Chapter Check-in

I’m into lists this week. The incoming chapter news has left me thinking about two questions:

1) What’s the name of your chapter’s most recently-published anthology?

and

2) What did you call your most recent writing workshop?

And, now, the news:

Central Coast: Call for entries

Victoria Heckman reports that the SinC/Central Coast Chapter is seeking submissions for a historical mystery anthology currently scheduled for release by the end of 2011. Other genres may be included. Stories should be between 1,500 to 5,000 words. There is no entry fee and no pay for publication. A free copy of the anthology will be provided to the published authors. Any member of Sisters in Crime is welcome to submit work. The entry deadline is Jan. 31, 2011. Send entries to Sue McGinty at suemcginty@aol.com.


Round-up: The Desert Sleuths

Roni Olson provided the latest news from Arizona, with photos:

The Desert Sleuths have been making the rounds of bookstores and libraries to promote Sisters in Crime and the chapter's anthology, How NOT to Survive a Vacation.



Pictured above: The Desert Sleuths wine and dine Jamie Freveletti and Avery Aames after joining them for their signing session at the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale.



Pictured, from left: Desert Sleuths President Roni Olson, WriteNow! Keynote Speaker James O. Born and WriteNow! Guest of Honor Lesa Holstine.

This year, the Desert Sleuths held their annual WriteNow! writer’s conference at the Wrigley mansion in Phoenix. The conference featured author and court-qualified graphology expert Sheila Lowe; forensic and clinical psychologist Dr. Erin Nelson; author, detective and hostage negotiator Robin Burcell; editor and ghostwriter Allen Kates and author, publisher and bookstore owner Barbara Peters. The keynote speaker was James O. Born, the author of the Alex Duarte and Bill Tasker series and a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The conference celebrated its first Fan Guest of Honor, Lesa Holstine, a library professional and contributing book reviewer for Library Journal, Mystery News, Mystery Readers Journal and multiple websites.

In Memoriam - Dorothy Glassman Sucher, 1933-2010

On Sunday, October 3, I represented Sisters in Crime at a memorial service in Silver Spring, MD for long-time Sisters in Crime member, Dorothy Sucher, who had passed away on August 22 after a long illness. I'd like to share with you my remarks.

My name is Marcia Talley, and I’m national president of Sisters in Crime, an organization that was founded almost twenty five years ago by Sara Paretsky and other like-minded women to support the advancement of women who write mysteries.

From 1989 to 1991, Dorothy was national treasurer of Sisters in Crime. In1990, this "founding mother" gathered a group of local women together in her Maryland living room, elected officers, and the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime was born. Today, the Chessie Chapter is one of the larger and more active of forty-six chapters in our organization, now world-wide.

I met Dorothy at a Chessie Chapter meeting in the mid-1990s, long before I became, like Dorothy, a published mystery writer. Back then, barriers to women existed everywhere in the mystery publishing field, and Sisters in Crime played a major role in helping to break down those barriers.

In Dorothy’s own words:

“It was harder for women than men to find a publisher, harder to get reviewed, harder still to get good reviews -- perhaps because virtually all the critics were men -- and harder to get bookstores to carry the books, let alone push them. Shoot-‘em-up hardboiled mysteries received critical respect, while the so-called feminine “cozies” were scorned. As soon as Sisters in Crime was formed–benefitting in large part from the new activism of the Women’s Movement–committees of volunteers were organized to research and document these kinds of inequities. They gathered statistical proof which was used by letter writing committees to lobby publishing houses, newspapers, and reviewers. We were impatient for change, and it seemed to us that changes came with agonizing slowness. But they came.

“It’s hard to believe at this point in history how unwelcoming the climate was in the 1980s and before for women mystery writers. As for female sleuths–forget it! Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple was long gone, and her successors were few. Nobody would have believed a time would come when male authors were publishing books with female sleuths under female pen-names, in hopes of greater sales! But of course that eventually happened, thanks in large part to the work of Sisters in Crime.”

Inequities still exist, of course, we have a long way to go, but it is due to pioneers like Dorothy that women who write mysteries today are more likely to get the attention they deserve.

So, on behalf of your three thousand sisters (and misters) in crime, we thank you, Dorothy. We couldn’t have done it without you.

