Mme Lynne Murphy is interviewed by Erik de Souza for Crime Writers of Canada. She talks about her story in the CWC anthology, Cold Canadian Crime and her intrepid adventures in the writing crime fiction.
It’s winter solstice and the Holidays. What’s more wonderful than snuggling up with terrific new books and stories by the fabulousMesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem?
Whether you love cozy crime, thrillers, whodunnits, noir, Sherlockania, romance or speculative fiction, we have something here for you. Enjoy and have the best holiday ever!
THE MESDAMES NEW ANTHOLOGY CELEBRATING OUR 10TH ANNIVERSARY!
Stories by 22 Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem!
MORE MESDAMES ANTHOLOGIES!
Our very first book!
Our take on Father Time!
Cathy A’s CWC Award Winner!
Music and Mayhem!
FABULOUS NEW BOOKS!
Cozy comedy mystery
Critically acclaimed speculative fiction/thriller
Popular cozy stories and a new thriller novella
SF/Crime Merculian Book 6
SF/Crime Merculian Book 7
New Dr. Hope Sze series, Book 1
Fun speculative fiction!
Fantasy/SF
Amazing Anthologies
Stories by Melodie Campbell, Lisa De Nikolits, Blair Keetch, Sylvia Maultash Warsh, Rosemary McCracken and Lynne Murphy
Last month was super busy and December looks even busier. The Farmer’s Almanac predicts a cold winter ahead – perfect for curling up with your human and animal family and a great book!
Look for our Year End Book Review coming soon and enjoy the holidays and being together!
WELCOME MARION MISTERS, HONORARY MME OF MAYHEM!
Marian Misters has been a co-owner of the Sleuth of Baker Street Mystery Bookstore for over 40 years. She has been an incredible supporter of Canadian crime writers and wonderful to the Mmes! Every one of our five anthologies has been launched at Sleuth.
Looking for a change from her career as an auditor, Marian and her partner bought the Sleuth in 1982. She was awarded the 2021 Derrick Murdoch Award for her contributions to the Canadian mystery community, has served as Jury Chair for the Awards of Excellence, reads lots and lots of mystery books, and is delighted to be an honorary Mme!
When you visit Toronto, be sure to visit Sleuth for the latest and best crime fiction books or to find that classic mystery you’ve been searching for. Be sure to say hello to Pixie and Prince, too.
The conference features interviews with some of Canada’s best-known mystery writers and FOUR terrific panels of top authors, including Mmes Madona Skaff and Melissa Yi.
Melissa discusses short stories on the Get Shorty panel at 9:30 am and Madona talks about suspense at 5 pm on the Suspicious Minds panel.
Join the Crime Writers of Canada and Toronto Sisters in Crime on Monday, December 5th, 6:30 pm to celebrate the holidays at a virtual Festive Fete. (Event is for members of CWC and SinC only.)
CONGRATULATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS!
Melissa Yi
The Surry Muse Arts Society announced the finalists for the 2022 Joy Kogawa Award for Fiction and Melissa Yi’s work, White Snow and Seven Dreams, is on the short-list, beating out more than 300 entrants!
Sylvia Warsh
Sylvia Warsh’s article about the Mesdames of Mayhem and our new anthology, In the Spirit of 13, was featured on the leading crime fiction blog, Mysteryrat’s Maze.
Thank you to Lorie Ham of Kings River Life Magazine in the U.S.A.
Lisa De Nikolits was interviewed by leading blog, The Open Book, last month. She talks about the great influence late Inanna editor, Luciana Ricciutelli, had on her career as a novelist.
Melodie Campbell’s new series, The Merry Widow Murders, published by Cormorant Books, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.
Publication date Spring, 2023!
The merry widow of an English earl finds a body in her stateroom. She must solve the murder or reveal her unusual past.
Melissa Yi
Melissa Yi’s new Dr. Hope Sze series is based on the seven deadly sins.
