Five Fun Facts About Jess Lourey: A Guest Blog Post from MERCY'S CHASE Author Jess Lourey

We welcome Jess Lourey, author of the new Mercy's Chase, to Midnight Ink's blog today! Here she shares 5 facts that you'd never guess.

1. I write with a box of See’s Chocolate Lollipops close by. If I can’t find a way out of a scene or get stuck on a big, white page, I suck on one of those, and it pulls the words loose.

2. The idea for the Salem's Cipher thriller series came from an offhand comment Chelsea Cain made while she and I were on a panel together. "I wish there were more kick-ass thrillers written by women and about women." Yeah, sister!

3. While Salem Wiley, the protagonist in Mercy's Chase, is a genius cryptanalyst, I am not. Doing crossword puzzles, reading mystery novels, and playing hide-and-go-seek are me at the top of my code-cracking game. I am, however, an excellent research and was delighted to discover all sorts of great cryptanalytical books and articles out there, including Helen F. Gaines's Cryptanalysis: A Study of Ciphers and Their Solution and Simon Singh's The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography.

4. In my head, Salem Wiley looks like a cross between my niece, Esmae, and my friend, Angie. I think of the two of them whenever I write her.

5. For research, I visited most of the locations included in Mercy's Chase, including a tour that brought me inside of Stonehenge. Tough job!

***

"An immersive voice, an intriguing story, a wonderful character—highly recommended!"
—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels

What if everything you thought you knew about Stonehenge was wrong?

When agoraphobic genius Salem Wiley lands her dream job as an FBI cryptanalyst, she vows never to return to the witch hunt underworld, where ancient secrets encrypted by hunted women have the power to rewrite history. Her resolve disappears when sweet Mercy Mayfair, the child she is pledged to protect, is kidnapped. With the help of the enigmatic Agent Lucan Stone, Salem is forced to code hunt in Ireland, England, and Scotland to keep the girl alive. As the clock ticks, she must face the terrible truth that there is only one way to free Mercy: crack the unbreakable code of Stonehenge.



Praise for Mercy's Chase:
"Both a sweeping adventure and race-against-time thriller, Mercy's Chase is fascinating, fierce, and brimming with heart—just like its heroine, Salem Wiley."
—Meg Gardiner, author of Into the Black Nowhere

---

Jess Lourey (rhymes with “dowry”) is an Anthony, Lefty, and Agatha-nominated author best known for her critically-acclaimed Mira James Mysteries, which have earned multiple starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist, the latter calling her writing “a splendid mix of humor and suspense.” She is a tenured professor of creative writing and sociology, a recipient of The Loft's Excellence in Teaching fellowship, a regular Psychology Today blogger, and a sought-after workshop leader and keynote speaker who delivered the 2016 "Rewrite Your Life" TEDx Talk. Mercy's Chase, the second in the feminist thriller series Lee Child calls "highly recommended," releases September 8. You can find out more at www.jessicalourey.com.

eBook Deals: Select Titles from Jess Lourey Are on Sale for Just $0.99!

Everyone loves a deal! For a limited time, grab two ebooks by Jess Lourey while they're on sale!

	Buy for Kindle: $0.99 Buy for Nook: $0.99 Buy for Google Books: $0.99
	Buy for Kindle: $0.99 Buy for Nook: $0.99 Buy for Google Books: $0.99

Congratulations to our 2018 Anthony Award Nominees

Congratulations to our Midnight Ink authors and titles nominated for 2018 Anthony Awards! Our nominees are:

Uncorking a Lie by Nadine Nettmann Best Paperback Original	Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett Best First Novel

Jess Lourey, author of the Murder-by-Month mystery series and the forthcoming Mercy's Chase, was also nominated for the Best Critical/Non-Fiction Book for her Re-Write Your Life (Conari).

The Anthony Awards are among the most prestigious awards in crime fiction. Winners will be announced at this year's Bouchercon Convention.

