Lisa Scottoline & ITW Debut Authors at Palm Beach Peril

 

Oline Ogdill, Lisa Scottoline, Doug Seaver, John Connell, Alison McMahan, Sandra Block, Stu StrumwasserOline Ogdill, Lisa Scottoline, Doug Seaver, John Connell, Alison McMahan, Sandra Block, Stu StrumwasserOne of the great benefits to memberhsip in the International Thriller Writer's association is to be part of their Debut Author Program. Amy Christine Parker, a debut last year with her YA Thriller Gated, has accomplished miracles for the debut authors this year. This month she  the Palm Beach Peril, a panel at the Palm Beach Library in FL featuring New York Times Bestseller Lisa Scottoline and a handful of debut authors, including yours truly.

Oline Ogdill, fearless reviewer for Mystery Scene, and the Sun Sentinel, posted a review of some of the books before the panel. You can read her article here.

The headliner for our panel, the one who most of the 350-strong audience came to see, was Lisa Scottoline (rhymes with fettucini). Her book is about an  mateur sleuth who is also a psychiatrist, and whose OCD patient is suspected of murder.

Next to her pm the panel is Douglas Seaver, author of The Fourth Rule, in which the brother of a Vietnam Vet is a suspect in the vet's disappearance. 

Then there is John Connell, who wrote Ruins of War, about a police detective trying to find a serial killer in the immediate aftermath of WWII in Munich.

Cover by Mishi BellamyCover by Mishi BellamyI'm next to John Connell. I was the only author on the panel with a historical mystery aimed at young adults, The Saffron Crocus.

Next to me is Sandra Block  , author of Little Black Lies, a psychological thriller featuring another sleuth who is a psychiatrist. 

Last but not least is Stu Strumwasser, author of The Organ Broker. Stu's business card is actually the business card for the hero in the novel: a man who acts as an intermediary between wealthy people who need an organ and people from third world countries who are willing to donate one — for a price. Strumwasser partly funded the novel through a kickstarter campaign.

The panel ran for 90 minutes and there was never a dull moment. Watch these pages for reviews of all the books featured — or better yet, don't wait, go out and read them yourself!