Z Is For Sarah Zettel

Sarah Zettel is the critically acclaimed author of more than twenty novels, spanning the full range of genre fiction. Her debut novel, Reclamation, won the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Her second release, Fool’s War, was a 1997 New York Times Notable Book, and the American Library Association named Playing God one of the Best Books for Young Adults of 1999. Her novel Bitter Angels won the Philip K. Dick Award for best science fiction paperback in 2009. Her latest novel, Dust Girl, was named as one of the best young adult books of the year by both Kirkus Reviews and the American Library Association. Zettel lives in Michigan with her husband, her rapidly growing son, and her cat, Buffy the Vermin Slayer.

Her cozy mystery series, Vampire Chef, began in 2011. It takes place in New York City, and features Charlotte Caine. Charlotte is a chef at Nightlife, a restaurant which serves the undead. Currently there are two titles available: A Taste Of The Nightlife and Let Them Eat Stake.

Y Is For Suzanne Young

Suzanne writes the Edna Davis Mystery Series which started in 2009 and takes place in Rhode Island. It features Edna Davis who is an amateur herbalist. Edna and husband Albert have recently retired and moved back to their home state of Rhode Island. Edna finds herself entangled in murder and as a result a new amateur sleuth is born!

Suzanne Young was born and raised in New England and has been an avid reader since she could hold a book in her hands.  She enjoys words, the play of words, the origin of words, and using words to say exactly what you mean. Suzanne has worked as a writer, an editor and a computer programmer since earning her degree in English from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. A resident of Colorado for more than 30 years, she retired as a software developer for IBM.

X Is For Diane Xarissa

Diana Xarissa writes the Isle of Man Cozy Mystery series which started in 2014 and is set on the Isle of Man. It features Aunt Bessie, a character who first appeared in the Isle of Man Romance Island Inheritance. In that novel, she had just passed away, so the cozy mysteries are set about fifteen years before the romance novels (circa 1998). Bessie's lived her entire adult life in a small cottage on Laxey Beach in the Isle of Man. Until now, murder was just something that happened in her favorite fiction.

As D. X. Dunn, Diana writes action/fantasy/adventure stories aimed at "middle grade" readers (ages 6 to 12). Collectively these are the Distania Chronicles and they tell the story of two ten-year-old best friends who accidentally discover another world complete with magic, dragons, unicorns and wizards. The friends struggle to figure out who they can trust as they meet fighting princes, an elderly king and a slew of magical creatures they didn't even think existed.

As Diana X. Dunn, Diana writes the F6 series of novels, mystery/thrillers set in the not-too-distant future. F6 was adopted by an international multi-governmental agency that doesn't officially exist. Throughout her childhood she was simply identified as F6, the sixth female baby adopted into the program. Now she changes identities as often as other women change their shoes, moving through the world completing top-secret missions and keeping her distance. She's just trying to do her job. Somewhere out there is one man who wants to stop her.

W Is For Heather Webber

Heather Webber, aka Heather Blake, is the author of more than twenty novels, including the popular best-selling romantic mystery series featuring Lucy Valentine, the humorous Nina Quinn landscaping mysteries, and the best-selling Darcy Merriweather Wishcraft mysteries and the brand-new Potion Shop mysteries featuring Carly Hartwell. Heather loves to read, watch reality TV (especially cooking competition shows), drink too much coffee, crochet, bake (mostly cookies), and occasionally leave the house to travel to the beautiful mountains in the northeast. She grew up in a suburb of Boston, but currently lives in the Cincinnati area with her family.

The Nina Quinn series began in 2004, and takes place in Ohio. Nina owns a landscaping firm called "Taken By Surprise" which specializes in surprise garden makeovers that are completed in one day. She is divorced and lives with her stepson Riley.

The Lucy Valentine series began in 2010. Lucy has taken over her parents' matchmaking service in Boston. She comes from a long line of psychics who can see auras and make a match. However, Lucy was caught in an electrical surge when she was younger, so her only ability is to find missing objects.

