Welcome to our digital home! We're Lori Andrews, Lori Avocado, Lillian Stewart Carl, Toni McGee Causey, Carole Nelson Douglas, Shane Gericke, Lois Greiman, Roberta Isleib, Harley Jane Kozak, CJ Lyons, Nancy Martin, Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Patricia Smiley, thirteen bestselling mystery writers who offer all sorts of fun and wickedness to our readers. Scroll below for our bios and photos--arranged alphabetically for your convenience--then click on the link in the box for the author's website.
|
| LORI
ANDREWS
. . . is the author of a thriller series involving Dr. Alexandra “Alex” Blake, a geneticist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology with a passion for her work and a penchant for fleeting romances with musicians and artists. Lori’s books, SEQUENCE (2006), THE SILENT ASSASSIN (2007), and IMMUNITY (fall 2008) have garnered praise and been translated throughout Europe and Asia.
A frequent guest on Nightline, 60 Minutes, CBS Morning News, and Oprah, Lori is a lawyer and expert on genetics, called in by groups ranging from the French Parliament to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. She was listed by the American Bar Association Journal as “a 2008 Newsmaker of the Year--a lawyer with a literary bent who has the scientific chops to rival any CSI investigator.” The Library Journal said, “Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs, watch out!” Contact Lori at www.loriandrews.com
Website: Lori Andrews
|
| LORI
AVOCATO
.
. . decided to switch careers after serving in the Air Force as a
registered nurse and now writes a humorous mystery series for Avon
Books. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers
of America, PASIC, NINC, The Author’s Guild and Sisters in Crime.
Her
Pauline Sokol Mystery Series, in which a burned-out nurse becomes a
medical insurance fraud investigator, is a perfect medium for Lori’s
quick wit and amusing, believable characters. Lori’s first book of the
series, A DOSE OF MURDER, has made the best-selling suspense/thriller
list on Amazon.com and placed second in the Reviewers International
Organization’s Award of Excellent for a Debut Novel. You can visit
Lori’s website at www.loriavocato.com where you can drop her a note and
read excerpts of the hysterical series.
Lori Avocato’s
side-splitting novels featuring spunky heroine Pauline Sokol have been
called “delightful” by Publishers Weekly and her experience as a former
Air Force nurse allows Avocato to infuse her fast-paced plots with
authentic medical details.
Website: Lori Avocato
|
| LILLIAN
STEWART CARL
. . . writes cross-genre work that is based on history and features paranormal themes. She has been compared to Daphne du Maurier, Mary Stewart (no relation), and Barbara Michaels/Elizabeth Peters – except Lillian’s novels take place squarely in the twenty-first century.
Her fifteen novels include the Jean Fairbairn/Alasdair Cameron mystery series – America’s exile and Scotland’s finest on the trail of all-too-living legends – which consists so far of THE SECRET PORTRAIT, THE MURDER HOLE, and THE BURNING GLASS. Publishers Weekly says “The tightly woven plot is certain to delight history fans with its dramatic collision of past and present.”
Her newest novel is BLACKNESS TOWER, which Mary Jo Putney, author of A Distant Magic, described as “Romantic and atmospheric, Blackness Tower is pure reading pleasure.” Of Lillian’s short stories, the most recent thirteen are collected in THE MUSE AND OTHER STORIES OF HISTORY, MYSTERY, and MYTH. She is also co-editing a retrospective of Lois McMaster Bujold’s science fiction work, titled THE VORKOSIGAN FIRESIDE COMPANION, to be published in 2009. Her website is www.lillianstewartcarl.com.
Website: Lillian Stewart Carl
|
| TONI
McGEE CAUSEY
. . . lives in Baton Rouge with her husband and two sons. A Louisiana native (and Cajun), she has nearly completed a double masters at LSU. She has placed in top tier screenwriting contests, published many non-fiction articles and edited a popular regional magazine. To support her writing addiction, she and her husband Carl run their own civil construction company.
