I have been traveling a lot for work. Four days of Portland to Newport, a three hour round trip slog. Home for baseball practice and report card conferences. A day of Portland to Old Town. Eleven hours of airport hustling to get to Reno. (No snow-related travel troubles, thankfully!)
I also got pulled over for the first time ever outside at the 65-70 switch by Brunswick, which I probably deserved because I had just finished telling my children that I’d never been pulled over.
Fate has a way of punishing that sort of bravado.
The travel has given me the opportunity to work my way through a few books on my list.
A few recommendations:
I’m absolutely savoring the stories in A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO TRUE CRIME by Mary Thorson. Mary first flagged for me when two of her stories landed in Best American Mystery and Suspense. I had high expectations because both stories I’d read, “The Book of Ruth” and “Casadastraphobia” were outstanding. And friends, this collection doesn’t disappoint. Organized around the idea of historical events seen through the eyes of the victims, killers, or women left behind, it is the sort of collection where each story is a perfectly satisfying bite. It lives in the same space as Portland writer Rebecca Turkewitz’s collection, HERE IN THE NIGHT. Highly, highly recommend.
I finished Henry Wise’s debut novel, HOLY CITY, about a deputy sheriff who returns to his hometown and finds himself looking for evidence to exonerate a man he believes to be innocent. The writing is languid, nostalgic and almost haunted, perfectly fitting with the part of Virginia Wise is writing about. What really struck me was how atmospheric each scene felt. I can’t wait to catch his next book, PROMISED LAND, which is out in September. If you haven’t had a chance to read HOLY CITY, I highly recommend it.
Two upcoming books that should be on your radar:
A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE is out on April 28!!! I first stumbled across Jordan Harper because of his short story “My Savage Year,” which is perfectly told and was included in the Best American Mystery and Suspense of 2024. The story took me to a collection of his short stories (LOVE AND OTHER WOUNDS), which took me to EVERYBODY KNOWS, which took me to SHE RIDES SHOTGUN (which was made into a movie), which took me to LAST KING OF CALIFORNIA (which is probably my favorite). Jordan’s pacing is tight. His characters are fully developed. The systems are always broken but there is also a thread of hope. I think the closest comp I have is Ellroy, so know that going in. You will not be disappointed.
I am so excited about Ryan Lowell, a writer is based in South Portland by way of Bucksport. His debut novel FREIGHT coming out August 11. The blurb reads, “As a lone semi-truck makes its snowy way to the US-Canadian border, a series of vivid characters are inexorably drawn into a desperate, comedic, and murderous scheme to steal its precious cargo.” You can preorder yours HERE. You will definitely be hearing more about Ryan in the months to come, so stay tuned.
A few highlights
My story, “The Usual Reasons” (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July/August 2025) won third place for the Ellery Queen Readers Choice Awards. This honor comes with an invitation to the Edgar Awards in NYC later this month. Which is black tie and very fancy.
My first Portland PI story, “The Best and Sweetest Things” will be out in the May/June Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. And much anticipated Portland little league story is out in the March/April Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. You should be able to grab a copy at your local Barnes and Noble or Books a Million in the magazine section.
Finally, I found out another piece of news that’s pretty big that I have to sit on a little longer. But hopefully by the May post I’ll be able to share.
A few things going on
I had a blast at the Seacoast Noir at the Bar hosted at the Kittery Dance Hall hosted by Zakariah Johnson. The highlight was when Carolyn Wilkins shared a song about murder that accompanied her historical mystery, MURDER AT THE WHAM BAM CLUB. If you haven’t been to events at the Kittery Dance Hall, I’d really encourage you to check the place out. I heard there is a delightful little bar nearby that serves up literary themed beverages. The event was a hit and Zakariah’s looking to plan another one in October.
The amazing Katie York hosted a Noir at the Bar at Kanù in Old Town to a standing room crowd. Local writers like Katie, Cory Magee, and Anne Britting Olson were there along with EK Sathue, Matt Cost, Zakariah Johnson, and yours truly. All the readers were amazing but Katie’s voice – her combination of dark humor and unexpected content – is always a treat. And the way she reads in front of a crowd. Take note of her name.
Robert Kelly and Jule Selbo are hosting Murder in Mudseason on 4/15 at the Rockport Public Library. Doors at 6:00. If you are in the midcoast area, this promises to be a real experience. Rapid fire readings. Prizes. And an amazing local library hosting.
The Maine Crime Wave is on 5/30. If you haven’t registered, check out the participants. It’s always fun.
For the pre-conference on 5/29, Maine writer and professor Elizabeth DeWolfe and the Maine Historical Society are going to host a tour of the Maine Historical Society’s research library and go deeper into how historical research adds depth and authenticity to writing projects. More to come on this soon!