The Wishcraft series began in 2012, and features Darcy Merriweather. It takes place in Enchanted Village, which is part of Salem Massachusetts. Darcy and her sister Harper are surprised to learn, from their Aunt Ve, that they are Wishcrafters (witches who can grant people's wishes with a simple spell). They move to Enchanted Village to hone their skills and solve murders.

Heather's newest series is the Potion Shop series, which began in 2013 and is set in Hitching Post, Alabama, the wedding capital of the South. Carly Hartwell is a white magic witch, a healer who uses her ability as an empath (and some very special drops) to make a variety of potions. She is also something of a relationship expert, as well as an amateur sleuth.

V Is For Diane Vallere

Diane is the daughter of a seamstress and a scientist, so naturally she likes fashion, fabric, and figuring things out. In her spare time she daydreams about owning a time capsule mid century modern ranch. She spent over twenty years in the fashion industry, where she was lucky enough to travel the world for runway shows, shoe markets, and lingerie fairs. Now she is lucky enough to stay home and write! 

Diane is a Pennsylvanian at heart, but currently lives in Southern California, where she set my Material Witness Mystery Series. The first, SUEDE TO REST, came out in November 2014. 

Her other series include the Style & Error Mysteries, featuring crime solving fashionista Samantha Kidd, (set in Reading, PA), and the Mad for Mod Mysteries, featuring Doris Day-loving interior decorator Madison Night (set in Dallas, TX). 

U Is For Roberta Updegraff

Roberta Updegraff is the author of six  Church Choir mysteries with Guideposts Books, and was featured in their compilation Prayers for Every Need. She writes regularly for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance's Mission Mosaic and her photographs have been featured on the cover. Her work has appeared in both Christian and general market publications, including Christianity Today and Focus on the Family. She has written for World & I, published by the Washington Times, and numerous trade journals. Her slice-of-life essays inspire hope and have appeared in several anthologies.

Roberta and husband Mark enjoy time away at their beach house in the Bahamas, as well as visiting their children and grandchildren scattered between east and west coasts in Rochester, NY, New Orleans, and Tucson, Arizona. They continue to support Hogar de Niños Renacer (Home of Reborn Children), an orphanage in Honduras where Roberta volunteers several weeks each year. She enjoys reading, quilting, and researching genealogy. The Updegraffs live in north central Pennsylvania.

T Is For Gayle Trent

Gayle Trent (and pseudonym Amanda Lee) writes the Daphne Martin Cake Decorating series and the Embroidery Mystery series. The cake decorating series features a heroine who is starting her life over in Southwest Virginia after a nasty divorce. The Embroidery Mystery series features a heroine who recently moved to the Oregon coast to open an embroidery specialty shop.

The cake decorating series features a heroine who is starting her life over in Southwest Virginia after a nasty divorce. The heroine, Daphne, has returned to her hometown of Brea Ridge to open a cake baking and decorating business and is wrestling with the question of whether or not one can go home again. She enjoys spending time with her sister, nephew, and niece, but she and her mother have a complicated relationship that isn't always pleasant. Daphne has also reconnected with her high school sweetheart and is pursuing a rekindled romance while desperately trying to put her past behind her. Kerry Vincent, Hall of Fame Sugar Artist, Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show Director, and Television Personality says the series is "a must read for cake bakers and anyone who has ever spent creative time in the kitchen!"

Gayle Trent lives in Virginia with her family, which includes her own "Angus" who is not an Irish wolfhound but a Great Pyrenees who provides plenty of inspiration for the character of Mr. O'Ruff.

S Is For Leann Sweeney

Leann Sweeney was born and raised in Niagara Falls and educated at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Lemoyne College in Syracuse, NY. She also has a degree from the University of Houston in behavioral science and worked for many years in psychiatry and as a school nurse; she now writes full time.

