Fiction Review

John Sayles, author of Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade’s Journey was recently highlighted in an interview and review for Bookreporter.com. You can find the interview here. https://www.bookreporter.com/authors/john-sayles/news/interview-030223 The review of Jamie MacGillivray is here. https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/jamie-macgillivray-the-renegades-journey

You can still order copies of Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade’s Journey through The Poisoned Pen’s Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/item/9JsuMsJ9TCIgOu65gjCezQ

Here’s the summary of Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade’s Journey.

‘Jamie MacGillivray is Sayles’s sixth novel — his first was published in 1975 — and by some distance his best. It gets under the skin of this extraordinary time in a way that few historical novels do. Sayles writes superbly about the confusion of warfare and deals equally well with the horrors of the plantations…This is a first-rate historical novel told with wit, verve and a subtle understanding of the mechanics of the genre.’ – The New York Times Book Review

“John Sayles is a living master.” – Jennifer Haigh, author of Faith

Spanning 13 years, two continents, several wars, and many smoke-filled and bloody battlefields, John Sayles’s thrilling historical and cinematic epic invites comparison with Diana Gabaldon, George R. R. Martin, Phillippa Gregory, and Charles Dickens.

It begins in the highlands of Scotland in 1746, at the Battle of Culloden, the last desperate stand of the Stuart ‘pretender’ to the throne of the Three Kingdoms, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and his rabidly loyal supporters.  Vanquished with his comrades by the forces of the Hanoverian (and Protestant) British crown, the novel’s eponymous hero, Jamie MacGillivray, narrowly escapes a roadside execution only to be recaptured by the victors and shipped to Marshalsea Prison (central to Charles Dickens’s Hard Times) where he cheats the hangman a second time before being sentenced to transportation and indentured servitude in colonial America “for the term of his natural life.”  His travels are paralleled by those of Jenny Ferguson, a poor, village girl swept up on false charges by the English and also sent in chains to the New World.

The novel follows Jamie and Jenny through servitude, revolt, escape, and romantic entanglements — pawns in a deadly game.  The two continue to cross paths with each other and with some of the leading figures of the era- the devious Lord Lovat, future novelist Henry Fielding, the artist William Hogarth, a young and ambitious George Washington, the doomed General James Wolfe, and the Lenape chief feared throughout the Ohio Valley as Shingas the Terrible.

A DELUXE EDITION with a brilliant design.

700 PAGES of a thrilling, historical, and cinematic epic!

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John Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for Passion Fish (1992) and Lone Star (1996). He has written seven novels, the most recent being Yellow Earth (2020) and A Moment in the Sun (2011).

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Don’t forget. You can still watch John Sayles’ recent conversation with Diana Gabaldon.

Many of you may recognize the authors and titles listed below, and, thanks to Patrick King, The Poisoned Pen’s resident science fiction/fantasy guru, you’ve heard some of these authors in conversation, or read the books for book discussions. Check the lists, and then check the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Congratulations to all of the nominees for the Nebula Awards.

SFWA Names the 58th Nebula Award Finalists

March 7, 2023 – The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 58th Annual Nebula Awards®! Our congratulations go out to each and every finalist for the recognition of their excellent works published in 2022. 

The awards will be presented in a virtual ceremony on Sunday, May 14, 2023, that will stream live as it is held in-person in Anaheim, CA, as part of the 2023 Nebula Conference Online. Winners in each category will be determined by the vote of Full, Associate, and Senior members of SFWA.

Here is the complete list of finalists:

Nebula Award for Novel

Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree (Cryptid; Tor)

Spear, Nicola Griffith (Tordotcom)

Nettle and Bone, T. Kingfisher (Tor; Titan UK)

Babel, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)

Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tordotcom)

The Mountain in the Sea, Ray Nayler (MCD; Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Nebula Award for Novella

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, Becky Chambers (Tordotcom)

“Bishop’s Opening”, R.S.A. Garcia (Clarkesworld 1/22)

I Never Liked You Anyway, Jordan Kurella (Vernacular)

Even Though I Knew the End, C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)

High Times in the Low Parliament, Kelly Robson (Tordotcom)

Nebula Award for Novelette

“If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You”, John Chu (Uncanny 7–8/22)

“Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold”, S.B. Divya (Uncanny 5–6/22)

“Murder by Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness”, S.L. Huang (Clarkesworld 12/22)

“A Dream of Electric Mothers”, Wole Talabi (Africa Risen)

“The Prince of Salt and the Ocean’s Bargain”, Natalia Theodoridou (Uncanny 9/22)

“We Built This City”, Marie Vibbert (Clarkesworld 6/22)

Nebula Award for Short Story

“Destiny Delayed”, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Asimov’s 5–6/22)

“Give Me English”, Ai Jiang (F&SF 5–6/22)

“Rabbit Test”, Samantha Mills (Uncanny 11–12/22)

“Douen”, Suzan Palumbo (The Dark 3/22)

“Dick Pig”, Ian Muneshwar (Nightmare 1/22)

“D.I.Y”, John Wiswell (Tor.com 8/24/22)

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, K. Tempest Bradford (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)

The Scratch Daughters, H. A. Clarke (Erewhon)

The Mirrorwood, Deva Fagan (Atheneum)

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester, Maya MacGregor (Astra Young Readers)

Every Bird a Prince, Jenn Reese (Henry Holt)

Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Andor: “One Way Out”, Beau Willimon, Tony Gilroy (Lucasfilm, Disney+)

Everything Everywhere All at Once, Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (A24, AGBO, IAC Films)

Nope, Jordan Peele (Universal Pictures)

Our Flag Means Death, David Jenkins, Eliza Jiménez Cossio, Zadry Ferrer-Geddes, William Meny, Maddie Dai, Alyssa Lane, John Mahone, Simone Nathan, Natalie Torres, Zackery Alexzander Stephens, Alex J. Sherman, Jes Tom, Adam Stein, Yvonne Zima (Dive, HBO Max)

The Sandman: Season 1, Neil Gaiman, Lauren Bello, Vanessa Benton, Mike Dringenberg, Sam Kieth, Catherine Smyth-McMullen, Heather Bellson, Jim Campolongo, Jay Franklin, Austin Guzman, Alexander Newman-Wise, Ameni Rozsa, David Goyer, Allan Heinberg (DC Entertainment, Netflix)

Severance, Dan Erickson, Chris Black, Andrew Colville, Amanda Overton, Anna Ouyang Moench, Helen Leigh, Kari Drake, and Mark Friedman. (Endeavor Content, Red Hour Films, Apple TV+)

Nebula Award for Game Writing

Elden Ring, Hidetaka Miyazaki, George R.R. Martin (FromSoftware, Bandai Namco)

Horizon Forbidden West, Ben McCaw, John Gonzalez, Annie Kitain, Ariadna Martinez, Nick van Someren Brand, Andrew Walsh, Adam Dolin, Anne Toole, Arjan Terpstra, Ben Schroder, Dee Warrick, Giles Armstrong (Guerilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, Ajit A. George, F. Wesley Schneider, Justice Ramin Arman, Dominique Dickey, Basheer Ghouse, Alastor Guzman, D. Fox Harrell, T.K. Johnson, Felice Tzehuei Kuan, Surena Marie, Mimi Mondal, Mario Ortegón, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Pam Punzalan, Erin Roberts, Stephanie Yoon, Terry H. Romero (Wizards of the Coast: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Ed.)

Pentiment, Kate Dollarhyde, Zoe Franznick, Märten Rattasepp, Josh Sawyer (Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)

Stray, Steven Lerner, Vivien Mermet-Guyenet, Colas Koola (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)

Vampire: The Masquerade – Sins of the Sires, Natalia Theodoridou (Choice of Games, Paradox Interactive)

We look forward to celebrating all the finalists with aspiring and professional creators in the science fiction and fantasy genres at the 2023 Nebula Conference, May 12–14, 2023.

Questions about the awards or the upcoming conference may be directed to the SFWA Events Team at [email protected].

A Sinister Revenge is the eighth Veronica Speedwell novel by Deanna Raybourn. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Raybourn to talk about her latest book. There are signed copies of A Sinister Revenge available through the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/item/wCIDqQu6pg-byl-xhqXQnQ

Here’s the summary of A Sinister Revenge.

