MAY RELEASES!

Take a look at these FANTASTIC spring reads!



Bite the Biscuit
By: Linda O. Johnston 
A Barkery & Biscuits Mystery #1

"Kicking off a cozy new series, prolific Johnston blends mystery and romantic intrigue."—KIRKUS REVIEWS

Come to Harm
A Novel
By: Catriona McPherson 
 "[McPherson is a] master of psychological thrillers."
—KIRKUS REVIEWS (STARRED REVIEW)






 







Murder with a Twist
By: Tracy Kiely 
A Nic & Nigel Mystery #1
"Witty, droll, and hilariously spot on."—Hank Phillipi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, 
Macavity, and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author

The Final Reveille
By: Amanda Flower 
A Living History Museum Mystery #1
“History and Civil War buffs will enjoy the historical details woven through the mystery, and Kelsey and the secondary characters are well drawn and sympathetic. This one will appeal to readers who enjoy contemporary cozies with a history frame.”—BOOKLIST

January Releases!

By: Maegan Beaumont

It's a new year and Midnight Ink is kicking it off with some FANTASTIC new releases!

A Killer Retreat
By: Tracy Weber 
A Downward Dog Mystery #2 

Cozy readers will enjoy the twist-filled plot.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Dying for the Past
By: TJ O'Connor 
A Gumshoe Ghost Mystery #2

"The twisty plot is well delivered . . . Anyone who loves a strong ghost yarn will savor this tale."—LIBRARY JOURNAL

The Accidental Alchemist
By: Gigi Pandian 
An Accidental Alchemist Mystery #1

“This reviewer is eagerly anticipating more from this series, and a return of a cast more fun than an episode of Portlandia.”—RT BOOK REVIEWS 1/2

November Releases!

By: Maegan Beaumont

Check out these exciting new reads!

Bloody Politics
By: Maggie Sefton A Molly Malone Mystery #3 
"A strong protagonist."—LIBRARY JOURNAL

 Hell on Wheels
By: Sue Ann Jaffarian 
The Odelia Grey Mysteries #9

“Action-filled . . . Jaffarian neatly pulls all the plot lines together for a satisfying outcome."—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Trapline
By: Mark Stevens 
An Allison Coil Mystery #3

“Trapline rings as true as the beautiful mountains and valleys that frame this exciting, tense drama of today’s Colorado.”—Manuel Ramos, award-winning author of
Desperado: A Mile High Noir

Tradition of Deceit
By: Kathleen Ernst 
A Chloe Ellefson Mystery #5

"Ernst keeps getting better with each entry in this fascinating series."—LIBRARY JOURNAL

Maegan Beaumont is the author of the award-winning Sabrina Vaughn thriller series. The third installment, Promises to Keep, will be released in the late summer of 2015 by Midnight Ink.

The Very Best Thing

By: Maegan Beaumont

This past weekend, I attended my very first Bouchercon... and it was wonderful. Here is a list of some of the great things that happened to me:

1) I met loads of my fellow MInkers. I liked them and I think a few might like me back.

2) I had the opportunity to develop some fledgling friendships (I'm looking at you, Shannon Baker!).

3) I sat in on a last minute and decidedly awesome panel called WOMEN KILL AT MYSTERY. An entire hour dedicated to singing the praises of unsung (and undersung) mystery writers by their contemporaries. It was hangs down, the best hour I spent at B'con.

4) I was invited to dinner by my very good friend, Les Edgerton (who is a terrific Noir writer, you should check him out). We haven't seen each other in a while and it was so nice to see him again--I really love that guy!
5) Our very own Catriona McPherson took home an Anthony for best paperback!

6) I was invited to participate in a panel called EXPERIENCING FEAR with some of my most favorite writers. 

All of these things were fantastic but there was one thing that happened that I have decided was the very best thing that has happened to me as a writer so far...

During my panel (and I'm sitting shoulder to shoulder with Alison Gaylin and Alex Sokoloff--a couple of heavy hitters, for sure), I notice a little girl in the audience. She's about 10 and she's with her mom and I think to myself, what in the world is she doing here? We're talking about some pretty gritty stuff. I hope she's not freaked out...

And then she raises her hand and announces to the room that she's currently writing a novel about a serial killer and proceeds to ask some of the most thought-provoking and intelligent questions I have ever been asked. I was floored by this young woman's confidence and curiosity. 

But that's not the very best thing...

The very best thing is that after the panel, as everyone is filing out, this young writer approaches the panel... and asks me (ME!) writing advice.

