2018 Members
On this page, you'll find a list of current Triangle SinC members, brief bios and links to their blogs and websites. Please also take a look at the TSinC Books page for the latest news on members' current or forthcoming books, appearances, and signing events.
Ellery Adams/Jennifer Stanley- New York Times bestseller author Ellery Adams has written over thirty novels and can’t imagine spending a day away from the keyboard. Ms. Adams, a Native New Yorker, has had a lifelong love affair with stories, food, rescue animals, and large bodies of water. When not working on her next novel, she bakes, gardens, spoils her three cats, and wastes far too much time on Pinterest. She lives with her husband and two children (aka the Trolls) in central North Carolina. Her current series include the Book Retreat Mysteries and the Secret, Book, and Scone Society Mysteries published with Kensington, as well as several other cozy mysteries published by Berkley Prime Crime and Beyond the Page.
JD Allen's Sin City Investigations series launched with 19 Souls earlier this year. She is a Mystery Writers of America Freddie Award-winner. She has short stories in the Anthony Award-winning anthology, Murder under the Oaks as well as Carolina Crimes: 20 Tales of Need, Greed, and Dirty Deeds. She’s the chair of the Bouchercon National Board, a member of MWA, PI Writers of America, and president of Triangle Sisters in Crime. She’s an Ohio State Univ. Alum with a degree in forensic anthropology and a creative writing minor.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra is the award-winning author of two romantic suspense novels, The Coin and The Book of Hours. She holds a Masters in English literature and has worked as a professional dancer, singer, journalist, and literature teacher. When not writing, she roams around to discover new places to set her novels.
Sharon Bader
Judy Barillaro
Sue Barnett grew up in Beaufort, North Carolina and set her first book in the small port town. LAST KNOWN PORT is fueled by the sex and booze and rag and jazz of 1923. Sue loves historical research and often gets lost in data collecting while interviewing, collecting anecdotes, and visiting local historical associations. She currently teaches Creative Writing at Wake Technical Community College, and works as a Developmental Editor. She lives with her family in Raleigh, and is always involved in activities for kids, community outreach, or environmental projects.
Elisabeth Benfey
Jim Breeden 's stories and poems have appeared in Crime Factory, the crime/suspense anthology Stuck in the Middle, The Apalachee Review, the Pisgah Review, The Broad River Review, the Main Street Rag, The Xavier Review, and a dozen other literary journals. He lives in Durham.
Antoinette Brown is a mystery reader and writer. Her short story, "One-Cat Woman" was published in Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing. She especially enjoys historical mysteries and cozies. She lives in Apex NC with her two rescued dogs.
Rick Bylina (1953-2054) was born on a snowy night in New Jersey (or so he was told) and expects to die, “…wailing against that goodnight…,” with a keyboard in his lap and a story in his head on January 17, 2054. For now, he lives with his wife in the woods near Lake Jordan and the nearby town of Apex, North Carolina. Ongoing corporate downsizing in the early 21st century convinced him to tap into his passion for writing rather than remain a cog in the corporate wheel. He scribbled any crazy idea that crossed his mind. After gaining discipline, he published his debut mystery novel, “One Promise Too Many” in 2011. And the books keep coming . Writing happens spontaneously between housework, gardening, cooking, fishing, and wrestling alligators.
Jane Cole
Marian Copeland
Kelly Daugherty
E.B. Davis’s short stories have appeared online and in print. Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, included “Compromised Circumstances.” The Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing anthology contained “Ice Cream Allure,” and “Wishing for Ignorance” was chosen for A Shaker Of Margaritas: That Mysterious Woman. She blogs and interviews authors at http://writerswhokill.blogspot.com.
Cheryl Della Pia
Barbara Dolny-Bombar - Before moving from NY to NC, Barbara Dolny-Bombar won numerous awards during a long-time career in broadcast television (Commercial and Public) and as an independent (indie) producer. As a writer, her articles and short stories have been published in local, regional, and national publications. She now works as an independent writer / photographer, does a bit of web design, and experiments as a digital artist in Warhol-esque style art. A favorite activity is people watching - she gets some of her best ideas that way.
