Author Vicki Delany was kind enough to share photos from the recent Malice Domestic Awards banquet where Poisoned Pen Bookstore and Poisoned Pen Press owners Barbara Peters and Robert Rosenwald were honored with the Hercule Poirot Award. Of the award, Malice Domestic’s website says,

“The Poirot Award is presented to honor individuals other than writers who have made outstanding contributions to the Malice Domestic genre. The award is bestowed by the Malice Domestic Board of Directors and presented at the Malice Domestic conference. The Poirot Award is not an annual award.”

Congratulations to Barbara and Rob!

Here are the pictures Vicki sent for the blog.

Matt Coyle, author of Yesterday’s Echo, and Andrew Case, author of The Big Fear, recently appeared at The Poisoned Pen.

Patrick Millikin, the Pen’s expert on noir fiction, interviewed the authors.

From the looks of it, a good time was had by all.

You can have a good time as well by ordering one or both books.

In fact, you can order any of your books through The Poisoned Pen’s online store, https://store.poisonedpen.com/.

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Agatha Awards, presented at the Malice Domestic conference.

Best Children’s/YA – Andi Unstoppable by Amanda Flower

Best Short Story – “A Year Without Santa Claus” by Barb Goffman, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Jan/Feb 2015

Best Non-Fiction – The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards

Best First Novel – On the Road with Del and Louise by Art Taylor

Best Historical Novel – Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King

Best Contemporary Novel – Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron

And, for those of us who were not at the Malice Domestic dinner, Vicki Delany shared what she called a photo of “the power table at Malice”.

Today, April 30th, is observed nationwide as Independent Bookstore Day. If you’re here on the blog, we hope you consider The Poisoned Pen to be YOUR independent bookstore.

Just a little information, from the store’s “About Us” page.

“The Poisoned Pen Bookstore, founded in 1989 by Barbara G. Peters, is an independent bookstore specializing in fiction. Discover with us current and classic works of mystery, thrillers, historical and literary fiction, and literature of the American Southwest, much of it offered in autographed first editions and imports. Our book clubs bring exciting new work right to your door.

Located in Old Town Scottsdale’s Art District, The Pen is celebrated for its schedule of author and literary events and its global outreach through webcasts and worldwide shipping. In 1997 Peters and her husband Robert Rosenwald founded Poisoned Pen Press, a separate corporation dedicated to publishing excellence in mystery. The Poisoned Pen hosted the Left Coast Crime Conference in 1995. and most years hosts a themed mystery conference of its own in Scottsdale.

Please sign up for our Enews, read our Booknews, attend our events ““ generally programs of an hour or more with Q&A and book signing ““ at the bookstore or at the Arizona Biltmore Resort or other nearby locations.”

There are so many ways The Poisoned Pen Bookstore serves the needs of readers worldwide. Today, we are giving away items in the store for those shoppers close enough to stop in for Independent Bookstore Day.

But, you help us celebrate every day by buying books, attending events, watching them via Livestream.

Please think of The Poisoned Pen when you think of Independent Bookstore Day, and, if you’re so inclined, purchase a book or two for your own private celebration.

It’s not too early for a heads-up about our Thursday, May 5 evening event at The Poisoned Pen. Diana Gabaldon will host KC Dyer, author of Finding Fraser, a novel inspired by Gabaldon’s Outlander series.

Both authors will sign copies of Finding Fraser. All the details of the 7 PM event on Thursday, May 5 are linked. https://bit.ly/26txNUx

Just a note, though. No outside books will be signed at the event. Only books purchased that day or pre-ordered through the Poisoned Pen will be signed at the event. Thank you for your cooperation. Here’s where you can order your signed copy. https://bit.ly/1VVoWXX

This title’s going to be hot (in more ways than one).

Are you a fan of the mystery awards? The Edgar Awards were announced tonight at the Mystery Writers of America’s annual banquet. The 2016 winners are below. Remember, if you want any of these, we hope you consider ordering them through The Poisoned Pen’s store.

https://store.poisonedpen.com

Mary Higgins Clark Award – Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day

Best Juvenile Book – Foster Davis Probably is Crazy by Susan Vaught

Best Young Adult – A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Best Critical/Biographical – A Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards

Best Fact Crime – Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully by Allen Kurzweil

Best Short Story – “Obits” by Stephen King in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

Best Paperback Original – The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney

Best First Novel by an American Author – The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Best Mystery Novel – Let Me Die in His Footsteps by Lori Roy

And, Walter Mosley is this year’s Grand Master.