I came down off the platform and sat with her for a few minutes. We talked about writing and I gave her my email address and invited her to write to me. I didn't ask for her name or for a picture--because, hello! Minor!--but I really hope she writes to me. At her age I was a writer but I didn't have the self-confidence to proclaim it to the world and I certainly didn't have the self-confidence to ask another (grown-up) writer for advice. 

Young writer, whoever you are, you are awesome! Thank you for being my very best thing--I hope I helped you as much as you helped me.

Maegan Beaumont is the author of CARVED IN DARKNESS, the first book in the Sabrina Vaughn thriller series (Available through Midnight Ink, spring 2013). A native Phoenician, Maegan’s stories are meant to make you wonder what the guy standing in front of you in the Starbucks line has locked in his basement, and feel a strong desire to sleep with the light on. When she isn’t busy fulfilling her duties as Domestic Goddess for her high school sweetheart turned husband, Joe, and their four children, she is locked in her office with her computer, her coffee pot and her Rhodesian Ridgeback, and one true love, Jade.

First Page Blues

By: Deirdre Verne

I struggle with the first few paragraphs of anything. This blog entry alone has been started and trashed at least five times. Within seconds of churning out the first paragraph, I almost always require immediate feedback. I’m not asking for much. A simple ‘you’re on the right track’ from just about anyone is enough to boost my confidence. Without the thumbs up, I have trouble continuing to the second page. Once I get going, however, I’m good for the next three hundred. But that first page! It’s a killer.
A writer friend of mine warned me recently about soliciting criticism. “Never show your work to your family until it’s published,” she said. 
Good advice -- ten years too late. Enter my husband. He now refuses to read my writing, insisting that I purposely killed him off in the opening scene of my first (unpublished) book. Talk about sensitive. It’s not like I’m writing a memoir.
Then I tried my mother. She loves to read and she loves me. She’s also a teacher. Her only attempt to read my writing started with her licking the tip of a red pen. Let’s just say it didn’t end well.
Based on my prior experiences, I’ve trained myself to complete an entire chapter without external input. Then I seek out a peer from my writing group to provide constructive and actionable criticism. I still need the occasional pat on the back, but I’ve learned to replace my need for immediate gratification with a heaping bowl of ice cream.

Deirdre Verne is a college professor who is currently the curriculum chair of the marketing program at Westchester Community College. Previously, she held senior marketing positions at Time, Inc. Drawing Conclusions is the first book in her A Sketch in Crime mystery series. Available winter, 2015.

Fall Releases from Midnight Ink!

By: Maegan Beaumont

Check out these great new mysteries for Fall!

Black Thursday
By: Linda Joffe Hull A Mrs. Frugalicious Shopping Mystery #2 

"A fun and savvy mystery."—BOOKLIST

Catwalk
By: Sheila Webster Boneham 
An Animals in Focus Mystery #3

“Janet MacPhail's latest adventure will delight dog lovers, cat lovers, and mystery lovers…. Five stars for Catwalk!” —SUSAN CONANT, AUTHOR OF THE DOG LOVER'S MYSTERY SERIES

The Question of the Missing Head
By: E. J. Copperman, Jeff Cohen An Asperger's Mystery #1 

 "[A] delightful and clever mystery."—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Lost Under a Ladder
By: Linda O. Johnston A Superstition Mystery #1

"Doggone cute."—LIBRARY JOURNAL

Adobe Flats
By: Colin Campbell A Resurrection Man Novel #3 

"A stylish noir voice."—KIRKUS REVIEWS

Beauty with a Bomb
By: M. C. Grant 
A Dixie Flynn Mystery #3

"Readers will cheer for this avenging less-than-angel as she goes after some very bad people." —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Of Merlot & Murder
By: Joni Folger A Tangled Vines Mystery #2 

Lively and entertaining . . . [a] well wrought whodunit." —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

 Unraveled Visions
By: Nina Milton 
A Shaman Mystery #2

"[A] thrilling tale." —RT BOOK REVIEWS

Bitter Crossing
By: D. A. Keeley 
A Peyton Cote Novel #1

"A solid bet for Nevada Barr and Tricia Fields fans." —LIBRARY JOURNAL

Murder at Midnight
By: C.S. Challinor 
A Rex Graves Mystery #6

"A classic country-house mystery, with modern day twists and turns adding to the fun." —BOOKLIST

Maegan Beaumont is the author of the award-winning Sabrina Vaughn thriller series. A native Phoenician, Maegan's stories are meant to make you wonder what the guy standing in front of you in the Starbucks line has locked in his basement, and feel a strong desire to sleep with the light on. When she isn't busy fulfilling her duties as Domestic Goddess for her high school sweetheart turned husband, Joe, and their four children, she is locked in her office with her computer, her coffee pot and her Rhodesian Ridgeback, and one true love, Jade.

