On July 15, five members of Mystery Writers of America, New York Chapter, and Long Island Sisters in Crime read their works at Creative Corner in West Hempstead. Creative Corner is a venue for artists of all disciplines to show off their work. MWA-NY is broadening its reach out of New York City by launching events closer to areas where chapter members live, such as Long Island. So the chapter teamed with LISinC to do a reading event as the maiden voyage.
The readers were: Kieran Crowley (MWA), Linda Maria Frank (MWA and LISinC), Lawrence Kelter (MWA), C.B. Knadle (LISinC), and John F. Nolan (LISinC).
The house was full. There was a vigorous attempt to advertise on social media, and some members of the audience found the event through those efforts, which is encouraging. Readers had the opportunity to talk about their writing experiences and to entertain the audience with their works. The true crime experiences of Crowley and Nolan garnered many questions from the audience, who obviously enjoyed both the expertise in detective work and the colorful true-to-life characters. Kelter read a short story about a character who provided the audience with quite a bit of ambiguity. Knadle read from her horror romance, and I brought the audience back to the days of teen detectives and young adult fun.
Stay tuned for future events on Long Island, both readings and workshops. These will are convenient not only for Nassau and Suffolk but also for members who live in Queens and Brooklyn. Halloween might also provide an interesting opportunity, with the Edgar Allan Poe Festival in Riverhead. If you are a MWA-NY member in and around Long Island and are interested in doing or attending these events, please contact our Long Island liaisons Lawrence Kelter or myself.
—Linda Maria Frank
Click here to see more pictures from the event.
Linda Maria Frank’s first love was teaching science, ranging from Middle School to graduate courses at Hofstra and Adelphi Universities. It was the forensic science courses that gave her the story lines for her Annie Tillery mysteries, which launched a new career as an author. The Madonna Ghost earned “Editor’s Choice” and “Rising Star” awards. Frank also produces “The Writer’s Dream,” a YouTube series covering different aspects of the writing profession.