You can view the full list of 2018 nominees here.

Don't miss Midnight Ink's September releases!

Now available from Midnight Ink, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Indiebound and your local bookseller!

BOOK LAUNCH MONDAY: Double the Fun with Shannon Baker and Jess Lourey

Web mistress Lisa here. We have a fun guest post for you today! Jess Lourey and Shannon Baker are touring the blogosphere on their monster Lourey/Baker Double Booked Tour. I'm so glad they joined us here on InkSpot. Check out the bottom of the post for their giveaways. Welcome, Shannon and Jess! ~Lisa

Shannon and Jess Talk Character Arcs

Shannon here. Thanks Inkspot, for giving us a place to stop on our month-long road trip. We concocted the Lourey/Baker Double Booked Tour when we found out both of us (Jess Lourey and Shannon Baker had books releasing on September 6, Jess’s thriller with Midnight Ink, Salem’s Cipher, and my debut in a new series, Stripped Bare.

Today it’s my turn to pick the topic, and I want to chat about character arcs. Specifically, I want to talk about how, over the course of your writing life, your protagonists and antagonists have changed? That’s probably confusing, so I’ll go first.

While I never set out to write autobiographical characters, bits of my attitude or the tone of my life seems to soak into my books. I can almost chart my personal life from my main characters. Annie was the protagonist in my first published book. When I wrote that, I was trying to keep a million balls in the air with kids and jobs and dealing with a cheating husband in a town of 300 people. I got more than a few comments on how cold and bristly Annie was. I thought she was stoic and strong.

Jess: You’re really onto something here, Shannon. When I wrote May Day, the first in my Murder-by-Month mysteries, I was reeling from the unexpected death of my husband. It’s an uneven book, and my protagonist is all about trying to solve the unexpected death of her lover. There’s humor in it, but so much darkness in Mira, the main character, so much holding people at arm’s length for fear of getting hurt. That question, “how much of your main character is you?” is so complex, isn’t it? Shannon, did you find that true in your Nora Abbott books that you published with Midnight Ink?

Shannon: When I started the Nora Abbott books, I’d left my Sandhills home and struck out on my own. I was in a new and wonderful relationship, but was unemployed, in a new town, and full of angst. While, again, I thought Nora was capable and smart, I wanted to show that inside, she maybe wasn’t as put-together as everyone thought. At least one reviewer thought she was whiney. Whiney?  Really?

But over the course of that series, as Nora came into her own, she gathered confidence and fortitude, becoming more of the woman on the inside that she projected on the outside. Coincidentally, my life finally started to settle down and though I’m still a mess of insecurities on the inside (I’m a writer, after all) I wasn’t nearly as rattled about life when I wrote the last in the series, Tattered Legacy, as I was when I wrote the first, Tainted Mountain.

Another thread running through my characters is mother issues and cheating husbands. I can see myself working these things out in my books.

Jess: That is one of the many reasons we get along so well, Shannon. Both of us (through our characters) work out cheating issues, though my characters land firmly in the camp of father rather than mother issues. It’s interesting because I just finished my first nonfiction book, tentatively titled Better than Gin: Rewrite Your Life, and it’s about exactly this process of writers working issues through their characters, and how the process is not only healing but creates great fiction. I also sometimes wonder if we make friends when we write. Specifically, that we create characters that we’re either like to be or to be with. Do you find that?

Shannon: Kate Fox, the star of Stripped Bare, is someone I’d really like to hang out with. While she’s got some problems to deal with, a cheating husband for one (I don’t know where I get my ideas) she’s got a healthy sense of herself. She’s confident, even though she’s not sure about her future, and she’s not afraid to take action. She’s a combination of a team player—she’s in the middle of eight brothers and sisters—but craves her independence. And she’s got a sense of humor, which saves her.