Deborah Dunn
Nora Gaskin Esthimer - A lifelong resident of the Durham-Chapel Hill area, Nora has a Bachelor’s Degree in English with Honors in Creative Writing from UNC, and a Masters in English from the University of Washington in Seattle. She retired in 2005, after more than 24 years as a stock broker and financial advisor, to focus on writing. While Nora's first published novel, Until Proven: A Mystery in 2 Parts, is entirely fiction, the seed for it was a real murder that happened in Chapel Hill on Christmas Eve, 1963. She lives and writes in Chatham County, inspired by her native landscape, her husband, and three dogs. Her favorite word is "gratitude."
Christine Gasser
Toni Goodyear is a former journalist and winner of the North Carolina Press Association Award for feature writing. Other past careers include freelance writing (e.g., Redbook, Bantam Books jacket copy, Fawcett Publications), public relations, market research, ghostbusting (yes, really), managing data for clinical trials, and teaching university psychology. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from UNC Chapel Hill. She has just completed her first cozy mystery, Trouble Brewing in Tanawha Falls.
N.A. Granger is a Professor Emerita at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. After forty years of research and teaching undergraduates and medical students, she decided to turn her knowledge of human anatomy to the craft of mystery writing. In addition to the Rhe Brewster mystery series (Death in a Red Canvas Chair, Death in a Dacron Sail, Death by Pumpkin), she has written for Coastal Living and Sea Level magazines and several times for the Bella Online Literary Review. You can find more of her writings and musings on her website. She lives with her husband and a Maine coon cat who blogs in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and she spends a portion of every summer in Maine, researching for her books and selling them, too.
Mary Harris's grandmother gave her a Perry Mason mystery novel to distract her for a while. When she was four years old. Which she read. This started a lifelong love affair with words. Now, no genre is safe! Although she's still hesitant about haiku. Mary is published in fiction and non-fiction and is also a screenwriter; she understands the struggle to get the idea from the head to the paper. Her main mantra is, "It's all about the story." She is a passionate believer in the Oxford comma, but allows nothing to interrupt the flow of the story. She lives in Raleigh with her family and Diggz, the best cockapoo ever.
Kathleen Heady is a native of rural Illinois, but has lived and traveled many places, including numerous trips to Great Britain and seven years living in Costa Rica. She is the author of three mystery novels, Hotel Saint Clare, The Gate House, which was a finalist for an EPIC award in 2011, and Lydia's Story. As a change of pace, her latest is a Young Adult historical fantasy entitled Jewels in Time, set in thirteenth century England, and other times and places.
Susan Herron
Judy Hogan has published eight mystery novels, the newest being Tormentil Hall: The Eighth Penny Weaver Mystery. In April 2017 Grace: A China Diary, 1910-16, which she edited and annotated, was published by Wipf and Stock, and she has published seven volumes of poetry with small presses, including, Those Eternally Linked Lives (2018). Her papers and over 40 years of extensive diaries are in the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture, Duke University. She was founding editor of Carolina Wren Press, 1976-1991. In 1990-2001 she worked on Sister City exchanges with Russian writers in Kostroma. She has taught creative writing since 1974 and lives and farms in Moncure, N.C., near Jordan Lake. Visit her blog post here.
Jennifer Hundertmark
Elizabeth Hyland
Rosemary Jarrell
Linda Johnson is originally from Chicago and attended University of Illinois. Her first career was in advertising. After a second career in the equestrian business, Linda decided to trade riding in for writing. She writes suspense novels and short stories featuring smart, psychopathic villains who almost get away with it.
Russell Johnson
Sara Johnson lives in Durham where she teaches part time and plots mysteries while walking her goldendoodle Beau. Her first forensic mystery, Molten Mud Murder, will be published by Poisoned Pen Press in March 2019. She is working on the next in the series which is set in New Zealand. She serves as chapter Vice President and Co-Programs Chair.