She began crafting fiction in 1980, fulfilling her lifelong dream. After perfecting her skills with classes and a small fortune in writing books, she joined MWA and Sisters in Crime. Now she’s the creator of two NAL/Obsidian mystery series: The Yellow Rose Mysteries and the Cats in Trouble Mysteries. The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse, first in the Cats in Trouble Mysteries was the #1 bestseller on the Independent Mystery Bookseller’s List when it debuted and made several top twenty lists for 2009 at bookstores across the country. 

R Is For Sofie Ryan

Sofie Ryan/Sofie Kelly are the pseudonyms of young adult writer and mixed-media artist, Darlene Ryan. Sofie/Darlene lives on the east coast with her husband and daughter. In her spare time she practices Wu style tai chi and likes to prowl around thrift stores. And she admits to having a small crush on Matt Lauer.

Sofie Ryan writes the Second Chance Cat Mystery Series which started in April 2014 and is set in Maine. It features Sarah Grayson who is the happy proprietor of Second Chance, a charming shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine. At the shop, she sells used items that she has lovingly refurbished and repurposed. But her favorite pet project so far has been adopting a stray cat she names Elvis.

As Sofie Kelly she writes the New York Times bestselling Magical Cats mysteries. It features Kathleen Paulson, who is a librarian in Mayville Heights, Minnesota. She is adopted by two stray cats, Hercules and Owen, and is shocked to learn they have magical abilities.

Q Is For Spencer Quinn

Spencer Quinn, who is the alter ego of Peter Abrahams, lives on Cape Cod with his wife, children, and his dog, Audrey. As Peter Abrahams, he writes crime thrillers such as Oblivion, The Tutor, The Fury of Rachel Monette, Hard Rain, The Fan, Crying Wolf, Last of the Dixie Heroes, and Lights Out. He also writes a young adult series, the Echo Falls Mysteries, which includes Down The Rabbit Hole, Behind The Curtain and Into The Dark.

As Spencer Quinn, he writes the Chet and Bernie Mysteries. These stories are told from the point of view of Chet, the canine partner of Bernie Little in the Little Detective Agency.
There are currently eight volumes in this cozy series.

P Is For Katherine Hall Page

Katherine Hall Page was born and grew up in New Jersey, graduating from Livingston High School. Her father was the Executive Director of The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and her mother was an artist. Page has an older brother and a younger sister. Early on the family developed a love of the Maine coast, spending summer vacations on Deer Isle. She received her BA from Wellesley College, majoring in English and went on to a Masters in Secondary Education from Tufts and a Doctorate in Administration, Public Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard. College had brought her to Massachusetts and she continues to reside there. Before her career as a full-time writer, Ms. Page taught at the high school level for many years. She developed a program for adolescents with special emotional needs, a school within a school model, that dealt with issues of truancy, substance abuse, and family relationships. Those five years in particular were rich ones for her. This interest in individuals and human behavior later informed her writing.

Married for thirty-nine years to Professor Alan Hein, an experimental psychologist at MIT, the couple have a thirty-one-year-old son. It was during her husband's sabbatical year in France after the birth of their son that Ms. Page wrote her first mystery, The Body in the Belfry, 1991 Agatha Award winner for Best First Mystery Novel. The fifteenth in the series, The Body in the Snowdrift , won the 2006 Agatha Award for Best Mystery Novel. Ms. Page was also awarded the 2001 Agatha for Best Short Story for "The Would-Be Widower" in the Malice Domestic X collection (Avon Books). She was an Edgar nominee for her juvenile mystery, Christie & Company Down East. The Body in the Bonfire was an Agatha nominee in 2003. Page's short story, "The Two Mary's" was an Agatha nominee in 2004. The Body in the Lighthouse (2003) was one of three nominees for The Mary Higgins Clark Award. The Body in the Boudoir was a finalist in the 2013 Maine Literary Awards. Her series cookbook, Have Faith in Your Kitchen, was nominated for an Agatha in the non-fiction category, making her the only author to be nominated or win in all four Agatha categories. The Body in the Birches is out now from William Morrow in hardcover, paperback, large print, E-book, and audio editions.