It took me nearly a decade since I left the Nebraska Sandhills to be able to laugh about it all. If I’d written Kate any earlier, she’d be laced with bitterness. I’m not a big country music fan, but I always think about the Rascal Flatts song Bless the Broken Road. I thought it was a love song but now I think it’s a faith song. Anyway, I like the chorus and the idea that our experiences, good and bad, bring us to the people we are now. And when the time is ripe, bring us the characters that tell us their stories.

Jess: Beautifully said, Shannon Baker.

Giveaway: Jess and I are each giving away copies of our new books Salem’s Cipher and Stripped Bare. For a chance to win, leave a comment.

But wait, that's not all!

If you order Salem's Cipher before September 6, 2016, you are invited to forward your receipt to salemscipher@gmail.com to receive a short story and to be automatically entered in a drawing to win a 50-book gift basket mailed to the winner's home!

If you order Stripped Bare before September 6, 2016, you are invited to forward your receipt to katefoxstrippedbare@gmail.com to receive a Kate Fox short story and be entered for a book gift basket mailed to your home.

We’re picking up our bags and traveling on so please join us as the Lourey/Baker Double Booked Tour heads to Hey, There’s a Dead Guy in the Livingroom on Wednesday.

Jessica (Jess) Lourey is best known for her critically-acclaimed Murder-by-Month mysteries, which have earned multiple starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist, the latter calling her writing "a splendid mix of humor and suspense." She is a tenured professor of creative writing and sociology, a recipient of The Loft's 2014 Excellence in Teaching fellowship, and leads interactive writing workshops all over the world. Salem's Cipher, the first in her thrilling Witch Hunt Series, hits stores September 2016. You can find out more at www.jessicalourey.com, or find her on Facebook or Twitter.

Shannon Baker writes the Kate Fox mystery series (September 2016 from Tor/Forge). Stripped Bare, the first in the series, features a sheriff in rural Nebraska and has been called Longmire meets The Good Wife. Baker also writes the Nora Abbott Mystery Series, a fast-paced mix of murder, environmental issues and Hopi Indians published by Midnight Ink. Baker was voted Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2104 Writer of the Year. She writes from the Colorado Rockies to the Nebraska Sandhills, the peaks of Flagstaff and the deserts of Tucson. www.shannon-baker.com

First Line Friday #6: February Fever

Now available from Midnight Ink, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Indiebound, and your local bookseller!

Celebrating Women's History Month #3: Longest-Running Ladies

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 and Day 2.

Sue Ann Jaffarian

Sue Ann Jaffarian is the author of the Madison Rose, Ghost of Granny Apples, and award-winning Odelia Grey mystery series. Her books have been lauded in The New York Times and optioned for television. In addition to writing, Jaffarian works full time as a paralegal in Los Angeles and is widely sought after as a humorous motivational speaker. Visit www.sueannjaffarian.com to learn more about the author. 

I decided to create the character of Odelia Grey for many reasons:

1. Since I’m a middle-aged, plus-size paralegal myself, I already had certain character traits and career information to draw upon, making it easier to kick-start the series;
2. I felt the mystery genre was already full of women who could run 5 miles and still shoot  the label off a beer bottle while it teetered on a fence. Odelia is an ordinary woman with no super powers or talents;
3. I felt middle-aged women were under-represented in the genre, and plus-size women definitely were. I wanted to show the mystery reading community that a fat mature woman could be smart and sexy and intuitive. She didn’t always have to be the chubby friend who watched the purses while her friends had a good time.

In book after book, Odelia is constantly called upon to dig deep inside herself and pull out strength and courage she didn’t know she possessed to help people and to keep herself and her loved ones out of danger.  This is especially true in A Body To Spare (November 8, 2015) when her mother’s life is in danger and Odelia herself is the center of the investigation. A Body To Spare also explores one of her more puzzling relationships with someone on the wrong side of the law.

