Mystery Writers Share their Expertise on Series Writing on Nov 11 with HPL

6 Nov

We can’t wait for November 11, when we have four mystery authors from the Mystery Writers of America New York Chapter scheduled along with moderator Mark McNease talking about how to start writing a series and keep it going. If you are an established author looking to learn some additional tips and tricks or if you are a new aspiring writer looking to find out where to get started, this is sure to be an enjoyable and insightful event. You can check out a variety of their works in print and as ebooks.

Annamaria Alfieri writes the Vera and Tolliver stories, which are set in British East Africa and explore the evils of colonialism. It began with Strange Gods. The Richmond Times-Dispatch praised the series as having “the flair of Isak Dinesen and Beryl Markham, the cunning of Agatha Christie and Elspeth Huxley.”

Tom Coffey signed a three-book deal with Level Best Books in 2023. Public Morals is the first novel in The Devine Trilogy, which is named after the family at its center. The series examines the arc of law enforcement in New York from the 1980s to the present. The second book, Special Victim, will be released in late November.

Peggy Ehrhart is currently writing the Knit & Nibble mysteries for Kensington Books. Her amateur sleuth, Pamela Paterson, is the founder and mainstay of the Arborville, New Jersey, knitting club, nicknamed Knit and Nibble. Knit & Nibble #10, Knitmare on Beech Street, was a December 2023 release; “Murder Most Irish” appears in Kensington’s 2024 St. Patrick’s Day novella anthology, Irish Milkshake Murder; and A Dark and Stormy Knit will appear in the fall of 2024.

Gerri Lewis is the author of the Deadly Deadlines mystery, The Last Word, about an obituary writer who solves murders in her hometown of Ridgefield, Connecticut. When she is not helping her protagonist solve mysteries, she writes magazine features and is the Public Information Officer for the Ridgefield Office of Emergency Management. 

Mark McNease is the author of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, the Marshall James Thrillers, and the Maggie Dahl Mysteries. He has won two Emmys for Outstanding Children’s Program for Into the Outdoors, and he currently serves on the board of the Mystery Writers of America, New York Chapter.

Posted by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Wander Lust: Culinary Escapes, The Curious Traveler, Wild Travels, and Word Travels

30 Oct

I love to travel, but right now a trip abroad is not in our budget till then a perfect way to feed my desire to explore the world is through the many interesting travel shows featured on Hoopla.

Culinary Escapes
Culinary Escapes will feed the need for those who like to travel (or dream about traveling) first class. Two bffs Kerri Zane and Christina Cindrich stay at five star hotels while sampling and even in some cases learning to prepare some of the local delicacies. I devoured the episodes on France (delicious macrons), New Orleans (beignets and jambalaya) and London (fish & chips and fresh game). In London they even got to see where royalty gets measured for their hats and in France design a signature perfume. If you love luxury trips with your favorite gal pal then this will be a treat.

Curious Traveler
In Curious Traveler, journalist Christine van Blokland channels her inner child and asks all the Why?, What?, Where? How? questions and helps unravel mysteries of each destination’s art, architecture and hidden histories. I enjoyed the episode about Quebec City; even though I had visited and stayed at the iconic Château Frontenac, I hadn’t been aware of all the interesting history surrounding the hotel and the city. The series will give you deeper insight into your favorite travel destinations. There are three seasons of Curious Traveler available to stream. If you enjoy trivia and taking guided tours to learn all you can about a region than this will be your ticket.

Wild Travels
Looking for something a little less fancy or educational and a little more off the beaten path, than check out Wild Travels. The series promises to deliver the quirkiest places and people in the United States. The first episode from season 2 that I watched included the first cog railway in the world, Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory, the Weeki Wachee Mermaid Show, bug art at the Fairbanks Museum, and Sneaker Con. You can borrow seasons 1 and 2 of Wild Travels from Hoopla. This would be a fun one for the whole family to watch to get ideas for exciting trips with the kids.

Word Travels – the Truth Behind the Byline
Finally if you are thinking of taking your love of travel to the next level and becoming a travel writer than check out Word Travels. Robin Esrock and Julia Dimon travel to a variety of destination and give insight into how they use their experience to write articles about the location that give not only interesting facts but insight into the lives of the people living there. I enjoyed watching their visits to the countries of Georgia, where they learned about the Heavy Metal Scene and vineyards and Lithuania where Robin found out about genealogical travel while tracing his grandfather’s tragic past.

Whether you are traveling this summer and looking to learn a few key phrases quickly or want to gain greater mastery for a future trip you are likely to find the perfect course for you with our new language learning offering, Pronunciator. Plus we also have Mango which you can read more about in a previous post.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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