Month: August 2020

Buckeye Crime Writers lost a true friend and advocate in April of this year with the passing of long-time member Karen Harper. A New York Times and USA Today bestseller and a winner of the Mary Higgins Clark award, Karen wrote over seventy novels including romantic suspense, historicals, and mysteries.  Her most recent mystery, Deep in the Alaskan Woods, was published in April, and her newest historical, The Queen’s Secret, came out in May.

Karen was born in Toledo and obtained her bachelor’s degree from Ohio University in Athens and her graduate degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus. She lived in Columbus for many years and spent a number of winters in Naples, Florida. She taught English at OSU and Westerville North High School.

Although most people will remember Karen as a prolific and talented writer and a wonderful teacher, we at Buckeye Crime Writers will also remember her as a cherished friend and mentor. She joined our organization soon after it was formed in April 2008, and she was the first speaker at our annual holiday party. Always encouraging and generous with her time, she was a regular presence at our meetings and served as a speaker any time we asked her. She loved to travel, especially to the British Isles, and incorporated the details from her trips into her wonderful stories. She was an avid fan of OSU football, tireless in her love and care of her family, and a pillar in our local writing community. We miss her terribly, but we hope to honor her by continuing to read and promote her books.

First of all, Ray Wenck is a complicated guy. An active member of Buckeye Crime Writers for several years (going back to the days when we were Sisters In Crime of Columbus Ohio, a.k.a., SICCO), Ray truly defines the term ‘Renaissance man;’ former Toledo native, played baseball for the University of Toledo, then worked as an elementary school teacher during the day while running DeSimone’s Italian restaurant at night, to eventually become a lead cook for Hollywood Casinos and kitchen manager for the Toledo Mud Hens minor league baseball team. And what else? He plays the harmonica!

In addition, Ray is the author of thirty-six novels, including the post-apocalyptic Random Survival series, the Danny Roth mystery/suspense series, a zombie series, and a time travel series co-authored with Jason Nugent.

His latest releases are mysteries that include the soon-to-be-released, A Second Chance at Death. He has also begun releasing his titles as audiobooks, and has written the Pick-A-Path series where you can choose your own ending. Ray is both traditionally published and self-published, and is a frequent speaker and seller at book tours and conventions around the country. But mostly, Ray is a doer:  that rare individual who just puts his head down and figures it out. He’s also that guy you want to sit next to at the restaurant after a BCW presentation, because if you’ve got writing questions, he’s got answers. And on the rare occasions he doesn’t, he’s just fun to hang with. 

For more info about Ray and his work, go to:  http://raywenck.com/.

Dan Stout lives in Columbus, Ohio, where he writes noir with a twist of magic and a disco chaser. His prize-winning fiction draws on his travels throughout Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim, as well as an employment history spanning everything from subpoena server to assistant well driller.

Dan’s stories have appeared in publications such as The Saturday Evening Post, Nature, and Mad Scientist Journal. His novels, Titanshade and Titan’s Day, are the first two volumes in The Carter Archives from DAW Books. They feature a homicide cop named Carter in a place called Titanshade, an oil boomtown where 8-tracks are state of the art and all the best sorcerers wear designer labels.

You can find Dan at https://www.danstout.com/.  You can also reach him by email at Contact@DanStout.com. It’s a proven fact that getting mail from readers makes him chortle with delight and refer to himself in third person. 

His books can be found in many local bookstores, as well as here: https://www.amazon.com/Titans-Day-Carter-Archives-Book-ebook/dp/B07VF1Y4MF/.

Trudy Brandenburg loves kayaking, writing, reading, drawing, and bird-watching. Over the past thirty years, she has kayaked on dozens of rivers and lakes throughout the country, in addition to the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico. Her passions flowed together to create The Emma Haines Kayak Mystery Series. Four books are currently in the series.

She is a member of the Southern Ohio Floaters Association (SOFA) kayak and canoe club, based in her hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio. She is a featured speaker at various writing events and enjoys teaching her popular class “Creating Fictional Characters.” 

The Emma Haines Kayak Mystery Series and author interview were featured on VoiceCorp, a reading service based in Columbus, Ohio, that provides audio broadcasting for people who are blind or have other conditions that prevent them from reading standard print. Trudy’s writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines, including The Columbus Dispatch, My Scioto Valley Magazine sponsored by the Chillicothe Gazette, Quirk’s Marketing Research Review, The Consultant, published by the Association of Consulting Foresters, various online publications, poetry books, Holistic Discoveries magazine, and in newsletters. 

If you don’t catch her kayaking or writing or creating her designer “Trudle” greeting cards, bird-watching or sketching, she may be enjoying a walk through Clintonville, Ohio, or hanging out along Lake Erie near Marblehead, Ohio. Or she could be doing research for the Fortune 100 insurance company, where she’s worked for the past thirty years.

To connect with Trudy on-line, visit https://trudybrandenburg.wixsite.com/trudybrandenburg.

Her latest book, Osprey on O’Shaughnessy Reservoir, can be found at Weiland’s Market or Amazon.com.

Alicia Anthony’s first novels were illegible scribbles on the back of her truck driver father’s logbook trip tickets. Having graduated from scribbles to laptop, she now pens novels of psychological suspense in the quiet of the wee morning hours. A full-time elementary school Literacy Specialist, Alicia hopes to pass on her passion for books and writing to the students she teaches.

A two time Golden Heart® finalist and Silver Quill Award winner, Alicia finds her inspiration in exploring the dark, dusty corners of the human experience. Alicia is a graduate of Spalding University’s School of Creative & Professional Writing (MFA), Ashland University (M.Ed.) and THE Ohio State University (BA). Go Bucks! She lives in rural Ohio with her amazingly patient and supportive husband, incredibly understanding teenage daughter, two dogs, three horses, a plethora of both visiting and resident barn cats, and some feral raccoons who have worn out their welcome.

When she’s not writing or teaching, Alicia loves to travel and experience new places. Connect with her online at www.AliciaAnthonyBooks.com.

Awards & Nominations:

Golden Heart® Finalist, 2018 & 2019 
WisRWA Silver Quill Award Winner, 2018
Killer Nashville Claymore Award Finalist, 2016 & 2018
Daphne Du Maurier Award Finalist, 2015 & 2017