When asked in interviews to sum up the character of Odelia Grey, I say:  She doesn’t see the world through rose-colored glasses, but through Groucho Marx glasses.

Jess Lourey

Jess Lourey is the author of the Lefty-nominated Murder-by-Month mysteries set in Battle Lake, Minn. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, The Loft, and a founding faculty member of Mystery Writers of America's MWA University. Lourey resides in Minneapolis, where she is a professor of writing and sociology. For more information, visit her online at www.jessicalourey.com. 

Mira James is flawed, authentic, and constantly evolving. Those qualities make her strong, but they also make it hard for her to relax. In February Fever (February 8, 2015), she comes face to face with a childhood fear, juggles a long-distance relationship, has to solve a murder on a speeding train, and loses someone very close to her. Her greatest strength—her ability to find the humor in even the darkest situation—is put to the test like never before in the 10th book in the Murder-by-Month mysteries.

Kathleen Ernst

Kathleen Ernst is an award-winning author, educator, and social historian. Her past work as an Interpreter and Curator of Interpretations and Collections at Old World Wisconsin inspired the Chloe Ellefson mysteries. The series won the Lovey Award for Best Traditional Mystery (The Light Keeper's Legacy) and the Anne Powers Fiction Book Award (The Heirloom Murders). Visit her online at www.kathleenernst.com. 

Chloe is the curator of collections at Old World Wisconsin, a large living history museum where I used to work.  She has survived personal loss, and derives some of her inner strength from the long-gone women she discovers through her work.  Countless women in the 19th century managed to cope with challenges and problems that are almost unimaginable today.  Their stories are inspirational.

In Death on the Prairie (October 8, 2015), Chloe and her sister Kari set off on a road trip to explore Laura Ingalls Wilder homesites.  Personal revelations (and a murder or two) challenge Chloe’s relationships with Kari, and with her cop-boyfriend back home.

Sheila Webster Boneham

Sheila Webster Boneham is the author of the Animals in Focus mystery series. Drop Dead on Recall, the first in the series, won the Dog Writers Association of America Maxwell Award for Fiction. Like her protagonist, Boneham shows her dogs in various canine sports and has founded dog rescue groups. Her nonfiction books have also won awards from teh Dog Writers Association of America and Cat Writers Association. To learn more, visit her online at www.sheilaboneham.com or www.writersandotheranimals.blogspot.com. 

Fifty-something and long divorced, animal photographer Janet MacPhail loves her pets, her home, her family and friends, and—just to complicate her life—Tom Saunders. Janet is a blend of the many terrific women I’ve met through the dog, cat, and horse worlds—exhibitors, trainers, breeders, rescuers, therapy-dog volunteers, advocates, pet owners. She is devoted to her animals, gutsy (have you ever faced a flock of stampeding sheep?), compassionate, funny, and determined to be her own woman while loving and being loved. In Shepherd’s Crook (October 8, 2015), she finds herself once again pulled into a murder investigation even as she makes other life-altering decisions. Let’s face it—the second half-century of life isn’t for wimps!

Return to this blog tomorrow to hear about the serie-ous (and sassy) protagonists!

Q&A with Jess Lourey

This week we sat down with Jess Lourey, the author of one of our longest-running critically-acclaimed series, the Murder-by-Month mysteries. Her latest, February Fever, was released earlier this month!

Midnight Ink: How long have you been writing?

Jess Lourey: My first piece of writing to receive wide acclaim was this poem:

Grandpas are full of love, grandpas are full of tickles, but grandpas are especially full of pickles.

I was five. My poetry skills haven’t improved, but I never lost my love for writing. I completed my first novel in 1996 and wrote two more before I landed my first publishing contract in 2004.

MI: What influence have other authors had on your writing?

JL: My mystery writing is tremendously influenced by William Kent Krueger’s and Janet Evanovich’s writing. My magical realism writing is inspired by Isabel Allende’s and Alice Hoffman’s beautiful prose. For my young adult novels, I turn to the books by Cornelia Funke, Suzanne Collins, and Philip Pullman. I *love* books and learned most of what I know about writing them from being a close reader.

