Blog | Maggie King | Mystery Author

Missing Authors: Update 4

Posted on by

My long-awaited “Missing Author” series is back! Since I last updated in January, I’ve had a number of requests. In March, I guest posted for a week on Sue Ann Jaffarian’s Fan Club (great experience!). Many of my requests came from one of those posts.

Without further ado, read on for the latest updates.

Annette Blair, author of the Vintage Magic mysteries, set in Connecticut

Here’s Annette’s response to my inquiry on her status:

Maggie, I will be writing more mysteries, but I have to wait to get the rights back from Random House. I’m working on new Rogues right now, Rogues 5 & 6. And I should have the rights back to the witches this spring. I went missing because of four years worth of surgeries, months of rehab, horrible side effects and of course depression with all that. But I am back to writing again. Thanks for letting the readers know.

Joyce Christmas, author of the Betty Trenka and the Lady Margaret Priam series.

Joyce Christmas passed away in 2012. Read her obit.

Earlene Fowler, author of the Benni Harper quilting mysteries, set on California’s central coast.

On February 15, 2017 she responded to an inquiry about a new book on her Facebook page: “Not writing currently, personal and professional reasons. So sorry.”

Graham Landrum, author of the The Social Club Mysteries in Borderville, Virginia.

Graham Landrum died in 1995. Here is an article about his last book, The Garden Club Mystery, published posthumously by his son.

I must read The Garden Club Mystery, as I once served as Administrator for the Garden Club of Virginia.

Lia Matera, author of the Willa Jansson mysteries, set in San Francisco

Read Lia’s response to my inquiry:

Hi, Maggie. Thanks for asking! I do hope to finish the manuscripts I’ve been working on soon… or soonish. (Or maybe, at this rate, I should say eventually.) But then the books will have to find homes, and if they do, they’ll be in the pipeline for a year or two. So for now, I’m answering to Lia Who? and wasting time on facebook & twitter when I should be working.

Stephanie Matteson, author of the Charlotte Graham mysteries

All I can find are indications that she’s been involved in the corporate world for the past several years, especially in the solar energy field. She wrote her Charlotte Graham series in the 1990s.

Deborah Sharp, author of the Mace Bauer Mysteries, set in Florida

Read Deborah’s response to my inquiry:

Hi, there … I’m so flattered that readers still ask about me! I love the idea of your blog post tracking down MIA authors. The “Whatever Happened To . . . ?” stories were always favorites of mine to write back in my journalism days. As for me, I never planned that my fifth book, Mama Gets Trashed, would be the last when it came out in 2013. In fact, I had completed a 35-page outline for Book 6, had a title — Mama Gets Schooled — and a commitment from my publisher, Midnight Ink. Unfortunately, life intervened. Health issues, care-taking for my elderly mother, and family responsibilities just seemed to sap the “funny” right out of me. When I sat down to write the book, I found I just didn’t have the heart to do it. I’ve been surprised by how much I miss my characters (not to mention the lovely readers!) My mother — the real mama — recently passed away at 102. I’m not sure if I will return to writing, but if I do, it would likely be to my series, because I love those folks in fictional Himmarshee, Fla. Currently, though, I’m enjoying the freedom I have to travel, read, and do not much of anything, frankly. I kind of like being a lazybones!

S.T. Haymon, author of a series featuring Ben Jurnet, a detective inspector, in Norfolk, England

Sylvia Theresa Haymon passed away in 1995.

Here’s information a reader sent for author Marianne Macdonald and CJ Songer, featured in my January post:

Marianne lives in London, but is in poor health. Her sons were caring for her but have not heard from her for over a year and do not have contact with the sons.

I forwarded your address to CJ Songer.

Note: So far, CJ Songer has not contacted me.

I receive many requests for authors I’ve posted about before. Click on the following names to see the earlier post:

Stephen Greenleaf He has his backlist on Kindle now

Thank you readers, for wanting to know what happened to your favorite mystery authors who, for whatever reason, haven’t published in a while.

If you have information on the status of an author included in these posts please leave a comment. And if you have a favorite author who hasn’t written in some time and isn’t included on one of the above posts, include the name(s) in the comments section and I’ll see what I can find out. It may take me some time but I will get back to you, either personally or in an upcoming blog post.

One thing’s for sure—there are a lot of missing authors out there!

Some are easy to find, while some are not. Fortunately, many still maintain websites and are active on social media so I can contact them. Often life circumstances put her or his writing on hold. Some are making a comeback with a new series. Sadly, I find that some have left us for the great beyond. Others have seemingly vanished.