Veronica must find and stop a devious killer when a group of old friends is targeted for death in this new adventure from the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Veronica’s natural-historian beau, Stoker, has been away in Bavaria for months and their relationship is at an impasse. But when Veronica shows up before him with his brother, Tiberius, Lord Templeton-Vane, he is lured back home by an intriguing job offer: preparing an iguanodon for a very special dinner party.

Tiberius has received a cryptic message—along with the obituaries of two recently deceased members of his old group of friends, the Seven Sinners—that he too should get his affairs in order. Realizing he is in grave danger but not knowing why, he plans a reunion party for the remaining Sinners at his family estate to lure the killer out while Veronica and Stoker investigate.

As the guests arrive and settle in, the evening’s events turn deadly. More clues come to light, leading Veronica, Stoker, and Tiberius to uncover a shared past among the Sinners that has led to the fatal present. But the truth might be far more sinister than what they were prepared for.

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Deanna Raybourn is the New York Times bestselling and Edgar® Award–nominated author of the Veronica Speedwell Mysteries, the Lady Julia Grey series, and several stand-alone novels including KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE. She lives in Virginia with her family.

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Deanna Raybourn is so knowledgeable about Victorian England. If you’re a fan of that time period, or the author, this is a fascinating event. Enjoy!

Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently welcomed David Rosenfelt back to the bookstore. Rosenfelt, the author of the Andy Carpenter mysteries, branched out with the K Team ones. There are signed copies of his latest, Good Dog, Bad Cop, in the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/item/3Czr8TaWU9-uanTg12eJ4A

Here’s the summary of Good Dog, Bad Cop.

For the K Team, playing “good dog”, “bad cop” is all fun and games… until there’s a body on the scene, in the next K Team Novel by bestselling author David Rosenfelt.

The K Team enjoys investigating cold cases for the Paterson Police Department. Corey Douglas, his K-9 partner Simon Garfunkel, Laurie Collins, and Marcus Clark even get to choose which cases they’d like to pursue. When Corey sees the latest list of possibilities, there’s no question which one to look into next.

Corey’s former mentor, Jimmy Dietrich, had his whole identity wrapped up in being a cop. When Jimmy retired three years ago, his marriage quickly deteriorated and he tried–and failed—to get back on the force. Jimmy was left to try to adjust to life as a civilian.

Not long after, two bodies were pulled from the Passaic River. A local woman, Susan Avery, and Jimmy Dietrich. With no true evidence available, the deaths went unsolved and the case declared cold. This didn’t stop the whispers: an affair gone wrong… a murder-suicide committed by Jimmy.

Corey never believed it. With this case, the K Team has the opportunity to find the real murderer, and clear Jimmy’s name. Bestselling author David Rosenfelt returns in Good Dog, Bad Cop, where there’s little to go on, but that won’t stop Paterson, New Jersey’s favorite private investigators from sniffing out the truth.

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DAVID ROSENFELT is the Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award-winning author of more than twenty Andy Carpenter novels, including One Dog Night, Collared, and Deck the Hounds; its spinoff series, The K-Team; the Doug Brock thriller series, which starts with Fade to Black; and stand-alone thrillers including Heart of a Killer and On Borrowed Time. Rosenfelt and his wife live in Maine with an ever-changing pack of rescue dogs. Their epic cross-country move with 25 of these dogs, culminating in the creation of the Tara Foundation, is chronicled in Dogtripping.

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Enjoy the conversation with David Rosenfelt and Barbara Peters. (Conversation starts about one minute in.)

Rachel Koller Croft’s debut thriller Stone Cold Fox was the Hot Book of the Week at The Poisoned Pen. She appeared at the bookstore with guest host Olivia Fierro, news anchor on Good Morning Arizona. Despite the fact that her family was in the audience, Croft was willing to read the first paragraph. You can either listen to the event, or order a signed copy of Stone Cold Fox to understand that paragraph and the connection to the book. https://store.poisonedpen.com/item/wCIDqQu6pg9FLGllyG7T9w

Here’s the description of Stone Cold Fox.

A perfectly wicked debut thriller about an ambitious woman who, after a lifetime of conning alongside her mother, wants to leave her dark past behind and marry the heir to one of the country’s wealthiest families.

Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she’s worth and is determined to get all she deserves—it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. Filthy rich. After years of forced instruction by her mother in the art of swindling men, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to close and lock the door on their sordid partnership so she can disappear safely into old-money domesticity, sealing the final phase of her escape.

When Bea chooses her ultimate target in the fully loaded, thoroughly dull and blue-blooded Collin Case, she’s ready to deploy all of her tricks one last time. The challenge isn’t getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin’s family and everyone else in their 1 percent tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester.

Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn’t a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous pursuit of the grisly truth. Finding herself at a literal life-and-death crossroads with everything on the line, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be.

Like mother, like daughter?

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Rachel Koller Croft is an author and screenwriter in Los Angeles, where she has scripted projects for Blumhouse, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Comedy Central, among others. She lives by the beach with her husband, Charles, and their rescue pitbull, Juniper. Stone Cold Fox is her first novel.

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Enjoy the discussion about the book and background.

Eli Cranor, author of the forthcoming Ozark Dogs, was guest host for The Poisoned Pen, welcoming Sean Doolittle, author of Device Free Weekend. You can order copies of both books through the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the description of Device Free Weekend.

Seven friends, one eccentric billionaire, an all-expenses paid reunion on a private island with one catch: no phones, tablets or laptops allowed. It’ll be a weekend to remember–for those who make it out alive.

Ryan Cloverhill, founder and CEO of the world’s most popular social media platform, invites his six best friends from college to his home on his private island near Puget Sound. For Stephen, Emma, Perry, Will, Beau, and Lainie, day one is just what the doctor ordered: amazing food, many drinks, lots of laughter, and a sunset cruise around the island aboard their host’s custom Van Dutch 55. 

Day Two, however, takes a bewildering turn when the six hungover guests wake up to find that their host has disappeared, along with all connection to the mainland. A touchscreen tablet of unknown make awaits them, blatantly defying the rules of the weekend with its on-screen challenge: Unlock Me! The passcode to the tablet is hidden somewhere in the group’s shared history. But what seems at first like just another silly game turns deadly serious when the group discovers what unlocking the tablet really means. Is it the key to their futures, a Pandora’s box none of them will ever be able to close, or both?

Only one thing is clear: their old friend Ryan has something unthinkable planned. Now it’s up to the six of them to stop him. And when this weekend is over, the world will never be the same.

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Sean Doolittle is the critically-acclaimed author of eight standalone crime and suspense novels. His books have received the Barry Award and the International Thriller Writers Award, among other honors, along with praise from Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, Lee Child, and other respected authors in the genre. A native of Nebraska, he lives in western Iowa with his family. You can find him online at www.seandoolittle.com.

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Eli Cranor lives and writes from the banks of Lake Dardanelle, a reservoir of the Arkansas River nestled in the heart of True Grit country. His work has won The Greensboro Review’s Robert Watson Literary Prize and been featured in Missouri Review, Oxford American, Ellery Queen, The Strand and others. Eli also pens a weekly column, “Where I’m Writing From” for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and his craft column, “Shop Talk,” appears monthly at CrimeReads. His critically acclaimed debut novel, Don’t Know Tough, won the Peter Lovesey First Crime Novel Contest.

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Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, welcomed Sean Doolittle and Eli Cranor. Enjoy the conversation.

Guest host Hank Phillippi Ryan recently welcomed Karen Rose for a virtual author’s event for The Poisoned Pen. Cold-Blooded Liar is Rose’s twenty-seventh book, and it’s her twentieth anniversary year as an author. Cold-Blooded Liar is the first in her San Diego Case Files series.

Rob Charles from The Poisoned Pen also asked Hank Phillippi Ryan to describe her latest book, The House Guest. Signed copies of the books from both authors are still available in the Webstore. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Here’s the description of Cold-Blood Liar.

Brace yourself for a scorching new series from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose, where San Diego means sun, surf, sand…and serial killers.
 
Sam Reeves is a kindhearted psychologist who treats court-ordered clients. After one of his patients—a pathological liar—starts revealing plausible new details from a long-unsolved serial murder case, he’s compelled to report anonymously to the SDPD tip line, though his attempts to respect patient confidentiality land him facedown and cuffed by the aggressive (and cute) Detective McKittrick.
 