In her beautiful book of essays, The Invisible Garden, Dorothy wrote about the challenges of tending a garden, “’Why am I doing this?’ I ask myself. ‘It’ll all be gone as soon as I’m dead.’ Then I remind myself that this is true of most human endeavors, and I go on gardening.”

I don’t want to disagree with you, Dorothy, but both mysteries you published with St Martin’s Press, Dead Men Don’t Give Seminars (which was nominated for an Agatha Award for best first novel) and Dead Men Don’t Marry are still for sale on Amazon.com. And if that isn’t a kind of immortality, I don’t know what is.

Read more about Dorothy's amazing career in The Washington Post.

Never a Dull Moment

By Annette Dashofy

When I joined the Mary Roberts Rinehart (Pittsburgh) Chapter of Sisters in Crime, I really didn’t know what to expect. In the six years since then, that much hasn’t changed. Each meeting and event brings a new experience ranging from parties and picnics to being locked in jail cell.

Every year, one of our members opens their home to our group for a summer picnic. It’s a chance to socialize, eat, and possibly play croquet. Other annual outings include a Christmas Party and the Festival of Mystery where we pitch in as volunteers to help Mystery Lovers Bookshop put on its spring extravaganza.

Some of our meetings include workshops, lead by local published authors and experts. Topics can range from the craft of writing, to publishing, to police procedure. We’ve taken field trips to an area police department (hence the locked-in-jail episode) and to a sportsmen’s club firing range where we had a chance to learn about firearms and then actually shoot a variety of them.

We’ve even taken on service projects by donating and helping to plant a tree at the Mary Roberts Rinehart Nature Park as homage to our namesake.

Some of our biggest adventures, though, have been our writing retreats.

At first, the retreats were held in Deep Creek, Maryland at a home belonging to the in-laws of one of our members. It was a huge lodge on the lake with room for nearly twenty. Unfortunately, that home is no longer available to us, so when members expressed an interest in reviving the retreat, we had to find a different locale. This past spring, twelve of us traveled to Confluence, PA where we took over Paddler’s Lane Bed and Breakfast. Ramona Long attended as our guest presenter for what would be an exciting weekend…for many reasons.

The workshops were interesting and educational. The food was delicious. Chocolate and wine flowed freely. Unfortunately, so did the Youghiogheny River outside our backdoor. You see, we happened to schedule our retreat on the very weekend when the area’s largest snowfall in recent memory happened to melt. The resulting flood covered the only road into Paddler’s Lane as well as several of the main roads in and out of the valley. We worked on our writing while keeping one eye on the river coming closer and closer to the house.

With twelve women mystery writers trapped in a house in a flood, you can well imagine the stories we conjured up.

I’m happy to report the flood waters receded in time for us to depart on Sunday as originally intended.

Next year’s retreat is now in the planning phase. We’re looking for new venue slightly farther away from water.

With this group, no matter what the workshop, party, or field trip, you can expect the unexpected. And you can count on having a good time.

======================

Annette Dashofy is the president of the Mary Roberts Rinehart Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Her short mysteries have been published online at Mysterical-e and Spinetingler. One of them was a nominee for a 2007 Derringer Award. Check out Annette's web site and blog,

The Little Chapter That Can

by Polly Iyer

I’m always envious when I read about “The Big Sisters in Crime Chapters.” You know the ones where best-selling authors are members and crime specialists belong who actually write books. The Upstate South Carolina Chapter, on the other hand, occupies a tiny corner of the state, and we have used all our powers of imagination and perseverance to keep coming up with great guest speakers. Somehow, we manage.

We try to alternate between crime professionals and published authors. We love writers with a sense of humor. Those who tell us about their failures before achieving publication give the unpublished among us hope as we strive to connect with an agent or editor. Yeah, they can do it—well, so can we. We’re energized and empowered by their stories. One of our latest guests, A.J. Hartley, kept the group amused with his wonderful sense of British humour as he described all the things he did wrong before becoming a New York Times best-selling author.