The Cave of Wonders

                          By: Maegan Beaumont


Lately, I've had a lot of people question me on my writing process. 
How I write (with my hands). How I choose to write what I write (I don't... it kinda chooses me). How much I write on a given day (It depends. I set a personal goal of 700 words a day. Sometimes I barely make it. Sometimes I quadruple it.) 

But without fail, someone always asks this question:

Where do you write?

In the spirit of full disclosure... I can write anywhere. But that doesn't mean all writing spaces are created equal. I've been known to stay in bed all day with my laptop and my dog and I can do that just as easily as I can set up at the dining room table.

But when I'm really looking to bank some major words, I head to my writing cave. It's kinda like the Bat Cave only there's no bats and no butler who brings me tea and cleans my grappling hook.

My desk is way too small and my chair has seen better days but this is where the magic happens.

Any writer worth their salt is a voracious reader. This is how I justify hiding in my cave and reading when I should be doing laundry.

No cave is complete without a dog and access to coffee. 

So there it is--the answer to where... just don't ask me why because that's something I haven't quite figured out.

Maegan Beaumont is the author of SACRIFICIAL MUSE, the second book in the award-winning Sabrina Vaughn thriller series. A native Phoenician, Maegan's stories are meant to make you wonder what the guy standing in front of you in the Starbucks line has locked in his basement, and feel a strong desire to sleep with the light on. When she isn't busy fulfilling her duties as Domestic Goddess for her high school sweetheart turned husband, Joe, and their four children, she is locked in her office with her computer, her coffee pot and her Rhodesian Ridgeback, and one true love, Jade.

























"... Sacrificial Muse is heart pounding intrigue at its very best. A fast paced, exciting read that I couldn’t put down." - Book Chatter

One Crazy Summer...

By: Maegan Beaumont

Six months ago, I made a prediction. I boldly proclaimed as fantastically awesome as 2013 had been (and for me, it really had), 2014 was going to be even better.

As it turns out, I'm psychic.

Six months in and 2014 has managed to blow 2013 out of the water!

Book 2 in my Sabrina Vaughn series, SACRIFICIAL MUSE, will be out in a few weeks. Here she is, side-by-side, with her big sister (who's wearing her shiny gold seal from Independent Publishers).

In 5 days (5!!!) I will be attending ALA, my first "real" writer's conference in Las Vegas. I'll be signing books for both Sisters in Crime and Midnight Ink. If you're attending, stop by and say "hi"!

After I get home, I'll be hosting a signing at the world-famous bookstore, The Poisoned Pen, for SACRIFICIAL MUSE, along with my fellow MInker, C.J. Carpenter, who will be signing copies of her debut release, NEVER ALONE.

http://www.poisonedpenevents.com/?ai1ec_event=beaumont&instance_id=198

I'll be handing out some pretty cool prizes, so if you like free stuff, show up and you just might get some!

At the end of July, I'll put on my traveling shoes (they're Birkenstocks, just in case you're wondering...) again. This time I'll be heading to Kennewick, WA for the weekend to sign books at Tri-cities Books with Patricia Briggs, author of the Mercy Thompson series.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bookworm-Tri-Cities/124742419618


AND THEN...

At the end of August, I'll be taking my long awaited research trip to NYC/Boston! I'll spend a week soaking in as much local color as possible so that I can start my new stand-alone crime novel, set in South Boston, about a bartender who gets mixed up with the local crime boss. (not to worry... Sabrina will be back!)

Just thinking about all the traveling and excitement in the coming months has got me feeling like a kid at Christmas! It's gonna be crazy... and it's gonna be FUN!

Maegan Beaumont is the author of CARVED IN DARKNESS, the first book in the Sabrina Vaughn thriller series (Available through Midnight Ink, spring 2013). A native Phoenician, Maegan's stories are meant to make you wonder what the guy standing in front of you in the Starbucks line has locked in his basement, and feel a strong desire to sleep with the light on. When she isn't busy fulfilling her duties as Domestic Goddess for her high school sweetheart turned husband, Joe, and their four children, she is locked in her office with her computer, her coffee pot and her Rhodesian Ridgeback, and one true love, Jade.