An American werewolf in Split

Split, Croatia, is part of the Dalmatian Coast. Its beauty has made it a destination for travelers for thousands of years.


The city is built in and around the spectacular remains of Diocletian's Palace. (Diocletian = Roman emperor. The palace was built for his retirement in 305. Nice work if you can get it.)


Around every corner is a piece of sculpted antiquity.


And it's always nice to see the locals enjoying a warm Sunday morning, complete with church bells and strolling.


But it is very warm for a werewolf, even in May, and jet lag does take a while to get over, so a siesta is always a good idea.

An American werewolf in Venice

Venice is a very congenial place for an American werewolf.

It is really, really hard to take a bad picture of Venice. If it's dark, it's atmospheric. If it's broken down, it's Gothy.
Better than that, you get the idea of neighborhoods, of people living here for centuries, that it's sometimes hard to get elsewhere.Even amid all the splendid and cliche images. So much the better if you can view a famously sea-going city from the water.And there's always a place for a young werewolf-about-town to get a drink.

An Anthony nomination for “The Night Things Changed!”

This has been such an amazing spring. While I was on vacation, the nominees for the Anthony Awards were announced. I’m delighted to report “The Night Things Changed” was nominated for an Anthony for Best Short Story!

To say that I’m gobsmacked, delighted, and honored would be an understatement. Multiply it by ten, twirl around until you’re dizzy, and throw in some jet lag, and you’ll get the idea: wheeee! And when you see the complete list of nominees for Best Short Story, you’ll really get the “honored” part:

“The Night Things Changed” by Dana Cameron from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe [Ace]
“A Sleep Not Unlike Death” by Sean Chercover from Hardcore Hardboiled [Kensington]
“Killing Time” by Jane K. Cleland from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (November)
“Skull and Cross Examination” by Toni L. P. Kelner from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (February)
“Scratch a Woman” by Laura Lippman from Hardly Knew Her [William Morrow]
“The Secret Lives of Cats” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch from Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (July)

(Note: some of the stories have been made temporarily available online. Support the writers, check out the stories, buy the books!)

My deepest thanks to my readers, who’ve been so supportive my work. “The Night Things Changed” was a brand-new world for me in many ways, and it was a heap of fun to write. I truly appreciate your encouragement and enthusiasm.

And you'll notice, folks, that means an Anthony nomination for friend Toni Kelner for one story and a Macavity for another. Three nominations, two stories = some crazy-good writing! She’s co-editor, with NYT #1 author (yay!) Charlaine Harris, of Wolfsbane and Mistletoe. She’s having a pretty wonderful year!

And more Anthony Nominations*:

Best Novel
Trigger City by Sean Chercover [William Morrow]
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly [Little, Brown and Company]
Red Knife by William Kent Krueger [Atria]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny [Minotaur]

Best First Novel
Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris [Minotaur]
Stalking Susan by Julie Kramer [Doubleday]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
Death of a Cozy Writer by G. M. Malliet [Midnight Ink]
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith [Grand Central]

Best Paperback Original
The First Quarry by Max Allan Collins [Hard Case Crime]
Money Shot by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime]
State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy [Berkley]
In a Dark Season by Vicki Lane [Dell]
South of Hell by P. J. Parrish [Pocket Star]

Best Critical Nonfiction Work
African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey [McFarland]
How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson [Perseverance Press]
Anthony Boucher: A Biobibliography by Jeffrey Marks [McFarland]
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale [Walker & Company]

Best Children’s/Young Adult Novel
The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein [Random House]
Paper Towns by John Green [Dutton Juvenile]
Kiss Me, Kill Me by Lauren Henderson [Delacorte]
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart [Little, Brown]
Sammy Keyes and the Cold Hard Cash by Wendelin Van Draanen [Knopf]

Best Cover Art
Death Was the Other Woman designed by David Rotstein and written by Linda L. Richards [Minotaur]
Death Will Get You Sober designed by David Rotstein and written by Elizabeth Zelvin [Minotaur]
The Fault Tree designed by David Rotstein and written by Louise Ure [Minotaur]
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo designed by Peter Mendelsund and written by Stieg Larsson [Knopf]
Money Shot designed by Steve Cooley and written by Christa Faust [Hard Case Crime]

Special Service Award
Jon and Ruth Jordan
Ali Karim
David Montgomery
Gary Warren Niebuhr
Sarah Weinman

Congratulations to all the nominees! See you at Bouchercon!

