Mavens @ Open Door: Dec 4
author appearance
Mavens in Schenectady This Weekend!
Saturday, April 11th at 11AM, local author Frankie Bailey will be at the Schenectady County Public Library to discuss her latest crime novel “What the Fly Saw”, which is set in Albany! Frankie is a professor at the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany, and is the author of the mystery “The Red Queen Dies”.
And just across town, K. A. Laity talks about another Schenectady-based writer, Kurt Vonnegut at the Schenectady County Historical Society‘s Mabee Farm Location.
And don’t forget! Our Mavens meeting on April.18,2015 will be having a guest speaker:
Bob Krug is a retired Colonie Police Officer who has worked for The Colonie Police Force for 26 years. He will be discussing some of the cases he has worked. Also comparing real life Police work to what we see on television. Q&A will follow.
February 21st Meeting & Upcoming Events
February 21: “S is for SEO: The Mystery of the Unfound Website.” Roger Lipera (Lipera Web Design & Consulting) will discuss how to make sure your Web site can be found on the Web and how social media can play a part in that. Mavens chapter meeting program, 10:30 am, Bethlehem Public Library.
February 28: “Homicidal Humor-Cozy Mysteries.” Maven Susan Sundwall, Schenectady Public Library, 10 am.
And looking ahead —
March 1: The Hudson Valley Writers Guild will sponsor a reading by three local authors on Sunday, March 1, at the Albany Public Library Washington Avenue Branch, 161 Washington Ave., from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The authors who will read from their recent work are Elizabeth Gordon, (Maven) K.A. Laity and Keith Willis. The reading is part of a continuing series titled “Community of Writers.” The reading is free and open to the public.
March 21: “Every Crime Deserves Context.” UAlbany criminal justice professor and mystery writer Frankie Y. Bailey offers a brief overview of the evolution of American crime and justice.
Coming up in February!
Feb 10: Mavens Frankie Y. Bailey and K. A. Laity appear at the Nassau Free Library at 6pm. The authors will talk about writing and read from their current works.
February 21: “S is for SEO: The Mystery of the Unfound Website.” Roger Lipera (Lipera Web Design & Consulting) will discuss how to make sure your Web site can be found on the Web and how social media can play a part in that. Mavens chapter meeting program, 10:30 am, Bethlehem Public Library.
February 28: “Homicidal Humor-Cozy Mysteries.” Maven Susan Sundwall, Schenectady Public Library, 10 am.
And looking ahead — March 21: “Every Crime Deserves Context.” UAlbany criminal justice professor and mystery writer Frankie Y. Bailey offers a brief overview of the evolution of American crime and justice.
Mavens in the Library by Carol Derfner
An enthusiastic audience of crime and mystery writers and readers in the Capital Region braved frigid temperatures to gather in the Greenbush Community Library on January 31st to listen to six longtime Mavens members share their personal experiences and insights into what it takes to successfully become a published author in the genre. The afternoon’s panelists included:
- Frankie Bailey, a professor of criminal justice at the University of New York at Albany and the author of 7 mystery novels (the newest, “What The Fly Saw” comes out next month) encouraged aspiring writers to join organizations like Sisters In Crime and Mystery Writers of America and to attend conference and workshops to be inspired and learn from the efforts of other writers;
- Robert Knightly, former LAPD police officer and lawyer for the New York City Legal Aid Society, is the author of two police procedurals, “Bodies In Winter” and a sequel, “The Cold Room” spoke of the need to have confidence in your story and to persevere in spite of receiving rejections by potential publishers;
- Eleanor Kuhns spoke of winning the coveted MinotaurBooks/MWA First Crime Novel Competition in 2011 for her Shaker-inspired “A Simple Murder” and outlined how she uses research in her writing;
- Donna Lagone, current President and author of the recently published novel “Reflections” advised using the services of an agent as well an attorney to assist with the contractual matters required when working with publishers;
- Susan Sundwall, gave the audience an overview of how she has handled the publication and sales of her Minnie Markwood comic-cozy series without using an agent; and,
- Kate Laity, Associate Professor of English at the College of St. Rose, the author of “White Rabbit” and the Chastity Flame series, described how she writes and publishes in a number of different genres and admonished the audience to finish one’s writing projects!
Moderated by Jeanette Whitbeck and organized by June Kosier, the event was lively and engaging as well informative. And June’s exhibit highlighting the chapter’s authors was well worth taking a trip to the library in East Greenbush!
17 January 2015 Meeting
Coming up at our January meeting (3rd Saturday, Bethlehem Library, 10:30 am):
Author Promotion: Ten Tips & The One Folder You Need On Your Desktop
Don’t be fooled, there isn’t a secret formula to becoming “a bestselling author”. There are principles that make the process easier, however. Discover the marketing and promotion guideposts that have helped make Bold Strokes Books the world’s largest and most successful publisher of LGBT genre fiction.
Presenter Joel Gomez-Dossi came to journalism by way of theater, television, and digital media production. He was a stage manager for several theaters in the Mid and Southwest; a producer for television projects; and a production manager for the Emmy Award-winning PBS science series, Newton’s Apple. He has written about film and theater for many regional publications across the country, and penned an entertainment column for the queer press that ran in twelve states. His third novel, Lethal Elements, published by Bold Strokes Books, will be available this August.
Don’t forget! Upcoming events:
Mavens will be appearing at the Nassau Library, Monday 26 Jan at 6pm: confirmed so far Frankie Y. Bailey and K. A. Laity
The big event: Panel Discussion & Book Signing at East Greenbush Library on Saturday 31 Jan at noon. Join our Facebook event to get the latest information! Download & print the flyer here.
Coming Up on June 21:
The Upper Hudson Chapter of Sisters in Crime (The Mavens of Mayhem) will meet on Saturday, June 21 at 10:30 am at the Bethlehem Public Library (451 Delaware Ave., Delmar).
At 11:00 am, authors and fellow Sisters In Crime members Carol Derfner, Donna Lagone and Susan Sundwall will discuss their books, and will meet and greet the public afterwards during a book signing. Joining the program will be Admission is Free.
Carol Derfner is a published author of memoir, short fiction and poetry. She is an active participant with The Center for Creative Non-Fiction, the Arts Center of the Capital Region’s Memoir Project, Sisters In Crime, A Room of Her Own Foundation, and the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society. She contributed to the anthology, Times They Were A’ Changing: Women Remember the ‘60s and ‘70s, which has been nominated by Foreword Reviews as one of the top anthologies published in 2013.
Donna Lagone’s novel, Reflection, is a story of two women bound by time, journeying together to find the truth in a spiders web of secrets that have dominated the lives of three generations of women. The novel has been featured at The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, The Boston’s Book Buyers Spring Conference, and The Miami Book Fair International. Donna lives with her husband in Schenectady’s Historic Stockade Neighborhood.
Susan Sundwall is a mystery writer who sets her stories in and around Albany, New York.. Her first novel, The Red Shoelace Killer – A Minnie Markwood Mystery, was published in late 2012. Her second book in the series, The Super Bar Incident – A Minnie Markwood Mystery, will be released on August 1. She will be speaking about the process of incorporating humor into a murder mystery. Susan lives in Valatie, New York, with her husband and adopted stray cat, Sister Agnes.
