APRIL 2014

Spring is slowly turning the weather into something bearable. Philadelphia is blossoming and getting itself ready for the various festivals that the city hosts. Even though Philly is squished between two behemoths -- New York and D.C. -- this city has lots to offer including a lower cost of living than the other two.

I trekked up to NY in April to speak at a meeting of the TriState Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Lots of fun.  I got to meet some of the members who have been published in Mysterical-E and others whom I've only known online. Putting real faces to electronic names and email addresses is always a great experience. The weather was glorious, the little restaurnat I found for lunch was just right, and the train ride was expensive. But the experience was worth the price.

This issue has some great stories, columns, reviews and interviews.

We do have one column change: Jan Christensen will no longer delight us with her insights and erudition about reading. She has decided to spend more time working on her own stories. I'm hoping that we'll see at least one of those stories in an issue of Mysterical-E

As usual we're on the lookout for new column and feature ideas as well as stories, books to review, interviews.

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If you're in a vampiric frame of mind, you might enjoy:

A Warning in Blood is the first of a vampire series and the first of a trilogy which opens the series. Prime Inquisitor Dru Lorand is at the heart of this series and while he was once a P.I. a long time ago, he's now moved on to a more powerful position which allows him more leeway in finding answers. But, I have no doubt that after this introduction, we'll be seeing some of his P.I. adventures.

Here's the cover and I can promise you that the back cover is every bit as interesting as the front!

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THE MARCO FONTANA SERIES

There will also be a new entry in my first series, the Marco Fontana Mysteries.

So, stay tuned for that.