The first book in the series, The Shapes of Wrath, launched last month at the Cornwall Public Library. It’s now available on Amazon!
Hell hath no fury like a surgeon scorned. Dr. Hope Sze must deal with Dr. Vrac, the scourge of the operating theatre. When patients begin to die under his scalpel, Hope goes into action.
Jayne Barnard
Jayne Barnard’s story, “Lullaby at Lamas” is part of the new anthology, Prairie Witch, published by Prairie Soul West. The book is now available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
In the past, women who did not conform to subservient social norms were often called witches and condemned to death. Now women have reclaimed the word “witch” to symbolize female empowerment.
And she was invited to contribute to a new blog, Shepherd for Authors. The recently established website aims to connect readers and authors. Read Sylvia’s article, “The Best Holocaust Memoirs on What Real People Experienced” here.
Rosemary McCracken
Rosemary McCracken, too, was a guest blogger on Shepherd for Authors where she shared news about her writing career and Uncharted Waters, the latest book in her popular Pat Tierney series.
Shepherd also asked her to share her five favorite Canadian mysteries. Read Rosemary’s blog here.
PODCASTS
The Zoom launch of In the Spirit of 13 featuring at least a dozen of the contributing Mesdames and Messieurs was recorded for Donna Carrick’s podcast, Dead to Writes. Watch here or on YouTube.
A HUGE thank you for managing the back room goes to techie super-hero, Ted Carrick!
FRIENDLY REMINDERS!
The deadline for submissions to the Canadian Crime Writers Awards of Excellence is coming up fast on Thursday, December 15th. For submission rules, please consult CWC’s website here.
And you can’t win a lottery if you don’t buy a ticket, but even being longlisted for Otto Penzler’s Best Mystery Stories of the Year series is HUGE! Stories published this year must be received by December 31st. Mailing address: The Mysterious Bookshop, 58 Warren Street, New York NY 10007, U.S.A.
November is this year’s busiest month if not one of our busiest months ever! We had a smashing success with our real-world launch of In the Spirit of 13 on Sunday, October 30th at our favorite bookstore, Sleuth of Baker Street.
Our Zoom launch takes place on November 13th,but lots and lots of more exciting things are happening. Read on!
Join the Mesdames of Mayhem for the cross-Canada Zoom launch of In the Spirit of 13 on Sunday, November 13th at 2 pm EST. Meet the authors and enjoy lively discussions. No masks are required but please pre-register at carrickpublishing@rogers.com
REAL-WORLD LAUNCH OF IN THE SPIRIT OF 13
The launch of In the Spirit of 13, our 5th anthology, Took place on Sunday, October 30th at our favorite bookstore, Sleuth of Baker Street. Mesdames and Messieurs in attendance: Jane Burfield, M. H. Callway, Donna Carrick, Lisa de Nikolits, Marilyn Kay, Blair Keetch, Cat Mills, Lynne Murphy, Ed Piwowarczyk, Caro Soles and Sylvia Warsh.
The launch – our first real-world event since 2019 – was a smashing success! Friends, fans and family crowded Sleuth of Baker Street. To keep everyone safe, we all wore masks and kept readings to 1 to 2 minutes. Longer readings are promised once COVID is well and truly a thing of the past.
Since it was Halloween – a Mesdames tradition – everyone got in the spirit with lots of fun costumes. An especially big thanks to Mme Lisa de Nikolits for creating the wonderful loot bags!
Sales of our anthology were terrific. Lisa’s new book, Everything You Dream is Real and Lynne Murphy’s collected stories, Pot Luck, sold out!
Best of all to show our heartfelt thanks to Marian Misters, owner of Sleuth, for all her wonderful support not just of us but of all Canadian crime writers, we made her an Honorary Mme of Mayhem! More about Marian, our new Mme in next month’s newsletter.
CONGRATULATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS!
We’ve had two wonderful recognitions. First of all, Jack Batten, crime fiction reviewer at the Toronto Star, gave In the Spirit of 13 a warm review.
