The Virginia is for Mysteries blog is here.
January 2: Heather Weidner’s The Mill Mountain Star
January 10: Teresa Inge’s Corked for Murder
January 16: My post is coming soon!
Look for Virginia is for Mysteries: Volume II next month.
Virginia is for Mysteries
Pre-order Available for Virginia is for Mysteries: Volume II
The anthology of nineteen short stories, set in and around the Commonwealth, features Virginia landmarks and locations such as Virginia Wine Country, the Poe Museum, Luray Caverns, Colonial Williamsburg, the Great Dismal Swamp, Nimrod Hall (my story!), the Barter Theater, and Mill Mountain, to name a few. Visit VirginiaIsForMysteries.com to learn more.
The stories transport readers across the diverse backdrop of the Old Dominion to a unique and deadly landscape, filled with killers, crooks, and criminals.
Authors: Meriah Lysistrata Crawford, Adele Gardner, Debbiann Holmes, Maria Hudgins, Teresa Inge, Maggie King, Kristin Kisska, C. B. Lane, Vivian Lawry, Michael McGowan, Kathleen Mix, Jayne Ormerod, Yvonne Saxon, Rosemary Shomaker, Rosemary Stevens, Linda Thornburg, Heather Weidner, Lee A. Wells, and Ken Wingate
Pre-order at your favorite retailer.
I hope you’ll join us at one of our upcoming events. First up, the Poe Birthday Bash on January 16th.
January 16, 2016 3:00 – 4:00 PM
Author Discussion and Book Signing
The Poe Birthday Bash – Poe Museum – Richmond, VA
Author Discussion and Book Signing
The Poe Birthday Bash – Poe Museum – Richmond, VA
Virginia is for Mysteries, Volume II Preorders Available Now
I’m excited to share that Virginia is for Mysteries, Volume II is available for preorder. The collection includes my story “War and Murder at Nimrod Hall” and stories by a talented group of authors.
This is a sequel to “Death Comes to Hollywood Cemetery,” which appears in Virginia Is For Mysteries. It follows Clara as she escapes war-torn Richmond in 1862 only to encounter wounded soldiers and spies in Bath County.
Preorders are the way that the big stores judge how many to order. It’s an opportunity to support local authors and reserve your copy. Virginia is for Mysteries, Volume II releases on February 1, 2016.
Preorder here
Sex in the Civil War
Sometimes things just come together. I’ve had a long-standing interest in graveyards and cemeteries. My all-time favorite is Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The primary picture on my website was taken there! It is the first garden cemetery in the United States, established in 1834.
So, of course, when I moved to the area, I visited Hollywood Cemetery, the third garden cemetery in the United States.
At that time, I lived in the McMurdo house in Ashland, built in 1858. Apparently Stonewall Jackson headquartered there briefly during the battles around Richmond—briefly meaning only a few hours. But it piqued my interest in the Civil War.
After touring the White House of the Confederacy, I visited the gift shop there. After visiting historic sites or museums, I always check the gift shop for off-beat books. In this instance, I found The Story the Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell: Sex in the Civil War.
So when the call went out for stories for Virginia Is For Mysteries, it all came together. I wrote “Death Comes to Hollywood Cemetery.” My amateur detective is Clara, a good natured prostitute who plies her trade with fetishists in Richmond and the surrounding area during the Civil War.
I love it when everything comes together!
My First Time at the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival
I had to leave home at 8:30 a.m. and didn’t get home till nearly 10:00 p.m. But it was definitely worth the time! The commute was a reconnect with Heather Weidner and Maggie King. Lots of conversation about everything from work life to pets.
The Center for Cultural Arts is attractive—white columns, brick walkway, garden sculptures. On the way in and out, I was too encumbered to take pictures. Oh, sigh. Opportunity lost.
Our table location—just inside the door, first on the right—was a blessing and a curse. The blessing was that everyone entering passed our table first, all adhering to the U.S custom of keeping to the right. The curse was that we were backed by a bank of windows, and all my photos there are dark and sinister looking. Heather got better pictures.
But I did get seeable pictures of Mary Miley, Fiona Quinn, and Maggie King. Mary Miley, former president of the Central Virginia Chapter of Sisters in Crime, is the author of the Roaring Twenties mystery series. Two are published (The Impersonator, winner of the Mystery Writers of America Best First Crime Novel award, and its sequel, Silent Murders.) Two more in the series are forthcoming.
Maggie King is author of Murder in the Book Group. Fiona Quinn is the author of the Lynx series: Weakest Lynx, Missing Lynx, Chain Lynx, and co-author with John Dolan of Chaos is Come Again.