Diane Kelly is a retired tax adviser and former assistant attorney general for the state of Texas, Diane Kelly repeatedly encountered white-collar criminals. When she realized her experiences made great fodder for novels, her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her award-winning Death and Taxes romantic mystery series. A graduate of her hometown’s Citizens Police Academy, Diane also writes the Paw Enforcement series, which stars a female K-9 team. She’ll launch her new House-Flipper Mystery series in February of 2019. Diane lives in North Carolina with her own hunky hero, a trio of dogs, and too many cats to count.
Harry Krebs
Gina Lea lives in Garner, NC where she is the Director of Learning and Development for Dunkin Donuts. Gina’s first novel Defining Destiny (2014) is women’s fiction with a mystery element. Kirkus Review called it “An ideal, frothy beach book.” Her second novel in the Destinybay series is a traditional mystery currently in edits. Her short story “The Windmills” was published in Carolina Crimes: 21 Tales of Need, Greed, and Dirty Deeds, the second TriSinC anthology. Her current work in progress is a magical realism YA mystery. Her best critics are her hubby Rob and Zuzu the Wonder Dog! Gina is the TriSinC Treasurer.
Margaret Maron
Karen McCullough
Liz McGuffey
Mary Ann Miller
Ann Mitchell graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. One of her short stories, The Game, has been published in the anthology Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love and Longing. Ann is chapter Webmaven and Secretary.
Julianne Moore/Jule McBride
Ruth Moose
Michele Movius
Bonnie Olsen
John Olsen
Kate Parker grew up reading her mother's collection of mystery books, and now she can't write a story without someone being murdered. It's taken her years to convince her husband she hasn't poisoned dinner; that funny taste is because she can't cook. As much as she loves vintage clothing and stately architecture, Kate has developed an appreciation of central heating and air conditioning. Her first series, the Victorian Bookshop Mysteries, has now been joined by the Deadly series and the Milliner Mysteries. All are historical cozies set in London.
Jacque Perkins
Patti Phillips is a former New York / north Texan, now living in the piney state of North Carolina. Her best investigative days are spent writing, cooking, traveling for research, and playing golf. Phillips writes as Detective Charlie Kerrian and also pens Book Reviews. Her book "Kerrian's Notebook, Volume 2" is available on Amazon.
Karen Pullen left a perfectly good job at an engineering consulting firm to make her fortune - (er, maybe not) - as an innkeeper and a fiction writer. Her first mystery novel, Cold Feet, was published by Five Star in January 2013 and its sequel, Cold Heart, was released in January 2017. She edited the Anthony-nominated Carolina Crimes anthology, and serves on the Board of Sisters in Crime (national) as Chapter Liaison. Her story collection, Restless Dreams, was released in September 2017 from GusGus Press.
Pamela Raymond is a New Orleans native making her way back home via Raleigh/Durham. By day, she wrangles millennial's into writing IT code and by night, tries to wrangle herself into writing something more exciting. Although she has never been a published book author, in her previous life in St. Louis, she wrote a lifestyle column and blog for a fashion and entertainment-based magazine. She is hoping to parlay that experience into something cozy and mysterious.
Jennifer Riley - Two decades ago, Jennifer Riley moved from Kentucky to North Carolina, where she took part in various writing courses and critique groups. She helped edit a corporate technical report and spent three weeks in Italy. On the Deep South Magazine website, she has two short stories. Jennifer has two mystery novels available on Amazon. She published a short story "Rolla," in the current Triangle Sisters in Crime anthology.
Michael Scherer
Sarah Shaber
Joan Smyth
Camisa Spell
Caroline Taylor is the author of three mysteries--Loose Ends, Jewelry from a Grave, and What Are Friends For?—and a collection of short stories, Enough! Thirty Stories of Fielding Life’s Curve Balls. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the North Carolina Writer’s Network.