Descended from Norwegian-Americans on her mother's side and New Englanders on her father's, Ms. Page grew up listening to all sorts of stories. She remains an unabashed eavesdropper and will even watch your slides or home movies to hear your narration. Her books are the product of all the strands of her life and she plans to keep weaving.

O Is For Diana Orgain

Diana Orgain was born in San Francisco, CA. As a child she loved Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries and dreamed of being a writer one day.

She went on to earn her B.A and M.F.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University with a minor in acting.

Diana Orgain is the bestselling author of the Maternal Instincts Mystery Series: Bundle of Trouble, Motherhood is Murder and Formula for Murder, published by Penguin USA.  She is the co-author of GILT TRIP in the NY Times Bestselling Scrapbooking Mystery Series by Laura Childs, published October 2013.  Diana’s FOR LOVE OR MONEY the first in her new Reality TV Mystery series will be published by Penguin in Spring 2015.

N Is For Karen Musser Nortman

Karen Musser Nortman, after previous incarnations as a secondary social studies teacher (22 years) and a test developer (18 years), returned to her childhood dream of writing a novel. Bats and Bones, a cozy mystery, came out of numerous 'round the campfire' discussions, making up answers to questions raised by the peephole glimpses one gets into the lives of fellow campers. Where did those people disappear to for the last two days? What kinds of bones are in this fire pit? Why is that woman wearing heels to the shower house?

Karen and her husband Butch originally tent camped when their children were young and switched to a travel trailer when sleeping on the ground lost its romantic adventure. They take frequent weekend jaunts with friends to parks in Iowa and surrounding states, plus occasional longer trips. Entertainment on these trips has ranged from geocaching and hiking/biking to barbecue contests, balloon fests, and buck skinners' rendezvous. Frannie and Larry will no doubt check out some of these options on their future adventures.

Karen has three children and eight grandchildren. She also loves reading, gardening, and knitting, and can recite the 99 counties of Iowa in alphabetical order.

M Is For Mary Jane Maffini

Mary Jane Maffini is the author of the Camille MacPhee mystery series. These books feature Camille, a victims' advocate in Ottawa, her office assistant, Alvin Ferguson, her eccentric friends and her interfering family, as well as the new love in her life, Sgt. Ray Deveau. There are currently six books in the series, with a seventh in the works.

The Fiona Silk series features a would-be divorcée with a strong desire to be left alone, an urgent need to make some money, and an almost total lack of talent when it comes to writing romance novels. Nobody's perfect. She's a nice girl, and good friend, and the kind of person you can count on for a bit of humour if you're stuck overnight in a damp cave that smells of bear. Maybe she'll do better writing an erotic cookbook, although she's not much good in the kitchen either and it's been a long time since she had anything resembling a sex life. There are two books in this series.

She also writes the Charlotte Adams series, which takes place in upstate New York. Charlotte is a five foot tall thirtysomething professional organizer. There are five books in this series, which also contains organizational tips. 

With her daughter Victoria, Mary Jane writes the Book Collector Mysteries under the name Victoria Abbott.  The fourth book in this series is being published this year.

L Is For Joyce and Jim Lavene

Together Jim and Joyce write the Renaissance Faire Mysteries started in 2008 and set in South Carolina. It features assistant college professor and USC doctoral candidate Jessie Morton who also studies medieval crafts every summer at Columbia, S.C.'s Renaissance Faire Village. She finds herself entangled in murders.

