MEMBERS

Officers:

Tamara Girardi, President

Tamara is a freelance writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review and the Valley News Dispatch and a part-time writing instructor at Westmoreland County Community College. Her short stories have been published in New Writing Dundee and Scores, two Scottish anthologies and Love Stories from the Heart, published in the U.S. She is looking for an agent to represent her young adult paranormal These Walls Can Talk about Leia Angeletti, a 17-year-old ghost hunter who's only fears are disappointing the people she loves, that is until she learns she's better at picking up paranormal activitythan the expensive equipment she carries. Leia learns what her newfound psychic ability can do when she investigates a restaurant that disappears. With a psychic look back in time at an unsolved murder, she learns if she's not careful in her search for the kill, she may not be hunting ghosts anymore. She might just become one. An Allegheny County resident, Tamara is also a member of PennWriters and Backspace and hard at work revising and editing her second young adult novel Broken. Tamara can be reached by email at girarditamara@yahoo.com or via Twitter @TamaraGirardi.
 

Colette Garmer, Vice President

www.colettegarmer.com

Finding The Squirrel Hill Writers Group in 1996 and staying put with them for three years was instrumental in starting Colette Garmer down the path to publication.  A job reared its ugly head and took her away from the group, limiting her time.  Writing took a back burner.  But in the end, she had written a few manuscripts.  Granted they weren't books she'd want anyone to see.  But she did accomplish writing a few manuscripts from beginning to end.

Articles were published in Good Housekeeping, Enable Pennsylvanians and True Story Magazine.  In 2005 she entered a Silhouette Desire contest where she was one of the five finalists.  She attended Pennwriters2008 conference Martha Reed, then president of  Sisters-in-Crime in Pittsburgh encouraged her to enter her first draft in the First Page Contest.  She ended up taking Third Place which finalized her belief in her writing that it was time to get serious.

Currently she is a member in Pennwriters and Sisters-in-Crime where she meets with many published and non-published authors that gladly assist her in her lifelong dream of getting a novel published. She was recently elected Vice President for the 2011 term for the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Her writing is now on the front burner instead of languishing on the back burner of life.

Martha Reed, Secretary/Treasurer
reedme36@verizon.net

Martha Reed is a Pittsburgh author who is developing her Nantucket Mystery series after a lifetime of travel and adventures spanning three continents. Her short fiction has appeared in Pearl, Spinetingler Magazine and Mysterical-e. She is the past President and Treasurer of The Mary Roberts Rinehart Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime (SinC). Currently, Martha serves as Chapter Liaison for the National SinC Board. She is a staunch member of PennWriters and she shares the joys of the writing life on The Working Stiffs blog. Martha loves travel, big jewelry and simply great coffee and delights in the never-ending antics of her extended family. Visit her website: www.marthareed.com to view sample chapters and interactive links to her published work. Keep up with the scoop by following her on Twitter @ReedMartha.

Members:

Jeff Boarts

Michelle Butler

Tory Butterworth
Tory works in mental health during the week and uses writing to maintain her mental health on weekends. Her nonfiction work-in-progress explores the origins of compulsive eating. She is also working on a psychological suspense novel that takes place in a corrupt mental hospital.

Kristine Coblitz
Kristine, a past president of the chapter, is a freelance editor and fiction writer. She lives just north of Pittsburgh with her family and is working on a stand-alone contemporary mystery novel.

Cathy Moffat Corn
After busy careers as an RN in critical care units and as a massage therapist in downtown Pittsburgh, Cathy's ready to sit down and write. The summer of 2011, she Epublished her paranormal mystery/suspense novel, Crystal Clear (links to its Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords pages are on her website). The story: a psychotherapist, Suzanne Westin, crystal ball gazes and connects with a past life as a Big Band Singer. Further sessions reveal the singer lying dead in the woods, and Suzanne learns she must solve that mystery or history will repeat itself.
 
Fiction being Cathy's first love (especially the mystery novels of Mary Stewart), she is seeking representation for Blue Moon over Madagascar, a paranormal adventure novel set in Madagascar (the perfect blend of mystery, adventure, romance, and fairy dust). Second in the series is Smell the Plumerias, set on the big island of Hawaii and showcasing the dolphins that swim in its waters.
 
She's published nonfiction in Bluegrass Unlimited, Pennsylvania Magazine, The Pittsburgh Press Sunday Magazine, and UK women's magazine Annabel. She'd get a lot more done without the dog, two cats, and husband Alan, but doesn't think that would be any fun at all.