Cathy Walsh
Cat Warren
Bonnie Wisler - Bonnie is a member of SinC, RWA, and has participated in numerous other writing groups. Her first novel, Count A Hundred Stars received a 5-Star rating from both the Foreward Clarion and Midwest Book Reviews. Her love of animals, nature, travel, romance, and mystery is vividly reflected in her writing. Bonnie is retired from the federal government, works part-time for a major airline, and lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her family.
JD Allen's Sin City Investigations series launched with 19 Souls earlier this year. She is a Mystery Writers of America Freddie Award-winner. She has short stories in the Anthony Award-winning anthology, Murder under the Oaks as well as Carolina Crimes: 20 Tales of Need, Greed, and Dirty Deeds. She’s the chair of the Bouchercon National Board, a member of MWA, PI Writers of America, and president of Triangle Sisters in Crime. She’s an Ohio State Univ. Alum with a degree in forensic anthropology and a creative writing minor.
Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra is the award-winning author of two romantic suspense novels, The Coin and The Book of Hours. She holds a Masters in English literature and has worked as a professional dancer, singer, journalist, and literature teacher. When not writing, she roams around to discover new places to set her novels.
Sharon Bader
Judy Barillaro
Sue Barnett grew up in Beaufort, North Carolina and set her first book in the small port town. LAST KNOWN PORT is fueled by the sex and booze and rag and jazz of 1923. Sue loves historical research and often gets lost in data collecting while interviewing, collecting anecdotes, and visiting local historical associations. She currently teaches Creative Writing at Wake Technical Community College, and works as a Developmental Editor. She lives with her family in Raleigh, and is always involved in activities for kids, community outreach, or environmental projects.
Elisabeth Benfey
Jim Breeden 's stories and poems have appeared in Crime Factory, the crime/suspense anthology Stuck in the Middle, The Apalachee Review, the Pisgah Review, The Broad River Review, the Main Street Rag, The Xavier Review, and a dozen other literary journals. He lives in Durham.
Antoinette Brown is a mystery reader and writer. Her short story, "One-Cat Woman" was published in Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing. She especially enjoys historical mysteries and cozies. She lives in Apex NC with her two rescued dogs.
Rick Bylina (1953-2054) was born on a snowy night in New Jersey (or so he was told) and expects to die, “…wailing against that goodnight…,” with a keyboard in his lap and a story in his head on January 17, 2054. For now, he lives with his wife in the woods near Lake Jordan and the nearby town of Apex, North Carolina. Ongoing corporate downsizing in the early 21st century convinced him to tap into his passion for writing rather than remain a cog in the corporate wheel. He scribbled any crazy idea that crossed his mind. After gaining discipline, he published his debut mystery novel, “One Promise Too Many” in 2011. And the books keep coming . Writing happens spontaneously between housework, gardening, cooking, fishing, and wrestling alligators.
Jane Cole
Marian Copeland
Kelly Daugherty
E.B. Davis’s short stories have appeared online and in print. Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays, included “Compromised Circumstances.” The Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love, and Longing anthology contained “Ice Cream Allure,” and “Wishing for Ignorance” was chosen for A Shaker Of Margaritas: That Mysterious Woman. She blogs and interviews authors at http://writerswhokill.blogspot.com.
Cheryl Della Pia
Barbara Dolny-Bombar - Before moving from NY to NC, Barbara Dolny-Bombar won numerous awards during a long-time career in broadcast television (Commercial and Public) and as an independent (indie) producer. As a writer, her articles and short stories have been published in local, regional, and national publications. She now works as an independent writer / photographer, does a bit of web design, and experiments as a digital artist in Warhol-esque style art. A favorite activity is people watching - she gets some of her best ideas that way.
Deborah Dunn
Nora Gaskin Esthimer - A lifelong resident of the Durham-Chapel Hill area, Nora has a Bachelor’s Degree in English with Honors in Creative Writing from UNC, and a Masters in English from the University of Washington in Seattle. She retired in 2005, after more than 24 years as a stock broker and financial advisor, to focus on writing. While Nora's first published novel, Until Proven: A Mystery in 2 Parts, is entirely fiction, the seed for it was a real murder that happened in Chapel Hill on Christmas Eve, 1963. She lives and writes in Chatham County, inspired by her native landscape, her husband, and three dogs. Her favorite word is "gratitude."
