Edgar Nominees 2017!!

MWA Announces the 2017 Edgar Nominations

January 19, 2017, New York, NY – Mystery Writers of America announce the Nominees for the 2017 Edgar Allan Poe Awards.

The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at our 71st Gala Banquet, April 27, 2017 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

Huge congrats to fellow author Patricia Abbot of Polis Books, and of course, Adrian McKinty too!

And here are the nominees:

BEST NOVEL

The Ex by Alafair Burke (HarperCollins Publishers – Harper)
Where It Hurts by Reed Farrel Coleman (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
What Remains of Me by Alison Gaylin (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (Hachette Book Group – Grand Central Publishing)

BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR

Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry (Penguin Random House – Penguin Books)
Dodgers by Bill Beverly (Crown Publishing Group)
IQ by Joe Ide (Little, Brown & Company – Mulholland Books)
The Drifter by Nicholas Petrie (Penguin Random House – G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Dancing with the Tiger by Lili Wright (Penguin Random House – Marian Wood Book/Putnam)
The Lost Girls by Heather Young (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

Shot in Detroit by Patricia Abbott (Polis Books)
Come Twilight by Tyler Dilts (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
The 7th Canon by Robert Dugoni (Amazon Publishing – Thomas & Mercer)
Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)
A Brilliant Death by Robin Yocum (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)
Heart of Stone by James W. Ziskin (Prometheus Books – Seventh Street Books)

BEST FACT CRIME

Morgue: A Life in Death by Dr. Vincent DiMaio & Ron Franscell (St. Martin’s Press)
The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle that Brought Down the Klan by Laurence Leamer (HarperCollins Publishers – William Morrow)
Pretty Jane and the Viper of Kidbrooke Lane: A True Story of Victorian Law and Disorder: The Unsolved Murder That Shocked Victorian England by Paul Thomas Murphy (Pegasus Books)
While the City Slept: A Love Lost to Violence and a Young Man’s Descent into Madness by Eli Sanders (Penguin Random House – Viking Books)
The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer by Kate Summerscale (Penguin Random House – Penguin Press)

BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL

Alfred Hitchcock: A Brief Life by Peter Ackroyd (Penguin Random House – Nan A. Talese)
Encyclopedia of Nordic Crime: Works and Authors of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden Since 1967
by Mitzi M. Brunsdale (McFarland & Company)
Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin (W.W. Norton – Liveright)
Something in the Blood: The Untold Story of Bram Stoker, the Man Who Wrote Dracula by David J. Skal (W.W. Norton – Liveright)

BEST SHORT STORY

“Oxford Girl” – Mississippi Noir by Megan Abbott (Akashic Books)
“A Paler Shade of Death” – St. Louis Noir by Laura Benedict (Akashic Books)
“Autumn at the Automat” – In Sunlight or in Shadow by Lawrence Block (Pegasus Books)
“The Music Room” – In Sunlight or in Shadow  by Stephen King (Pegasus Books)
“The Crawl Space” – Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine by Joyce Carol Oates (Dell Magazines)

BEST JUVENILE

Summerlost by Ally Condie (Penguin Young Readers Group – Dutton BFYR)
OCDaniel by Wesley King (Simon & Schuster – Paula Wiseman Books)
The Bad Kid by Sarah Lariviere by  (Simon & Schuster – Simon & Schuster BFYR)
Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand  (Simon & Schuster – Simon & Schuster BFYR)
Framed! by James Ponti (Simon & Schuster – Aladdin)
Things Too Huge to Fix by Saying Sorry by Susan Vaught (Simon & Schuster – Paula Wiseman Books)

BEST YOUNG ADULT

Three Truths and a Lie by Brent Hartinger (Simon & Schuster – Simon Pulse)
The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry (Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group – Henry Holt BFYR)
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown BFYR)
My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier (Soho Press – Soho Teen)
Thieving Weasels by Billy Taylor (Penguin Random House – Penguin Young Readers – Dial Books)

For details of other nominations visit HERE

A time to remember....

