Celebrating Women's History Month #5: Serie-ous and Stand-Alone Women

Here at Midnight Ink Headquarters, we find that the best way to celebrate Women's History Month is to talk to our authors whose books feature strong female protagonists. Every day this week, return to this blog to find out more about the ladies portrayed in our various series and stand-alone releases this year!

Don't miss our previous posts in this series!
Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4.

Maegan Beaumont

Maegan Beaumont's longtime love of action movies inspired her to begin writing stories of her own. Carved in Darkness, the first Sabrina Vaughn Novel, was a Suspense Magazine Best Debut of 2013 and a Library Journal Debut of the Month. Beaumont is a member of Sisters in Crime. Visit her online at www.maeganbeaumont.com.

To her very core, Sabrina is a fighter. Her strength and resiliency never ceases to amaze me. No matter what I throw at her, she keeps coming back. For her family, for the people she loves, there isn’t much she won’t do. Even when she’s battling her own demons, she’s there for the people who need her. She’s constantly surprising me and I think that’s what keeps me interested in her as a character.

In Promises to Keep (August 8, 2015), Sabrina must help Michael find and rescue the grandson of a U.S. senator from a ruthless drug lord who is hell bent on revenge and targeting them both.

Mark Stevens 

Mark Stevens worked as a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, The Rocky Mountain News, The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour and The Denver Post. He now owns his own public relations firm. Stevens is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and the Colorado Authors League. Visit him online at www.writermarkstevens.com.

Allison Coil was inspired by a real-life female hunting guide with a ferocious tenacity for outdoor life and sincere enthusiasm for every rugged aspect of it. Allison’s strength comes from her protective of the Flat Tops Wilderness—it’s where she recovered following a commercial airplane crash. In Lake of Fire (September 8, 2015), a massive wildfire is wiping out precious hunting grounds and threatens the ranch owned by her boyfriend’s family. The murder of an offbeat environmentalist—the body is found near where the fire started—sends Allison burrowing into a world of anti-government haters who harbor grim messages and evil plans. 

Laura DiSilverio

Laura DiSilverio's novel Swift Run (Minotaur) was nominated as a finalist in the 2013 Colorado Book Awards. She has received starred reviews from Booklist, and Suspense Magazine named Die Buying (Berkley Prime Crime) as one of the top mysteries of 2011. Laura is a former president of Sisters in Crime. She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and can be found online at www.lauradisilverio.com. 

In The Reckoning Stones (September 8, 2015) Iris Dashwood suffered sexual abuse during her childhood and had the wound immeasurably enlarged by her parents' refusal to believe her. She ran away at fifteen and lived by her wits for three years before meeting Jane who took her in and shared her passion for art. Twenty years later, Iris uses her jewelry-making to work through her emotions, but when her creativity fails her, she returns to her previous home and confronts the Community that shunned her. She had put her faith in her physical strength and fighting ability, but discovers that true strength lies in forgiveness.

Catriona McPherson

Catriona McPherson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and is the author of critically-acclaimed stand-alones for Midnight Ink, including: Anthony Award-winning and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013, As She Left It; Edgar-nominated The Day She Died; and Come to Harm. She also writes the Dandy Gilver historical mystery series (Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books). McPherson is the president of Sisters in Crime and a member of Mystery Writers of America. Visit her online at www.catrionancpherson.com.

Like Etsuko, Mariko and Yuko, my office-mates at Edinburgh University in the nineties, and like me in America now, Keiko Nishisato in Come to Harm (May 8, 2015) is thousands of miles from home in an alien culture.  It’s hard  to know how much of what seems suspicious is just unknown. Maybe she’ll settle down in this little Scottish town and get used to the people she has met there, or maybe those people really are harbouring dark secrets and she really is in deep trouble. Crucially, Keiko knows—her mother has taught her—how to be a “good girl”. It’s the perfect disguise.

In The Child Garden (September 8, 2015), Gloria Harkness is the single parent of a profoundly disabled teenaged son. She lives alone in an isolated farmhouse near his care home. Many people would look at Gloria and see tragedy, but she feels lucky. She is lonely though and her life is a quiet one. So, when a childhood friend reappears, she doesn’t question why. And then, when adventures offer themselves, she plunges in. What I love about Gloria is her sense of life’s possibilities and her dawning belief in herself. She’s bookish, imaginative and very kind. If I knew her in real life I’d want her as my friend.  




Thanks for celebrating Women's History Month with us!