Christine Gasser
Toni Goodyear is a former journalist and winner of the North Carolina Press Association Award for feature writing. Other past careers include freelance writing (e.g., Redbook, Bantam Books jacket copy, Fawcett Publications), public relations, market research, ghostbusting (yes, really), managing data for clinical trials, and teaching university psychology. She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology from UNC Chapel Hill. She has just completed her first cozy mystery, Trouble Brewing in Tanawha Falls.
N.A. Granger is a Professor Emerita at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. After forty years of research and teaching undergraduates and medical students, she decided to turn her knowledge of human anatomy to the craft of mystery writing. In addition to the Rhe Brewster mystery series (Death in a Red Canvas Chair, Death in a Dacron Sail, Death by Pumpkin), she has written for Coastal Living and Sea Level magazines and several times for the Bella Online Literary Review. You can find more of her writings and musings on her website. She lives with her husband and a Maine coon cat who blogs in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and she spends a portion of every summer in Maine, researching for her books and selling them, too.
Mary Harris's grandmother gave her a Perry Mason mystery novel to distract her for a while. When she was four years old. Which she read. This started a lifelong love affair with words. Now, no genre is safe! Although she's still hesitant about haiku. Mary is published in fiction and non-fiction and is also a screenwriter; she understands the struggle to get the idea from the head to the paper. Her main mantra is, "It's all about the story." She is a passionate believer in the Oxford comma, but allows nothing to interrupt the flow of the story. She lives in Raleigh with her family and Diggz, the best cockapoo ever.
Kathleen Heady is a native of rural Illinois, but has lived and traveled many places, including numerous trips to Great Britain and seven years living in Costa Rica. She is the author of three mystery novels, Hotel Saint Clare, The Gate House, which was a finalist for an EPIC award in 2011, and Lydia's Story. As a change of pace, her latest is a Young Adult historical fantasy entitled Jewels in Time, set in thirteenth century England, and other times and places.
Susan Herron
Judy Hogan has published eight mystery novels, the newest being Tormentil Hall: The Eighth Penny Weaver Mystery. In April 2017 Grace: A China Diary, 1910-16, which she edited and annotated, was published by Wipf and Stock, and she has published seven volumes of poetry with small presses, including, Those Eternally Linked Lives (2018). Her papers and over 40 years of extensive diaries are in the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture, Duke University. She was founding editor of Carolina Wren Press, 1976-1991. In 1990-2001 she worked on Sister City exchanges with Russian writers in Kostroma. She has taught creative writing since 1974 and lives and farms in Moncure, N.C., near Jordan Lake. Visit her blog post here.
Jennifer Hundertmark
Elizabeth Hyland
Rosemary Jarrell
Linda Johnson is originally from Chicago and attended University of Illinois. Her first career was in advertising. After a second career in the equestrian business, Linda decided to trade riding in for writing. She writes suspense novels and short stories featuring smart, psychopathic villains who almost get away with it.
Russell Johnson
Sara Johnson lives in Durham where she teaches part time and plots mysteries while walking her goldendoodle Beau. Her first forensic mystery, Molten Mud Murder, will be published by Poisoned Pen Press in March 2019. She is working on the next in the series which is set in New Zealand. She serves as chapter Vice President and Co-Programs Chair.
Diane Kelly is a retired tax adviser and former assistant attorney general for the state of Texas, Diane Kelly repeatedly encountered white-collar criminals. When she realized her experiences made great fodder for novels, her fingers hit the keyboard and thus began her award-winning Death and Taxes romantic mystery series. A graduate of her hometown’s Citizens Police Academy, Diane also writes the Paw Enforcement series, which stars a female K-9 team. She’ll launch her new House-Flipper Mystery series in February of 2019. Diane lives in North Carolina with her own hunky hero, a trio of dogs, and too many cats to count.