MI: If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?

Jess's kids

JL: A writer. There’s no other choice. Seriously. But I do love teaching, also, particularly if I get to teach about writing.

MI: If you have a job outside of writing, what is it?

JL: 2014-2015 is my first year as a full-time writer. My plan is to write and sell The Book by July 2015 so I do not need to return to my college teaching job. While I love teaching, turns out I hate grading and office politics.

MI: What is/are your favorite thing/s to do when you’re not writing or working?

Jess and her boyfriend

JL: Travel is a passion of mine, as is talking to people and hearing their stories, starting with the people closest to me: my kids, my boyfriend, my wonderful friends. I used to love to garden, but I’ve been too busy the past two summers to dig my fingers into the soil. Eating good food remains a favorite passion, particularly if someone else cooks it, though I also love to bake.

MI: Who is your favorite mystery sleuth and why?

JL: Early Stephanie Plum because she showed me that a sleuth could be funny, smart, and real.

MI: Do you have a favorite murder case from a book (either yours or another author’s)?

JL: Is it terrible that I never remember the specifics of the cases, only the characters? A finely-crafted character sticks with me for a long, long time.

MI: What was your inspiration for this series?

JL: The inspiration for the Murder-by-Month Mysteries was sanity. I was living in rural northern Minnesota with poor TV reception, and I needed to occupy my brain. I was reading a lot of great mysteries at the time—books by Kent Krueger, Sue Grafton, Tony Hillermann, and Janet Evanovich—and when I ran out, I decided to try writing one of my own. Man, am I glad I did.

MI: Tell us about Mira James.

JL: Mira James, when I first conceived her, was loosely based on where I was at in my life in 2004. She grew up in a small Minnesota town and moved to Minneapolis, then found herself back in a small town. She has (had?) bad luck with men, an English degree she doesn’t know what to do with, and an outlook on life that it’s better to laugh first, ask questions later. She and I have since found our lives going different directions, but I still love to check in with her.

MI: You are 10 books into a series! How has your writing process/approach to publishing changed since May Day?

JL: I’m a faster writer, and I hope a better writer, with every book. The process is still essentially the same, though. I come up with a one-sentence concept for a book, I do some freewriting (not more than a page—I hate freewriting) to flesh out the concept, and then I write a working outline. After that, it takes me about three months to finish writing a mystery. As far as publishing, I’m lucky that Midnight Ink keeps offering me contracts! I intend to never take that for granted. It wasn’t so long ago that I couldn’t get so much as an agent, let alone a publisher.

MI: How does this book/series compare to your other works?

JL: I’m proud of the Murder-by-Month Mysteries. I think they’re funny and well-paced, and I love the characters who populate them. I write in different genres, though, and so nothing else I write is quite like them. Even when I stay in the crime fiction genre, what I work on is very different from the MbM Mysteries. Here’s a working synopsis of the thriller I’m working on now:

Salem and Izzy must uncover the connection between the Witch Hunt of the 1600s and the modern disappearance of single mothers all over the globe to stop the assassination of Senator Gina Hayes, the first viable female Presidential candidate in the history of the United States.

Juni

MI: Do you have a pet? Tell us about him/her.

JL: I have a dorky boxer named Juni. She’s sweet and loyal and kind of stinky. My daughter just got a hamster named Frank Ocean, too. I can’t tell you a lot about Frank except that he seems to always have someplace he needs to be, which is impressive when you live in a 2’ x 2’ world.

 MI: What food could you live off of for the rest of your life?

JL: Beer and bread. YUM.

MI: Do you have a favorite recipe?

JL: I come from a family of great cooks (my mom and daughter are the best), and so we try all sorts of different recipes on a regular basis. My current favorite is a shrimp curry soup made with plump shrimp, rich coconut milk, pineapple and hot peppers, and seasoned with fragrant lemongrass and fresh ginger.

