The Sisters in Crime Heart of Texas chapter will staff a booth at the upcoming Texas Book Festival on Saturday and Sunday, October 27 and 28, 2018. The Festival takes place in downtown Austin on the streets surrounding the Capitol Building. The Festival runs from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, and from 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday.
HoTXSinC authors will sell and sign their books in Tent 4, near the Capitol.
HoTXSinC’s TBF Coordinator K.P. Gresham setting up booth in Tent 4
HoTXSinC’s TBF Coordinator K.P. Gresham, Secretary Francine Paino, and President Helen Currie Foster — with HoTXSinC table all set for the weekend — Tent 4, near the Capitol of Texas
Our mission is to promote
the ongoing advancement, recognition,
and professional development of women crime writers. ~ SINC Mission Statement
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NEW LOCATION on January 14: CAFE EXPRESS!
Program: US Army Lieutenant Colonel Michael Grygar
Art Taylor: Sue Grafton, A Remembrance (of Sorts)
HOTXSINC Election of Officers
The Word on Our Members
Selected Sites
May Your Coming Year
Nolo Contendere
Our dues remain the same
~ $20 for the year ~ and should be paid
at the first meeting. Cash or check, please.
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Our 2018 programs will be terrific
starting with
US Army Lieutenant Colonel Michael Grygar
LTC Grygar will speak about his work as a Military Police officer (MP) and Foreign Area Officer (FAO).
If you have questions about the Army, military police, or how the US Army trains and supports foreign military forces, bring them to the meeting.
LTC Michael Grygar entered military service in June of 1992, enlisting in the US Army Reserve as a Combat Medic. He was commissioned as a 2LT in the Military Police Corps through the University of Texas at Arlington ROTC program in 1996, while simultaneously earning a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice. LTC Grygar entered Active Duty in 2002. In 2009, he began Foreign Area Officer training at the Defense Language Institute where he studied Portuguese. He has completed a Masters in National Security Studies with a focus
on Latin America at the Naval Postgraduate School.
LTC Grygar has been assigned to Fort Leonard Wood, MO; USAG Bamberg, Germany; Iraq; Monterrey, CA; US Military Group, Guatemala; Fort Polk, LA; Afghanistan; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Fort Sam Houston, TX. He has served in a wide variety of assignments as a Military Police officer and then as a Foreign Area Officer, including positions as a Battle Captain in Iraq; Commander of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 793rd MP BN; Director of Emergency Services/Provost Marshal of the US Army Garrison in Bamberg, Germany; visiting instructor at the Guatemalan Command and General Staff College; Battalion Operations Officer, and Battalion XO of the 2nd Battalion, 353rd Infantry Regiment; instructor at the Brazilian Command and General Staff College in Brazil; and as the Political Military Affairs Division Chief within the Regional Affairs Directorate.
He is the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal (1 OLC), the Meritorious Service Medal (1 OLC), the Army Commendation Medal (1 OLC), the Army Achievement Medal (1 OLC), the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the NATO Medal, the Parachutists Badge and the Air Assault Badge.
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Sisters in Crime Heart of Texas Chapter meets monthly on the second Sunday of the month, at 2:15 p.m. at Cafe Express,3418 N. Lamar, Austin 78705, 512 452-9888
For information about the Heart of Texas Chapter contact Joyce Arquette, Publicity, (512) 266-6543.
At the December 10, 2017 meeting, HOTXSINC elected officers for 2018. There being no nominations from the floor, the nominating committee’s slate of candidates was elected by acclamation:
President – Helen Currie Foster
Vice President/President Elect – Noreen Cedeno
Secretary/Membership – Francine Paino
Treasurer – David Ciambrone
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THE WORD ON OUR MEMBERS
K. P. Gresham’s radio play “The Case of the Poisoned Holly” was performed by a cast of HOTXSINC members at the annual holiday party on December 20, 2017. She spoke and signed copies of her mystery MURDER IN THE SECOND PEW at BookPeople on December 8.
“Amazon now requires you to purchase a minimum of $50 worth of books or other products before you can leave a review or answer questions about a product. These purchases, and it looks like it is a cumulative amount, must be purchased via credit card or debit card — gift cards won’t count.”
“Hindi pulp fiction writer Surender Mohan Pathak has been made ‘the Agatha Christie of India’ by Minakshi Thakur, who saw potential in a genre ignored by other publishers.”
“Now, Amazon is in a strange situation; it cannot itself decide if it’s a publisher or a distributor, but in either case the demand for a copy of our contract with our publisher is out of line, and Steve and I will not comply.”- Author Sharon Lee
The Passive Voice: “In an update to the OP, TeleRead says Amazon customer service solved the problem. PG is happy to hear that in part because the authors seem like nice people. “PG is usually on the little guy’s/gal’s side in these kind of disputes, but in this case, he understands Amazon’s concerns:…”
May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art– write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, that you surprise yourself.
Our mission is to promote
the ongoing advancement, recognition,
and professional development of women crime writers. ~ Sisters in Crime Mission Statement
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October 8, 2017 Program: Celebrate Sisters in Crime’s 30th Birthday!
The Word on Our Members Computer Keys for Four Hands: Teaming Up to Write
An Afternoon with Helen Ginger Call for Submissions
Call to Action: Review! Calendar Selected Sites Nolo Contendere
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October 8, 2017 Program
IT’S A PARTY!
SISTERS IN CRIME
CELEBRATES ITS 30TH BIRTHDAY
Sarah Ann Robertson
READINGS FROM ORIGINAL WORKS
BY SISTERS IN CRIME ~ HEART OF TEXAS MEMBERS
WINE, CHEESE, AND CAKE
TO CELEBRATE
WHO WE ARE
AND WHAT WE DO
2:15 – 4:00 P.M.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2017
3RD FLOOR OF BOOKPEOPLE
603 N. LAMAR
AUSTIN, TEXAS
THE PUBLIC IS INVITED!
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Sisters in Crime Heart of Texas Chapter meets monthly on the second Sunday of the month at 2:15 p.m. at Book People, 603 North Lamar, Austin, phone 512-472-5050. Take the elevator to the third floor.
For information about the Heart of Texas Chapter, contact Joyce Arquette, Publicity (512) 266-6543, and check out our website at http://sinc-heartoftexas.com
*****
Sara Paretsky at Bouchercon 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) By Mark Coggins from San Francisco (Sara Paretsky Uploaded by tripsspace) [CC BY 2.0 ] via Wikimedia Commons
Meredith Lee celebrated the launch of her first book, SHROUDED, at the Writing Barn on September 9, 2017. She will speak and sign copies of SHROUDED at BookPeople on November 10. (Meredith Lee is the pen name of HOTXSINC members Sue Meredith Cleveland and Dixie Lee Wyatt.)
SINC’s Ongoing Pursuit of Reviews for Women Writers: 2016 Report
and HOTxSINC’s Invitation
Mission Statement of the national organization Sisters in Crime (SINC): “Promote the ongoing advancement, recognition and professional development of women crime writers.” Since 1986 SINC has pursued its goal of raising women writers’ share of reviews and recognition through its Monitoring Project, monitoring the share of reviews for women crime writers. For the first 20 years of the Monitoring Project, SINC noted a long-term upward trend. But the 2016 results are stagnant in the digital category and show only statistically insignificant changes in national and local newspapers, pre-publication sources, and genre-focused magazine categories. Here are the numbers for 2007-2016:
Type of Publication Reviews of Books Reviews of Books Reviews of Books
by Women 2007 by Women 2015 by Women 2016
National newspapers 31% 42% 41%
Local newspapers 37% 46% 47%
Pre-publication sources 45% 45% 46%
Genre-focused magazines 40% 50% 52%
Born Digital Review Sources n/a 52% 52%
SINC notes that the national newspaper category continues to be the most resistant to reviewing women writers—significant because these papers (New York Times, Toronto Globe & Mail, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal) carry prestige and readership. In pre-publication review sources, Booklist (43%) and Publishers Weekly (46%) continued to favor male over female writers, but both improved by one point from 2015. Since 2011, the majority of Library Journal’s reviews have been for women (but the percentage dropped from 60% in 2015 to 56% in 2016.
SINC estimates the percentage of mysteries by women by counting Edgar Award submissions (best novel, best first novel, best paperback or e-original, and submissions for the Mary Higgins Clark award). Women authors accounted for 49% of books submitted in 2016 (51% in 2015). Men continued to dominate Best Novel (57% in 2016); women dominated Best Paperback or E-Original (56% in 2016) but lost ground in Best First Novel (dropping from 52% in 2015, to 48% in 2016).
The Heart of Texas chapter of SINC, HOTXSINC, shares SINC’s goal of improving women’s share of reviews of crime writers by showcasing members’ work, encouraging professional development and advancement, and cheering each other on. We use our website, emails, meetings, and newsletter to do so. Come join us in this effort! Encouragement…strategies…new ideas…our pursuit of excellence…that’s what we’re about.
VP Chandler reads from her story, Rota Fortunae, in the Murder On Wheels anthology
Helen Ginger
George Wier
Billy Kring
*****
“Several women wanted SIC, as in ‘Let’s sic ’em!'” Margaret says, “ but I knew we were less about hostility than about working together in sync, so I used SinC in all my correspondence and official letters. By the end of my term, SinC had become the standard abbreviation.”
The Friends of the Georgetown Public Library will host their 34st author event on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 2 PM, in the Community Rooms of the library located at 402 W. 8th St. Austinite Meg Gardiner, whose newest thriller, “UNSUB” was published in June, 2017, will be the speaker. Lawyer turned author, Ms. Gardiner is an Edgar Award-winning American crime writer who has written thirteen thrillers.
“UNSUB” (short for unknown subject) tells the tale of a young detective, determined to apprehend the serial murderer who destroyed her family and terrorized a city twenty years earlier. This riveting psychological thriller has been bought by CBS Television Studios for adaptation into a TV series.
Tickets are $15 in advance, or $18 at the door and will go on sale September 11th. They’re available at the Second-Hand Prose bookstore on the second floor of the library, from the WOW!mobile (the book mobile that visits many locations in the city), online at https://folgeorgetown.org/event/hcas-meg-gardiner/ after September 11th , or by contacting Marcy Lowe at 512-868-8974. A dessert and beverage from the Red Poppy Coffee Company is included.
The event begins at 2 PM; doors open at 130 PM. Proceeds are used to fund unbudgeted items and other ongoing library projects.
For more information contact Marcy Lowe at (512) 868-8974.
Members, please email links to your websites and/or blogs tokathywaller1 at gmail dot com so they can be listed in our blogroll. Email your news/announcements to the same address.
Member authors, please send book/story&publication titles and a headshot to kathywaller at gmail dot com. Here’s a link to the Author page so you can see how your info will be displayed: https://sinc-heartoftexas.com/hotxsinc-authors/
Kathy Waller, editor kathywaller1 at gmail dot com
Our mission is to promote
the ongoing advancement, recognition,
and professional development of women crime writers. ~ SINC Mission Statement
August 13 Program: Officer Jeffrey Joseph of the Austin Bomb Squad
Call for Readers @ the October Meeting The Word on Our Members Launch Party for Meredith Lee’s SHROUDED
Selected Sites Counting Down to the Eclipse
The One Thing More
Austin’s Bomb Squad
On Sunday, August 13, Officer Jeffrey Joseph of the Austin Police Department will present a detailed overview of the Austin Bomb Squad Unit and the services provided by the bomb technicians and their K-9 counterparts. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer period.
Officer Joseph is a twenty-year veteran of the APD and has worked in the Bomb Squad Unit for five of those years. Given the tumultuous times we live in, his presentation promises to be a fascinating and relevant presentation for all.
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Sisters in Crime Heart of Texas Chapter meets the second Sunday of each month at Book People, 603 North Lamar, Austin, phone 512-472-5050. Meetings begin at 2:15 p.m. Take the elevator to the third floor.
For information about the Heart of Texas Chapter, contact Joyce Arquette, Publicity (512) 266-6543, and visit our website at http://sinc-heartoftexas.com
*****
Most crime fiction plots are not ambitious enough for me. I want something really labyrinthine
with clues and puzzles that will reward careful attention. ~ Sophie Hannah
*****
Call for Readers @ the October Meeting
SISTERS IN CRIME Heart of Texas Chapter
Presents
Excerpted Readings from Heart of Texas Chapter Authors
An important goal of Sisters in Crime is to promote and assist our authors in as many ways as possible.
OCTOBER 8, 2017: At the regular October meeting, members who have paid their 2017 dues may read from a current work or a work in progress. Each reading will be limited to five minutes in order to allow time for as many writers as possible to take advantage of this opportunity.
If you are a current member in good standing and are interested in presenting excerpts of your work please send in your name to Sisters in Crime Vice President Noreen Cedeño, noreenm74 at yahoo.com. There are a limited number of slots available and the deadline for sign-ups is September 1, 2017.
Non-members please join us. In addition to the members’ excerpted readings a portion of the meeting will be devoted to HOW TO GET REVIEWS – More information to follow.
*****
I’m sold as a literary writer in Holland; I’m sold as crime fiction in England.
