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Hello! And welcome to my Web site. I am a devoted fan of mystery fiction and proud to join the ranks of mystery authors. Please take a look around and explore the links below. "Summer rules" - help yourself.
What's New? I'm delighted to report that I've cleared the backstretch on my new Nantucket mystery novel with Chapter 17 and I'm heading for home. My personal goal is to finish the manuscript in time for the PennWriters convention in Pittsburgh on May 15, 2009. I encourage you to visit the PennWriters.com website for a schedule of guest authors, speakers, agents, and events. It's not too late to register and they offer a terrific lineup. My good friend and Vice President of the Pittsburgh chapter of Sisters in Crime, Annette Dashofy is the conference coordinator this year so I know it will be extremely informative and well-organized! The working title of my new book is The Witch of Wauwinet and I invite you to click here and read the sample first chapter. I have another secret title that I'm not ready to share yet, it's kind of a superstitious thing and I don't argue with it. I do have another title as a backup because I seriously doubt there is any publisher in this world that is going to let me use the word Wauwinet in my title since no one outside of a Nantucketer could pronounce it! Ah, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Coolest of the Cool - My Nephew's Diorama I have to tell you a little story, but hey, I'm a storyteller that's what I do. This story is about how you go through life, bumbling along as best you can and then something comes at you so completely out of left field it leaves you breathless. I don't know how it is for other writers, but by the time my work actually gets printed I'm usually already into the next big thing and I don't give too much thought about the past. That's how it worked with my first novel; it's been out for three years and I'm pretty focused with the new one. Then, one day, my twelve year old nephew mentions that he needs to write an independent book report for school and quite casually mentions that he wants to write his report on my book. Wow! Did that bring it home to me how real my writing is. It exists. Of course, I was all curious about his report and he promised to let me read it when it was finished. Then he mentioned that he wanted to create a diorama for 15 points extra credit and I was instantly transported back to my fifth grade class and the diorama I made of King Tut's tomb - and let me tell you that was one magnificent endeavor! I wish I still had it with me now but I know it would never have survived my travels. Anyway, the author in me couldn't wait to ask my nephew which part of my book he wanted to make a diorama of? I was dying to know which event in the book had captured his imagination and I personally feared it might be one of the gory bits that his mother, my sister, wouldn't particularly approve of. To my surprise and delight, he started nattering on about The Lost Forest, a feature in the island landscape where the trees grow wide instead of tall in the protected hollows between the dunes far from the prevailing wind. I was delighted because I know I worked very hard on that bit of descriptive prose, trying to capture the secure feeling of that dark protected hollow. When I asked him why he picked that image out of the book, he replied that it was "vivid". Vivid, from a twelve year old reader. Let me tell you it doesn't get any better than that. I wanted to share the diorama with you. Here it is, and as an FYI, he got the extra 15 points. I think he captured the scrubby brush, the small stream running down the middle of the valley and the big wide trees with their canopy of tangled branches pretty well, don't you? The owl was his own personal touch. I love the owl. When we reissue I'll have to put the owl in there.
If you ever made a diorama please drop me a line and tell me about it. The writer in me is very curious to hear more. There's an email link at the bottom of this page and I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks for sharing. Fresh Fiction - and it's free!
Links > The Mary Roberts Rinehart Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters In Crime. Come join an active community of like-minded spirits! SinC PGH meets the first Monday of every month to discuss mysteries - and more! The Working Stiffs Blog - Where Crime Writers Talk About Life, Work, and Murder. Always interesting and sometimes a hoot! Bookmark this site for a window into the world of creative mystery writing! SINC - Sisters In Crime. Explore the web site of this dynamic organization. If you love mysteries, consider a membership and join the mystery community. Aspinwall Book Shop. Support Your Local Independent Bookseller! Mystery Lovers Corner. Need a good mystery 'fix' and don't know where to turn? Visit this site to find hot new releases, hidden gems, and reviews by Dawn Dowdle. Spinetingler Magazine embraces the future through e-publishing - featuring short stories, reviews, interviews, and profiles of emerging writers. Cozy Library is designed for readers who enjoy a good cozy read and features insightful reviews by Diana Vickery. Author's Bio Martha Reed lives among the verdant river hills of Aspinwall, Pennsylvania. She serves as President of the Mary Roberts Rinehart Pittsburgh chapter of Sisters in Crime, is a regular blogger on the writing life with The Working Stiffs and is renovating a Victorian home in her spare time. Her fiction has appeared in literary magazines and her poetry online. 
Click here to send me an email. I welcome your comments!
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