Our panel presentation on getting published was scheduled for 5:00—the last hour of the festival—and I was a bit skeptical. But the room was packed! We talked about everything from traditional to DIY, short stories to novels, pen names to web presence. The attendees were engaged, asked lots of questions, no one left, and when the 6:00 end time arrived, the security guard had to clear the room because he was closing the building. What a high!
Advice for book signings: Be Prepared. Never go to a book signing with only one pen!
Read More About the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival
Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival on August 22
I’m thrilled to participate in the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival this Saturday, August 22.
Kathleen Kelley stopped by The Hampton Roads Show earlier this week to talk about the festival. Click the play button below to view the interview and learn more.
Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival
Saturday, August 22
Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts
1 – 6 p.m.
Free!
The day-long festival includes mystery, suspense, romance and women’s fiction authors. There will be book signings, fan meet & greets, author readings, workshops, and moderated panel discussions. You can come and go as you please.
I’m excited to be on a panel with Heather Baker Weidner, Teresa Hewitt Inge, Maria Hudgins, and Jayne Ormerod! I hope you’ll join us.
The festival hosts more than 20 talented authors.
FYI, The ticketed, one-hour VIP Meet & Greet has already sold out. Tickets were $15, which included a Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival Swag Bag, refreshments, and an hour with the authors.
Learn More About the Suffolk Mystery Authors Festival
Day 10 at Nimrod Hall Writers’ Workshop
NIMROD HALL TRAVEL LOG
Day 10
One of my favorite walks up Nimrod Lane passes this tiny graveyard. Three members of the Smith family are buried here–gone and forgotten?–and several mornings each summer, I pay my respects.
I’ve always loved graveyards and cemeteries. I have a favorite tree in Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA. In fact the main picture on my website was taken there, in the first garden cemetery in the US. And as some of you may know, my story in Virginia Is For Mysteries is “Death Comes To Hollywood Cemetery”— which is in Richmond, VA, and is the third oldest garden cemetery in the US.
But enough, before I get carried away sending pictures of my skull jewelry. BTW, skulls are also a symbol of transformation.
My work today had nothing to do with death or cemeteries, though my new novel will have much to do with transformation. I spent the morning trying to apply the structure used for “Brokeback Mountain” (by Annie Proulx, in Close Range: Wyoming Stories) to my novel. In that story, only 30 pp, I saw how a story spanning decades can be compelling while (by?) leaving out a lot.
The two writers “on” today were widely divergent and wonderful.
Foust is a writer, cartoonist, and print maker who lives in Richmond, VA. She is seen here on the Square House side porch with her two new books. Six Of One, Half-Dozen Of The Other is a book of cartoons. Sins of Omission is a collection of stories. Foust specializes in short-shorts, so many of these are only a couple of pages with enormous punch.
Amelia L. Williams is a prize-winning poet from Afton, VA. Her language is both lyrical and gripping. She has done–and is continuing to develop–an amazing installation of in situ art with integrated poems.
This picture of Amelia was taken shortly before her workshop and reading. Obviously, Nimrod writer weeks are pressure cooker sorts of events.
Nimrod Hall, established in 1783, has been providing summer respite from everyday stress since 1906. It has been operating as an artist and writer colony for over 25 years. The Nimrod Hall Summer Arts Program is a non-competitive, inspirational environment for artists to create without the distractions of everyday life. The 2015 Writers’ Workshop writers-in-residence are Sheri Reynolds, Cathryn Hankla, and Charlotte G. Morgan.
NIMROD HALL TRAVEL LOG POSTS
Day 8 at Nimrod Hall Writers’ Workshop
NIMROD HALL TRAVEL LOG
Day 8
En route from Hot Springs to Nimrod, I paused at Warm Springs. What were once known as the Warm Springs Baths are now called the Jefferson Pools because Thomas Jefferson so often took the waters here. This is the men’s bathing house, built in 1761.
In 1836, a separate Ladies Pool House was opened, fed by a separate spring. The roof of the octagonal Ladies Pool House is open to the sky. The water is always 98 degrees. Bathing suits are optional. I love it! Both NETTIE’S BOOKS and “War and Murder at Nimrod Hall” have scenes set at the Jefferson Pools.
I was back at Nimrod before the Week 2 writers arrived.
I reset my workspace and polished my memoir a bit. But I also had time for the sort of nature Nimrod is known for.
Week 2 is a more intimate group, 7 total. I had the foresight to ask permission to talk about them on-line, and so will be introducing you to individuals this week.
