Crystal Rhodes Play Selected for American Stage Theatre 21st Century New Play Festival

Writing and Winning!

By 

Crystal V. Rhodes

In January 2017,

Crystal Rhodes

I presented a play that I wrote to the Speed City Chapter of Sisters in Crime critique group for review.  The title of the play is The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin.  Sisters in Crime is an international organization that offers networking, advice and support to mystery writers. 

Although I do write cozy mystery novels,  The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin is a play, but it’s not a mystery.  It is a heart wrenching story about an African American family that harbors a fourteen year old Japanese American boy who has escaped from one of the U.S. sanctioned internment camps during World War II.  

I’ve been writing novels for years.  I’ve been writing plays even longer, and presenting my work to this critique group was the first time I ever sought the opinion of those outside the theatrical community about one of my plays.  In my opinion, good writing is good storytelling, no matter the form.   

The members of the SIC critique group are excellent writers.  I respect the talent in this group, and trust their judgment.  Their suggestions are usually right on point, and the suggestions they made about the characters and the dialogue in my play proved more than helpful. 

Writers look for different things when joining a critique group.  Since I’m a versatile writer, one of the things I was seeking in such a group was fellow writers who were open to the challenge of appraising different types of work.  That’s what I consider a winning critique group.  I found what I was looking for in the Speed City Sisters in Crime organization.

Speaking of winning, I entered The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin in  two theatre festivals.  Last year, the play was chosen as one of a select few to be read at the National Black Theatre Festival.  Less than a month ago The Diary of Annie Mae Franklin was selected out of 500 entries as one of the winners of the American Stage Theatre 21st Century New Play Festival!  

From my point of view, being a writer who is a part of a good critique group is a real winner.
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C.V. Rhodes is a member of the Speed City Sisters in Crime chapter and co-author, with L. Barnett Evans, of the Grandmothers, Incorporated cozy mystery series.  Visit their website at www.grandmothersinc.com also visit Rhodes’ romantic suspense website at www.crystalrhodes.com.

Larry Sweazy Book "See Also: Proof" Selected True West Magazine's Top 2018 Western Novel

Speed City member Larry Sweazy's third Marjorie Trumaine mystery has been honored as the was True West Magazine's 2018 Best of the West 20th-21st Century Western Mystery. 

Larry topped a list of notable authors, including Craig Johnson's most recent Longmire novel, Depth of Winter (Longmire #12).  Also listed in the top 5 were:  Reavis Z. Wortham, Gold Dust: A Red River Mystery; Steven F. Havill, Lies Come Easy;  and Keith McCafferty, Depth of Winter.

Larry's lead character, Marjorie Trumaine, is an early 1960s South Dakota farmwife, whose husband was left an invalid by a farm accident.  To raise extra money, she indexes books, an occupation that was actually encouraged by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the early 1960s.  Her job leads to the titles of the books:  See Also: Murder; See Also: Deception, and the latest See Also: Proof. 

Larry D. Sweazy

In addition to the Marjorie Trumaine series, Larry has also written seven westerns in the Josiah Wolf, Texas Ranger series. His other books include "Where Can I See You,"The Devil's Bones" and "A Thousand Falling Crows," as well as short stories included in several Western anthologies.

Speed City Sisters in Crime BIG HIT at Annual Indiana Historical Society's Authors Fair

Co-editors Marianne Halbart and Diana Catt*

Several members of the Speed City Sisters in Crime participated in the Indiana Historical Society's Annual Author's Fair on December 1 at the Indiana Historical Society in downtown Indianapolis.
Authors were selected by the Historical Society.

Members greeting readers and signing books were:

Diana Catt, editor of the just released Speed City Sisters in Crime anthology Homicide for the Holidays. The recently released book includes 12 seasonal tales of murder, mayhem and Christmas joy, along with a dozen recipes that correspond with each story. The book is available at local Barnes and Noble stores, as well as online at Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com and Walmart.com.

Author Larry Sweazy*

Larry Sweazy, author of the Marjorie Trumaine series and recently named by Indianapolis Monthly Magazine to its annual Book Recommendations list for his western, "Pointe Blank, Texas."

Author Janis Thornton*

Janis Thornton, author of "Too Good a Girl," a true crime book about a 1965 unsolved murder in Tipton, Indiana. The book has been receiving high praise, including a feature article in the Indianapolis Star and appearances on Indianapolis television stations.


*Photos by Crystal Rhodes.