San Diego homicide detective Kit McKittrick loves the water. She lives on a boat, and when she’s not solving crimes with the SDPD, she’s assisting her foster sister with her charter fishing business or playing with her poodle. But there’s nothing that intrigues Kit more than a cold case, so when an anonymous caller leads her on the path of a wanted killer, she’s determined to end the decade-long manhunt.
 
Sam is soon released but goes home with both a newfound distaste for the SDPD and a resolve—not unlike Kit’s—to uncover the truth. Kit and Sam repeatedly butt heads in their separate investigations but are forced to work together to find one of the deadliest serial killers the city has faced in years.

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Karen Rose is the award-winning, #1 international bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels, including the bestselling Baltimore and Cincinnati series. She has been translated into twenty-three languages, and her books have placed on the New York Times, the Sunday Times (UK), and Germany’s der Spiegel bestseller lists.

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The House Guest is another diabolical cat-and-mouse thriller from USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan—but which character is the cat, and which character is the mouse?

After every divorce, one spouse gets all the friends. What does the other one get? If they’re smart, they get the benefits. Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her—leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.

And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each others’ problems.

But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.

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USA Today bestselling author HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN has won five Agatha Awards in addition to Anthony, Macavity, Daphne du Maurier, and Mary Higgins Clark Awards. As on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s WHDH-TV, she’s won 37 Emmys and many more journalism honors, and her work has resulted in new laws, criminals sent to prison, homes saved from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in restitution for victims and consumers. A past president of National Sisters in Crime and founder of MWA University, her novels include Trust Me, The Murder List, the Charlotte McNally series (starting with Prime Time), and the Jane Ryland series (which begins with The Other Woman). Ryan lives in Boston with her husband, a nationally renowned civil rights and criminal defense attorney.

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Enjoy the conversation between Hank Phillippi Ryan and Karen Rose.

Diana Gabaldon, author of the Outlander books, recently hosted John Sayles for a discussion of his new novel, Jamie MacGillivray: The Renegade’s Journey. Signed copies of Sayles’ book are already sold out for The Poisoned Pen, but you can order an unsigned copy through the Webstore. http://bit.ly/3mlHCWc

Here’s the description of Jamie MacGillivray.

“John Sayles is a living master.” – Jennifer Haigh, author of Faith

Spanning 13 years, two continents, several wars, and many smoke-filled and bloody battlefields, John Sayles’s thrilling historical and cinematic epic invites comparison with Diana Gabaldon, George R. R. Martin, Phillippa Gregory, and Charles Dickens.

It begins in the highlands of Scotland in 1746, at the Battle of Culloden, the last desperate stand of the Stuart ‘pretender’ to the throne of the Three Kingdoms, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and his rabidly loyal supporters.  Vanquished with his comrades by the forces of the Hanoverian (and Protestant) British crown, the novel’s eponymous hero, Jamie MacGillivray, narrowly escapes a roadside execution only to be recaptured by the victors and shipped to Marshalsea Prison (central to Charles Dickens’s Hard Times) where he cheats the hangman a second time before being sentenced to transportation and indentured servitude in colonial America “for the term of his natural life.”  His travels are paralleled by those of Jenny Ferguson, a poor, village girl swept up on false charges by the English and also sent in chains to the New World.

The novel follows Jamie and Jenny through servitude, revolt, escape, and romantic entanglements — pawns in a deadly game.  The two continue to cross paths with each other and with some of the leading figures of the era- the devious Lord Lovat, future novelist Henry Fielding, the artist William Hogarth, a young and ambitious George Washington, the doomed General James Wolfe, and the Lenape chief feared throughout the Ohio Valley as Shingas the Terrible.

A DELUXE EDITION with a brilliant design.

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John Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for Passion Fish (1992) and Lone Star (1996). He has written seven novels, the most recent being Yellow Earth (2020) and A Moment in the Sun (2011).