*Voting will take place on site at the Indianapolis Bouchercon, the World Mystery Conference. The winners will be announced during a gala awards ceremony on Saturday, October 17, 2009.

“The Night Things Changed” wins an Agatha—and is nominated for a Macavity!

I’m still sorting myself out from Malice Domestic—what a wild time that was! In case you didn’t hear me yodeling from the rooftops, my short story, “The Night Things Changed,” won the 2008 Agatha for Best Short Story! I’m honored—and delighted—beyond belief: the nominees for short story included GoH Nancy Pickard, Toni Kelner (l), Carla Coupe (r), and Jane Cleland.

The Agatha winners in all categories:

Best Novel: The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Best First Novel: Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet (Midnight Ink)
Best Non-fiction: How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson (Perseverance Press)
Best Short Story: "The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron, Wolfsbane & Mistletoe (Penguin Group)
Best Children's/Young Adult: The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein (Random House Children's Books)

There were so many good friends there to celebrate with—so we did! Thank you, everyone! And my thanks to the organizers of Malice Domestic for putting on a wonderful time!

And then, and then, and then...in the airport waiting to go home, I got a message congratulating me on being nominated for a 2009 Macavity Award, also for “The Night Things Changed.” Needless to say, I was glad the airplane had safety belts! The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by the readers of Mystery Readers International and will be presented at Bouchercon Indianapolis. All of the nominees:

Best Mystery Novel:

* Sean Chercover: Trigger City (Wm. Morrow)
* Deborah Crombie: Where Memories Lie (Wm. Morrow)
* Declan Hughes: The Dying Breed (UK) / The Price of Blood (US) (John Murray/ Wm. Morrow)
* Arnaldur Indridason: The Draining Lake (Minotaur)
* Lisa Lutz: Curse of the Spellmans (Simon & Schuster)
* Louise Penny: The Cruelest Month (Minotaur)
* Louise Ure: The Fault Tree (Minotaur)

Best First Mystery:

* Zoe Ferraris: Finding Nouf (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
* Stieg Larsson: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Knopf)
* G.M. Malliet: Death of a Cozy Writer (Midnight Ink)
* Charlie Newton: Calumet City (Simon & Schuster)
* Scott Pratt: An Innocent Client (Onyx)
* Michael Stanley: A Carrion Death (Harper; Headline)
* Dan Waddell: The Blood Detective (Minotaur)

Best Nonfiction/Critical:

* Frankie Y. Bailey: African American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study (McFarland)
* Leonard Cassuto: Hard-Boiled Sentimentality: The Secret History of American Crime Stories (Columbia Univ.)
* Kathy Lynn Emerson: How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries (Perseverance Press)
* David Geherin: Scene of the Crime: The Importance of Place in Crime and Mystery Fiction (McFarland)
* Harry Lee Poe: Edgar Allan Poe : An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories (Metro)
* Kate Summerscale: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective (Walker)

Best Mystery Short Story:

* Dana Cameron: "The Night Things Changed" (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)
* Sean Chercover: "A Sleep Not Unlike Death" (Hardcore Hardboiled, ed. by Todd Robinson, Kensington)
* Toni L.P. Kelner: "Keeping Watch Over His Flock" (Wolfsbane & Mistletoe, ed. by Harris & Kelner, Penguin)
* Laura Lippman: "Scratch a Woman" (Hardly Knew Her, Wm. Morrow)
* Tom Piccirilli: "Between the Dark and the Daylight" (EQMM, Sep/Oct 2008)

Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery:

* Rhys Bowen: A Royal Pain (Berkley)
* Ward Larsen: Stealing Trinity (Oceanview)
* David Liss: The Whiskey Rebels (Thorndike/ Random House UK)
* Jeri Westerson: Veil of Lies (Minotaur)
* Karen Maitland: Company of Liars (Michael Joseph/ Delacorte)
* Kelli Stanley: Nox Dormienda (Five Star)

Please note: Toni Kelner and I are both nominated for our contributions to Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, the volume she and Charlaine Harris edited! I think this is just…ducky!

Congratulations to all the nominees! And thanks to the members of MRI!

I hope to post more pictures as I get more organized, but for now, all I can say is wow. And thank you.