 

MI: What’s your favorite part about being an Inker?

JL: I love the camaraderie at conferences. It’s like being invited to the cool kids’ slumber party. But if I had to pick a single thing, my very favorite part about being an Inker is getting to work with Terri Bischoff. She’s the real deal.

Thank you for having me!

Pick up February Fever online and in bookstores now! 

FEBRUARY RELEASES!

By: Maegan Beaumont

Take a look at the fantastic Midnight Ink has to offer this month!

 Death & the Redheaded Woman
By: Loretta Ross 
An Auction Block Mystery #1
“Ross’ thoroughly entertaining debut combines smart details about the auction business with two engaging mysteries and a uniformly appealing cast. Fans of small-town cozies, especially those by Denise Swanson, will love this, as will mystery readers who double as thrift-store aficionados and followers of auction reality shows.”—BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)

Drawing Conclusions
By: Deirdre Verne 
A Sketch in Crime Mystery #1
"Verne's mystery is a winner, with plenty of twists and turns, an intriguing heroine and an ending that shocks in more ways than one."—KIRKUS REVIEWS

February Fever

By: Jess Lourey 
The Murder-By-Month Mysteries #10

“Lourey skillfully mixes humor and suspense . . . the characters are wonderful and wacky, and the mile-a-minute pace never falters.”

—BOOKLIST (STARRED REVIEW)

February Release Books Available Now!

Don't miss Midnight Ink's latest releases!

“Ross’ thoroughly entertaining debut combines smart details about the auction business with two engaging mysteries and a uniformly appealing cast.”

—Booklist (starred review) on Death and the Redheaded Woman

"Verne's mystery is a winner, with plenty of twists and turns, an intriguing heroine and an ending that shocks in more ways than one."

—Kirkus Reviews on Drawing Conclusions

“Lourey skillfully mixes humor and suspense . . . the characters are wonderful and wacky, and the mile-a-minute pace never falters.”

—Booklist (starred review) on February Fever

Now available from Midnight Ink, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Indiebound, and your local bookseller!

INKSPOT NEWS - January 4, 2014

Here are the new releases from Midnight Ink for January, 2014. They're all fantastic reads!

Dying to Know by TJ O'Connor

“O’Connor’s debut . . . provides plenty of suspects and an eclectic mix of motives among the living.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS

January Thaw by Jess Lourey

"Who can resist a mystery that includes a daredevil octogenarian sidekick; a flashy, plant-whispering mayor; some really bad villains; and a little girl ghost?"—BOOKLIST

 Murder Strikes a Pose by Tracy Weber

“Weber’s debut, which launches the Downward Dog series, should appeal to anyone who likes canines, yoga, and a determined sleuth. ... Cozy fans will eagerly await the next installment.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

The Company You Keep by Shannon Baker

yep, I stole this from Inkspot...  it is Shannon Baker's post from last Wednesday.  But I couldn't not share it because I am so proud of the Inkers. 

 

The Company You Keep

What a great week to be a Midnight Ink writer. Actually, it’s way more than just a week but there has been an avalanche of good news crashing down recently.

Left Coast Crime conference, a gathering to celebrate mysteries that takes place in a different western city each year, announced finalists in their contest. What fun to see Midnight Ink writers on that illustrious list. Darrell James and Beth Groundwater are nominees in The Rocky category, which is a book set in the geographic area covered by Left Coast Crime. Jess Lourey is nominated for an award in the humorous category, The Lefty. And Catriona McPherson has a book in the Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery, for historical novels.

 

Can you say, “Wow!”

And then it gets better.

Kathleen Ernst recently won the LOVEY in the historical category at Love Is Murder in Chicago.

And drum roll, please…

Gin Malliet and (twice now) Catriona McPherson are up for Agatha Awards given by Malice Domestic.

