Florida Heatwave (41 page)

“They’ll hunt for me. They’ll know I wouldn’t just leave.” Her words broke through the surface of her sobs.

“That’s why you’ll write a note. They’ll find that in your apartment when they hunt for you. Like Jess. You’ll say that finding the body was too much. That you’ve gone on to some place else. Maybe Nashville. You’re an ambitious girl, Kit. Folks will believe it.” He grabbed the rope and dragged her toward the lake. “Come on, little Minnow. It’s time for your last swim.”

John Bond is a shanachie—the Gaelic term for storyteller—living in Dania Beach, Florida. A licensed pilot and boat captain, he has been a lawyer, Realtor, adjunct professor of journalism and creative writing, tour group leader, SCUBA instructor, columnist, newspaper editor, political campaign manager, lobbyist, developer and more. John’s day job is to love his wife, Jeannie Deininger, who is too good for him. Instead of children they have Shih-tzus.

James O. Born is the author of five police thrillers from Putnam.
Escape Clause,
was the winner of the inaugural Florida Book award for best novel in popular fiction. His first series featured state cop Bill Tasker. His second series features ATF agent Alex Duarte. In 2009 the first of several science fiction novels,
The Human Disguise,
was released under the pseudonym James O’Neal. In 2010
The Double Human
was released. Born is a career law enforcement officer who has worked in all areas of investigation.

Patricia A. Bremmer is the author of eight titles in the Elusive Clue Series. Her series is being considered for movies with Red Feather Productions. A stand-lone book,
Guided Destiny,
has already been optioned for a major motion picture. Patricia has also penned the Westie Whispers Collection of picture books for children and is currently writing mysteries for middle grade. Patricia traveled the nation with a stable of thoroughbred racehorses including

Miami, Florida where she lived for a short time. She currently resides in western Nebraska. And, to add to the excitement of her appearances, she frequently includes her real life detective who has become the sleuth in her novels. Together they charm and entertain the crowds. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the International Thriller Writers.
www.patriciabremmer.com

Tom Corcoran moved to Florida in 1970. His six-novel Alex Rutledge Series is set in the Florida Keys.
Hawk Channel Chase,
released in March 2009, went to trade paperback in April 2010.
Jimmy Buffett - the Key West Years
is in its third printing—Tom’s photographs appeared on seven Jimmy Buffett album covers. Over 160 of his photos were collected in 2007’s
Key West in Black and White,
with an introduction by Randy Wayne White. Tom co-wrote the Buffett hits “Cuban Crime of Passion” and “Fins.” In recent years he has returned to song-writing, collaborating on seven songs for John Frinzi’s recent “Shoreline” CD. Tom’s author portraits have appeared on book jackets for Thomas McGuane’s
An Outside Chance,
Winston Groom’s
Forrest Gump,
Les Standiford’s
Black Mountain
and
Last Train to Paradise,
and James W. Hall’s
Hot Damn.

John Dufresne is the author of two story collections, four novels, most recently
Requiem, Mass.,
and two books on writing fiction. His stories have ben selected for
Best American Mystery Stories
in 2007 and 2010. He teaches writing in the MFA program at Florida International University in Miami.

Mary Anna Evans is the award-winning author of the Faye Longchamp archaeological mysteries. The sixth book in this series,
Strangers,
will be released in October 2010. Her novels have received recognitions including the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Florida Literature Award, and a Florida Book Awards Bronze Medal. Her short fiction has been published in collections including
North Florida Noir, A Merry Band of Murderers, A Kudzu Christmas,
and
Plots with Guns.
A licensed engineer, her interests in math, science, and fiction have converged in a non-fiction book for teachers called
Mathematical Literacy in the Middle and Lower Grades,
to be published in June 2011. For more information on her work, visit her website,
http://www.maryannaevans.com
, and her blog,
http://www.maryannaevans.blogspot.com
, for those curious about book publishing called, “It’s Like Making Sausage: Sometimes you really don’t want to know how books are made …”

Mark Raymond Falk attended the University of Texas—El Paso where he majored in English before the real world interrupted and he went to work on a cattle ranch. The cattle ranch, generations ago, was part owned by his grandfather. He currently lives in McCamey, TX with his wife Victoria and their German Shepherd, Bowie. In his free time he writes and thinks about Maximillian’s Treasure, allegedly buried within seven miles of his house in Castle Gap. He is currently at work on his first novel. His fiction has appeared in
Plots with Guns, Powder Burn Flash,
and
Flash Fiction Offensive.

Cuban born Carolina Garcia-Aguilera is the author of eight books, but she is perhaps best known for her first six, which feature the Cuban-American private investigator, Lupe Solano. Carolina has written for assorted publications, and has contributed short stories to several anthologies, the most recent being
Miami Noir, Havana Noir
and
Hit List: The Best of Latino Mysteries.
Carolina, who has been a private investigator for the past twenty-one years, has been the recipient of many awards, including the Shamus for
Havana Heat
(Best Private Eye novel of 2000), and the Flamingo for
A Miracle in Paradise
(Best Florida Mystery of 1999). She has lived on South Beach for the past fifteen years with her three daughters and assorted pets.

Carolyn Haines is the 2010 recipient of the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Writing and the 2009 Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellent. She is the author of the Sarah Booth Delaney Mississippi Delta mystery series, the most current of which is
Bone Appetit.
She also edited a collection of short fiction,
Delta Blues,
which features some of the finest writers working today.

