Noir at the Bar in Philadelphia – This Sunday! (Oct. 28)

I’ll be joining a crew of great writers in Philadelphia this Sunday night (Oct. 28) for another Noir at the Bar!

The show begins at 6:30 p.m. at Misconduct Tavern, 1511 Locust St, Philadelphia. Admission is free, and the restaurant serves great food and drinks, so join us!

This is part of a series of Noir at the Bar events called CHILLED TO THE MARROW. Authors around the world are participating in Noir at the Bar events to help raise funds to cover medical expenses for Evie Swierczynski, who was recently diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Evie is awesome, and she’s the daughter of Duane Swierczynski, author of a lot of amazing novels and comic books.

For more information about supporting #TeamEvie, visit this GoFundMe page.

Hosted by the inimitable Jon McGoran, the Philadelphia lineup includes these amazing authors:

• Robb Cadigan
• Gregory Frost
• Merry Jones
• Don Lafferty
• William Lashner
• William Myers, Jr.
• Bernard Schaffer
• Dennis Tafoya

There will be a raffle to help raise funds, and probably a few surprises…

Hope to see you there!

Noir at the Bar – A Great Night in Harrisburg

A stellar crew made the most recent Harrisburg Noir at the Bar one to remember. We took over the second floor at Sturges Speakeasy in Harrisburg, PA, on Sunday night, May 20, and had a blast.

Everyone read great stories. So many great stories! I want to thank all of the authors who came out for the event:

• Owen Laukkanen, who was on tour in support of his latest novel GALE FORCE, which has been praised by the likes of Clive Cussler and Lee Child.
• Robb Cadigan
• Beth Fantaskey
• Gabriella Gill
• Merry Jones
• Catherine Jordan
• Jon McGoran
• John L. Micek
• David Nemeth

And last but certainly not least, singer-songwriter John Austin and trumpeter Nathan Froehlich, who helped end the night with the surreal experience of me performing a (mostly spoken-word) song (the very romantic “We’re Still in Love”).

If you want to know more about the authors, check out their full bios here.

Noir at the Bar in Harrisburg – Tonight! (May 20)

Noir at the Bar returns to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, tonight!

Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Sturges Speakeasy, 400 Forster Street. Admission is free, the restaurant serves great food and great beer, and there will be book giveaways. So join us!

Join us for a great lineup (complete bios available here) that includes:

Owen Laukkanen, author of the brand new maritime adventure thriller Gale Force (which has been praised by the likes of Clive Cussler and Lee Child), along with six critically acclaimed Stevens and Windermere FBI thrillers.

Robb Cadigan, author of Phoenixville Rising and an upcoming second novel which is based on a true crime story and set in Pennsylvania.

Beth Fantaskey, author of five paranormal and mystery novels for young adults and middle-grade readers and (as Bethany Blake) the Lucky Paws Petsitting Mysteries.

Gabriella Gill, author of Saving Metropolis, Behind the Mask, and the upcoming The Gentlemen’s Flying Club.

Merry Jones, author of Child’s Play, the third novel featuring unreliable narrator Elle Harrison, as well as a series of thrillers featuring heroine Harper Jennings, an Iraq war veteran.

Catherine Jordan, author of the paranormal thrillers The Book Seller’s Secret and Seeking Samiel.

Jon McGoran, author of eight novels including Spliced, a near future science fiction thriller, and the ecological thrillers Drift, Deadout, Dust Up, and Down to Zero.

John L. Micek, author of the upcoming novel Saving Time and the opinion editor and political columnist for PennLive/The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pa.

David Nemeth, writer of the crime fiction blog Unlawful Acts and a columnist at Do Some Damage.

And last but certainly not least, singer-songwriter John Austin, who has released 10 critically acclaimed albums, will be performing a new song with… me. But don’t worry, I won’t be singing.

I hope to see you tonight at Sturges Speakeasy!

Baylee Schultz Wins Second James & Jeanne Arneson Memorial Scholarship

Baylee Schultz, a student at Wilmot High School in Wilmot, South Dakota, is the winner of the second annual James & Jeanne Arneson Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to graduates of Wilmot High School who display an aptitude in creative writing by authoring a short story.

Baylee’s story, “The Market,” was chosen as the winner by novelist Merry Jones and the scholarship selection committee.

“The Market” opens with a compelling and disquieting question — “Have you ever wanted to just fall out of your own body?” — and explores the terror of human trafficking.

Baylee was presented with the $250 scholarship during Wilmot High School’s Academic Awards Program. She also received a signed copy of Merry Jones’ latest thriller, Child’s Play.