I have more authors to research. I’m waiting on responses to a number of inquiries—Earl Emerson, Jane Haddam, Beverly Taylor Herald, M.D. Lake, Barbara Taylor McCafferty, Beth Sherman, Christine Wenger, and more. I may have to reach out to publishers. So look for an update this summer, earlier than usual.

In the meantime, I’ll have to check out Madelyn Alt’s series—she’s my #1 request.

Find bibliographies for the above authors on Stop You’re Killing Me, a great resource for mystery lovers.

Posts from my “Missing Authors” series, in chronological order:

“Missing Rochelle Krich”

“Discovering a Lost Author: John J. Lamb”

“Whatever Happened to Gabrielle Kraft?”

“Whatever Happened to (Name an Author)?”

“In Memory of My Favorite Mystery Authors (And Maybe Yours)”

“Those Missing Authors: An Update”

“Missing Author Found!”

“Missing Authors: Update 2”

“Missing Authors: Update 3”

Save

The Land Down Under: Books, Film, and a Geography Lesson

Posted on by

I’ve been on an Australian kick.

In the past year I’ve read Bittersweet by the late Colleen McCullough (I read The Thorn Birds decades ago); The Lake House by Kate Morton; and the wonderful mysteries of indy mystery authors Christina Larmer and Morgana Best.

And now I’m enjoying The Doctor Blake Mysteries, a TV series set in 1950s Victoria.

I never realized how spotty my knowledge was of Australian geography. Before Doctor Blake, I had heard of Victoria (I think), but I couldn’t have told you anything about the place—was it a city, state, territory? I didn’t know. My trusty atlas showed me that Victoria is a small state in the southeastern part of the continent.

Here’s a map that I appropriated from Wikipedia. Victoria stands out in red:

I found Ballarat, the city where Dr. Blake lives, practices medicine, and solves murders. I realized that I had often heard of Melbourne, the state capital. If pressed, I would have put it New South Wales.

Honestly, I took Geography in school. Really, I did. Of course, that was eons ago, but still. In my mind’s eye I could place New South Wales, Sydney, and Canberra in their correct spots on a map—although I had NSW much larger than it in fact is, eclipsing Queensland. And I knew of Perth from the movie Shine and because I had a boss who came from there. But that was it.

So my Australian kick has been quite educational. And now I’m hankering to visit. Maybe I’ll get to meet some of the great people I’m friends with on Facebook. Of course, there’s the daunting idea of the air travel … but I know the day is coming when I’ll arrive in the land Down Under.

Map in hand.

I always like to read up on my destination in fiction:

The Aussies wield a mighty pen. Here’s a long, long list of Down Under novelists.

A list of Australian mystery authors from Stop! You’re Killing Me.

Patricia Carlon. I read her suspenseful novel, Whispering Wall, years ago.

A couple of extras:

Everything about Victoria, and then some.

Sydney Chic Blog: I follow this guide to restaurants and lifestyle on Instagram.

Suggestions are welcome.

Save

How Did a Teetotaler End Up in a Wine Anthology?

Posted on by

Cabernet is the star in 50 Shades of Cabernet, an anthology of wine-themed mysteries created by 18 authors. The stories range from light-hearted puzzles to darker, heavier tales of deceit and murder.

I don’t drink Cabernet. I don’t drink wine—or anything alcoholic. So why did I say “yes” when asked to contribute a story to the 50 shades anthology? Aren’t I supposed to “write what I know?”

The requirements for story submission were few: “The only requirements are that your story includes a mystery of some sort (not necessarily a murder), and that there is at least one mention of Cabernet wine somewhere in the story.”

I’m a mystery writer and have penned short stories. I could certainly mention the word Cabernet without sampling the beverage.

My friend Marcia took me on a tour of the extensive Cabernet section at Total Wine where I took pictures of various labels and accompanying descriptions. So now all I needed was a story!

I belong to the Greater Richmond, Virginia branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and we host an annual wine-tasting fundraiser at a local church. I took inspiration from this event to turn out “Wine, Women, and Wrong.” Here is a description of my contribution to this stellar anthology:

Tommy Bradshaw has two items on his bucket list: to solve a murder mystery and to marry Camille Pettit. Fat chance of either happening. Then, when Camille attends a wine-tasting fundraiser and the wine merchant is found in the parking lot, impaled by a hunting knife, Tommy gets his chance to play one of the Hardy Boys. In the process of finding the stabber, Tommy is besieged by women: the glamorous and sexy oenophile who’s hell-bent on seducing him; and the cop who would love to woo him away from Camille. In addition, Tommy finds that detecting isn’t as easy as it is in books.