Annette Dashofy
www.annettedashofy.com
www.annettedashofy.blogspot.com
adashofy@yahoo.com

Annette is a freelance and mystery writer who is a regular contributor to Pennsylvania Magazine. Her short stories include a 2007 Derringer Award finalist and have been published in Spinetingler Magazine and Mysterical-E. Her latest, “A Murder Runs Through It,” is in Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology. She’s working on revisions to a mystery novel set in the world of Thoroughbred racing in which the protagonist is a workaholic veterinarian who discovers the tragic death of her mentor isn’t quite as accidental as she’s been led to believe. Annette is a past president of MMR Sisters in Crime and is very active with Pennwriters, currently serving as their vice president. She lives in Washington County with her husband of 28 years and two very spoiled cats.

LeeAnn Dawson

Rebecca Drake
www.Rebecca-Drake.com
rebecca@rebecca-drake.com
Rebecca is a former journalist, freelance copywriter, and technical writer who turned to crime fiction to escape the label of soccer mom. Her books include DON'T BE AFRAID, THE DEAD PLACE, and THE NEXT KILLING.

Jennifer Little Fleck

Kathleen George
georgeke+@pitt.edu
www.kathleengeorge.net
Kathleen teaches theatre at the University of Pittsburgh where she has directed many plays for the mainstage and the Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival. She is the author of a short story collection, THE MAN IN THE BUICK, and five novels, TAKEN, FALLEN, AFTERIMAGE, THE ODDS, which was been nominated for the 2010 Edgar Award for best novel, and HIDEOUT. She is married to writer Hilary Masters.

Mary Alice Gorman
www.mysterylovers.com
Mary Alice with her husband Richard Goldman own the Mystery Lovers Bookshop , Western Pennsylvania 's center for crime and mystery. Mary Alice's skills as a teacher, organizer, fundraiser, career counselor, and advocate have made for a perfect foundation for an award-winning  21 year career in bookselling.

Susan Gottfried

www.westofmars.com
Susan loves to curl up with a good mystery, but when it comes to writing, she's all about rock and roll. You can follow the adventures of Trevor Wolff and his fictional band on Susan's blog, or you can join the Trevolution by picking up a copy of The Demo Tapes: Year 1, which collects twenty-five of Trevor's best adventures into one handy, portable volume.

Kathryn Miller Haines

kathrynmillerhaines at mac dot com

www.kathrynmillerhaines.com

www.thegirlis.blogspot.com

When she's not working in the library system at the University of Pittsburgh, Kathryn performs with and co-manages Mystery's Most Wanted and is an award-winning playwright. She's the author of the Rosie Winter Mystery Series (HarperCollins), set in the theatre community of World War II New York. She is also the author of a new series for young adults, also set in World War II. The first book, The Girl is Murder, was released by Roaring Book Press (a division of Macmillan) in July 2011.The second book will be out in summer 2012.

Carol Herder

Nancy Howarth

Kristen Humphreys

My name is Kristin Humphreys.  I write murder mysteries, short stories and books, under the name K.M. Humphreys.  I am also working on Middle Grade fiction under the name Eleanor Benjamin.  I currently have short stories published on Smashwords.com.  I am working on two murder mystery books and a MG fiction book.  Hopefully I’ll have at least one of them published within the next five years. 

I have been writing on and off for over twenty years but just recently got more serious about it.  I live in Pittsburgh with my husband and our dog, Rosie.

Laurie Kassim

Laurie is a member of Pennwriters, Sisters in Crime, and a writer’s critique group. She is an avid reader, and loves nothing more than to read a good mystery, or anything, for that matter, as long as she’s reading. Laurie is currently working on a traditional mystery manuscript.

Carol Kayworth

Mary Kieler

Lois Lamanna

Lois Lamanna retired from teaching at the same high school in Pittsburgh where she and her husband were students. Lois started writing mysteries after a boring fishing trip with her sister. Her first book, Matrimony and Murder (Avalon Books) will be available in 2012.   She is currently dividing her time between selling fine jewelry at Macy's, helping plan her daughter's wedding and writing a new series featuring a high school guidance counselor who is working part time at a jewelry store when the senior sales associate is murdered.   She is currently seeking a literary agent.  