Winner of the Edgar Award and Shamus, Hall is the author of sixteen novels, a collection of stories, four books of poetry, a book of essays, and a forthcoming non-fiction work on the biggest bestsellers of the twentieth-century. He and his wife, Evelyn, divide their time between Miami and the mountains of North Carolina.

Alice Jackson is a veteran journalist who has reported on crime, politics and public corruption for newspapers, television and magazines, including
Time, People
and the
New York Times.
During the 1990s, her investigative reporting of questionable land deals and government bond issues led to the indictment and prosecution of a prominent Mississippi politician and resulted in the return of millions of dollars from offshore bank accounts to taxpayer coffers. Her first published fiction, “Cuttin’ Heads,” appeared in the short story collection
Delta Blues
from Tyrus Books in 2010. She resided on the shores of the Mississippi Sound until Hurricane Katrina destroyed her home in 2005. She now lives in Mobile, Ala., where she is studying for a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of South Alabama.

Alex Kava is the
New York Times
bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Maggie O’Dell series. Her stand-alone novel,
One False Move,
was chosen for the 2006 One Book One Nebraska and her political thriller,
Whitewash,
made
January Magazine’s
best thriller of the year list for 2007. Published in twenty-four countries, Kava’s novels have made the bestseller lists in the UK, Australia, Germany, Italy and Poland. She is also one of the featured authors in the anthology
Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night,
edited by James Patterson and the upcoming anthology,
First Thrills,
edited by Lee Child. In 2007 she was the recipient of the Mari Sandoz Award presented by the Nebraska Library Association. Kava divides her time between Omaha, Nebraska and Pensacola, Florida. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the International Thriller Writers. Find out how Maggie O’Dell survives Hurricane Isaac while tracking another killer by reading
Damaged
(Double-day, July 2010).
www.alexkava.com

Edgar-award winning author Jonathon King is the creator of the Max Freeman crime series set in the Everglades and on the hard urban streets of South Florida. His newest book,
The Styx,
is a Florida Book Award-winning novel that probes the deadly fire that drove the working class off Palm Beach Island at the turn of the 20th Century. King was a journalist for 24 years and lives in Boca Raton.

Michael Koryta is the author of five novels, including
Envy the Night,
which won the 2008
Los Angeles Times
Book Prize for best mystery/thriller, and four entries in the Lincoln Perry series, which has earned nominations for the Edgar, Shamus, and Quill awards and won the Great Lakes Book Award. His work has been translated into more than fifteen languages. Michael’s first novel,
Tonight I Said Goodbye,
an Edgar finalist, was published when he was just 21 and an undergraduate at Indiana University. A former private investigator and award-winning newspaper reporter, Michael now divides his time between Bloomington, Indiana, where he teaches at the Indiana University School of Journalism, and St. Petersburg, Florida

Michael Lister is an award-winning novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright who lives in North Florida. A former prison chaplain, Michael is the author of the “Blood” series featuring prison chaplain/detective John Jordan
(Blood of the Lamb, The Body and the Blood,
etc.). His second series features Jimmy “Soldier” Riley, a PI in Panama City during World War II (
www.FloridaNoir.com
). Michael’s recent literary thrillers include
Double Exposure, Thunder Beach, Burnt Offerings,
and
Separation Anxiety.
In addition to fiction, Michael writes a weekly column on art and meaning titled Of Font and Film (
www.OfFontandFilm.com
), which includes reviews of film and fiction. When Michael isn’t writing, he teaches college and operates a charity an community theater. His website is
www.MichaelLister.com

John Lutz’s work includes political suspense, private eye novels, thrillers, regional suspense, urban suspense, humor, occult, crime caper, police procedural, espionage, historical, futuristic, amateur detective … virtually every mystery sub-genre. He is the author of more than forty novels and 250 short stories and articles. His awards include the Edgar and the Shamus and the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Golden Derringer Award. His novels and short fiction have been translated into almost every language and adapted for almost every medium. He is a past president of both Mystery Writers of America and Private Eye Writers of America. His latest book is the suspense novel
Urge to Kill.
His novel
SWF Seeks Same
was made into the hit movie
Single White Female,
starring Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh, and his novel
The Ex
was made into the HBO original movie of the same title, for which he co-authored the screenplay.

Raven McMillian was born and bred from the neglected nether regions of southside Virginia, where he learned the old stubborn and reckless ways of shooting yourself in the foot, surviving, and spinning a long tale out of the whole process. After various meanders around the United States, he has ended up in that same nether region, raising a family and assorted animals, as well as taking in wayward teenagers to teach them to balance their inherent self-destruction with creative expression. He has been involved in various forms of self-publishing for over twenty years, but nowadays mostly Dremels haiku into back roads guard rails.

Jim Pascoe believes that noir is larger than a historical period or a genre; it’s an ethic. His crime fiction street cred comes from running the cult publishing house UglyTown for almost a decade. Recently he finished his dark fantasy series UNDERTOWN, the first volume of which was serialized in newspapers worldwide. And as a multiple-award-winning creative director he has worked on the packaging/advertising for such blockbusters as
Mad Men, Coraline,
and
Avatar.

Lisa Unger is an award-winning
New York Times, USA Today
and international bestselling author. Her novels have been published in over 26 countries around the world. She was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1970 but grew up in the Netherlands, England and New Jersey. A graduate of the New School for Social Research, Lisa spent many years living and working in New York City. She then left a career in publicity to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time author. She now lives in Florida with her husband and daughter. Her writing has been hailed as “masterful”
(St. Petersburg Times),
“sensational”
(Publishers Weekly)
and “sophisticated”
(New York Daily News)
with “gripping narrative and evocative, muscular prose”
(Associated Press).