They also write the Taxi For The Dead Paranormal Mysteries together. Former Nashville police officer Skye Mertz uses her training to solve mysteries for her new boss, a sorcerer named Abraham Lincoln Jones. Abe brought Skye back to life for twenty years after she signed his contract to serve him for that time. Now Skye picks up Abe’s zombie workers—like herself—when their time is up. She takes care of her daughter, Kate, with the help of her ghostly mother-in-law, Addie, and Lucas, a sorcerer with amnesia.

Jim and Joyce also write The Retired Witches Spellbook Mystery series which started in December 2014. Three middle-aged witches who live in Wilmington, North Carolina are ready to retire to Boca Raton, Florida. Before they can retire, they must give up their magic, recruit and train three new witches to take their places, and hand off the spellbook they have added to for years. It doesn’t seem like it would be too hard, but that’s before their spellbook is stolen and they must accomplish it all with limited magic and hilarious results.

Another of their works is the Missing Pieces Mystery series which started in 2010 and takes place in North Carolina. This is a seaside-set paranormal mystery. It features Dae O'Donnell, a woman with a gift for finding lost things and the stories behind lost lives. Dae O'Donnell is the mayor of Duck, North Carolina-and the person everyone turns to when they've lost something. One touch and Dae can find it, and missing pieces seem to find their way to her, whether she wants them to or not.

As J.J. Cook, they write the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade series and the Biscuit Bowl Food Truck series. The Sweet Pepper series is set in Sweet Pepper, Tennessee and features Fire Chief Stella Griffin, as well as the ghost of the former fire chief, Eric Gamlyn. The Biscuit Bowl series takes place in Mobile, Alabama. Zoe Chase wants to open a restaurant, but while she is trying to save enough money to renovate the location she found, she drives a food truck--and solves murders.

K Is For Tonya Kappes

Small town southern mystery author, Tonya Kappes, has written numerous novels and novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She grew up in Nicholasville, Kentucky and lives with her husband, two very spoiled schnauzers and one ex-stray cat in northern Kentucky. Now that her boys are teenagers, Tonya writes full time but can be found at all of her guys high school games with a pencil and paper in hand.

The Divorced Divas series features Holly Harper and a group of other divorced women who form a self-help group which meets in Holly's bead store and plot creative ways to get back at each other's exes.  When one of the exes actually turns up dead, it's up to the women to find out who in Swanee, Kentucky is setting them up. Books in this series include Bead Of Doubt (novella), Strung Out To Die, and Crimped To Death--with a new title to be released later this year.

The Olivia Davis series features Olivia Davis, who has a "gift" for being able to read auras. She runs an online breakup service, Splitsville.com, where she does the dirty work for people who want out of their relationships. Clients begin to turn up dead, and then Olivia has to find out who is doing the killing, to save her business and her clients.  Books in this series include Splitsville.com, Color Me A Crime, and Color Me Love (short story).

The Laurel London series is set in Walnut Grove, Kentucky and features Laurel London. She's a former wild child who has come back home determined to make good--so of course she finds herself in the middle of trouble in no time at all. Titles in this series are Checkered Crime and Checkered Past.

The Magical Cures series takes place in Whispering Falls, Kentucky, where there is magic around every corner. June Heal runs a homeopathic cure shop in town and is also a witch. Solving crimes takes all her sleuthing powers as well as her magical ones. There are currently six books and two novellas in this series. The books are A Charming Crime, A Charming Cure, A Charming Wish, A Charming Spell, A Charming Magic, and A Charming Secret. The novellas are A Charming Potion and A Charming Christmas.

Tonya's newest series is the Ghostly Southern Mystery series. Emma Lee Raines is the co-owner of the Eternal Slumber Funeral Home in Sleepy Hollow, Kentucky. After being hit on the head by a falling plastic Santa, Emma Lee discovers she can see and speak to the dearly departed...and they are asking her to solve their murders. There are currently two titles in this series: A Ghostly Undertaking and A Ghostly Grave. The next two will be released later this year: A Ghostly Demise and A Ghostly Murder. 