Joining me in 50 Shades of Cabernet’s are these 17 talented authors, all members of Sisters in Crime: Betsy Ashton, Lyn Brittan, Barb Goffman, Debbiann Holmes, Maria Hudgins, Teresa Inge, Jim Jackson, Kristin Kisska, Douglas Lutz, Nancy Naigle, Alan Orloff, Jayne Ormerod, Rosemary Shomaker, Jenny Sparks, Heather Weidner, Tina Whittle, and Ken Wingate.

Back to my teetotaling ways. Many famous people share this life choice, including Jim Carrey, Shania Twain, Rob Lowe, George W. Bush, Natalie Portman, Elisabeth Hasselbeck …

And Donald Trump.

Purchase your copy of 50 Shades of Cabernet here.

Visit the 50 Shades of Cabernet web site here.

50 Shades of Cabernet is on Facebook!

… and on Twitter!

Enjoy the stories. And please write a review.

Save

My TV Debut

Posted on by

Yikes! Me on TV?

That was my initial reaction when the supervising producer of Virginia This Morning emailed me, asking me to appear on the show. I was to talk about my latest mystery, Murder at the Moonshine Inn, and promote the upcoming Murder at the Library, a murder mystery theater event put on by the Clover Hill branch of the Chesterfield County Public Library and Sisters in Crime Central Virginia.

Now my husband had been encouraging me to get booked on the show for quite some time, but I had dragged my feet on that adventure. But to be asked was a different matter. I immediately replied “Yes!”

To say I was nervous was an understatement. What would I say? What if I blanked out? What would I wear? What about hair and makeup? I figured I could get my hair and makeup done at the studio. Thankfully, I asked about this. It turned out that I needed to arrive camera ready. Whew! I don’t even want to think about showing up with a not camera ready face.

I queried friends who had appeared on the show. Their advice:

Make sure my elevator speech is polished

Wear something bright

Wear slacks

Foundation and blush should be two shades darker than normal

Don’t look at the camera

Pretend that I’m having a conversation with a friend

My hair stylist gave me written instructions for achieving my best look. I visited Ulta and purchased “full coverage” foundation. I spent a week before the big day experimenting with hair and makeup. I decided on a bright teal top to brighten my usual black wardrobe.

Now, I had other concerns than about my appearance. I did follow the above advice and practiced the elevator speech for both of my books until I didn’t stumble over a word. I tried to anticipate what I’d be asked. I viewed LynDee Walker’s video from her appearance on the show.

The day arrived. I got out of bed at 5:30 am to attend to my image. I got to the studio way early and was escorted to the green room (peach, really). I chatted with a group of musicians who were promoting their upcoming benefit concert, Jazz4Justice. We discussed politics (always anxiety-reducing!).

I met Jessica Noll, one of Virginia This Morning’s producers. When I asked her if my makeup was okay she assured me that it was—she especially liked my lipstick—but suggested that I add more blush. When I wondered if I should wear my glasses, she said that if I didn’t need them to go without, as they could cause glare. Since I wasn’t driving on the set, I left them behind.

Showtime! I’m sitting across from Cheryl Miller, a veteran interviewer. It was hard not to look at the camera, as it hovered in my peripheral vision. But I kept my eyes focused on Cheryl, who was as warm and engaging as she could be. As expected, we promoted the aforementioned Murder at the Library and I got to recite my elevator speech. Then Cheryl asked me about the Richmond Police Academy program that I participated in last spring. I hadn’t expected that question so I didn’t have a polished response, but I think I did okay by the RPD (It was a great program that I highly recommend and many communities offer it).

The interview was over in five quick minutes. I signed a copy of Murder at the Moonshine Inn for Cheryl and we chatted for a few minutes off-camera.

Back in the green/peach room, the musicians were very complimentary.

“So I can safely post it on social media?” I asked.

“Absolutely. Nothing embarrassing at all.”

I did post the video and got very nice comments.

Would I do it all over again?

You bet.

Note to authors: I had quite a spike in sales that day and, less than 30 minutes after my appearance, I had a request to visit a local book group.

View my debut here.

Murder at the Library murder mystery theater event: details and tickets. Following the event is a panel discussion, “The Many Hats of a Writer,” and author signings.

For information on Virginia This Morning.

Save

Missing Authors: Update 3

Posted on by

My long-awaited “Missing Author” series is back! Thank you readers, for wanting to know what happened to your favorite mystery authors who, for whatever reason, haven’t published in a while.

Sometimes I’m lucky enough to make contact with a “missing” author. Often life circumstances put her or his writing on hold. Some are making a comeback with a new series. Sadly, I find that some have left us for the great beyond.

Read on for the latest updates.

Carol K. Carr, author of the series featuring India Black, a young madam in 1870s London

I e-mailed Penguin Random House, asking about the author’s status; they haven’t responded.

