Mike Befeler is author of six books in the Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series: Nursing Homes Are Murder; Care Homes Are Murder; Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder, a finalist for The Lefty Award for best humorous mystery of 2012; Senior Moments Are Murder; Living with Your Kids Is Murder, a finalist for The Lefty Award for best humorous mystery of 2009; and Retirement Homes Are Murder. In the May, 2008, issue of the AARP Bulletin Mike Befeler was identified as one of four authors in a new emerging mystery sub-genre. Harlan Coben, president of Mystery Writers of America stated, “We’ve just scratched the surface on geezer-lit. It could be the next frontier in crime fiction.” Mike is past-president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. After a thirty-nine year business career, he retired into writing. He grew up in Hawaii, spent many years in Boulder, Colorado, and currently lives in Lakewood, California, with his wife Wendy. Find all of Mike’s Encircle Publications titles here: Mike Befeler books

Catherine Dilts is the author of the Rock Shop Mystery series, while her short stories appear regularly in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. With a day job as an environmental regulatory technician, Catherine’s stories often have environmental or factory-based themes. Others reflect her love of the Colorado mountains, fishing, and running. Catherine caught mountain fever after a childhood vacation in Rocky Mountain National Park. Determined to give up her flat–lander ways, she moved from Oklahoma to Colorado where she lives with her husband. In her spare time, she attempts to lure wild donkeys to her property in the mountains. Find all of Catherine’s Encircle Publications titles here: Catherine Dilts books

Bill Brooks is the author of 23 novels including the critically acclaimed THE STONE GARDEN: THE EPIC LIFE OF BILLY THE KID, BONNIE & CLYDE: A LOVE STORY and, PRETTY BOY: THE EPIC LIFE OF PRETTY BOY FLOYD. In December 2010 The Stone Garden: The Epic Life of Billy the Kid was named one of the top ten westerns of the decade by Booklist. Bill is also a writing instructor and has taught Novel Writing workshops at the famed Chautauqua Institute, Writers of the Flathead, Pikes Peak Writer’s Conference, North Carolina Literary Mountain Fest and many others. Bill has also published short stories and recently his first collection of poems, The Fiction of Adultery & Other Poems. Bill’s publishers have included, Dell, Harper Collins, Kensington, Walker & Co., M.Evans, and, 5 Star. Find all of Bill’s Encircle Publications titles here: Bill Brooks books

Richard Cass is the author of Solo Act, the first volume in the Elder Darrow series. In Solo Time is the prequel to that book, the origin story for Elder and his friend, Boston Homicide detective Dan Burton. Cass’s short fiction has won prizes from magazines like Redbook, Writers’ Digest, and Playboy. His first collection of stories was called Gleam of Bone. He is active with the Maine Crime Writers group, which blogs at Maine Crime Writers and serves on the board of Mystery Writers of America’s New England chapter. He lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine with his wife Anne and a Maine Coon cat named Tinker, where he writes full time. Find all of Richard’s Encircle Publications titles here: Richard Cass books

Jay Ruud is the retired Chair of the English Department at the University of Central Arkansas and former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Northern State University. His Ph.D. in medieval literature turned him into an avid fan of the legends of King Arthur, and kindled a passion in him for retelling those stories in his own way. He has an awesome wife, two grownup children of whom he is unspeakably proud, and four spectacular grandchildren to match his four unruly dogs. He loves Chaucer, Dante, and Tolkien. In addition to all of this, he is a lifetime Cubs fan who finally lived to see a world series, he hopes one day to visit Antarctica, has played Ebenezer Scrooge and Lady Bracknell on stage, and believes that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Find all of Jays’s Encircle Publications titles here: Jay Ruud books

An award-winning author of books about American history and biographies, Leslie Wheeler has written three Miranda Lewis “living history” mysteries: Murder at Plimoth Plantation, Murder at Gettysburg, and Murder at Spouters Point. Her mystery short stories have appeared in various anthologies including Day of the Dark, Stories of Eclipse, and those published by Level Best Books, where she was a co-editor/co-publisher for six years. A member of Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime, she is Speakers Bureau Coordinator for the New England Chapter of SinC. Leslie divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Berkshires, where she does much of her writing in a house overlooking a pond. Find all of Leslies’s Encircle Publications titles here: Leslie Wheeler books

Multiple award-winning author, Jacqueline Seewald, has taught creative, expository and technical writing at Rutgers University as well as high school English. She also worked as both an academic librarian and an educational media specialist. Seventeen of her books of fiction have been published to critical praise including books for adults, teens and children. Her short stories, poems, essays, reviews and articles have appeared in hundreds of diverse publications and numerous anthologies such as: THE WRITER, L.A. TIMES, READER’S DIGEST, SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY MAGAZINE, OVER MY DEAD BODY!, GUMSHOE REVIEW, THE MYSTERY MEGAPACK and THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR. She’s also an amateur landscape artist and enjoys listening to blue grass music. She loves hearing from readers. Find all of Jaqueline’s Encircle Publications titles here: Jaqueline Seewald books

