March 2024
Dear Sibs:
Every month gets prettier and busier and it becomes a greater challenge to stay in our chairs and write. And yet one of my favorite words, with respect to getting our writing done, is Discipline. Yes, it doesn’t have the resonance of imagination or creativity or even craft, but without it, our books don’t get written and our stories don’t get told. Every month I urge you to be in touch with your board with your ideas, your needs, things you are curious about. I’m doing it again here. Come to our board meeting on June 10th to see what we’re planning for the future and learn about ways you can become more involved.
I also urge you to visit our website, where we have links to all of the programs we’ve presented. Even if you watched the Zoom presentation, it can be help to review the information from time to time. Similarly, there is a vast about of information about writing and promotion on the SinC national website. It’s all there for you!
Kate
2024 Sisters in Crime NE Board of Directors!
Executive board:
Kate Flora President
Susan Oleksiw Vice-President
Jenna MacIntire Secretary
Kit Irwin Treasurer
Lisa Mathews Membership Director
Lorraine Sharma Nelson Past President
Board members:
Kim Herdman Shapiro Director of Public Relations
Gabriela Stiteler Newsletter Editor
Leslie Wheeler Speaker’s Bureau
Judith A McIntosh Library Liaison
Members-At-Large
Kate Flora ME
Ellen Grogan CT
Maureen Boyle SE. MA
Kim Herdman Shapiro NH
Joann Mead RI
Trish Esden No. VT
Karen Lakis So. VT
Monthly Meeting Reminder
Want to learn a little more about what upcoming events? Interested in learning more about SinC NE?
Members are always welcome to join us for our monthly board meeting on the first Monday of every month at 7:00 via zoom (here).
Hello everyone,
My week began happily with another request for an event in August, which I’ll be filling shortly. But first here are some of the May highlights. The biggest one was the Mass. Library Association’s annual conference, held this year at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Natick on Monday, May 6 and Tuesday May 7. Hats off to all our members who gave of their time and energy in staffing our booth:Val Kerin, Susan Oleksiw, Kaitlyn Serafin on Monday; and Sarah Smith, Joanna Schaffhausen, Elaine Issak, Sharon Healy-Yang, Janet Raye Stevens on Tuesday. Special thanks go to Judith McIntoshfor getting us on the conference in the first place, and helping me with the breakdown of our table on Tuesday; Lauren Sheridan, who stepped in at the last minute to fill in for Kim Herdman Shapiro when she couldn’t make it, and who helped me with both the set-up and managing our table at the busiest time of the day; and Melinda Abraham, who did a great job as the lone staffer on the last time slot on Monday, when the staffer who was supposed to help her was a no show.
We were able to connect with countless MA librarians, a number of whom said they’d never heard about Sisters in Crime previously, and handed out many brochures. It’s too soon to see the results of our efforts in the form of requests for events, but I did succeed in button-holing a librarian from a library which had to postpone its event with us and get the event back on the schedule.
We also had a strong presence at the Vermont Library Association’s annual conference, which was held on Monday, May 20, at the Killington Grand Resort Hotel and Conference Center. Once again, thanks go to our library liaison, Judith McIntosh, for getting us on the event, and then to Trish Esden and Karen Lakis, for making the on-the-ground arrangements and staffing our table, along with volunteers, Eugenia Parrish, DonnaRae Menard, and Sarah Stewart Taylor. According to Karen Lakis: "We had a fantastic day introducing librarians from across the state to Sisters in Crime and our Speaker’s Bureau programs. The response from librarians was overwhelmingly enthusiastic.” I've included pictures from the Vermont Library Association's conference below.
Our chapter would love to be a presence at the library conferences of other New England states, but we need members from those states to serve as organizers and table staffers. Hint, hint . . .
Now for the list:
What: "Using What You Know to Write a Mystery"
When: Saturday, June 29, 1 to 3 PM
Where: Tatnuck Bookstore 18 Lyman Street Westborough, MA 015801
Who: Authors, Judy Copek, Korina Moss, Janet Raye Stevens, and Leslie Wheeler will discuss how they use personal experiences and areas of expertise in writing their mysteries.
What: “Mystery Making”
When: Saturday, July 13, at 1 PM
Where: Pettee Memorial Library 16 South Main Street Wilmington, VT 05363
Who: Sharon Healy-Yang, Martha “Max” Folsom, DonnaRae Menard, and Kim Herdman Shapiro will brainstorm on their feet to create a brand new mystery, using suggestions from the audience.