Maine writers will then descend on Belleflower Brewing for an annual tradition of a Noir at the Bar on 5/29 at 7:00. The event is free and open to the public. Come to hear established and emerging authors from Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire read from their works. There will be prizes and trivia. Hosted by Matt Cost and Jule Selbo and featuring Mo Drammeh, Tess Gerritsen, Zakariah Johnson, Allison Keaton, Robert Kelley, Travis Kennedy, Joanna Schaffhausen, Gabriela Stiteler, Rebecca Turkewitz, and James Ziskin.
Next week at Maine Crime Writers there will be posts by Gabi Stiteler (Monday), Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson (Tuesday), John Clark (Thursday), and Allison Keeton (Friday), with a writing tip from Matt Cost on Wednesday.
Sanford Emerson, husband of Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson has had a new mystery novel published in e-book and paperback formats. Here’s the cover copy:
She moved to Chicago and (in three years) worked her way up to the Main Stage of Second City – one of the premiere comedy sketch venues in USA.
Now, Lil’s back living in LA, she performed at UCB (Upright Citizens Brigade). UCB is ALL improv (not written sketches that you memorize and then might jump off from), so it’s about knowing the technique of how to get a beginning, middle and end and making a cohesive piece of comedy that will hold together just using your chops and thinking on your feet.
I’ve met a lot of her ‘comedy’ friends and, off-stage, they are a very serious bunch. They work their asses off and commit to an insane writing schedule. They’re writing/observing/working on ideas all the time, ‘cause comedy and sketches can be ephemeral – if they are topical, they may only live in one performance, if they are more based on ebbs and flows and oddities of humankind, they can last longer and be tweaked and repeated. But you always want to give the audience “the new” –
This April trip was planned so we (hubby and I) could see the next installment of this play – it was wild fun with live “foley” (sound effects), a theatre of 200 which was sold-out (which is good because she wrote it with another person and they produced it too and thus get a cut of the house – a mini-mini-mini-ka-ching).
Brenda Buchanan sets her novels and short stories in Maine. Her three-book Joe Gale series features a contemporary newspaper reporter with old-school style who covers the courts and crime beat at the fictional Portland Daily Chronicle. Brenda’s short story, “Means, Motive, and Opportunity,” was included in the anthology Bloodroot: Best New England Crime Stories 2021 and received an honorable mention in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022. A short story called “Cape Jewell,” was published in Snakeberry: Best New England Crime Stories 2025, and another short story “Crime of Devotion” will be published next month in Murder Most Senior, an anthology presented by Jacqueline Winspear in association with the Malice Domestic conference.
I am not exaggerating when I say this has been the coldest, windiest winter I can remember. That’s saying a lot, given that in the 2007-2008 snow season, over 200” of white stuff fell in my backyard. Don’t believe me? Even the squirrels prayed for a respite. We didn’t have much snow this year, enough to keep the snow-dependent industries happy, but the wind! Oh, my. Twice I chased my wheeled garbage bin down Route 11 when the wind whipped it from my hand. Another time, the wind took my shovel and sent it flying like a kite into the woods when I was on the upswing. Note to self -next life, have kids. Let them handle these tasks. I’m not complaining, though. It’s the price we pay for the clear blue skies that complement our snowy landscape. That’s winter.
March in Maine is the cruelest month. Doesn’t matter if it comes in like a lion or a lamb, it’s going to hurt you. Big time. The entire month is a plot hatched by Mother Nature to make us earn the soft breezes of spring. Temperatures range from 50 above to 10 below zero, often in one day. Morning snow turns to rain in the afternoon and ice overnight. We live on a hill. I’ve worn the back out of more than one pair of jeans by losing my footing with the first step into the dooryard and scooting halfway down the driveway and finding a landing site. Getting back up the hill is even more amusing. It’s the time of year when I long for any colors other than white and gray.
The previous owners planted bougainvillea around the pool fence. The colors are magnificent, but the plants have long, sharp thorns, and no one ever included our house on the annual senior graduation pool walk bacchanal.
The previous owners also planted the oleander. Gotta wonder what they were thinking. The entire plant, from roots to leaves to flowers, is toxic. In the 1950s, Florida planted them on highway medians. Pretty, but deadly.
We think the birds planted the honeysuckle in the live oak. It blooms in January. This one was right outside our bedroom, and the scent was amazing. I’m deathly allergic to bees, and bees flock to honeysuckle, but honeybees don’t sting so we got along quite well.
When I look back through an old file, I wonder if those writers are still reading my books. Do they look for a new Thea? If they liked Thea, did they also try the Burgess books, and was the change pleasing or did they want me to stick to the characters they liked?
I’ve often joked that when someone called up and says, “I hate you,” I’m pleased. It means they’ve been up all night reading one of my books. So when a reader named Ethel whose reread Chosen for Death and just finished Steal Away, says, I mostly like to read to take myself away from “whatever”, not to be touched or involved. Steal Away did not allow me to do that. You are an excellent writer . . . thanks for the experience.