J Is For Miranda James

Miranda James aka Dean James writes the Cat in the Stacks Mystery series which started in 2010 and takes place in Mississippi. It features widower and kind librarian Charlie Harris-and his Maine coon cat named Diesel. Charlie brings Diesel almost everywhere he goes in a halter with a leash. Together they solve murders.

Miranda also writes the Southern Sisters Mystery series which started in October 2014 and is set in Mississippi. It features Miss An’gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, two snoopy sisters who are always ready to lend a helping hand... especially when it comes to solving murders. They were originally characters in the Cat in the Stacks books, and are definitely worthy of their own series.

I Is For D.E. Ireland

D.E. Ireland is a team of award-winning authors, Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta. Long time friends, they decided to collaborate on a unique cozy mystery series based on George Bernard Shaw's wonderfully witty play Pygmalion. They are careful to stick to Shaw's vision of the beloved characters while adding new characters they've dreamed up to flesh out their own version of events post-Pygmalion. The first book in the series, Wouldn't It Be Deadly, was published in 2014, and the second, Move Your Bloomin' Corpse, is expected to be released in September 2015.

Meg and Sharon also have separate writing careers. They both have patient husbands, brilliant daughters, and share a love of good books, tea and history.

H Is For Victoria Hamilton

Victoria writes the series the Vintage Kitchen Series which started in 2012. This series takes place in a small tourist town in Michigan and features Jaymie Leighton who collects vintage pieces. Jaymie lives in her parents nineteenth century yellow brick home. Her sister Rebecca visits on the weekends from London, Ontario, and together they hit the auctions and estate sales.

Victoria also writes the Merry Muffin Mystery Series which started in September 2013 and takes place in New York . It features expert muffin baker Merry Wynter. Merry is making a fresh start in small-town Autumn Vale, New York, in the mansion she’s inherited from her late uncle, Melvin. The house is run-down and someone has been digging giant holes on the grounds, but with its restaurant-quality kitchen, the place has potential for her new baking business. She even has her first client—the local retirement home....

As Amanda Cooper Victoria writes the Teapot Collecting Mystery Series which starts in June 2014. It's set in New York. Tucked away in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York is the charming town of Gracious Grove, where time moves slowly, gossip spreads quickly, and the scones are to die for…. When her fashionable Manhattan restaurant goes under, Sophie Taylor retreats to her grandmother’s cozy shop, Auntie Rose’s Victorian Teahouse, where serenity is steeped to perfection in one of her many antique teapots. The last thing Sophie expects is a bustling calendar of teahouse events... especially murder!

Victoria Hamilton is a pseudonym for national bestselling author Donna Lee Simpson who writes historical romance and paranormal novels.

G Is For Rosie Genova

A Jersey girl born and bred, national bestselling author Rosie Genova left her heart at the shore, which serves as the setting for much of her work. The atmosphere of the Jersey shore is present in the details, whether it’s the smell of the sea, the sound of a Springsteen song, or the taste of Kohr’s custard from the boardwalk. And no summer is complete unless she has sand in her shoes.

A bookworm from the time she could sound out words, Rosie spent many happy hours in her home town library where she hid behind the stacks reading the titles she was too young to check out. She earned two degrees in English from Rutgers University, where she discovered to her delight that reading Jane Austen was actually considered homework. Though she’s always considered herself a writer, she didn’t pen her first novel until ten years ago, and she hasn’t stopped since.

Her series, the Italian Kitchen Mysteries, is informed by her deep appreciation for good food, her pride in her heritage, and her love of classic mysteries, from Nancy Drew to Miss Marple. Her debut novel, Murder and Marinara, was named a Best Cozy of 2013 by Suspense Magazine and was a finalist for a 2014 Daphne Du Maurier Award. An English teacher by day and novelist by night, Rosie also writes women’s fiction as Rosemary DiBattista. She still lives in her home state with her husband and her youngest son.