (while training for the jail ministry), and—as a news reporter—interviewed officials in every branch of law enforcement. She and her husband John live in the Arkansas Ozarks.
Nehring's major at Principia College in Illinois was Fine Arts. She's done post-graduate work in English and creative writing at the University of Tulsa, and in the University of Iowa Summer Writing Program.

A River to Die For, ISBN: 978-1931206020, St. Kitts Press trade paperback, 220 pages, $16, April 2008.
A Wedding to Die For, ISBN: 978-1931206013, St. Kitts Press trade paperback, 294 pages, $16, May 2006.
A Treasure to Die For, ISBN: 978-1931206006, St. Kitts Press trade paperback, 262 pages, $16, March 2005.
Music to Die For, ISBN: 978-0966187984, St. Kitts Press trade paperback, 273 pages, October 2003.
A Valley to Die For, ISBN: 978-0966187991, St. Kitts Press trade paperback, 284 pages, $14, April 2002.

 

DIANA ORGAIN
San Francisco, CA
Diana Orgain was born in San Francisco, CA. As a child she loved Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries and dreamed of being a writer one day.
She went on to earn her B.A and M.F.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University with a minor in acting.
Diana has acted professionally in many theater roles and national commercials. She wrote several plays, which were produced at San Francisco State University, GreenHouses Productions, and PlayGround in San Francisco. But then a funny thing happened—on the way to becoming a mystery writer, she went and had a baby...
Bundle of Trouble: A Maternal Instincts Mystery was inspired by the transformational experience that motherhood brings. Battling sleep deprivation, diaper blowouts and breastfeeding mishaps Diana muddled through the creation of her first manuscript, Mommy style. Bundle of Trouble is her debut novel, the first in this humorous series published by Berkley Prime Crime. Diana continues to live in the beautiful city by the bay, San Francisco, with her husband and their children.

Motherhood is Murder, ISBN: 978-0425233733, Berkley Prime Crime paperback, $6.99, March 2010.
Bundle of Trouble, ISBN: 978-0425229248, Berkley Prime Crime paperback, 304 pages, $6.99, August 2009.

 

JEFFREY OSBURN
Texas
Author and business executive Jeffrey Osburn is a Texas native who graduated from LeTourneau University with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Management. As a youngster growing up in the Piney Woods of East Texas, he camped, swam, hiked, played music, and read but never seriously considered writing until he was much older.
As a young adult, Jeffrey frequently traveled to and learned about the diverse culture and customs of Mexico. These experiences fostered a keen interest in both pre- and post-Colombian history and the cultural anthropology of Mesoamerica. He wrote down his observations and encounters but had yet to discover the right combination of platform and message.
His subsequent work in international trading helped him to gain a firsthand perspective of the modern politics of Mexico. He started writing about the issues affecting both the United States and Latin America then and found a voice in the form of realistic contemporary fiction. His novels use hot-button topics from today's headlines to challenge and inform readers about mutual interests at stake in the Americas including border security, immigration reform, drug and human trafficking and the emergence of popular socialism.
Jeffrey Osburn is a member of the Writers League of Texas. His other interests include reading, playing music, cooking and traveling. He's a father of four and has two grandchildren. Osburn lives in Fort Worth, Texas, with his wife Rosalinda, their daughter Ashley and son Travis.

Under the Fifth Sun, ISBN: 1600761283, StoneGarden Publishing paperback, March 2009.

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