New Post

Exciting News, and…

I Need Your Help!

Is it hot where you live? The summer temperatures are making me want to stay inside and read cool books! Are you doing the same?

Some of the books I’ve read this summer are: 1) ARCTIC INFERNO by my friend Geza Tatrallyay, a thriller about climate change; 2) MISSING IN MIAMI by friend Kathryn Lane; 3 ) THE OTHER MRS. by Mary Kubica; 4) VERITY by Colleen Hoover; and not-yet-released books by Gay Yellen and Sherrill Joseph. What are you reading???

HERE’S THE EXCITING NEWS!!

Each year in August the Killer Nashville organization sponsors a prestigious conference for mystery writers, highlighted by an awards ceremony. There are three types of awards given: the Claymore, the Silver Falchion juried award, and the Silver Falchion Readers’ Choice award.

The Silver Falchion juried award is very competitive. The best mysteries and thrillers from several categories are judged by award-winning authors in the genre. I’ve been honored in the past to have MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT and A PALETTE FOR LOVE AND MURDER selected as Silver Falchion finalists in 2019 and 2021. This year CRYSTAL BLUE MURDER has been selected as a finalist for Best Investigator for 2023. The winner of the Silver Falchion will be announced in a few weeks. Whether or not CRYSTAL BLUE MURDER wins, it is a huge honor to be one of just ten finalists for the best investigator novel of the year. Thank you, Killer Nashville judges!

HERE’S WHERE I NEED YOUR HELP: Remember another of the Killer Nashville awards was the Readers’ Favorite Silver Falchion? This contest is decided by popular vote from readers like you, who take a minute to vote on the website.

This year two of my books are nominated for the Silver Falchion Readers’ Choice Award: BAD BLOOD SISTERS and CRYSTAL BLUE MURDER.

Each person who goes to the website can click on and submit votes for up to ten books as favorites for 2023. You can only vote one time, however. Here’s the website:

Just click on the website - scroll down to the R’s for Richard - click on BAD BLOOD SISTERS and CRYSTAL BLUE MURDER - scroll down to the bottom of the page - and click on submit. The whole process should take less than a minute, and….it would mean the world to me!!!!

MORE, PLEASE? I’ve been listening to your suggestions for titles for the next Detective Parrott book, which is coming out in a few months. It’s time to design the cover, so I must have a final decision on a title. I’m struggling to find the perfect title, and since perfect is in the eyes of the reader, I’d like you to vote on the title you like best and tell me specifically why you chose that title.

Remember, the book begins when an infant is abandoned in a cardboard box on the back steps of a caretaker's cottage in Brandywine Valley. A search for the person who left it leads to the dead body of a woman who has recently given birth.

To fit with the series, the word “murder” needs to be in the title. Also, we probably don’t want to have anything that might make someone think that a baby dies in the book.

Okay, which of these titles would draw your attention most and make you want to read the book???

1. AN INCONCEIVABLE MURDER

2. NO CONCEPTION OF MURDER

3. MURDER OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

4. A MURDER OF LIFE AND DEATH

I met Rebecca at the video production day for the Galveston Chamber of Commerce Women’s Conference Woman of the Year awards. Rebecca adores mysteries, so it was a match made in literary heaven. She started with BAD BLOOD SISTERS, and after one chapter, she told me, “If you kill Quinn, I’ll never speak to you again.” No worries, Rebecca. I love Quinn, and I love you, too.

Wishing you a wonderful August. As always, I love hearing from you, and thank you in advance for helping me with voting for the Readers’ Choice contest and for the title for the next book. You are awesome, and I couldn’t do any of this without you.

Much love,

Saralyn