Speed City Sisters In Crime Featured at Historical Society's Dec. 1 Holiday Author Fair

Sisters (and Misters) Among the Featured Authors 

at This Year’s Holiday Author Fair

By Janis Thornton

Author of "Too Good a Girl"

Sisters in Crime member Janis Thornton
and David Williams, author of Indianapolis Jazz
at 2015 Author's Fair

The Indiana Historical Society’s 2018 Holiday Author Fair, scheduled for Saturday, December 1, will host more than 70 Hoosier authors and their latest books, including the Speed City Sisters in Crime and two individual members.
            The event is unquestionably the place to be for anyone who loves books. It’s even better for those who enjoy mingling with homegrown, Indiana authors. And it’s better still because visitors can take home as many books as they can carry, all of them personally autographed by the authors.
            Speed City Chapter of Sisters in Crime latest anthology “Homicide for the Holidays” is among the books selected for the event. Book editor and Speed City member  Diana Catt will host the Sisters in Crime table. 
            Two other Speed City Chapter members were selected for their own books. Larry Sweazy will be there with his Marjorie Trumaine Mystery, “See Also Proof.”  Janis Thornton will be be present with her gripping true crime mystery, “Too Good a Girl.”
        While it’s an awesome honor to be selected for this affair, it also is exciting and fun. I was privileged to participate in 2012 and 2015, and both times, I relished the unique opportunity to meet several of the other authors as equals and to exchange ideas and tips. Among those I talked with were James Alexander Thom, Jennifer McFadden, Dick Wolfsie, Angie Klink, Nelson Price, Barbara Shoup, Ray Boomhower, Sandy Sasso, and David L. Williams. In fact, I talked non-stop with fellow authors and visitors during the four hours and almost lost my voice. What a fabulous experience!
        The range of book topics at the 2018 event is vast — from politics and history to young adult nonfiction and mysteries (and true crime!).
            Please don’t miss this opportunity to support and rub elbows with some of Indiana’s finest authors.
            Doors will be open from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1 in the William Henry Smith Memorial Library at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, 450 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis.
            And, as a gift from the Indiana Historical Society, admission is free.
            We hope to see you there!
            Click to download the Author Fair brochure.

Co-Winners Selected for Magna Cum Murder Sisters in Crime Flash Fiction Contest

Ted Hertel and Marian Allen were co-winners of the Annual Speed City Sisters in Crime Flash Fiction contest at Magna Cum Murder in Indianapolis. The theme for the contest was “Merry Christmas Music.”

Marian’s co-winning entry was “Sing a Song of Murder.”  Ted’s co-winning entry was “Slay Bells Ring.”  Both winning entries are set out below. Ted and Marian both won memberships in the Speed City Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Sing a Song of Murder

By Marion Allen

“We don’t get many murders around here” the sheriff complained.  “None that are mysteries, anyway.”

His sister, barista at the coffee shop, handed him a jumbo cup of black-two-sugars.

“How is this a mystery?”

He used the cup to point to the scene.  “One set of footprints in the snow. Paul’s corpse at the end. Bloody tire iron beside it.”

“Saul never got over Paul’s being five minutes older.”

“And he’d be my first choice. But how?”

She reached up and patted his shoulder. “You’d have got it, eventually.”

He squinted at her over the rim of his cup, steam fogging his glasses. “Okay, what?”

She put a hand to her ear and pointed to the library clock as it chimed a carol.

“Last verse, first line,” she said.  “Twins.”

The clock began another verse of Good King Wenceslas and the siblings sang, “In his master’s step he trod.”

Slay Bells Ring

By Ted Hertel

Blinky, Santa’s favorite elf, lay on a carpet of red at the base of the tall Christmas tree.  Standing over him the fat man in  red held a gun. “Here comes Santa Claus” played over the loudspeakers.

“Shut that off,” Santa growled. “Play something somber.”

“Silent Night” immediately filled the glass dome covering the workshop. On this holiest of nights, the moon shone through, hitting Santa in the eye like a big pizza pie, as the song goes.

The other elves stood around, sobbing. Mikey, Winky, Janey, Morey and Bob, all heads of different departments, professed their love for Binky, sorrowful at his loss.

Santa looked around. “Who did this?” he asked. No one responded, but Santa knew each had a grudge against Blinky, no matter how they protested.

Finally, Santa pointed at the elf he knew was the killer. The others stood back in shock. “How did you know it was him?”

“It was easy,” Santa said.

“Where the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s a Morey.”