Greetings Readers!

Next Thursday, April 24th, crime writers, fans and friends will gather in Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver to hear the announcement of the finalists of the 2014 Arthur awards. And the Toronto event at Indigo, Manulife Centre features no less than six of the Mesdames of Mayhem reading from their work. Mesdames Cathy Astolfo, Rosemary Aubert, M. H. Callway, Melodie Campbell, Rosemary McCracken and Joan O’Callaghan plan to steal the show!

Novellas and short stories crafted by the Mesdames are in the running. Fingers crossed for all thirteen Mesdames whose work is showcased in our inaugural anthology, Thirteen. Mme Rosemary McCracken’s chilling story, The Sweetheart Scamster, has already been recognized as a finalist in the prestigious Derringer Awards. And of course, Mme Melodie Campbell bagged the Derringer Award for Best Novella, for her hilarious caper, The Goddaughter’s Revenge.

The long list for the Arthur for Best Crime Novel is on the Crime Writers of Canada website.

Find out the names on the short-lists by following Twitter on April 24th.

THE 2014 BONY BLITHE

Another coup for the Mesdames of Mayhem: Mme Vicki Delany’s Klondike novel, Gold Web, is a finalist for this year’s Bony Blithe Award! This could prove to be the best year ever for Mme Vicki who is also this year’s Guest of Honour at Bloody Words.

The full list of short-listed novels is now up on the 2014 Bloody Words website.

Bony Blithe is a relative newcomer to the annual awards for crime fiction: this is her third birthday. She was brought into the world to recognize excellence in light crime fiction or in the words of her birth mamas: a book that makes us smile, which includes everything from laugh-out-loud to gentle humour to good old-fashioned stories with little violence or gore.

The Mesdames will be clutching their good-luck amulets and charms for Mme Vicki at when the winner is announced the Bloody Words banquet on Saturday, June 7th.