Special thanks to Wilmot High School principal Larry Hulscher and especially English teacher Danielle DeGreef for all of their help.

You can learn more about the scholarship, including the reason it goes to a student at Wilmot High School, right here.

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE

If you’d like to make a tax-deductible (at least in the U.S.) contribution to the James & Jeanne Arneson Memorial Scholarship Fund, the South Dakota Community Foundation makes it easy.

You can contribute with a credit card online. (If you contribute online, SDCF covers all transaction fees. There’s no cost to you or the fund.)

Or you can contribute by sending a check made payable to “James & Jeanne Arneson Memorial Scholarship Fund” to:

South Dakota Community Foundation
P.O. Box 296
Pierre, SD 57501

No contribution is too small. Thank you!

Noir at the Bar in Harrisburg – Tonight!

Noir at the Bar returns to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, tonight!

Go out and vote — and then join us at Sturges Speakeasy (400 Forster Street) for a great lineup of authors reading some fantastic fiction! The show starts at 6:30 p.m.

Joel Burcat
Patrick Cobbs
Tony Conaway
Gabriella Gill
Don Helin
Merry Jones
Catherine Jordan
Gina Napoli
Eryk Pruitt
Erik Arneson

I’ll have copies of my new short story collection, THE THROES OF CRIME, available. Hope to see you there!

Noir at the Bar in Harrisburg on Election Night

Noir at the Bar returns to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Nov. 8!

That’s right, it’s Election Night! What better way to prep for the results of the election? Starting at 6:30 p.m. at Sturges Speakeasy (400 Forster Street), you can listen to a great lineup of authors read their stories:

Joel Burcat
Patrick Cobbs
Tony Conaway
Gabriella Gill
Don Helin
Merry Jones
Catherine Jordan
Gina Napoli
Eryk Pruitt
Erik Arneson

I’ll have copies of my new short story collection, THE THROES OF CRIME, available. Hope to see you there!

Noir at the Bar Recap

Last night’s Noir at the Bar in Harrisburg was great!

The second floor at Sturges Speakeasy was packed, and the 12 authors who read their work did an outstanding job.

Front row, left to right: John L. Micek, Beth Fantaskey, Maria V. Snyder, Catherine Jordan, and Missye K. Clarke. Back row, left to right: Robb Cadigan, Heather Heyford, Nik Korpon, Eryk Pruitt, Don Helin, and Erik Arneson. (Missing because she had to leave a bit early: Merry Jones.)

Here’s the lineup of authors who read:

Tonight! Noir at the Bar in Harrisburg

NOIR AT THE BAR is coming back to Harrisburg TONIGHT (May 9, 2016)!

We have a great lineup of authors, with many writing styles represented. It’s going to be a lot of fun, so join us!

Here’s the lineup:

• Robb Cadigan
• Missye K. Clarke
• Beth Fantaskey
• Don Helin
• Heather Heyford
• Merry Jones
• Cathy Jordan
• Nik Korpon
• John Micek
• Eryk Pruitt
• Maria V. Snyder

I’ll be reading as well. Each author will read for 5 to 7 minutes, there will be book giveaways, great company, great food, great drinks, and more!

We’ll be in the upstairs room at Sturges Speakeasy, 400 Forster Street, and the fun starts at 7 p.m. Come on out and join us!

Noir at the Bar Harrisburg – May 9

NOIR AT THE BAR is coming back to Harrisburg on May 9 with an outstanding lineup of authors reading short stories and scenes from their books:

• Maria V. Snyder
• Eryk Pruitt
• John Micek
• Nik Korpon
• Cathy Jordan
• Merry Jones
• Heather Heyford
• Don Helin
• Beth Fantaskey
• Missye K. Clarke
• Robb Cadigan

Each author will read for 5 to 7 minutes, there will be book giveaways, great company, great food, great drinks, and more!

We’ll be in the upstairs room at Sturges Speakeasy, 400 Forster Street, and the fun starts at 7 p.m. Come on out and join us!

N@B Coming Back to Philadelphia

Noir at the Bar returns to Philadelphia later this month!

We’ll be at the Misconduct Tavern, 1511 Locust St., on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 7 to 9 p.m. Eleven authors will read their work, with the granddaddy of N@B — Peter Rozovsky — introducing the whole thing. I’m stoked to be a part of it.

The reader list includes some of my very favorite authors (and people). It’s a tremendous lineup:

Robb Cadigan, Merry Jones, Tom Joyce, Don Lafferty, William Lashner, Jon McGoran, Alex Segura, Duane Swierczynski, Dennis Tafoya, and Wendy Tyson.

I hope to see you there!

N@B Philadelphia 2015 Poster (PDF)