GREETINGS READERS!
Summer is here and it’s a scorcher. All the more reason to curl up with a great book, a cool drink and take it easy in the shade. And that’s exactly what the Mesdames will be doing for July and August!
Lots of hot news to go with our hot weather but our hottest item is the new anthology, A Grave Diagnosis, to be released this fall by Carrick Publishing. Many of us have stories in this collection where dastardly disease mingles with crime. Stand by for the cover reveal and launch details via news flash.
Never mind that author conferences, book launches and readings can’t happen in the physical world for now. We authors are an innovative and irrepressible bunch so we’ve literally zoomed into cyberspace. We look forward to sharing our virtual experiences with you – and inviting you to them – over the next few weeks.
Stay safe and keep reading!
The Mesdames and Monsieurs of Mayhem
OUR BIG NEWS
The author line-up for Carrick Publishing’s new crime fiction anthology, A Grave Diagnosis, was announced and 18 stories by our Mesdames and Monsieurs made the cut. Illness and/or a medical condition are the pivotal element of the 35 tales in the collection. Publisher Donna Carrick says that the stories, penned by both established and new authors, are the best she’s seen in recent times – and she’s not easily impressed!
Stay tuned for the cover reveal later this summer or early fall. Publication is planned for October 2020.
Congratulations to:
Catherine Astolfo: “The Backpack”
Rosemary Aubert: “Mercy”
Jayne Barnard: “Christmas Rose”
Jane Petersen Burfield: “Unmasked”
M.H. (Madeleine) Callway: “The Eternal Bakery of the Fractal Mind”
Melodie Campbell: “Two Crooks Walk into a Store”
Donna Carrick: “A Grave Diagnosis”
Lisa de Nikolits: “Love Thy Neighbour”
Therese Greenwood: “Boom Town Shakedown”
Blair Keetch: “Sleep, Perchance to Die”
Sylvia Maultash Warsh: “Days Without Name”
Rosemary McCracken: “Hooked”
Lynne Murphy: “Woman Aglow”
Ed Piwowarczyk: “Danny and Me”
Rosalind Place: “Criminals Like Us”
Madona Skaff: “Cross Match”
Caro Soles: “Waiting in the Wings”
Kevin Thornton “Hypochondriacs Never Get This”
CONGRATULATIONS!
Therese Greenwood’s memoir, What You Take With You: Wildfire, Family and the Road Home, about her personal experiences during the devastating wildfire in Fort McMurray, is a finalist for the Book Publishers Association of Alberta Award: Non-fiction Biography and Memoir.
Jayne Barnard’s story, “A Midsummer Night’s Scream” will be in Crime Wave, the new Sisters in Crime Canada West anthology to be released in Fall, 2020
Lisa De Nikolits’ latest novel, The Occult Persuasion and the Anarchist’s Solution, is long-listed for the 2020 Sunburst Award, which recognizes excellence in Canadian fantasy and speculative fiction writing. The Short List will be announced later this month. Fingers crossed!
Cat Mills had two documentaries short-listed in the Yorkton Film Festival. Established in 1947, it is North American’s longest running film festival. The festival is held annually in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Cat’s films were Biker Bob’s Posthumous Adventure and of course, our very own wonderful documentary, The Mesdames of Mayhem.
Learn more about Yorkton festival’s history.
Madona Skaff was our leader in doing virtual conferences. Her publisher, Renaissance Press, organized a virtual conference with their authors. Madona took part in several panel discussions and sold her new novel, Death by Association, in the virtual bookstore.
Rosemary Aubert has received positive reviews for her new novel, A Light in Trieste. Now available on Amazon.
Kevin Thornton‘s first YA short story has been accepted for a collection Belanger Books is bringing out later this year. He’s quite chuffed with being able to expand his horizons and write for a different audience. All the Mesdames and Monsieurs are quite chuffed to see Kevin breaking into a new market too.
Prepare for a session of uninterrupted reading. Melodie Campbell’s Goddaughter series will soon be released as a collection. We’ll announce the details as soon as the publisher makes them available.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Season 4 of Dead to Writes, Donna Carrick’s Zoom interviews with crime fiction authors, has just started. Be sure to listen and catch best-selling thriller writers such as Rick Mofina and Maureen Jennings and, of course, The Mesdames and Monsieurs of Mayhem.
Dead to Writes episodes coming up:
June 28 Rick Mofina interview
July 5 Maureen Jennings interview
July 12 Barbara Fradkin
July 19 Catherine Astolfo
July 26 Nate Hendley
Aug. 2 Cathy Ace
Aug. 9 Jane Petersen Burfield
Donna Carrick has expanded her podcast with Story Stocking, where she reads an excerpt from favorite short stories. This is a fabulous opportunity for readers to listen to stories from our latest anthology, In the Key of 13, in audiobook. https://deadtowrites.ca/story-stocking/
Story Stocking readings:
July 1 “Under the Lamplight”, Kevin P. Thornton
July 8 “Soul Behind the Face”, Madona Skaff
July 15 “Winona and the CHUM Chart”, Catherine Dunphy
July 22 “Brainworm”, Part I, M.H. Callway
July 29. “Brainworm”, Part II, M.H. Callway
The Ride to Conquer Cancer
For the first time, since it began in 2008, The Ride to Conquer Cancer is going virtual. M. H. Callway will be doing the Virtual Ride on August 29th to support cancer research at Princess Margaret Hospital.
Mesdames of Mayhem 