Peg Herring, Mystery Author

I manned the Midwest Mystery Writers of America table for a while, with the able assistance of E.A. Poe I returned last night from Magna Cum Murder, a mystery conference held in Indianapolis, IN at the beautiful Columbia Club. One can safely say that a good time was had by all, and the organizers, led by the indefatigable Kathryn Kennison  do a great job of making everyone feel at home. Since I've attended many Magnas, I saw lots of authors I've chatted with, dined with, or sat on panels with in the past, either at Magna or at other cons. Molly MacRae, Sarah Wisseman, Sharan Newman, Tony Perona, Albert Bell, Dan (D.E.) Johnson, John Desjarlais, Monica Ferris, Ann Margaret Lewis, Carla Norton, Elaine Orr, Carol Preflatish, Lori Rader-Day, and Brenda Robertson Stewart. Among those authors you will find a wide array of mysteries, from woo-woo to cozy to deadly serious. What does one do at a mystery con? If you're an author, you sit on panels and discuss wh

This weekend I'm headed to Magna Cum Murder, a mystery con that's fairly close to home (only 7.5 hours!). Magna is organized by the folks at Ball State University, and it's a great place to see old friends from the mystery community and meet new ones, especially fans. From Friday p.m. until Sunday, we'll discuss our favorite genre, bemoan the current state of publishing, and enjoy being with people who get it, who know how much fun it is for very nice people to read, write, and talk about violent death. I'm on two panels. On Saturday I'll be discussing historical mysteries with Sharan Newman, Albert Bell, Sarah Wisseman, and C.J. Norton. Historical discussions often focus on how much research an author should do and how much inclusion of history in a mystery is enough...or too much. My Simon & Elizabeth Mysteries got me on this panel, and since the fourth book of that series ( Her Majesty's Mischief ) is due early in 2015, I'm pleased to be there.

The Loser Mysteries Loser is like no character you've met before: homeless, dirty, and mostly silent. Join her as she finds her way back from the dark places she's been. Find out why she fell into despair. See if she can learn to cope again, to sleep in a bed, meet someone's gaze, and possibly accept there's something worthwhile left in her life. ********************************************* Killing Silence (Book #1) Loser sleeps in alleys, washes up in gas station rest rooms, and eats when she can. Lost in her own misery, s he barely notices the hardships of life. When a child captures her attention and that child's welfare is in doubt, however, Loser calls on long-forgotten resources to help. Can someone who lives among the lost become a rescuer, or will her demons--and a vicious murderer--defeat her? Ebook  Print ****************************************** Killing Memories (Book #2) Ebook: Print Upset by the attention su

Where does the song recommend you go? 1. "When you're alone and life is making you lonely..." Petula Clark 2. "So if your baby's left you..." Elvis 3. "If you're blue and you don't know where to go to..." Young Frankenstein for one 4. "___ ___ is the scene you should make..." The Cowsills 5. "Take your troubles to the ____" Elvis again Answers: 1. Downtown www. youtube .com/watch?v=Zx06XNfDvk0 2. Heartbreak Hotel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PotB76gi2_4 3. (Putting on) the Ritz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1FLZPFI3jc 4. Indian Lake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw7ubMgByYQ 5. Chapel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00eUebsh68M

Songs about Mama: 1. "Mama Said There'd Be ___ ___ ___" The Shirelles 2. "Mama Told Me ___ ___ ___" Three Dog Night 3. "___ ___ Mama" Cabaret 4. "Mama's Got a ____" The Who 5. "The Last of the ___ ___ Mamas"  Sophie Tucker Answers: 1. Days Like This www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQlImg2bm28 2.  Not to Come www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKaQzQAlNn4 3. Don't Tell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhIt69v0yzY 4. Squeeze Box https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXoxH8HI7z8 5. Red Hot  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS-n8_mCuSE

Here are some songs that are about travel by train or bus, which is how we saw Grand Canyon last week. We took the GC Railway from Williams, AZ, into the park, took a bus tour of the high points, and then had a day to explore on our own before taking the train back to Williams. We highly recommend it! 1. Train: "____ Island Line" (Johnny Cash) 2. Bus "Thank God and ____" (Roy Clark) 3. Train "City of ___ ___" (Arlo Guthrie) 4. Train "The ___ Train" (Duke Ellington) 5. Train "Engine Engine # ___" (Roger Miller) Answers: 1. Rock www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBeZPJ03lW0 2. Greyhound https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx8x3LCnYZw  3. New Orleans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvMS_ykiLiQ 4. A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb2w2m1JmCY 5. 9 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjQsI8BrTtk

Someone asks me this about once a week, so I thought I'd attempt an answer. I just finished the final edit for the 4th Simon & Elizabeth mystery, Her Majesty's Mischief . If you've been paying attention, I had some trouble choosing a title for this one, and readers gave me some great suggestions. I chose this one because it has a double meaning. Simon is sent to Scotland to try to determine if Mary, Queen of Scots is hatching mischief in the form of revolt against Elizabeth, now Queen of England. In his absence, Elizabeth hatches some mischief of her own, secretly sending Simon's old friend Calkin to investigate a murder in Simon's family. Both endeavors lead to trouble, of course. I have no release date yet for that one, but they said I'll get Advance Review Copies in December, which means it should come out about two months later. I will let readers know through my newsletter, so if you aren't signed up, you can text 22828. It will ask for a passwor