Jack said: “There’s more than enough to light up and surprise readers for many nights of pleasure, some of it in easygoing whimsy.” Read Jack’s full review here:
And we were stars in the Toronto Star!
Journalist Briony Smith wrote a full-page article on the Mesdames of Mayhem entitled, “The Mesdames of Mayhem Celebrate A Decade of Dark Deeds – on Paper”. She tells about how we got started, our anthologies and individual books – and most of all, why we love working and being together!
Read Briony’s article here: The photo is by Henry VanderSpek, the official photographer for Cat Mill’s documentary, The Mesdames of Mayhem.
A great month for Mme Lisa De Nikolitis as she debuts her tenth novel, Everything You Dream is Real (Inanna Publications). It’s the follow-up to her hit speculative fiction book, The Rage Room.
Lisa was interviewed by Open Book on November 2nd. You can hear and read it here.
And Lisa was featured in BeachMetro which named her a conduit of fantastical stories! Read the article here.
Mme Mad
M. H. Callway’s story,” Last Island”, is on the featured story on the cover of Mystery Magazine this month! She’s thrilled because this is her first story so honored. In “Last Island”, a mysterious death in an ice fishing hut leads Danny Bluestone, a young Northern Ranger, on a high-stakes race across the frozen lands. Mystery Magazine is available on Amazon.
Her comedy story, “Must Love Dogs – or You’re Gone”, is one of the 30 stories featured in the anthology, GONE, by UK publisher, Red Dog Press. The publication date is November 15th.
Jayne Barnard‘s story, “Crows Hoard”, a climate change thriller is one of the stories in the anthology, Nothing Without Us, Too. The publication features authors who are disabled, d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing, Blind or visually impaired, neurodivergent, Spoonie, and/or who manage mental illness.
COMING EVENTS!
Lisa de Nikolits joins authors from Inanna Publications to launch her new novel, Everything You Dream is Real, on Thursday, November 17th at 7 pm. The event takes place at Danu Social House, 1237 Queen St. West, Toronto.
The real world event is free, one of Inanna’s first since COVID!
Dr. Melissa Yi
Madona Skaff
Check out the Maple Leaf Mystery Conference on December 3rd, 2022. Two Mesdames are on panels.
Mme Melissa Yi is on the Short Story Panel: Get Shorty and Mme Madona Skaff is on the Suspense Panel: Suspicious Minds.
IN THE SPIRIT OF 13 BOOK LAUNCHMOMENTS
The Mesdames and Messieurs present at our In the Spirit of 13 Book Launch on October 30 are as follows: Blair Keech, Caro Soles, Cat Mills, Donna Carrick, Ed Piwowarczyk, Jane Burfield, Lisa de Nikolits, Lynne Murphy, M. H. Callway, Marilyn Kay, and Sylvia Maultash Warsh.
Thirteen is the Mesdames lucky number. We invite you to the Zoom launch of our latest anthology, In the Spirit of 13, on Sunday, November 13th at 2 pm EST.
Come and meet 18 of the authors in person!
IMPORTANT: Please pre-register to attend by emailing carrickpublishing@rogers.com
We’re excited to be back for our first real world event since the start of COVID. Especially since our new anthology, In the Spirit of 13, celebrates the 10th anniversary of The Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem!
Do join us! The event is free BUT masks must be worn. It’s Halloween so do get creative!
And already a great review from Jack Batten in the Toronto Star. Jack says:
“There’s more than enough to light up and surprise readers for many nights of pleasure, some of it in easygoing whimsy.”
This month the Mesdames and Monsieurs have much to be thankful for, including you, dear readers. We’re celebrating our 10th anniversary with our anthology book launch at our fave bookstore, Sleuth of Baker Street, and so much more!
The Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem’s fifth anthology, In the Spirit of 13, celebrates our 10th anniversary! Ghosts and demons and booze, oh my!
