Next week at Maine Crime Writers, there will be posts by Dorothy Cannell (Monday), William Andrews (Tuesday) Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson (Wednesday) Joe Souza (Thursday), and Vaughn Hardacker (Friday).

In the news department, here’s what’s happening with some of us who blog regularly at Maine Crime Writers:

 Bruce Coffin was too modest to add his own news last week. Beyond the Truth has been announced as a finalist in the best novel category for the Agatha Award. Winners will be announced at the Malice Domestic convention in May. Congrats, Bruce!

Kate Flora and her writing companions Katy Munger, Taffy Cannon, Gary Phillips, and Lise McClendon have a valentine present for you. From February 14-17, Beat, Slay, Love will be free! Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Beat-Slay-Love-Delicious-Revenge-ebook/dp/B015BQUZCK/

An invitation to readers of this blog: Do you have news relating to Maine, Crime, or Writing? We’d love to hear from you. Just comment below to share.

And if your library or organization is looking for a truly entertaining program, consider this:

Making a Mystery – a panel of crime writers and lots of audience interaction

The audience writes out index cards with names, weapons, settings, occupations, and motives, and then deposits the cards in paper bags. The panel then pulls the cards out of the bags and build a mystery “on the fly.” Along the way, the audience learns something about how a writer approaches the decisions made during the task of making a mystery. They also learn something about the mystery-thriller-suspense sub-genres.

Hilarity ensues. At least it has every time we’ve done it so far.

And a reminder: If your library, school, or organization is looking for a speaker, we are often available to talk about the writing process, research, where we get our ideas, and other mysteries of the business. Contact Kate Flora