As the seeds of my current work in progress began in Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat over a year ago, being in the final stages of the script, it's a good time to remember.

Image with fellow artists, Andrea Carter, Catherine Dunne,Lia Mills, Maria McManus Valerie Bistany, Sean Hardie, and Anthony Glavin

(Day 8 of remaining 40 to finish novel :-))

Daily word count complete...Time for cuppa and a walk!!!

#writing #books #wordcount

Reading Material this month!!

So here are the books I'll be reading over the next few weeks!! :-)

Begin Your Novel - FREE Taster!!

I'll be doing  a FREE 'Begin your Novel' taster on the 28th January at the Irish Writers Centre. 

Attendees are invited to sign up to this free course in advance via EVENTBRITE!

*** BE WARNED...Previous events like this resulted in a Waiting List far in excess of the course participants. 

So Book Today, to avoid disappointment.

Recommended for Collectors - First Mysteries, first editions.....

I am totally charmed to see RED RIBBONS included in The Mysterious Bookshop's recommended first Mysteries for collectors.....Visit here  for full list of titles.

ONLY Hours left to download RED RIBBONS at 99p!!!

Irish & UK readers....only 48 hours left to download RED RIBBON at the ultra keen price of 99p! ...download HERE

I've got that Friday feeling!!

Yippie, and yippee again...Word count complete for today, so target for the week achieved!! Yay! (Day 5 of 40) #writing #target #books #wordcount 

How to build a compelling novel concept!

If you want to write a fiction novel, romance, mystery, satire, young adult or comedy, you have to begin somewhere.

Here are some of the topics we'll be covering in the upcoming 'BEGIN YOUR NOVEL' Course at the Irish Writers Centre.....

• How to build a compelling novel concept.
• Getting the reader to care.
• Points of view.
• Essential elements of chapter structure.
• Creating memorable characters.
• How to handle shifts in your story.
• Writing effective dialogue.
• Road maps, plot planning and mind maps.
• Using multiple points of view.
• Novel structure including the W storyboard.
• Creating that page turning story.
• The do's and don'ts of getting agents and editors to keep reading.

Link HERE

The Creative Process - Mind Maps!

Before Christmas I edited my current work in progress (TRUST NO ONE) from 65,000 words down to under 50,000. The script became shorter, but a lot better. (I’m one of those sad people who love editing!)

Earlier this week, I picked up the script to start writing again. I realised I needed a plan to reach the finish line (better known as the end!).

The plan turned out to be a series mind maps!

This pic may not look like 3 days of work, but the content will be the next 8 weeks of writing!!

And just to prove I’m not the only writer who uses such tactics….here’s a pic of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter series…..

Best Books of 2016 - BOOKLOVER Catlady's Top 16 Reads of 16!

So thrilled to be part of this listing with RED RIBBONS....BOOKLOVER CATLADY's- Best Books of 2016!

"The writing is detailed, engaging and thoughtful. The author writes like it's effortless. Exceptional talent....A cut above. Riveting. Classy." RED RIBBONS (Polis Books)

BOOKLOVER CATLADY'S TOP 16 READS OF 2016
Here they are! These are in no particular order except for my Number One book which is: Some Will Not Sleep by Adam Nevill.
* Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield
* Red Ribbons (Dr. Kate Pearson #1) by Louise Phillips
* The Vegetarian by Kan Hang
* When the Dragon Roars (Starks Trilogy #2) by Nesly Clerge
* Untouchable by Sibel Hodge
* Tuesday Falling by S. Williams
* The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
* Awakening: The Prequel To Charlotte (The Charlotte Chronicles Book 2) by Stuart Keane
* Blood Related: A Psychological Thriller by William Cook
* Tastes Like Fear (D.I. Marnie Rome, #3) by Sarah Hilary
* The Stopped Heart by Julie Myerson
* All Smoke Rises: MILK-BLOOD Redux by Mark Matthews
* Chosen Child by Linda Huber
* Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
* The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena