Anna DePalo signed a contract with Harlequin Desire for the second and third books in her The Serenghetti Brothers series. Book two, Hollywood Baby Affair, will be out on June 1, 2017.

Vicki Weisfeld’s short story “Breadcrumbs” was published in Issue 3 of Betty Fedora, a journal whose tagline is “Crime Fiction for Kickass Women”!; her story “A Slaying Song Tonight” was published in the January/February issue of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine; and “Burning Bright” will be published by Level Best Books in the anthology “Busted: Arresting Stories from the Beat” in April. Reprints of two of other stories appeared in Kings River Life (10/16) and a John Greenleaf Whittier foundation anthology (forthcoming: April 2017).

Tina Gabrielle, writing as Tina Kashian, has sold a three book cozy Mediterranean Mystery series to Kensington Publishing Corp. The first book, “Hummus and Homicide” will be released in 2018.

LSF Writers member Eileen Watkins has signed a three-book contract with Kensington Books to launch a new series, the Cat Groomer Mysteries. Her stories will feature 27-year-old Cassie McGlone, who owns and operates a cat grooming and boarding business in the fictional small town of Chadwick, N.J….and ends up solving murders on the side. The first in this series, The Persian Always Meows Twice, has already been accepted and is due out in October 2017. For more information on Eileen, please visit www.efwatkins.com.

Exclusive Interview with Lois Winston at THE WORLD OF PUNCTUATED PUBLISHING – http://bit.ly/2jsF86x

LSF Writers held its first off-site get together at the 2009 RWA Conference in Washington, D.C. Here are some photos from the first, but not last, LSF Writers dinner.

Mitzi Flyte has won two awards from the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group:
Essay: “Love Pats” in The Ultimate Cat Lover Book
Short Story: “Deadly Inked” in the Deadly Ink Anthology 2008

Mary Kennedy is pleased to report that she will start writing reviews for Book Page this Fall. Book Page is available free in libraries all over the US and has over half a million paid subscribers. She continues to write crime fiction reviews for the Examiner at http://bit.ly/3Nldpd.

Cris Anson is thrilled to report that DANCE OF THE ROGUE, the fourth book in her DANCE series, was released by Ellora’s Cave on September 2. This is particularly gratifying to her because after her husband’s death, she had been unable for several years to concentrate on writing. In ROGUE, Bad-Boy Rolf finally finds his own (older, plus-sized) heroine. Read an excerpt at www.crisanson.com.

Melinda Leigh is pleased to have made the final round in the From The Heart Romance Writers Golden Gateway contest as well as the Heart of the West contest.

Jamie Banta’s DEEPER THAN BONE placed with an Honorable Mention in the paranormal category of the Put Your Heart in a Book contest.

E.F. Watkins gave talks on fiction this summer at the Pequannock Public Library and at Barnes & Noble in Ramsey. In September, she will be taking part in the Red Bank and Jamesburg street fairs with LSFW and SinC/CJ, respectively. On October 17, she will be doing a panel at the Barnes & Noble in Wilkes-Barre, PA, and will have a signing on October 25 for DANU’S CHILDREN, at Practical Magick in Pompton Lakes, NJ.

Marsha Browne, Zita Christian, Paula Scardamalia, and Anne Frazier Walradt taped a pair of Page 1 TV shows recently, which will be seen on Connecticut and Massachusetts public television. The shows are interviews telling how a group of six women (including the four above) completed the book of a dying friend. The book, 101 WAYS YOU CAN HELP: HOW TO OFFER COMFORT AND SUPPORT TO THOSE WHO ARE GRIEVING by Liz Aleshire, was published in May 2009 by Sourcebooks.

Caridad Piñeiro will be appearing at the DragonCon Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, from September 4 to September 7. Look for her at booth 707.

Shobhan Bantwal will be appearing at the Edison Public Library on September 11 at 6 P.M. to discuss her latest release, THE SARI SHOP WIDOW.