Shirley Damsgaard penned the Ophelia and Abby series

Shirley is active on Facebook. I sent her a message asking about her writing status, but I haven’t heard back yet.

Patricia Harwin is the author of the Catherine Penny series, about an American who relocates to Far Wychwood, England

From this message board, I gather that Patricia Harwin had publishing issues and didn’t publish after 2005.

From her Simon & Schuster page, I learned that she lived in Rockville, MD and she looks to be in her sixties or seventies.

Here’s her obit from 2015. I think we can be sure it’s for the same person, as she died at age 78 and lived in Rockville.

I’m sorry I don’t have better news.

Marne Davis Kellogg, author of the Kick Keswick series.

I included Ms. Kellogg in my last Missing Author post and have since received this lovely note from her:

Dear Maggie,

Please forgive me for taking so long to respond to your note—it went missing. And thank you for your inquiry—what an interesting project.

The fact is, the last couple of years have been crazy—our business has been extremely busy, for which I am grateful, and then our dog died and then my Mother died and then I needed to redo her house and so on and so forth. Real life has gotten very in the way of my writing life.

However, I am about halfway through a wonderful new Kick book—THE HOUR OF CHARM. Because my business life is primary, it’s difficult to predict when the manuscript will be finished but I hope by the end of the year which means that it should be out by this time next year. My last Kick book—THE REAL THING—came out in November 2013.

Thanks so much for taking the time to track me down, Maggie. Where do you live in Virginia? What else do you write?

All the best, Marne

Jeff Long, author of The Descent and Year Zero, among others.

I contacted Jeff Long via the web form on his site. To date, he hasn’t responded. Simon & Schuster, his most recent publisher, has no current knowledge of him.

Randye Lordon, author of novels about family dynamics.

Years ago, Randye Lordon contributed to Women of Mystery: An Anthology. I contacted the editor, Katherine V. Forrest (I love her Kate Delafield series). She didn’t have any information on Randye, but suggested that I find the name of her agent for Mother May I?

By some fluke I found an e-mail address for Randye (it wasn’t on her website) and contacted her. She responded almost immediately:

Dear Maggie,

Thanks so much for your email.

Ah yes, it looks like I have been MIA but in the last few years life presented several challenges that I needed to address. I have not stopped writing but I have taken a break from the Sydney Sloane series. I may very well return to it, but right now I am completing the first in a new series about a Hamptons concierge who discoveries that life really can be murder out here.

But tell me about yourself and your recurring series – where can I find it?

All the best,
Randye

Marianne Macdonald, who wrote the Dido Hoare series about a London bookseller

I sent the author an e-mail at the address on her website, but I haven’t heard from her. I also e-mailed Severn House Publishers; they responded quickly, saying they had no information on her.

Ann McMillan, author of a Civil War series set in Virginia.

According to a mutual acquaintance, Ms. McMillan is spending time with family and has discontinued the Civil War series. You can find her on Facebook but she hasn’t posted in a while. Several years ago, I heard her speak at a writing workshop and she was quite impressive. I hope she picks up her pen again soon!

Cathy Pickens, author of the Avery Andrews series, about a lawyer practicing in South Carolina

Cathy Pickens explains her “absence” on her site.

Deborah Sharp, author of the Mace Bauer mystery series.

Deborah Sharp is active on Facebook, and I’ll contact her at a later date. Read this November 30, 2016 interview with author R. V. Reyes.

CJ Songer, author of two novels with Meg Gillis, a security officer in Los Angeles.

I can’t find anything recent on CJ Songer, not even a way to contact her. Here’s a link to a 2005 article.

Find bibliographies for the above authors on Stop You’re Killing Me, a great resource for mystery lovers.

Posts from my “Missing Authors” series, in chronological order:

“Missing Rochelle Krich”

“Discovering a Lost Author: John J. Lamb”

“Whatever Happened to Gabrielle Kraft?”

“Whatever Happened to (Name an Author)?”

“In Memory of My Favorite Mystery Authors (And Maybe Yours)”

“Those Missing Authors: An Update”

“Missing Author Found!”

“Missing Authors: Update 2”

Readers, if you have information on the status of an author included in these posts please leave a comment. And if you have a favorite author who has seemingly vanished and isn’t included on one of the above posts, include the name(s) in the comments section and I’ll see what I can find out. It may take me some time but I will get back to you.

For various reasons, I may not feel comfortable contacting an author but I’ll provide as much information as I can find online. For example, I hesitated to contact one of the above authors because her mother recently passed away and I figured that could account for the publishing lapse.

Some of these authors are new to me and might be for other readers as well. So the “Missing Authors” series is a boon to our runaway TBR lists!

Enjoy!