Hurray for the Agatha Best First Nominees!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: How great is this? I can tell you with absolute certainty, that nowhere on the planet are there five happier women than the nominees for the Agatha Award Best First  Novel.

Oh. When you've worked and worked and worried and worried, and then the phone call comes...oh. It is a life-changing moment.

So it looks like I am typing, but I am really standing and cheering and leading the standing ovation for our fabulous wonderful talented Agatha Best First nominees.

Hurray!  and now, I am thrilled to let you meet them all.  With a very tantalizing question for all of us!

NOMINEES:  Thanks for having us on Jungle Red Writers! As we bask in the glow of our Agatha Best First Novel nominations, we thought it would be fun to share our first bylines. Such great variety, just like our books!

 We’d love to hear about your first foray into writing. Was it life-changing? Funny? The bite that gave you the writing bug? Please share!

Micki Browning

As long as I can disregard a poem published in my elementary school anthology, my first byline was in 1986 for “The Call of the Sea,” an essay on underwater sound that went to press in The Diver magazine. It was magical to learn the very first article I’d ever submitted had been accepted. It still makes me smile to think that my first foray into publishing and my debut novel both involved scuba diving.

V.M. Burns

My first byline (or the first one I remember) was for an editorial I wrote for a school newspaper (middle or high school – it’s all fuzzy). I wrote a commentary on student athletes and SAT scores. At the time there was a lot of public discussion about requirements that student athletes needed to maintain a minimum GPA and SAT/ACT score to receive college scholarships. I felt the standards weren’t that high and athletes should be held to a similar standard as other students pursuing college educations. Interestingly, in The Plot is Murder, Samantha Washington’s assistant, Dawson Alexander is a student athlete who is placed on academic probation and Sam and Nana Jo tutor him. I guess, I’ve been writing this book a lot longer than I realized. 

Kellye Garrett

I have known I wanted to write since I was five years-old. In the ensuing thirty-plus years, I have probably attempted every form of writing except for poetry, which is honestly probably for the best. I used to start and immediately discard stories as a kid. My mom still has them somewhere in her garage. They are definitely blackmail material. I vaguely remember winning some award for an essay contest at a local Jack and Jill event. I can’t remember what the topic but I must have known a lot about it at the time! One “first byline” I will never forget is my first television credit. I was a staff writer on a CBS show called Cold Case, which was known for using flashbacks to key periods of American history. My episode was about the World War II Japanese internment camps that falsely imprisoned many American citizens solely because of the color of their skin. It’s such an important and painful part of our history, yet also one we often ignore. So I was happy to be able to help spotlight it on national TV.

Laura Oles

There’s something special about going to your favorite bookstore in search of a magazine and being able to flip through it to find your byline. When I was asked to be a columnist for Digital Camera Magazine back in the late 1990’s, I felt I had reached an important professional goal. I remember taking a trip to my local Hasting’s to search for it on the newsstand. I purchased a copy of the first issue with my new column, even though the publisher had also sent copies. More recently, writing a guest column for Writer’s Digest was such a special experience. As a faithful reader of that magazine for so many years, being asked to contribute was a huge thrill.  Seeing a WD tweet promoting my article? You bet I took a screenshot of that! I’m just not that cool to pretend it wasn’t a big deal.

Kathleen Valenti

Early in my writing career, I dabbled in journalism, writing articles for local papers and a piece for a national car magazine. But it wasn’t until I consistently wrote for my supper that I felt that I had somehow made it. The irony? There was no byline at all.

My first experience with the no-byline-byline was as a junior copywriter on my very first assignment. The task: write a TV spot for a cable company to promote its on-time guarantee. My creative director gave me carte blanche. “Just write something funny,” he said. “And good.”

So I did. The anonymity allowed me to turn off my internal editor and take chances I would never have taken if my name accompanied the spot, which went on to win awards. It was the writing equivalent of “Dance like no one’s watching,” and I loved it—and continued loving it for more than two decades.

Fast forward to today. My name is front and center—literally—on my book. To say that it took some getting used to is a serious understatement. I even asked for the size of my name to be reduced on the book cover! Now that I’m out in the world, I’ve made peace with having a public byline. I’m even enjoying it. After all, my heart is already on those pages. It makes sense that my name is, too.  

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, I am so happy for all of you! Reds and 

Readers, chime in! On best firsts, on your first bylines, or just to 

say congratulations. And hey--who will we all see at Malice? 

Now, meet your talented  nominees!  

Micki Browning

A retired police captain, Micki Browning writes the Mer Cavallo Mystery series set in the Florida Keys. In addition to the Agatha nomination for Best First Novel, Adrift has won both the Daphne du Maurier and the Royal Palm Literary Awards. Beached, her second novel, launched January 2018. Micki’s work has appeared in dive magazines, anthologies, mystery magazines, and textbooks. She lives in South Florida with her partner in crime and a vast array of scuba equipment she uses for “research.” Learn more about Micki at MickiBrowning.com.

Adrift

Marine biologist-turned-divemaster Meredith Cavallo thought adjusting to a laid-back life in the Florida Keys would be a breeze. But when the host of a ghost-hunting documentary crew hires her as a safety diver and then vanishes during the midnight dive, Mer’s caught in a storm of supernatural intrigue. Determined to find a rational explanation, Mer approaches the man’s disappearance as any scientist would—by asking questions, gathering data, and deducing the truth. But the victim’s life is as shrouded in mystery as his disappearance. Still, something happened under the water and before long, she’s in over her head. When someone tries to kill her, she knows the truth is about to surface. Maybe dead men do tell tales.