What: “Mystery Making”
When: Monday, July 15th at 6:30 PM
Where: Brockton Public Library 304 Main Street Brockton, MA 02301
Who: Authors, Nicole Asselin, Liz Mugavero, Dale T. Phillips, and Joanna Schaffhausen, will brainstorm on their feet to create a brand new mystery, using suggestions from the audience. (Please note that this event was supposed to happen in May, but had to be postponed to July.)
What: "Using What You Know to Write a Mystery”
When: Wednesday, July 31 at 5 PM
Where: Greensboro Free Library 53 Wilson Street Greensboro, VT 05841
Who: Authors, Trish Esden. Karen Lakis, DonnaRae Menard, and Hank Parker will discuss how they use personal experiences and areas of expertise in writing their mysteries.
What: “Mystery Making”
When: Saturday, August 10 at 11 AM
Where: Manchester Community Library 138 Cemetery Avenue Manchester Center, VT 05255
Who: Authors, Max Folsom, Connie Johnson Hambley, DonnaRae Menard, and Wendy Tyson, will brainstorm on their feet to create a brand-new mystery, using suggestions from the audience.
What: “We’re Not Making This Up”
When: Thursday, September 12 at 6 PM
Where: Hazen Memorial Library 3 Keady Way Shirley, MA 01464
Who: Authors Kat Fast, John Nardizzi, and Bonnar Spring, will discuss how they use real-life crimes and other events as springboards for powerful fiction.
What: “Mystery Making”
When: Monday, September 16 at 6:30 PM
Where: Blackstone Library 86 Main Street Blackstone, MA 01504
Who: Authors, Kat Fast, Lisa Q. Mathews, Frances McNamara, and Joanna Schaffhausen, will brain storm on their feet to create a brand new mystery using suggestions from the audience. (Please note that this event was originally scheduled for an earlier time but has been postponed to September.)
What: “Mystery Making”
When: Saturday, October 5 @ 1 PM
Where: Westport Free Public Library 408 Old County Road Westport, MA 02790
Who: Frances McNamara, Korina Moss, Susan Oleksiw, Stephen Rogers
What: “Mystery Making”
When: Wednesday, October 9 at 6:30 PM
Where: Baker Free Library 509 South Street Bow, New Hampshire 03304
Who: Authors, Matt Cost, Sharon Daynard, Connie Johnson Hambley, Elaine Isaak, will brainstorm on their feet to create a brand new mystery using suggestions from the audience
What: “Using What You Know to Write a Mystery”
When: Saturday, October 26 at 11 AM.
Where: Lakeville Public Library 4 Precinct Street Lakeville, MA 02347
Who: Authors, Edith Maxwell, Leslie Meier, and Arlene Kay, will discuss how they use person experiences and areas of expertise to write their mysteries. Happy summer, everyone!
Leslie
Crime Bake 2025 Update
Save the Date: Registration will open on July 1!
The volunteer committee, which is made up of New England agents, editors, and crime writers, has been hard at work since January designing programming for this year's event. We appreciate all the members of the committee, and in particular would like to appreciate members of the SinC NE community who are involved. It takes a tremendous amount of time, energy, and flexibility to organize.
If you'd like to learn more about getting involved or supporting, please email Gabriela Stiteler at: gstitelerwriter@gmail.com.
If you are interested in learning more about Ads and Sponsorship, you can find more information HERE.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS – FLASH FICTION ANTHOLOGY INSPIRED BY NATIONAL DAYS
A Plot for Any Occasion: The Plot Thickens
Potter’s Field Publishing
Submission period: April 1 — July 1, 2024
January 1st is National Bloody Mary Day. December 31st is National Make Up Your Mind Day. Spread out over the calendar year there are nearly 1500 National Days dedicated to everything from the whimsical (Teddy Bear Picnic Day) to the bizarre (Lost Sock Remembrance Day), and all of them are fair game for a crime.
Potter’s Field Publishing is accepting original flash fiction that includes a crime taking place on, or relating to, a National Day for our upcoming anthology A Plot for Any Occasion: The Plot Thickens.
For more information and submission guidelines, please go here.
Maybe you've just read a fascinating book on bloodstains, raced through a thrilling mystery, or have insider news about a book fair planned for this summer. Send us a line at newsletter@sincne.org, and we'll put it into the next newsletter. Please type "Item of Interest" into the subject line and keep items to 150 words or less.
Please note that all of the times listed below are in Eastern Daylight Time unless otherwise mentioned.
Katherine Hall Page was thrilled to have been awarded the 2024 Maine Literary Book Award for Crime Fiction for her novel THE BODY IN THE WEB.