Here’s an event you’ll want to see and hear live. John Sandford, on his book tour for Extreme Prey, the latest Lucas Davenport novel, was joined by Douglas Preston at The Poisoned Pen. Store owner Barbara Peters led the discussion of the election year thriller. It was a packed house, and through Livestream, you can almost feel as if you were there.

https://livestream.com/poisonedpen/events/5127435

So, join the event. And, afterwards, you might want to buy your signed copy of Extreme Prey. It comes with an exclusive, specially signed campaign button, “Lucas Davenport for President”, perfect for this election year thriller.

https://bit.ly/235Lpkd

As you can see, it was a packed house when John Sandford was joined by Douglas Preston at The Poisoned Pen.

Sandford is on his book tour for Extreme Prey, the latest Lucas Davenport novel.

Sandford’s book is timely, dealing with a Presidential campaign.

 Does it surprise anyone that Peters, Preston and Sandford had a good time talking about Davenport, who has now left the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension? Of course, since he’s dealing with a political campaign, Davenport finds himself dealing with some pretty crazy people.

This audience was lucky to be able to hear and meet both authors, John Sandford and Douglas Preston. If you would like to hear the conversation, I’ll have the Livestream linked here tomorrow, and you can come back and see and hear it.

In the meantime, you can order your signed copy of Extreme Prey. https://bit.ly/235Lpkd

Our copies come with an exclusive, specially designed campaign button, “Lucas Davenport for President”, perfect for an election year Davenport thriller.

It’s not too early to discuss Cozy Con. Saturday, May 7, from 1-5 PM, John Charles will host Cozy Con for The Poisoned Pen, a celebration of cozy mysteries. This year’s guest authors include Jenn McKinlay, Paige Shelton, Hannah Dennison, C.S. Harris, Cameron Harvey, Tammy Kaehler, Annette Mahon, and Paul Charles.

To stir up your interest in the event, I’ve asked a few of the authors to write guest posts for the blog. Tammy Kaehler is the author of the Kate Reilly mystery series, published by Poisoned Pen Press. Tammy  has an interesting take on cozy mysteries.

*****

The Darker Side of Cozy

I go back and forth on the question of whether or not my books are cozies. Yes, she’s an amateur sleuth.Yes, she’s female. And yes, any sex and violence happens off-screen. But my mysteries are borderline on the other classic criteria—a small-town setting and language—and they don’t have what I think of as the classic calm cozy environment.

You see, I write a series about a female racecar driver and set each book at a different race, track, and city. It’s true that the setting (the racing world) is its own mobile small-town, but rarely are the victims, suspects, or mystery confined to that world. In fact, my latest, Red Flags, is set in Southern California, and my protagonist, Kate Reilly, chases all over Los Angeles, Long Beach, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills after clues.

I’ll also cop to some bad language on occasion, all coming out of Kate’s mouth—though I’m conscious of keeping it limited. But realistically, if Kate’s doing 150 m.p.h. and wrecking her racecar, I figure she’s allowed some strong language!

There’s also a lot more action, tension, and drama to be found on the racetrack than in your average small-town bakery or craft store—and note that I don’t confuse “action” with drama or emotion, because even the most sedate settings can be fast-paced and can seethe with violence and passion. But the day-to-day action of a race—not to mention glimpses of Kate’s work behind the wheel—is a much different vibe from the classic cozy. I’ve got no little old ladies, no cats, and no tea or recipes in my books.

Still, I think of what I’m writing as cozy’s harder edge. Its darker side. Because I’m still giving readers what I love about cozy mysteries: a puzzle solved by someone who doesn’t have all the tools or answers; a sometimes-bumbling, sometimes-successful, and ultimately relatable female character; and a look at a world I know nothing about. I wrote the book I wanted to read, and I’m a huge fan of cozies and traditional mysteries—of Dick Francis, in particular.

So from now on, I’m expanding my definition of cozy mysteries to include more flavors—because who says a cozy can’t feature a psychologist, a student of the occult, or a racecar driver? Plus, I’ll also enjoy the idea that I write the dark side of anything.

Tell me, what are your favorite types of cozies? What’s your definition of a cozy mystery? And do racecars have a place?

_________

Tammy Kaehler is the author of the Kate Reilly Mystery Series, published by Poisoned Pen Press. She’ll take part in Cozy Con at The Poisoned Pen on May 7. She’ll be signing Red Flags.