V.M. Burns

V.M. (Valerie) Burns was born in Northwestern Indiana and spent many years in Southwestern Michigan on the Lake Michigan shoreline. She is a lover of dogs, British historic cozies, and scones with clotted cream. After many years in the Midwest she went in search of milder winters and currently lives in Eastern Tennessee with her poodles. Receiving the Agatha nomination for Best First Novel has been a dream come true. Valerie is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and a lifetime member of Sisters in Crime. Readers can learn more by visiting her website at vmburns.com.

The Plot is Murder

Samantha Washington has dreamed of owning a mystery bookstore for as long as she can remember. And as she prepares for the store’s grand opening, she’s also realizing another dream—penning a cozy mystery set in England between the wars. While Samantha hires employees and fills the shelves with the latest mysteries, quick-witted Lady Penelope Marsh, long-overshadowed by her beautiful sister Daphne, refuses to lose the besotted Victor Carlston to her sibling's charms. When one of Daphne's suitors is murdered in a maze, Penelope steps in to solve the labyrinthine puzzle and win Victor. But as Samantha indulges her imagination, the unimaginable happens in real life. A shady realtor turns up dead in her backyard, and the police suspect her—after all, the owner of a mystery bookstore might know a thing or two about murder. Aided by her feisty grandmother and an enthusiastic ensemble of colorful retirees, Samantha is determined to close the case before she opens her store. But will she live to conclude her own story when the killer has a revised ending in mind for her?

Kellye Garrett

Kellye Garrett writes the Detective by Day mysteries about a semi-famous, mega-broke black actress who takes on the deadliest role of her life: Homicide Detective. The first, Hollywood Homicide, won the 2018 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery Novel and was recently nominated for Agatha and Barry awards. The second, Hollywood Ending, will be released on August 8, 2018 from Midnight Ink. Prior to writing novels, Kellye spent eight years working in Hollywood, including a stint writing for the TV drama Cold Case. The New Jersey native now works for a leading media company in New York City and serves on the national Board of Directors for Sisters in Crime. You can learn more about her at KellyeGarrett.com and ChicksontheCase.com.

 

Hollywood Homicide

Actress Dayna Anderson’s Deadly New Role: Homicide Detective

Dayna Anderson doesn’t set out to solve a murder. All the semifamous, mega-broke actress wants is to help her parents keep their house. So after witnessing a deadly hit-and-run, she pursues the fifteen grand reward. But Dayna soon finds herself doing a full-on investigation, wanting more than just money—she wants justice for the victim. She chases down leads at paparazzi hot spots, celeb homes, and movie premieres, loving every second of it—until someone tries to kill her. And there are no second takes in real life.

Laura Oles

Laura Oles is a photo industry journalist who spent twenty years covering tech and trends before turning to crime fiction. She served as a columnist for numerous photography magazines and publications. Laura’s short stories have appeared in several anthologies, including Murder on Wheels, which won the Silver Falchion Award in 2016. Her debut mystery, Daughters of Bad Men, is a Claymore Award Finalist and an Agatha nominee for Best First Novel. She is also a Writers’ League of Texas Award Finalist. Laura is a member of Austin Mystery Writers, Sisters in Crime and Writers’ League of Texas. Laura lives on the edge of the Texas Hill Country with her husband, daughter and twin sons. Visit her online at lauraoles.com.

Daughters of Bad Men

Jamie Rush understands what it takes to disappear because her parents taught her that long ago. Leveraging her knowledge of why and how people run from their own lives, Jamie has built a business based on bringing those in hiding back to answer for their actions. She takes pride in using her skills to work both inside and outside the law.

When her estranged brother, Brian, calls and says his daughter is missing, Jamie initially turns down the case. Kristen has always been a bit wild, frequently dropping off the grid then showing up a few days later. But Brian swears this time is different, and even though Jamie vowed years ago to keep her conniving sibling at arm’s length, she can’t walk away if Kristen could be in real trouble.

As Jamie begins digging into Kristen’s life, she uncovers her niece’s most guarded secrets. Uncovering the truth will put a target on Jamie’s back and endanger the lives of those she loves.

Kathleen Valenti

Kathleen Valenti is the author of the Maggie O’Malley mystery series. The series’ first book, Agatha- and Lefty-nominated Protocol, introduces us to Maggie, a pharmaceutical researcher with a new job, a used phone, and a deadly problem. The series’ second book, 39 Winks, releases May 22. When Kathleen isn’t writing page-turning mysteries that combine humor and suspense, she works as a nationally award-winning advertising copywriter. She lives in Oregon with her family where she pretends to enjoy running. Learn more at www.kathleenvalenti.com.

Protocol

Freshly minted college graduate Maggie O’Malley embarks on a career fueled by professional ambition and a desire to escape the past. As a pharmaceutical researcher, she’s determined to save lives from the shelter of her lab. But on her very first day she’s pulled into a world of uncertainty. Reminders appear on her phone for meetings she’s never scheduled with people she’s never met.

People who end up dead.

With help from her best friend, Maggie discovers the victims on her phone are connected to each other and her new employer. She soon unearths a treacherous plot that threatens her mission—and her life. Maggie must unlock deadly secrets to stop horrific abuses of power before death comes calling for her.