Lucy Burdette’s (aka Roberta Isleib’s) 13th book in the Key West food critic mystery series, A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS, has won the gold medal for popular fiction from the Florida Book Awards.
NEW RELEASE
Sharon Dukett’s thriller THE SHUTDOWN LIST, will be published on June 18. A grieving mother must outwit a corrupt and powerful billionaire to find her missing husband. Both men harbor secrets that could get her killed.
Sharon invites you to celebrate the launch of THE SHUTDOWN LIST at a book launch party. This event will be under a tent at a farm brewery. Refreshments will be served while supplies last.
Hops On The Hill.
275 Dug Road
South Glastonbury, Connecticut. Thursday, June 27, 5:30 – 7:00 PM.
You can find more information HERE.
NEW RELEASE
Debra H. Goldstein’s “You Can’t Kill the Cat!” is one of nineteen tales of ruthless relationships included in FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES MURDER, edited by Teresa Inge and Heather Weidner. The anthology releases on June 4.
NEW RELEASE
MASQUERADES CAN BE MURDER, book 11 in the Baby Boomer mystery series by Susan Santangelo, will be released by Suspense Publishing on June 25. Susan will be celebrating the release on June 28 at 1 pm at the West Dennis Library on Cape Cod.
NEW RELEASE
THE CARDINAL'S CURSE, the second novel in the Turner and Mosley Files series coauthored by LynDee Walker and Bruce Coffin, will be released by Severn River Publishing on June 11th. Bruce will be appearing at a number of venues following the launch.
For more details please visit Bruce's events page HERE.
Max Folsom will be joining other mystery writers signing books and talking with fans about her Baker Somerset International Crime Novels during "Beach Reads Day" in Natick, MA at the Farmer's Market, on the Commons, Saturday, June 8th from 9 am to 1 pm. We'll also be at the Jericho VT library on Saturday, the 29th of June from 10 am to 1 pm.
Dawn Barclay is happy to announce three upcoming books: NEW YORK STATE OF CRIME, which she co-edited for her SinC NY chapter and which contains her third published short story, will be released by Down & Out Books on September 16th. Also, Level Best Books will release the first of her nonfiction multi-volume true crime travel series, VACATIONS CAN BE MURDER (Volume 1, New England). They will also publish her next domestic thriller, DEADLY WHEN DISTURBED, in late January, 2025.
Dale T. Phillips will be signing and selling books along with fellow authors at the Natick Beach Reads Day on Saturday, June 8th from 9:00 am to 1:00 in Natick Common.
Clea Simon in thrilled to announce that, following the demise of Polis Books, her psychological suspense HOLD ME DOWN has been picked up by Bloodhound Books/Open Road Media. The dark standalone (a Massachusetts Center for the Book “must read”) will be re-published on Sept. 9.
Sally Milliken's unpublished debut novel called VEXATION RIVER, a historical mystery based in 1882 Massachusetts, was placed on the short list in the Historical Novel Society's First Chapters Competition in the Crime/Mystery Category. Also, her story 'Adam-13' won the 2023 Golden Donut Award from the Writers’ Police Academy. The story had to be 200 words, no more, no less.
On June 29 from 1 to 3 PM, Leslie Wheeler will take part in a panel discussion on “Using What You Know to Write a Mystery” with Judy Copek, Korina Moss, and Janet Raye Stevens at the Tatnuck Bookstore, 18 Lyman Street, Westborough, MA 01581. On most Sundays in June from 10 AM to 1 PM, you’ll find her at the Farmers Market on the Village Green in New Marlborough, MA. So if you happen to be in the Berkshires for the weekend, stop by and say hello.
A bright June welcome to our newest SinCNE members: Sylvia Wetherby and Jessie Clever. So glad you've joined us!
Everyone, please remember that all SinCNE members must be members of Sisters in Crime National as well. Please double-check that you signed up or renewed with SinC National for 2024, so you can continue to enjoy all of your membership benefits for both of our fabulous organizations. Thank you!
Sisters in Crime New England
President: Kate Flora
Vice President: Susan Oleksiw
Secretary: Jenna MacIntire
Treasurer: Kit Irwin
Speakers Bureau Coordinator: Leslie Wheeler
Library Liaison: Judith McIntosh
Membership Coordinator: Lisa Matthews
Program Coordinator:
Director of Public Relations: Kim Herdman Shapiro
Newsletter Editor: Gabriela Stiteler
Immediate Past President: Lorraine Sharma Nelson
Snail Mail: c/o Sisters in Crime New England
PO Box #104, Mashpee, MA 02649-0104
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