Our Authors
Jeff Abbott
Jeff Abbott is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of eighteen mystery and suspense novels. The Washington Post called him “one of the best thriller writers in the business.” His novels have been Summer Reading Picks by the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, O the Oprah Magazine, and USA TODAY. His latest novel, BLAME, centers on a young amnesiac trying to solve her own attempted murder. He is currently adapting his novel PANIC for television with The Weinstein Company.
Jeff is a winner of the Thriller Award (for THE LAST MINUTE). He is a three-time nominee for the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award. His first novel, DO UNTO OTHERS, won the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery.
Jeff lives in Austin with his family.
David Bell
David Bell is a bestselling and award-winning author whose work has been translated into multiple foreign languages. He’s currently an associate professor of English at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he directs the MFA program. He received an MA in creative writing from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a PhD in American literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati. His novels are BRING HER HOME, SINCE SHE WENT AWAY, SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW, THE FORGOTTEN GIRL, NEVER COME BACK, THE HIDING PLACE, and CEMETERY GIRL.
Laura Benedict
Laura Benedict is the Edgar- and ITW Thriller Award-nominated author of six novels of dark suspense, including the Bliss House gothic trilogy: THE ABANDONED HEART, CHARLOTTE’S STORY (Booklist starred review), and BLISS HOUSE. Her mystery/suspense novel, ONE LAST SECRET, will be published by Mulholland Books in 2018/2019. Laura’s short fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, PANK, on NPR, and in numerous anthologies like Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads, The Lineup: 20 Provocative Women Writers, and St. Louis Noir. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, she grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and claims both as hometowns. Read her daily blog and sign up for her newsletter at laurabenedict.com.
Patti Callahan Henry
Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels, including THE BOOKSHOP AT WATER’S END (July 2017). A finalist in the Townsend Prize for Fiction, an Indie Next Pick, an OKRA pick, and a multiple nominee for the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Novel of the Year, Patti is a frequent speaker at luncheons, book clubs, and women’s groups. The mother of three children, she now lives in both Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Bluffton, South Carolina, with her husband.
Dana Chamblee Carpenter
Dana Chamblee Carpenter is the author of THE DEVIL’S BIBLE, the sequel to BOHEMIAN GOSPEL, a supernatural historical thriller which won the 2014 Killer Nashville Claymore Award and which Publishers Weekly called “a deliciously creepy debut.” Edgar Award nominee and author of THE ABANDONED HEART Laura Benedict says, “Look out, Dan Brown. Dana Chamblee Carpenter is the angels’ new champion in the timeless battle between darkness and light. THE DEVIL’S BIBLE is not just a book, but a shining, vibrant tale for the ages—told with history and heart—that will have readers both weeping and cheering not only for brave Mouse, but for all of humanity.”
Carpenter’s award-winning short fiction has appeared in The Arkansas Review, Jersey Devil Press, Maypop, and in the anthology Killer Nashville Noir: Cold Blooded.
She teaches at a private university in Nashville, Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and two children.
Paige Crutcher
Paige Crutcher is a writer, reader, yogi, and journalist. She’s written for a variety of literary publications, including Publishers Weekly—where she worked as the Southern Correspondent and contributing editor. She’s currently co-owner of the online marketing company cSocially Media. More often than not, Paige has her nose in a book (occasionally while inside her book fort), because inside story is where the magic waits. She lives in her hometown of Franklin, Tennessee, with her family, overactive imagination, and a houseful of books. Her latest novel is THE ODYSSEY OF FALLING.
Helen Ellis
Helen Ellis is the author of the national bestselling short story collection AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE. She is a poker player who competes on the national tournament circuit and, in her spare time, watches The Walking Dead with her husband in New York.
J.T. Ellison
J.T. Ellison is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than 25 novels, and the EMMY® award winning co-host of the literary TV show A WORD ON WORDS. With millions of books in print, her work has won critical acclaim, prestigious awards, and has been published in 28 countries. Ellison lives in Nashville with her husband and twin kittens. Visit JT at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more insight into her wicked imagination.
Ariel Lawhon
Ariel Lawhon is a critically acclaimed author of historical fiction. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have been Library Reads, One Book One County, and Book of the Month Club selections. She is the author of I WAS ANASTASIA, FLIGHT OF DREAMS, and THE WIFE, THE MAID, AND THE MISTRESS, all published by Doubleday. Ariel is also co-founder of the popular reading website SheReads.org. She lives in the rolling hills outside Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, four sons and a black lab—who is, thankfully, a girl.
Lisa Morton
Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of nonfiction books, Bram Stoker Award-winning prose writer, and Halloween expert whose work was described by the American Library Association’s Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror as “consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening.” She has published four novels, over a hundred short stories, and three books on the history of Halloween. Her most recent releases include GHOSTS: A HAUNTED HISTORY and CEMETERY DANCE SELECT: LISA MORTON; and the forthcoming anthology HAUNTED NIGHTS, co-edited with Ellen Datlow. She lives in the San Fernando Valley, and can be found online at www.lisamorton.com.
Bryon Quertermous
Bryon Quertermous is a writer and editor. He was shortlisted for the Debut Dagger Award from the Crime Writers Association, and his short stories have appeared in a number of print and online journals of varying repute. His latest novel, RIOT LOAD, is available now from Polis Books.
Bryon lives somewhere between Ann Arbor and Detroit (metaphorically as well as physically), where he can be found screaming at the TV with his wife during football and baseball season and playing Ninja Turtles and My Little Pony with his kids the rest of the time. Visit him at bryonquertermous.com and follow him on Twitter @BryonQ.
Amanda Stevens
Amanda Stevens is the award-winning author of over sixty novels in multiple genres, including thriller, paranormal, and romantic suspense. Her Graveyard Queen series, optioned by both ABC and NBC, has been described as eerie and atmospheric, “a new take on the classic ghost story.” She is a three-time RITA finalist and a 2016 nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Horror. Born and raised in the rural south, Amanda now resides in Houston, Texas, where she enjoys binge watching, bike riding, and the occasional Horror and Heineken Night with old friends. Her latest novel is THE AWAKENING.
Joss Walker
Joss Walker is the pen name for two friends who share a love of fantasy and extraordinary women discovering their power in the world. New York Times bestselling thriller author J.T. Ellison and USA Today bestselling fantasy author Alisha Klapheke have joined forces to create a brilliant new lighthearted urban fantasy series perfect for lovers of books, libraries, romance, and of course, magic.
Dave White
Dave White is the Derringer Award–winning author of six novels: WHEN ONE MAN DIES, THE EVIL THAT MEN DO, NOT EVEN PAST, AN EMPTY HELL, and BLIND TO SIN in his Jackson Donne series, and the acclaimed thriller WITNESS TO DEATH. His short story “Closure” won the Derringer Award for Best Short Mystery Story. Publishers Weekly gave the first two novels in his Jackson Donne series starred reviews, calling WHEN ONE MAN DIES an “engrossing, evocative debut novel” and writing that THE EVIL THAT MEN DO “fulfills the promise of his debut.”
He received praise from crime fiction luminaries such as bestselling, Edgar Award–winning Laura Lippman and the legendary James Crumley. His standalone thriller, WITNESS TO DEATH, was an e-book bestseller upon release and named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He lives in Nutley, New Jersey. Follow him at @dave_white.