Nancy Martin
www.NancyMartinMysteries.com
nancy@nancymartinmysteries.com
Nancy is the author of the bestselling Blackbird Sisters Mystery Series and a brand new series set in Pittsburgh,featuring the misadventures of Roxy Abruzzo, a tough girl from the Rust Belt “with a heart of black and gold.” In her 26-year career, she has published 45 novels in four genres--romance, historical, suspense, and mystery. Nancy was the winner of the 2009 Lifetime Achievement award for mystery writing from Romantic Times magazine. She is also one of the Book Tarts on www.TheLipstickChronicles.typepad.com.

Andrea Peagler

Andrea is an aspiring author with a science background who has worked in the clinical medical research and health education fields over the past fifteen years. She has co-authored and is published in peer-reviewed medical journals, as well as helped in data collection for other scientific articles during her tenure with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the University of Alabama at Birmingham medical centers. A recent article on health improvement outcomes from a service-directed research project on which she served, was published in an issue of Diabetes Care. Returning to her love of creative writing, Andrea ventured into writing mystery after hearing stories from those who served in the military and watching high profile crime cases. A fan of Edgar Allan Poe since her senior book report and days as a staff writer for the high school student newspaper, she continues her journey exploring this thrilling genre.  She joined Pennwriters, Inc. in 2010 and quickly became a member of the Pittsburgh Chapter of SinC the same year. Andrea is currently working on a historical crime fiction novel with elements of whodunit, passion, genetics and adventure. In her treasured time, she enjoys reading, travel and gardening. Her quest is to grow and learn more about the craft of writing well.

Judy Schneider
www.franticwoman.com
Judy is the co-author of THE FRANTIC WOMAN'S GUIDE TO LIFE, a practical guide packed with hints, tips, and tricks to help busy women survive in today's hectic world. It's published by Warner Books.

Gina Sestak
Gina is a highly unsuccessful fiction writer who lives surrounded by unsold manuscripts. Her published work includes two non-fiction books on legal topics (which she co-authored), articles, and poetry. When not reading, writing, walking, folk dancing, doing yoga, or interpreting dreams, she shares her home with two large tomcats and earns her living as a lawyer for a public utility company.

Lila Shaara

www.lilashaara.com

Lila is the author of EVERY SECRET THING and THE FORTUNE TELLER'S DAUGHTER.

Sandy Stephen
Sandy is a member of Pennwriters, Sisters in Crime and Mysterywrights, a writer’s critique group. She has worked as a technical writer/editor and with a Master’s Degree in Art History taught at local colleges and universities. She completed several novels, including the first in a culinary series about a personal chef and also a suspense thriller (which took third place in the Pennwriters’ great beginnings contest). She is currently working on a new suspense novel. Several of her short fiction pieces have been published online. Sandy lives in the North Hills with her husband and their two kitties.

Diana Stravroulakis

Mary Sutton

Mary grew up devouring Agatha Christie novels and dreaming of being a published author. Years later, the dream has come half-true. A technical writer by day, Mary recently completed her first novel and hopes to write many more. She lives in Verona with her husband and two children.

Heather Terrell

www.thechrysalisbook.com/

Heather Terrell is a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator at two of the country’s premier law firms and for Fortune 500 companies. She is a graduate of Boston College and of the Boston University School of Law. She lives in Pittsburgh. She is the author of the The Chrysalis, The Map Thief, The Book of Kildare, and two young adult fantasy novels, Fallen Angel and Eternity.

Susan Thibadeau

Judith Evans Thomas
www.judithevansthomas.com
jetset.judith@gmail.com
Judith is a journalist and author. Her celebrity interview column "Overheard" and lifestyle column "JET Set" have appeared monthly in Pittsburgh Magazine since 2003. She is also the co-author of 30 books in the Born To Shop travel series published by Bantam Books. She is currently at work on a mystery series.

Joyce Tremel
www.joycetremel.com

joyce@joycetremel.com
Joyce Tremel has written articles for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police magazine, the Penn Writer, and was a contributing author to the Sisters in Crime book, Breaking and Entering: The Road to Success. Her articles have also appeared on the popular information website, e-How. Her short fiction has appeared in Mysterical-E. Joyce is a former vice-president of the Pittsburgh Mary Roberts Rinehart chapter of Sisters in Crime and is a member of Pennwriter’s. She is currently working on the second novel featuring police secretary Irma Jean Bennett. Joyce is represented by Meredith Barnes of Lowenstein Associates.