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Tom Murphy—a life-long runner—taught in Boston schools where he quickly fell in with the road running crowd. With John J. Kelley, the 1957 Boston Marathon winner, Tom wrote Just Call Me Jock in 1982, a history of the Boston Marathon as seen through the eyes of Jock Semple, the colorful race co-director. Tom’s novel, Runner in Red, which will be published by Encircle in April 2018, draws on a real-life Boston Marathon legend that a woman “wearing red” jumped into the 1951 Boston Marathon, which if true would make her the first woman to have run a marathon on American soil. Tom’s novel is a fictional search for the ‘runner in red’ to solve the mystery. In 2006, Tom wrote a book about the aviation heroes on 9/11, called Reclaiming the Sky, which led the president of Fordham University to invite Tom to create an institute, the Human Resiliency Institute, to put healing lessons from the book into programs. The institute’s lead program, (Resiliency) Edge4Vets, teaches vets how to tap their strengths to get jobs. See more at edge4vets.org. Tom also created a beer, called Barb’s Beer, to raise funds to help cure lung cancer in his late wife (a Boston Marathon runner’s) name. See more at barbsbeer.org. Find Tom’s Encircle Publications titles here: Tom Murphy books

Karen Hanson Stuyck is the author of seven previous mystery novels: Death by Dumpster, Do You Remember Me Now?, A Novel Way to Die, Fit to Die, Cry for Help, Held Accountable, and Lethal Lessons. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, an editor, and a public relations writer for hospitals and a mental health institution. Her short stories have been published in Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Woman’s World, and other magazines. She lives with her husband in Houston. Find Karen’s Encircle Publications titles here: Karen Hanson Stuyck books

Phyllis Gobbell’s latest manuscript, Treachery in Tuscany, is third in the Jordan Mayfair Mystery Series that began with Pursuit in Provence (2015) and continued with Secrets and Shamrocks (2016). She also co-authored two true-crime books based on high-profile murders in Nashville: An Unfinished Canvas with Mike Glasgow (Berkley, 2007) and A Season of Darkness with Doug Jones (Berkley, 2010). She was interviewed on Discovery ID’s “Deadly Sins,” discussing the murder case in An Unfinished Canvas. Her narrative, “Lost Innocence,” was published in the anthology, Masters of True Crime (Prometheus, 2012) and is now available as an audiobook. She has received awards in both fiction and nonfiction, including Tennessee’s Individual Artist Literary Award. An associate professor of English at Nashville State Community College, she teaches writing and literature. Find Phyllis’ Encircle Publications titles here: Phyllis Gobbell books

Check out the audio clip where Phyllis Gobbell reads from the first chapter!

Phyllis Gobbell introduces her book!

Gary Alexander is the author of 16 novels. Disappeared, first in the Buster Hightower series, has been optioned to Universal Studios. He’s also written 150 + short stories and sold travel articles to 6 major dailies. One story appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 2010, another in Ice Cold, a Mystery Writers of America anthology. On his last visit to Lisbon in 2015, Alexander walked where Harry Antonelli had in 1940, although somewhat less recklessly. His website is www.garyralexander.net Find Gary’s Encircle Publications titles here: Gary Alexander books

Holding a PhD in experimental psychology from Brandeis University, Richard Bolt was a founding member of MIT’s noted Media Laboratory, where, as a Senior Research Scientist, he led groundbreaking research in multi-modal human/computer interaction. Since retirement from MIT, he has turned his hand to mystery and suspense writing. He and his wife Olga make their home in Arlington, Massachusetts. Find Richard’s Encircle Publications titles here: Richard Bolt books

Al Lamanda, a native of New York City is the author of eight mystery novels. Sunset, the first in the John Bekker series was nominated for the Edgar Award. With 6 You Get Wally, the fifth in the John Bekker series won the Nero Award for the best mystery of 2017.
In addition, he dabbles in film and wrote the screenplay for the film American Violence, which stars Bruce Dern, Denise Richards and Michael Pare. Find Al’s Encircle Publications titles here: Al Lamanda books.

Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician with a passion for language and learning. When he’s not working on his next release, he can be found reading and reviewing books for his award-winning book blog, SocialBookshelves.com.

Barbarajean (BJ) Magnani, PhD, MD, FCAP, is internationally recognized for her expertise in clinical chemistry and toxicology, has been named a “Top Doctor” in Boston magazine and was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Laboratory Medicine Professionals in the World by The Pathologist. She received her Master’s and PhD from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and completed her residency in Clinical Pathology at Tufts-New England Medical Center.

Dr. Magnani is currently Professor of Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (and Professor of Medicine) at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, and serves as the Chair of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Toxicology Committee. She is the author of Lily Robinson and the Art of Secret Poisoning (nVision Press, 2011), as well as one of the editors of The Clinical Toxicology Laboratory: Contemporary Practice of Poisoning Evaluation, 2nd edition (AACC Press) and Clinical Toxicology Testing: A Guide for Laboratory Professionals (CAP Press).