I think of it as just literature. ~ Karin Slaughter
*****
The Word on Our Members
Dave Ciambrone
from Dave Ciambrone
I’ll be speaking at the Llano Quilt Guild on August 21st at10:30 a.m., at the Country Quilt Shop, 100 E. Exchange Place, in Llano, Texas; and
the Main Street Quilt Guildon September 26,at the YMCA, 1812 N. Mays Street in Round Rock, Texas.
I have a booth at the Chisholm Trail Quilt Guildquilt show on September 29 and 30 at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas.
He won’t hurt me. I have a secret weapon. ~ Sandra Brown
*****
Launch Party for Meredith Lee’s SHROUDED
Sue Meredith Cleveland & Dixie Lee Evatt
ThirtyNineStars will sponsor a book launch for Meredith Lee’s debut
mystery novel, SHROUDED, on September 9, 2017, at The Writing Barn
in Austin, Texas. The event is set for 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
Meredith Lee is the pen name for the Austin-based writing team of Dixie Lee Evatt and Sue Meredith Cleveland. SHROUDED, the first
installment in the Crispin Leads Mystery Series, is the story of a
graduate student whose trip to Rome to study burial rituals at the
Vatican is derailed when she is witness to a murder.
Copies of the book will be on sale at the event for $14.99, plus tax.
Authors will be present to sign books and answer questions. Prelaunch
commercial sale of the book is scheduled on Amazon and at
BookPeople, Austin’s independent book store at 6th and Lamar, in
mid- to late August.
Sisters in Crime: Heart of Texas salutes the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime, also known as the Mary Roberts Rinehart chapter. Mary Sutton, chapter secretary, describes how joining the organization helped her writing.
When I walked into my first Sisters in Crime meeting, I had lost my job earlier that year and I’d completed a novel, a cozy, that I’d been working on for about 10 years. I had an idea that I was sorta-kinda okay at this story-writing thing and I wanted to know if others thought so, and if I could get better.
I don’t think you could have prepared me for what came next. I found so much more than just a writing group. These women welcomed me with open arms. They gave encouragement when it was needed, praise when it was deserved, and advice when necessary. Over the past three years, I’ve learned so much about how to write well, about all those things that good writers do, and given them names. I’ve learned I’m not a cozy writer. I look back on that early manuscript and the problems leap off the page at me. Being with Sisters in Crime has given me a wealth of craft knowledge that has enabled me to take my writing to new heights – and I’m still learning. But more importantly, it’s given me friendships with other people on the same journey, a group of “sibs” who help me celebrate the successes and soothe the heartache of the failures.
Anyone interested in learning more about writing crime fiction, I cannot say this enough: Find your local chapter of Sisters in Crime and introduce yourself. You won’t be sorry.
Chapter President Diana Stavroulakis talks about what makes Pittsburgh Sisters in Crime special:
We’re a fairly large chapter that gains about five new members a year. I attribute this to the fact that we’re very active and we keep all of our events open to the public. Within the last three months, we’ve acquired six new members!
Our chapter is diverse — not just in each member’s background, but also in each member’s needs from our group. For this reason, I made sure that our programming these last two years (this is my second term as President) has offered a wide variety of options. I started the online book club, which discusses current books in the genre from the viewpoint of writers. It’s not your traditional set of book club questions. This activity provided a connection for the members who are unable to attend physical meetings and “in person” events.
What I would like others to know about our chapter is that it has many dimensions. We have sisters and misters in our chapter; we have full-time writers, and those that write at night while continuing with other professions (like me!) We have members that love the ability to reach out through the list serve and get advice from others; and we have members that are able to attend every single meeting, workshop and event.
Inside LUCKY CHARMS you’ll find twelve crime tales from the members of the Mary Roberts Rinehart Pittsburgh chapter of Sisters in Crime, Inc. You’ll dig into gritty police procedurals; enjoy a spangle of suspense; tuck into a cozy or two; and thrill to a cool touch of noir. Each story tells a tale of surprising good luck or of good luck gone sour. We invite you to brace yourself for an entertaining read.
K. P. Gresham’s radio play “The Case of the Poisoned Holly” was performed by a cast of HOTXSINC members at the annual holiday party on December 20, 2017. She spoke and signed copies of her mystery 
“UNSUB” (short for unknown subject) tells the tale of a young detective, determined to apprehend the serial murderer who destroyed her family and terrorized a city twenty years earlier. This riveting psychological thriller has been bought by CBS Television Studios for adaptation into a TV series.
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