Alan Orloff had an Agatha nomination in 2010.

 

And last year, Darrell James won a Left Coast Crime award, The Eureka, for a first novel.

Now it’s going to get dicey because I’m going to forget a whole ton of other good news. But let me mention that Vicki Doudera got a great review from the world’s snarkiest review site. I know Alice Loweecey and Lois Winston have posted some terrific reviews, as well.

I’m tickled for all the recipients. I imagine their glow and it makes me plum happy for them. I’ve met most of the writers I just mentioned and to a person, they are warm, funny, smart, generous and all around amazing specimens. I can only imagine the others are equally superior humans.

But, as Ayn Rand was ever-so-fond of saying, “There is no altruism.”

While I’m truly happy for these M’Inkers, I’m downright giddy for me.

My father always told me, “You’re known by the company you keep.” Yes, he was a wise man, but I don’t think he made that up.

I would be surprised if I ever win a prestigious award and Kirkus may always hate me. But someone, somewhere, at one time,(Terri) thought I wrote a book good enough to be included on the roster with these stellar writers.

That thought swells my chest more than the Miraculous Uplift bra I got from Victoria’s Secret.

By the time of my next Ink Spot post, my first book in the Nora Abbott Mystery series will have launched. Readers may love it or hate it. But for right now, for this brief moment, I get to revel in the success of my publisher and the fine writers they’ve accumulated and believe I am one of them. 

 

I am just so darned proud of Midnight Ink and all these folks. (And sorta proud of me, too.)

The Company You Keep

What a great week to be a Midnight Ink writer. Actually, it’s way more than just a week but there has been an avalanche of good news crashing down recently.

Left Coast Crime conference, a gathering to celebrate mysteries that takes place in a different western city each year, announced finalists in their contest. What fun to see Midnight Ink writers on that illustrious list. Darrell James and Beth Groundwater are nominees in The Rocky category, which is a book set in the geographic area covered by Left Coast Crime. Jess Lourey is nominated for an award in the humorous category, The Lefty. And Catriona McPherson has a book in the Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery, for historical novels.

                  .

Can you say, “Wow!”

And then it gets better.

Kathleen Earnst recently won the LOVEY in the historical category at Love Is Murder in Chicago.

And drum roll, please…

G.M. Malliet (three times now) and Catriona McPherson are up for Agatha Awards given by Malice Domestic.

Alan Orloff had an Agatha nomination in 2010. And last year, Darrell James won a Left Coast Crime award, The Eureka, for a first novel.

Now it’s going to get dicey because I’m going to forget a whole ton of other good news. But let me mention that Vicki Doudera got a great review from the world’s snarkiest review site. I know Alice Loweecey and Lois Winston have posted some terrific reviews, as well.

I’m tickled for all the recipients. I imagine their glow and it makes me plum happy for them. I’ve met most of the writers I just mentioned and to a person, they are warm, funny, smart, generous and all around amazing specimens. I can only imagine the others are equally superior humans.

But, as Ayn Rand was ever-so-fond of saying, “There is no altruism.”

While I’m truly happy for these M’Inkers, I’m downright giddy for me.

My father always told me, “You’re known by the company you keep.” Yes, he was a wise man, but I don’t think he made that up.

I would be surprised if I ever win a prestigious award and Kirkus may always hate me. But someone, somewhere, at one time,(Terri) thought I wrote a book good enough to be included on the roster with these stellar writers.

That thought swells my chest more than the Miraculous Uplift bra I got from Victoria’s Secret.

By the time of my next Ink Spot post, my first book in the Nora Abbott Mystery series will have launched. Readers may love it or hate it. But for right now, for this brief moment, I get to revel in the success of my publisher and the fine writers they’ve accumulated and believe I am one of them.  

 

I am just so darned proud of Midnight Ink and all these folks. (And sorta proud of me, too.)