BOBBIE FAYE’S VERY (very, very, very) BAD DAY is the first in a three-book deal with St. Martin’s press. The chaotic, roller-coaster thriller world of Bobbie Faye owes much to Toni having way more experience than she’d like to own up to in the world of trouble-shooting, disaster-prevention and survival. She is also a contributor to the KILLER YEAR: STORIES TO DIE FOR, edited by Lee Child and out from St. Martin’s Press, January 2008. The second Bobbie Faye book, titled BOBBIE FAYE’S (kinda, sorta, not-exactly) FAMILY JEWELS will be out June 1.
Website: Toni McGee Causey
|
| CAROLE
NELSON DOUGLAS
. . . is the first author to spin off a woman character from the Sherlock Holmes stories. Her Irene Adler series debuted with the New York Times Notable Book of the Year, GOOD NIGHT, MR. HOLMES.
The latest of her Midnight Louie, feline P.I, mystery series set in Las Vegas features a murderous Red Hat ladies convention (CAT IN A RED HOT RAGE). Darkly contrasting Louie’s “slightly surreal” contemporary Vegas is Carole’s noir urban fantasy series: Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator. DANCING WITH WEREWOLVES is set in a 2013 Sin City where CSI is an international franchise, werewolf mobsters abound, and “celebrity zombies” include Perry Mason, Nick Charles, and the Invisible man.
Whatever she writes, humor finds a place at the table, even an autopsy table.
Website: Carole Nelson Douglas
|
| SHANE
GERICKE
. . . is a national bestselling author who began writing professionally in high school. He spent 25 years as a journalist, most prominently at the Chicago Sun-Times, before plunging into crime thrillers.
His first, BLOWN AWAY, appears in five languages, and was named Romantic Times magazine's Debut Mystery of the Year. His current thriller, CUT TO THE BONE, also from Kensington Publishing, continues the adventures of hard-charging police detective Emily Thompson.
Shane, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, also writes for a variety of national magazines. He is a founding member of International Thriller Writers and chairman of the ThrillerFest Charity Auctions, and he belongs to Mystery Writers of America. Called “the real deal” by New York Times bestseller Lee Child, he's also quite proud of the endorsement he received from New York Times bestseller Gayle Lynds:
"Shane Gericke writes with the clear eye of hard-nosed reporter and the sweet soul of an artist. His power is visceral and unforgettable.”
Website: Shane Gericke
|
| LOIS
GREIMAN
. . . is the author of nearly thirty novels, including romantic comedy, historical romance, children’s stories, and her fun-loving Christina McMullen mystery novels. Her latest novel is UNMANNED. Born on a cattle ranch in central North Dakota, she learned to ride and spit with the best of them. After graduating from high school, she moved to Minnesota to train and show Arabian horses. But eventually she did a bunch of other weird jobs, fell in love, and gave birth to three of her best friends.
Greiman sold her first novel to Avon Books in 1992. She has won such prestigious honors as Romantic Times Storyteller of the Year, MFW’s Rising Star, RT’s Love and Laughter, the Toby Bromberg Award for Most Humorous Mystery, and the LaVyrle Spencer Award. Her heroes have received K.I.S.S. recognition numerous times and her books have been seen regularly among the industry’s Top Picks. Janet Evanovich says of her work: “Dangerously funny stuff.”
Currently, she lives on the Minnesota tundra with her family, some of whom are human.
Website: Lois Greiman |
| DR. ROBERTA
ISLEIB
. . . is a clinical psychologist and the author of a mystery series starring Connecticut psychologist/advice columnist Rebecca Butterman.
DEADLY ADVICE and PREACHING TO THE CORPSE (Berkley) prove that when it comes to murder, everyone can use a little help. Roberta is also the author of the Cassie Burdette golf mysteries. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards.
She is the president of Sisters in Crime International and the past-president of SinC New England.