The character of Lily Robinson was initially created to entertain and educate forensic chemists and toxicologists through the short stories found in Lily Robinson and the Art of Secret Poisoning. Reading the stories of Dr. Robinson—an academic physician in one world and government assassin in another—the reader was challenged to follow clues to identify the toxin used in each assassination.
In each story’s “Recollection,” Lily then revealed the toxin and her method, and provided a brief tutorial on the toxin’s chemical mechanisms.

The Queen of All Poisons (2019) is based on the original Lily Robinson series. The sequel to The Queen of All Poisons is slated for release in 2020.

www.bjmagnani.com

C. M. Wendelboe entered the law enforcement profession when he was discharged from the Marines as the Vietnam war was winding down.
In the 1970s, his career included assisting federal and tribal law enforcement agencies embroiled in conflicts with American Indian Movement activists in South Dakota.
He moved to Gillette, Wyoming, and found his niche, where he remained a sheriff’s deputy for more than 25 years. In addition, he was a longtime firearms instructor at the local college and within the community.
During his 38-year career in law enforcement he had served successful stints as police chief, policy adviser, and other supervisory roles for several agencies. Yet he always has felt most proud of “working the street.” He was a patrol supervisor when he retired to pursue his true vocation as a fiction writer.

There are three places you can find Erica when she’s not writing or teaching courses on mystery fiction and Arthurian Romance at Fordham University: on a hiking trail, in her garden, or at the back of the pack in her local road race. Her favorite kind of vacation is backpacking across Dartmoor or among the hills of Wales in order to find new and exciting legends to inspire her own writing. After she graduated from Yale University, her interest in folklore and story led her to an M.A. in Creative Writing from City College of New York and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the City University of New York, where she published articles and a book about female folklorists of the nineteenth century before she decided she’d rather be writing the stories herself.
Along with their macaw Fasolt and a rotating assortment of cats, she and her husband divide their time between New York City and Woodstock, where they spend far too much time gardening.

Flo earned a B.F.A. in Dance at Southern Methodist University and an M.A. in Theatre at Baylor, then spent her years after college shuttling back and forth from Texas to New York performing, teaching and choreographing. During her career in theatre, Flo has played nice ladies (Nellie-South Pacific), not-so-nice ladies (Lily St. Regis-Annie) and dead ladies who weren’t very ladylike (three murdered hookers in melodrama Jack the Ripper) The last, she claims, was tough. She spent the first ten minutes of the show “dead”, lying on the floor trying not to breathe – or wince from paper wads thrown by enthusiastic audiences. One of her favorite theatrical experiences was playing a variety of characters (bag ladies and Cyndi Lauper-styled tourists) for the Japanese language show NY-Go! which aired on Manhattan cable stations.
“Flo currently lives in Alabama, and while she admits it’s a beautiful state, she’s homesick for her favorite Tex-Mex restaurant back in Waco. But Flo is thrilled to be singing with jazz group The Usual Suspects-Clanton so trading in Fajitas for a microphone is definitely worthwhile.”

Susan Van Kirk began her writing career with her 2010 creative nonfiction memoir, The Education of a Teacher (Including Dirty Books and Pointed Looks). Her mysteries about the town of Endurance began with Three May Keep a Secret (2014, Five Star/Cengage). Publisher’s Weekly said, “Van Kirk’s appealing mystery debut … introduces recently retired teacher Grace Kimball. Cozy fans will find a lot to like.” Marry in Haste (2016) followed, along with an Endurance novella titled The Locket: From the Casebook of TJ Sweeney (2015). Her final Endurance mystery was Death Takes No Bribes (2017). She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and is on the Steering Committee of the Guppies, a subgroup of Sisters in Crime. Her books display her lifelong interest in the Midwest, history, and mystery. Educated at Knox College and the University of Illinois, she taught for forty-four years. Mother of three and grandmother of eleven, she divides her time between Illinois and Arizona. You can read more about her books at http://www.susanvankirk.com

Lara Tupper’s debut novel, A Thousand and One Nights (Harcourt/Untreed Reads), is an autobiographical tale about breaking the trajectory of career, marriage, family; she co-wrote the screenplay adaptation. Her work has appeared in The Believer, FiveChapters, Epiphany, Nowhere and other magazines; her short fiction was nominated for a 2018 Pushcart Prize. A graduate of Wesleyan University and the MFA Program at Warren Wilson College, she taught creative writing at Rutgers University for several years. Born in Boothbay, Maine, Lara now writes, teaches and performs in Western Massachusetts. A jazz/pop vocalist, she just released her first album, This Dance. www.laratupper.com

Ang Pompano has been writing mystery for more than twenty years. His novel, WHEN IT’S TIME FOR LEAVING will be published in October 2019. His stories have been published in several anthologies, including the 2019 Malice Domestic Anthology MYSTERY MOST EDIBLE. In addition to his fiction writing, he has written many academic pieces including one on teaching detective fiction. He is a member of Mystery Writers of America and a past recipient of the Helen McCloy/Mystery Writers of America Scholarship for a novel in progress. A brother member of Sisters in Crime, he is a long-time board member of the New England chapter. He has been on the New England Crime Bake Planning Committee for fourteen years. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Annette, an artist, and his two rescue dogs, Quincy and Dexter.