For this special book, we’ve let our imaginations run wild. Does “spirit” mean a ghost – or a debunked ghost? A demon or the evil harbored in twisted hearts? Or a delusion brought on by alcohol or madness – or merely alcohol itself? Dive in and read our 23 stories to find out!
To counter the world’s dark and turbulent, times our authors have slanted their stories to the lighter side, but darkness does creep into a few of them.
We invite you to laugh, shed a tear and be thoroughly and deliciously frightened.
The ebook, In the Spirit of 13, will be available for download and purchase on Amazon, Smashwords, etc. on October 15th.
ART TAYLOR PROMOTES IN THE SPIRIT OF 13!
Art Taylor has a three-part series of essays featuring stories in In the Spirit of 13 on his The First Two Pages blog.
And watch for Mme M.H. Callway‘s essay on her story “Amdur’s Ghost” on October 11th.
Lisa de Nikolits
Rosemary McCracken
M.H. Callway
PUBLICATIONS AND CONGRATULATIONS
Old woman or little girl, woman in a dirigible or woman on her death bed, woman in history or the girl next door—we know them because their experiences are ours. Well, maybe not all their experiences…
This second anthology from members of the Canada West Chapter of Sisters in Crime finds women and girls at perilous points in their lives. From real estate agents to house cleaners, school girls to exterminators, you will find a delicious array of women, some with outrage in their hearts—and some with murder—but all of them committing or solving crimes in new and imaginative ways.
The sixteen short stories in Crime Wave: Women of a Certain Age range from light-hearted to heart-breaking, and from romantic to treacherous. All of them deal with courageous women of a certain age.
SinC West’s second anthology, Crime Wave: Women of a Certain Age, will be published on October 15th. Mme Jayne Barnard is both an editor and a contributor.
Eleven years after a world war destroyed the consumer-driven, plastic-based existence of 2055, a new order of players jostles for power. Streaky electricity, ravaging drought, a scarcity of food, and deadly Monarch butterflies make for an increasingly desperate situation.
You can watch Lisa’s interview with the narrator/reader of The Rage Room on Innana Publications’ YouTube channel.
A Conversation with Lisa de Nikolits and Scott Pietrangelo.
Mme Melissa Yi has been very busy!
Surgery, ghosts, and murder, oh my! Dr. Hope Sze faces the sin of wrath.
Melissa’s medical thriller and debut of her Hope’s Seven Deadly Sins series, The Shapes of Wrath features Dr. Hope Sze vs. the world’s deadliest surgeon at a haunted hospital.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine’s September/October issue has Melissa’s story“My Two-Legs.”
Sharp Point Press has bought the Chinese language rights to her Dr. Hope Sze crime novel Scorpion Scheme.
And, Melissa was profiled in the New York Times in August for their “6 Ways You’re Coping With a Roller-Coaster Market” finance article.
FILMS AND FESTIVALS
Mme Cat Mills’ new documentaries, TheBillboard Squad and Me, Mahmoud and the Mint Plant are blazing along the festival circuit including Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, Lunenberg Documentary Festival and most recently, St. Johns International Women’s Film Festival.
She is pleased to announce that not only are both films programmed in the upcoming Planet in Focus Film Festival but she has been asked to host this year’s Master Class on October 21st at the Centre for Social Innovation on Spadina.
If you haven’t seen these two outstanding short docs, you can see them here or on YouTube.
Me, Mahmoud and the Mint Plant
The Billboard Squad
SAVE THE DATES!
The Zoom launch for the Mesdames new anthology, In the Spirit of 13, will be on Sunday, November 13th at 2 pm. The event is free but you must pre-register at carrickpublishing@rogers.com
Sisters in Crime Toronto are celebrating SinC’s 35th anniversary with a hybrid event on Thursday, September 20th, 7 pm. Members only and pre-registration is required. For more details, visit the website here.
Mesdames of Mayhem 