Anthony nominations for Ashes and Bones and The Lords of Misrule!

This Thursday I got a call from my friend, writer Toni Kelner. I was all excited because I thought she was calling up to see if I could do lunch and I was just itching to get away from my desk. Yay, lunch!

She wasn’t calling about lunch. She asked if I’d heard about the Anthony nominations, and I was all excited because I figured her wonderful Agatha Award-winning short story “Sleeping with the Plush” had been nominated—and it had!

Way to go, Toni!

Then she asked me to guess who else had been nominated.

I guessed. I guessed wrong a bunch of times. I’m not real good at guessing.

Then it began to dawn on me. I said “Not ‘Lords?’”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

That went on for quite a while, my voice getting higher and higher—it can get way up there, apparently, despite it starts out pretty low—but you have to understand, I’ve never been nominated for a mystery award before and “ The Lords of Misrule” is my first short story and this is a BIG DEAL!

I was well into the supersonic range at that point, but before that news could sink in, she told me to guess who got nominated for Best Paperback Original.

“Ummm…”

Toni’s a patient person, and I’m not good at guessing, but she was still all excited so I took a shot.

“Not Ashes?”

“Yes!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

“But you said ‘Lords of Misrule’—?”

“You got nominated for both!”

At point, my brain melted down. My voice started going to places that caused the cat to run around and yowl with concern—something must be up, if Ma’s making noises like that!—and I’m sure the neighbors had their phones out, fingers hovering, ready to dial “9-1-1.”

I don’t remember the rest of the call; I’m sure I was babbling, I hope I was polite enough to thank Toni and congratulate her again. When she sent me the complete list, I was simply amazed. I’m honored to be in the company of these amazing writers:

ANTHONY NOMINATIONS (winners to be announced at Bouchercon 2007)

BEST NOVEL

• ALL MORTAL FLESH, Julia Spencer-Fleming, St. Martins


• THE DEAD HOUR, Denise Mina, Little Brown & Co.


• KIDNAPPED, Jan Burke, Simon & Schuster


• NO GOOD DEEDS, Laura Lippman, Harper


• THE VIRGIN OF SMALL PLAINS, Nancy Pickard, Ballantine

BEST FIRST NOVEL

• A FIELD OF DARKNESS, Cornelia Read, Mysterious Press


• THE HARROWING, Alexandra Sokoloff, St. Martin’s


• HOLMES ON THE RANGE, Steve Hockensmith, St. Martins


• THE KING OF LIES, John Hart, St. Martin’s


• STILL LIFE, Louise Penny, St. Martin’s

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

• ASHES AND BONES, Dana Cameron, Avon


• BABY SHARK, Robert Fate, Capital Crime Press


• THE CLEANUP, Sean Doolittle, Dell


• A DANGEROUS MAN, Charlie Huston, Ballantine


• 47 RULES OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE BANK ROBBERS, Troy Cook, Capital Crime Press


• SHOTGUN OPERA, Victor Gischler, Dell


• SNAKESKIN SHAMISEN, Naomi Hirahara, Bantam Dell - Delta

BEST SHORT STORY

• “After the Fall,” Elaine Viets, Alfred Hitchcock Magazine


• “Cranked” Bill Crider, DAMN NEAR DEAD, Busted Flush Press


• “The Lords of Misrule” Dana Cameron, SUGARPLUMS AND SCANDAL, Avon


• “My Father’s Secret,” Simon Wood, Crime Spree Magazine, Bcon Spec Issue ’06


• “Policy” Megan Abbott, DAMN NEAR DEAD, Busted Flush Press


• “Sleeping with the Plush” Toni Kelner, Alfred Hitchcock Mag

BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION

• THE BEAUTIFUL CIGAR GIRL, Daniel Stashower, Dutton


• DON’T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY, Chris Roerden, Bella Rosa Books


• MYSTERY MUSES, Jim Huang/Austin Lugar, Editors, Crum Creek Press


• READ ‘EM THEIR WRITES, Gary Warren Niebuhr, Libraries Unlimited


• THE SCIENCE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, E.J. Wagoner, John Wiley & Sons

SPECIAL SERVICES AWARD

• Charles Ardal, Hard Case Crime


• George Easter, Deadly Pleasures


• Franchi & Sharon Wheeler, reviewingtheevidence.com


• Jim Huang, Crum Creek Press and The Mystery Company


• Jon & Ruth Jordan, CrimeSpree Magazine


• Ali Karim, Shots Magazine


• Lynn Kazmarik & Chris Aldrich, Mystery News


• Maddy Van Hertbruggen, 4 Mystery Addicts

To say that I am shocked and thrilled is an understatement; I’m still processing it all. But I can tell you a couple of things. If you are going to get good news, it’s even better coming from a good friend who also has reason to celebrate. If you ever get a nomination for an award, I hope you find yourself among people you truly respect.

I’m over the moon. Let me say: many thanks for voting my work Thank you for having supported my writing over the years.

On to Alaska!