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Many of you won’t need to read Diana Gabaldon’s biography. Diana Gabaldon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the wildly popular Outlander novels—Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voy­ager, Drums of Autumn, The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes (for which she won a Quill Award and the Corine International Book Prize), An Echo in the Bone, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, and Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone—as well as the related Lord John Grey books, Lord John and the Private Matter, Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, Lord John and the Hand of Devils, and The Scottish Prisoner; a collection of novellas, Seven Stones to Stand or Fall; three works of nonfiction, “I Give You My Body . . .” and The Outlandish Com­panion, Volumes 1 and 2; the Outlander graphic novel The Exile; and The Official Outlander Coloring Book. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband.

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I’m sure you’ll enjoy the conversation between John Sayles and Diana Gabaldon.

Congratulations to all the nominees for the Barry Awards. The Barry Awards, voted on by the readers of Deadly Pleasures, are presented at the annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. The awards began in 1997 and are named in honor of Barry Gardner, well-known fan reviewer. Check the list, then check the Webstore for books you might want to order! https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Winners will be announced at the Opening Ceremonies of Bouchercon San Diego on August 31, 2023.

Best Mystery or Crime Novel

THE ACCOMPLICE, Steve Cavanagh (Orion)
DESERT STAR, Michael Connelly (Little,Brown)
THE DARK FLOOD, Deon Meyer (Atlantic Monthly)
SHIFTY’S BOYS, Chris Offutt (Grove Press)
SECRET IDENTITY, Alex Segura (Flatiron Books)
CITY ON FIRE, Don Winslow (William Morrow)

Best Debut Mystery or Crime Novel

BEFORE YOU KNEW MY NAME, Jacqueline Bublitz (Atria/EmilyBestler)
DON’T KNOW TOUGH, Eli Cranor (Soho Crime)
SHUTTER, Ramona Emerson (Soho Crime)
THE MAID, Nita Prose (Ballantine)
BLOOD SUGAR, Sascha Rothchild (Putnam)
DIRT CREEK, Hayley Scrivenor (Flatiron)

Best Thriller

IN THE BLOOD, Jack Carr (Atria/Emily Bester)
WINTER WORK, Dan Fesperman (Knopf)
SIERRA SIX, Mark Greaney (Berkley)
BAD ACTORS, Mick Herron (Soho Crime)
KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, Deanna Raybourn (Berkley)
GOERING’S GOLD, Richard O’Rawe (Melville House)

No nominations for Paperback Original this year.

Where do stories come from? J. T. Ellison’s latest thriller is It’s One of Us. When Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, introduced Ellison, she mentioned that this was a personal book for the author. Guest host Nick Petrie pulled the story out of Ellison, and asked her about it. I think you’ll be surprised. You’ll have to watch the event to learn more. But, you can order a signed copy of It’s One of Us through the Webstore. https://tinyurl.com/4kmz6usv

Here’s the description of It’s One of Us.

“A heart-stoppingly tense thriller about the price of secrets and the layers behind every marriage.” —Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman In Cabin 10

Everybody lies. Even the ones you think you know best of all . . .

Olivia Bender designs exquisite home interiors that satisfy the most demanding clients. But her own deepest desire can’t be fulfilled by marble counters or the perfect rug. She desperately  wants to be a mother. Fertility treatments and IVF keep failing. And just when she feels she’s at her lowest point, the police deliver shocking news to Olivia and her husband, Park.

DNA results show that the prime suspect in a murder investigation is Park’s son. Olivia is relieved, knowing this is a mistake. Despite their desire, the Benders don’t have any children. Then comes the confession. Many years ago, Park donated sperm to a clinic. He has no idea how many times it was sold—or how many children he has sired.

As the murder investigation goes deeper, more terrible truths come to light. With every revelation, Olivia must face the unthinkable. The man she married has fathered a killer. But can she hold that against him when she keeps such dark secrets of her own?

This twisting, emotionally layered thriller explores the lies we tell to keep a marriage together–or break each other apart . . .

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J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of the literary show A WORD ON WORDS. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 28 countries. She lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens.

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Here’s the bio of Nick Petrie as well. Nick Petrie is the author of six novels in the Peter Ash series, most recently The Breaker. His debut, The Drifter, won both the ITW Thriller award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel, and was a finalist for the Edgar and the Hammett Awards. A husband and father, he lives in the Milwaukee area.

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If you’re interested in the book, you’ll want to watch the event.