Harry Krebs
Gina Lea lives in Garner, NC where she is the Director of Learning and Development for Dunkin Donuts. Gina’s first novel Defining Destiny (2014) is women’s fiction with a mystery element. Kirkus Review called it “An ideal, frothy beach book.” Her second novel in the Destinybay series is a traditional mystery currently in edits. Her short story “The Windmills” was published in Carolina Crimes: 21 Tales of Need, Greed, and Dirty Deeds, the second TriSinC anthology. Her current work in progress is a magical realism YA mystery. Her best critics are her hubby Rob and Zuzu the Wonder Dog! Gina is the TriSinC Treasurer.
Margaret Maron
Karen McCullough
Liz McGuffey
Mary Ann Miller
Ann Mitchell graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. One of her short stories, The Game, has been published in the anthology Carolina Crimes: 19 Tales of Lust, Love and Longing. Ann is chapter Webmaven and Secretary.
Julianne Moore/Jule McBride
Ruth Moose
Michele Movius
Bonnie Olsen
John Olsen
Kate Parker grew up reading her mother's collection of mystery books, and now she can't write a story without someone being murdered. It's taken her years to convince her husband she hasn't poisoned dinner; that funny taste is because she can't cook. As much as she loves vintage clothing and stately architecture, Kate has developed an appreciation of central heating and air conditioning. Her first series, the Victorian Bookshop Mysteries, has now been joined by the Deadly series and the Milliner Mysteries. All are historical cozies set in London.
Jacque Perkins
Patti Phillips is a former New York / north Texan, now living in the piney state of North Carolina. Her best investigative days are spent writing, cooking, traveling for research, and playing golf. Phillips writes as Detective Charlie Kerrian and also pens Book Reviews. Her book "Kerrian's Notebook, Volume 2" is available on Amazon.
Karen Pullen left a perfectly good job at an engineering consulting firm to make her fortune - (er, maybe not) - as an innkeeper and a fiction writer. Her first mystery novel, Cold Feet, was published by Five Star in January 2013 and its sequel, Cold Heart, was released in January 2017. She edited the Anthony-nominated Carolina Crimes anthology, and serves on the Board of Sisters in Crime (national) as Chapter Liaison. Her story collection, Restless Dreams, was released in September 2017 from GusGus Press.
Pamela Raymond is a New Orleans native making her way back home via Raleigh/Durham. By day, she wrangles millennial's into writing IT code and by night, tries to wrangle herself into writing something more exciting. Although she has never been a published book author, in her previous life in St. Louis, she wrote a lifestyle column and blog for a fashion and entertainment-based magazine. She is hoping to parlay that experience into something cozy and mysterious.
Jennifer Riley - Two decades ago, Jennifer Riley moved from Kentucky to North Carolina, where she took part in various writing courses and critique groups. She helped edit a corporate technical report and spent three weeks in Italy. On the Deep South Magazine website, she has two short stories. Jennifer has two mystery novels available on Amazon. She published a short story "Rolla," in the current Triangle Sisters in Crime anthology.
Michael Scherer
Sarah Shaber
Joan Smyth
Camisa Spell
Caroline Taylor is the author of three mysteries--Loose Ends, Jewelry from a Grave, and What Are Friends For?—and a collection of short stories, Enough! Thirty Stories of Fielding Life’s Curve Balls. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the North Carolina Writer’s Network.
Cathy Walsh
Cat Warren
Bonnie Wisler - Bonnie is a member of SinC, RWA, and has participated in numerous other writing groups. Her first novel, Count A Hundred Stars received a 5-Star rating from both the Foreward Clarion and Midwest Book Reviews. Her love of animals, nature, travel, romance, and mystery is vividly reflected in her writing. Bonnie is retired from the federal government, works part-time for a major airline, and lives in Raleigh, North Carolina with her family.
