Originally published on the Maine Crime Writers blog, June 6, 2012

Hi. Barb here. Just back from an amazing, productive and restorative writing retreat in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

When I announced that I had sold a new series (see that blog post here), I explained the integral role my agent John Talbot of the Talbot Fortune Agency and Sisters in Crime New England had in its creation and sale. What I didn’t say at the time was that three other fabulous New England authors had participated in the same process and also sold their series.

Last weekend, one of the authors, Jessie Crockett, invited us to her beach house for a fantastic weekend of writing, writing, writing, great food, wine, wine, wine and of course, staying up too late and talking, talking, talking. Talking about our books, the publishing industry and sharing our hopes and dreams.

Here are my fellow authors and their series.

Our hostess, Jessie Crockett‘s first book, LIVE FREE OR DIE, won the Daphne DuMaurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and has basically never been off the Amazon Kindle Store’s top 100 women sleuth‘s list since its publication. Here’s the announcement about her new series.

“Daphne DuMaurier Award for Excellence in Mystery Award winner Jessie Crockett’s DRIZZLED WITH DEATH, TAPPING TROUBLE, and BOILED DOWN TO MURDER, a new series of Maple Syrup Mysteries set in rural Sugar Grove, NH, starring a fourth generation syrup maker and recipes, to Berkley.”

Writing as Tace Baker, Edith Maxwell‘s first book, SPEAKING OF MURDER, will be published by Barking Rain Press this September. Here’s the announcement for her new series.

“Former Five Star Organic Farm owner Edith Maxwell’s A TINE TO LIVE, A TINE TO DIE, TILL DIRT DO US PART, and MURDER BY RUTABAGA, a new series of Local Foods Mysteries featuring a novice farmer and a colorful group of mystery-solving locavores, as well as lots of recipes, to Kensington.”

Liz Mugavero‘s new series will be her first novel length fiction publication. Here’s her announcement.

“Liz Mugavero’s KNEADING TO DIE, DIGGING FOR DEATH, and MEOWING FOR MURDER, ‘Pawsitively Organic’ Gourmet Pet Food Mysteries set in a storybook New England town and featuring a gourmet pet food chef and her Maine coon cat, to Kensington.”

If you read this blog regularly, you know about me. Here’s the announcement about my new series.

“President of Sisters in Crime New England chapter Barbara Ross’s CLAMMED UP, BOILED OVER, and MUSSELED OUT, a new series of Clambake Mysteries set in coastal Maine and featuring a woman and her family clambake business, including recipes for such delicious treats as Snowden Family Blueberry Grunt and Snowden Family Clambake Clam Chowder, to Kensington.”

The retreat was also a mini-reunion for Edith, Liz and me. We attended the Seascape Writers Retreat together in 2009–an experience I totally recommend.

John Talbot will be one of the agents at The New England Crime Bake this year. One of many, many reasons to attend! But hurry. Registration’s only been open a month and the conference is already 3/4 full.

A huge thank you to Jessie for making this wonderful weekend possible. I just love the New England mystery-writing community!