This week, everyone knows each other to some degree, so we skipped introductions and went directly to “brag time” talk about the year’s accomplishments. Since last Nimrod, I’ve had 5 short stories published, plus the DIFFERENT DRUMMER collection–very gratifying!
We talked about goals for the week. Cathy Hankla (this week’s writer-in-residence) read from her forthcoming book. Charlotte Morgan (who administers the writing workshops ms is writer-in-residence for Week 3) read from the novel she is writing. More about both of them later, but you might want to check them out online.
Returning to Square House under the Nimrod moon, I smiled. The words “incest” and “orgasm” have already been uttered. The topics of “gender-fluid” identity and hashtags have been broached, along with art in place and environmental conservation. It’s going to be that kind of week! 😊
Nimrod Hall, established in 1783, has been providing summer respite from everyday stress since 1906. It has been operating as an artist and writer colony for over 25 years. The Nimrod Hall Summer Arts Program is a non-competitive, inspirational environment for artists to create without the distractions of everyday life. The 2015 Writers’ Workshop writers-in-residence are Sheri Reynolds, Cathryn Hankla, and Charlotte G. Morgan.
NIMROD HALL TRAVEL LOG POSTS
Day 7 at Nimrod Hall Writers’ Workshop
NIMROD HALL TRAVEL LOG
Day 7 – Around Nimrod
My husband and I spent the day in Clifton Forge (visiting Alleghany Highlands Arts and the C&O Railroad Museum) and in Hot Springs (at the Bath County Art Show). To get from one to the other, we drove Rt 606. Writing was never far from my thoughts.
In “War and Murder at Nimrod Hall” (forthcoming in February, 2016, in the next volume of Virginia Is For Mysteries) Clara and Major Bruce arrive at Millboro Depot on the Virginia Central Railway.
And in my novel Nettie’s Books, people were always “in the C&O”–meaning the hospital in Clifton Forge–or going to Clifton Forge for banking or shopping.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll write more fiction set in this area. Just yesterday I was wearing a T-shirt that says, “Careful, or you’ll end up in my novel.” A woman in a parking lot stopped me to say she’d first misread it as, “Careful, or you’ll end up in my navel.” IMAGINE THAT!
The road we traveled was full of hair-pin bends, switchbacks, and S-curves–not even a full two lanes wide. It reminds me of Kentucky roads of my childhood. I imagine Nettie and Roy (in my 1930s novel) would have considered this road a superhighway!
Tonight we had dinner in Hot Springs at The Golden Pigs–small, but excellent food. We liked it so much last night that we returned tonight.
And it came to my attention that The Homestead doesn’t have a lock on the steam from the springs!
Nimrod Hall, established in 1783, has been providing summer respite from everyday stress since 1906. It has been operating as an artist and writer colony for over 25 years. The Nimrod Hall Summer Arts Program is a non-competitive, inspirational environment for artists to create without the distractions of everyday life. The 2015 Writers’ Workshop writers-in-residence are Sheri Reynolds, Cathryn Hankla, and Charlotte G. Morgan.
Nimrod Hall Travel Log Posts
Day 5 at Nimrod Hall Writers’ Workshop
Nimrod Hall Travel Log
Day 5
Once upon a time, and for a long time, there was a boys’ camp here. I think that ended somewhere around 1950. This morning’s walk took me by the remains.
Earlier, I posted a picture of folks waiting for the breakfast bell. FYI, all meals are served family style. And, by the way, said food is great. Here’s a picture of this week’s writers at lunch.
Today was yin/yang, emotionally–a wonderful experience coming to an end. Dr. Seuss, in his personal persona, said something like, “Do not weep that it is done, smile that it happened.” Seems right.
So, last day of focused writing. I’ve nearly finished polishing a short memoir piece AND I have half a dozen wacky ideas for short fiction. All very gratifying.
After dinner tonight, we had our last hoorah: ten of us read for five minutes each. I read the first 2.5 pages of “War and Murder at Nimrod Hall”–to be published in February of 2016 in the sequel to Virginia Is For Mysteries–and I didn’t take pictures! Opportunity lost.
Nimrod Hall, established in 1783, has been providing summer respite from everyday stress since 1906. It has been operating as an artist and writer colony for over 25 years. The Nimrod Hall Summer Arts Program is a non-competitive, inspirational environment for artists to create without the distractions of everyday life. The 2015 Writers’ Workshop writers-in-residence are Sheri Reynolds, Cathryn Hankla, and Charlotte G. Morgan.