Nancy Gardner developed a passion for writing crime fiction after retiring from technology education. Her short story, “Death By Soup,” won honorable mention in the 2006 Mystery/Suspense Contest sponsored by the New England Writers’ Network’s quarterly magazine. Another short story, “Birthday Bash,” was published in the Summer 2007 issue of the Mouth Full of Bullets. She’s currently working on a novel, introducing widowed witch and herbalist, Lily McLeod, who exposes a killer, stops a plot threatening homeless women, and learns to rely on others, all during the madness of Halloween season in current-day Salem, Massachusetts. Before retirement Nancy wrote a number of professional articles for various education and business publications.
Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is currently on the air at Boston's NBC affiliate, where she's broken big stories for the past 24 years. Her stories have resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in refunds and restitution for consumers. Along with her 26 EMMYs, Hank’s also won dozens of other journalism honors. Her first mysteries, Prime Time (which won the prestigious Agatha Award for Best First Novel, was a double RITA nominee for Best First Book and Best Romantic Suspense Novel, and a Reviewers' Choice Award Winner) and Face Time (Book Sense Notable Book), were best sellers. The newest in the series are Air Time, is already on several best-seller lists.
Vincent H. O’Neil brings a wealth of life experience to his writing. The list of his many different jobs includes army paratrooper, private consultant, risk manager, advertiser, and librarian. After writing in his spare time for many years, he won the St. Martin’s Press Malice Domestic Writing Competition in 2005. His award-winning debut novel, Murder in Exile, is the first in a series of mystery novels featuring the character Frank Cole. The sequel to Murder in Exile, Reduced Circumstances, was released by St. Martin's Press in 2007. The third book in the Frank Cole/Exile series, Exile Trust, was published in 2008.
Mike Wiecek lives outside of Boston, at home with the kids. He has traveled widely in Asia and worked many different jobs, mostly in finance. His stories have won a Shamus and two Derringers; he was a finalist for PWA’s Best First PI novel. His novel, Exit Strategy, was short-listed for the ITW Thriller Award.
Attorney Kate Flora is the author of eleven books. Her dynamic character, Thea Kozak, returned in 2008 in Stalking Death. Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine, co-written with a career police officer, was a 2007 Edgar nominee. The story has been filmed for Court TV, Psychic Investigators, and two other TV shows. She has gone in a new direction with two gritty police procedurals; Playing God and The Angel of Knowlton Park. Flora’s stories have appeared in the Level Best anthologies, in Sisters on The Case, an anthology edited by Sara Paretsky, and in Per Se, an anthology of fiction. Flora teaches writing for Grub Street in Boston. She is a partner in Level Best Books, which publishes yearly anthologies of crime stories by New England writers.
Ruth McCarthy is a partner and editor in Level Best Books. Her short mysteries have appeared in several anthologies. She has received honorable mentions in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and New England Writers Network Magazine for her flash fiction. She won the 2009 Derringer Award for Best Flash Story for “No Flowers for Stacey,” published in Deadfall.
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