Linda Lovely, Carla Damron and Polly Iyer

We’ve hosted a who’s-who list of mystery writers that includes Suzanne Adair, Kathleen Delaney, Carla Damron, Lynda Fitzgerald, Rick Helms, Kay Hooper, Terry Hoover, Gwen Hunter, Charlotte Hughes, Angela Knight, Vicki Lane, Jim and Joyce Lavene, Tamar Myers, Cathy Pickens, Patricia Sprinkle, J.D. Rhoades, Kathryn Wall, and past chapter president, Ellis Vidler. Many have generously visited multiple times. Some discuss their books, others the craft of writing. Chris Roerden, whose book is a master class on writing, shared her valuable knowledge, a definite learning experience. We’d love to have her back. One of our Brothers in Crime, black belt karate expert Howard Lewis, showed us his moves and held us captive. Literally. We look forward to the publication next year of another past chapter president, Linda Lovely.

Our group is supportive of the authors who visit, and we buy their books. Real paper books, with covers and everything. And they sign them. Writers are just so darn nice.

We love authors, but I have to admit, we’re a bloodthirsty group. We love gore. No, really. Give us a PowerPoint presentation with dead bodies, blood spatter, and decomposition, and we’re riveted to the screen. Our guests have included medical examiners, coroners, and a prosecuting attorney who trashed the major network investigation show that covered his case because it distorted the facts. One arrogant defense attorney turned down a case because the client couldn’t pay. Hello, public defender. We’ll never have him back. Conversely, a federal public defender kept our group enthralled past the time limit, and our bookstore had to kick us out. We’ve had him twice and hope to have him again.

We’ve hosted sheriffs, P.I.s, male and female FBI agents, forensic specialists, medical examiners, cops dealing in human trafficking, fraud investigators, the first woman cop in the county, a forensic psychologist, a weapons expert, a campus security cop, and an arson inspector, among others. We’ve even had an arson-sniffing dog. All shared their experiences, took our questions—except for the dog—and taught us a thing or two we didn’t know before.

We’ve seen changes this year. Our indie bookstore closed, leaving us scrambling to find another venue. We did. It’s not the same, but we eat better because the meeting is at a restaurant. Things are happening in our little corner of the world. So I guess we’ve done okay.

For more information on the Upstate South Carolina Chapter, please contact Polly Iyer.

What you DIDN'T know about Mary Roberts Rinehart

By Joyce Tremel

If Sisters in Crime had been around at the turn of the 20th century, Mary Roberts Rinehart would have been an active member. Born in the North Side (then called Allegheny City) of Pittsburgh in 1876, Rinehart was the natural choice for a namesake when the Pittsburgh chapter of SinC needed a name.


Rinehart began writing after she and her physician husband lost their savings in the stock market crash of 1903. Often called the “American Agatha Christie,” she became a pioneer in the world of mystery fiction, and invented the Had-I-But-Known type of storytelling. Her novel, The Circular Staircase, the second in the Miss Cornelia Van Gorder series, propelled her to national fame. She was also a prolific short story writer and a regular contributor to the Saturday Evening Post. In true pioneer fashion, she became the first female war correspondent when she was sent to the Belgian front during World War I.

Rinehart was a pioneer in other ways, too. One of her novels, The Bat (which was made into a silent movie), featured a costumed supercriminal. Sound familiar? Although disputed in various sources, rumor has it that Bob Kane, the creator of the Batman comic, may have used the character as his inspiration for his superhero. Who would have figured a middle aged woman may have been responsible for Batman?

When Rinehart had a radical mastectomy for breast cancer, she went public with her story in an issue of Ladies Home Journal in 1947. She encouraged women to have breast exams at a time when this issue was not talked about in public. She also founded the New York publishing house Farrar & Rinehart with her sons, where she served as director.

One event in Rinehart’s life sounds like it came straight from a mystery novel. She owned a vacation home in Bar Harbor, Maine. One summer, as she sat in her library reading a book, her cook of 25 years entered the room. He walked up to her, pointed a gun at her head and pulled the trigger. The gun misfired and Rinehart ran for help. As she passed the front door to her home, a man standing there told her he was looking for work. She allegedly said, “Young man, you’ll have to come back later. There is a man here trying to kill me.” The cook then tried to attack her with knives, but was subdued by other servants. He committed suicide in jail, and the gracious Rinehart paid for his funeral.

Rinehart was awarded a Special Edgar by Mystery Writers of America in 1953 for her contribution to the field of mystery. She died in 1958 and is buried next to her husband in Arlington National Cemetery.

The Pittsburgh chapter is proud to carry on the legacy of Mary Roberts Rinehart. Please feel free to visit our web site.

Geographically Challenged!