Website: Roberta Isleib
|
| HARLEY JANE
KOZAK
. . . writes mysteries featuring Wollie Shelley, a Los Angeles greeting card artist, muralist, and serial dater who searches for love and finds dead bodies. While the Washington Post praises her insight and depth, Elle magazine writes, reassuringly, “Dostoevsky it ain’t.”
Her debut novel, DATING DEAD MEN, won the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. Its sequel was DATING IS MURDER, followed by DEAD EX and the upcoming A DATE YOU CANT REFUSE. Her short prose has appeared in Ms. magazine, Soap Opera Digest, The Sun, The Santa Monica Review, and the anthologies MYSTERY MUSES, THIS IS CHICK LIT, and A HELL OF A WOMAN.
Harley, a sometimes actress, lives with her family in Los Angeles.
Website: Harley Jane Kozak
|
| CJ
LYONS
. . . is an award-winning medical suspense author as well as a physician trained in pediatric emergency medicine. She has assisted police and prosecutors with cases involving child abuse, rape, homicide and Munchausen’s by Proxy. She has worked in several trauma centers, on a Navajo reservation, as a crisis counselor and victim’s advocate, as well as a flight physician for Life Flight.
She is a member of MWA, International Thriller Writers, RWA, and Sisters in Crime, and her writing has appeared in Romantic Times BookReviews, CrimeSpree and Spinetingler.
CJ’s medical suspense novel, LIFELINES, debuted from Berkley in March, 2008. Publishers Weekly called LIFELINES a “spot-on debut . . . a breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller,” and Romantic Times gave it 4 ½ stars and made it a Top Pick. Contact her at www.cjlyons.net.
Website: C.J. Lyons
|
| NANCY
MARTIN
. . . has a long and successful career of writing romance titles. Six years ago she turned her hand to mystery with outstanding results in the first of the Blackbird Sisters series: HOW TO MURDER A MILLIONAIRE, which introduced a group of Philadelphia blue bloods fallen on hard times. The seventh, MURDER MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH, has just been published in hardcover. Nancy lives in Pittsburgh.
Website: Nancy Martin
|
| HANK PHILLIPPI
RYAN
. . . is an award-winning television journalist who writes the bestselling Charlotte McNally Mysteries, featuring a successful investigative reporter who is married to her TV job, but wonders what happens when the camera doesn't love her anymore. Hank is a former staffer at Rolling Stone Magazine (where she worked with Hunter S. Thompson) and legislative aide in the United States Senate (where she worked on the Freedom of Information Act). She is currently on the air at Boston's NBC affiliate, where she's won 24 Emmys and dozens of other awards for her investigative reporting.
Her first books, PRIME TIME
(Agatha nominee for best first novel of 2007 and RITA nominee for Best First
Novel and Best Romantic Suspense Novel) and FACE TIME (A BookSense Notable Book) are bestsellers. RT Book Reviews called PRIME TIME a "perfect combination of mystery and romance." AIR TIME and DRIVE TIME are coming soon from MIRA books. Contact Hank at www.hankphillippiryan.com
Website: Hank Phillippi Ryan
|
| PATRICIA
SMILEY
. . . writes the Tucker Sinclair mystery series, which feature a smart and sassy amateur sleuth with a sense of humor and a nose for trouble. Patty earned a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Washington in Seattle. She also holds an MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Her first novel, FALSE PROFITS, debuted in 2004 and was followed in 2005 by COVER YOUR ASSETS and SHORT CHANGE in 2007. The fourth Tucker novel, COOL CACHE, is set for released June 3, 2008. Her short fiction has been published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Two of the Deadliest, an anthology edited by Elizabeth George that will be released in the fall of 2008.
Patty has taught writing workshops at the Surrey International Writers Conference in British Columbia. She is also a Specialist Reserve Officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. For more information, visit www.patriciasmiley.com and www.nakedauthors.com.
Website: Patricia Smiley
|
|