By Pat Remick
President of New England’s Scarlet Letters Chapter

With a Sisters In Crime chapter covering the six New England states, finding a way to stay connected is one of the biggest challenges of our “Scarlet Letters Chapter.”

Founded in 1993, our chapter has grown from about a dozen women to almost 180 women and men living in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Many of the original SinCNE members remain active in our group today.

Although most of our Sisters (and Brothers) are in Massachusetts, as are the majority of our meetings, we’re trying to broaden our geographic sweep as we work to serve both published and unpublished members with physical meetings that allow for networking and socializing, as well as online opportunities available no matter where they reside. With our northernmost member separated from our southernmost Sister by over 350 miles and 6 ½ hours of driving, sometimes cyberspace is the easiest meeting place.

On the physical side, this summer we co-sponsored an extremely well-attended “Beach Reads Recommendations” event featuring four recently published authors and myself as moderator with an independent bookstore in Portsmouth, NH, and our Connecticut Sisters hosted a crime scene expert at a library in their state. Although a three-hour drive for me, it was wonderful to join them and greet almost 30 Sisters attending along with the public.

Our Speakers Bureau, which promoted our published members at over 35 panel discussion events at libraries and bookstores last year, also brings members together with each other and the public. And our Chapter has launched a New England edition of the SinC National “We Love Libraries” lottery as we strive to strengthen connections with those who buy and sell our books.

Our Chapter serves both published and unpublished members by offering at least one half or full-day writing workshop annually, sometimes preceded by a more intimate Friday evening event especially for those who’ve booked a hotel room because they have traveled from afar to attend the Saturday class. The “Triage Your Plot” workshop by writing teacher and best-selling author Hallie Ephron in April drew members from four of our six states and the Chapter funded the workshop as a member benefit.

We also offer members at least two online craft classes annually. This year, Sylvie Kurtz talked about “How to Revise Without Getting Sick of Your Manuscript” and Mary Buckham will help us explore “the First Five Pages” in October. Our Chapter often subsidizes at least a portion of the cost.

Other 2010 events included: hosting the SinC booth at the American Library Association midwinter conference in Boston in January, a February class with Boston-based entertainment lawyer Patti Jones speaking about copyright, trademarks and other intellectual property protection; and Sisters reading their Works in Progress at a member’s home in May.

Coming up are an all-day gun workshop at a shooting range in September, a social networking class in October, co-hosting a booth at the New England Independent Booksellers Association Conference in Providence, RI; Crime Bake (see below) and our annual December holiday party.

We also publish a highly regarded newsletter at least six times a year and use our New England SINC listserv, Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch virtually. We are working on a total revamp of our Web site to supplement these efforts.

Because we are so geographically challenged, one place where we often connect with members unable to attend meetings is the New England Crime Bake for Mystery Writers and Readers held outside Boston each November, which we’ve co-sponsored with the New England Chapter of Mystery Writers of America since 2002. This year, we’re planning a “Scarlet Letters” hospitality event on the opening evening to offer members a quick tutorial on how to best do the conference, introduce them to our latest social networking efforts, and just enjoy each other’s company. The conference, which this year features Guest of Honor Charlaine Harris, also provides a healthy infusion into our treasury, allowing us to continue to expand our efforts to serve our members in our expansive region!

We hope you'll visit our web site -- and, maybe join?

Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin’ Launch Party

Join members of the Chesapeake Chapter on Saturday, April 10, to celebrate the publication of Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin’, the fourth volume in the Chesapeake Crimes anthology series. Bring your family and friends to the launch party from 2 to 5 p.m. at Southgate Community Center, 12125 Pinecrest Road, Reston, VA.

The book features stories by chapter members Donna Andrews, Karen Cantwell, Trish Carrico, Mary Ann Corrigan, Carla Coupe, Meriah Crawford, Barb Goffman, Sasscer Hill, Mary Ellen Hughes, Smita H. Jain, B.V. Lawson, Audrey Liebross, C. Ellett Logan, Debbi Mack, G.M. Malliet, Ann McMillan, Bonner Menking, Helen Schwartz, Shelley Shearer and Lisa M. Tillman. Most of the authors are expected to attend and will talk about their stories and sign books. Mystery Loves Company will have books for sale.

No reservations necessary. Light refreshments and merriment begin at 2pm. No need to RSVP.