Sisters in Crime

Sisters in Crime

Florida Gulf Coast Chapter

Cindy Smith Martin: 20 Years of Producing America’s Most Wanted

Cindy Martin presents behind-the-scenes of America’s Most Wanted. With 20 years working as a producer, primarily in Florida, she will discuss how the media and law enforcement teamed up to fight crime, solve cases and bring missing children home. Cindy will share video clips of cases she worked on and the stories behind them. She lives in Broward County working on her debut mystery thriller novel. She is a member of National Sisters in Crime, the Florida Gulf Coast SinC., the SinC Guppies, and Mystery Writers of America (MWA).

Call for Submissions: Anthology

Call for Submissions

Florida Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime will publish an anthology in the third quarter of 2023. This is the call for short story submissions of no more than 5,000 words with only one entry per author. The submission deadline is October 15, 2022.

All selected authors will need to sign a publishing contract with the rights returning to the author after one year. All royalties will go to FLGC SinC. Send your completed manuscript to FLGCAnthology@gmail.com.

Read the FAQ at https://flgcsinc.com/anthology/

Title: Paradise is Deadly – Gripping Tales from Florida Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime

Story settings must be in Florida or surrounding waters.

 
Eligibility Requirement: Authors must be a member in good standing of National Sisters in Crime and a member of a Florida Sisters in Crime chapter. In addition to FLGC SinC, the following chapters are in Florida:  Orlando Citrus Crime Writers, Northeast Florida SinC, and Florida Treasure Coast.

If you aren’t a member of a Florida chapter and would like to become of member of FLGC SinC, you can join from the chapter website Joining Us – Sisters in Crime (flgcsinc.com). The membership fee is $25 per year.

 
Required Document Format: Microsoft Word .doc or .docx.  No other formats will be accepted.

·         No more than 5,000 words

·         1-inch margins

·         Double spaced

·         .5 indent paragraph – no line skips starting a new paragraph

·         Include page numbers

·         NO headers or footers
Font: 12 pt Times New Roman

 
Submission Guidelines: The author’s name should NOT be on the short story document. An anonymous review process will be implemented. Your story will be assigned a Submission ID number. The author’s identity will be unknown to the reviewers and the judges. The Submission ID number will be assigned by the Anthology Triage Manager.

 
Questions? Contact FLGCAnthology@gmail.com
   

 

Send your short story (maximum 5,000 words) as a Word Document attachment to FLGCAnthology@gmail.com

Panel at the Ponce Library

The presenters at the event.

On January 29th, the Barbara S. Ponce Library in Pinellas Park welcomed our chapter for “Coastal Crimes – There’s Something in the Water.” With Tamara Lush as the moderator, a panel of members answered questions about mysteries – especially the cozy mystery. Why do we love cozy mysteries? What makes Florida a great setting for stories? Each author gave their own answer.

After the panel, the attendees were able to speak to the authors and purchase their books. A good event for everyone!

One of the panels of speakers.

February Meeting: Judge Lee E. Haworth

Judge Lee E. Haworth was born and raised in our area. After attending law school, he went to work for the State Prosecutor’s office where he became chief prosecutor in just four years, and went on to join the Circuit Court bench. Then came the first Gulf War. During that conflict, Judge Haworth, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, was deployed to Kuwait City (an active war zone) to help repatriate prisoners of war through Saudi Arabia and back to Iraq, where they would be tried for their crimes.

Following the first Gulf war, he returned to Florida and resumed a “normal” career as a Circuit Court Judge until the 2007 recession hit. He was appointed Chief Judge during the recession.

Some of the cases Judge Haworth worked on when he was an Assistant State Attorney were for John Waterman, John Troy, the Glen Chambers Walker family murders, and Henry Lorenzo Payne.

Sisters on the Move!

Now that places are opening again, the Florida Gulf Chapter is on the move! In October, they traveled to Cedar Key to share their wares; this month, they split up to cover more territory!

Teresa Michaels, Martha Reed, and Cheryl Hollon visited Books at Park Place in South Pasadena, FL for a mass book signing.

Meanwhile, Sarah Glenn and Gwen Mayo returned to Lexington for the annual Kentucky Book Festival. They joined the Derby Rotten Scoundrels chapter to promote Mystery with a Splash of Bourbon, which they contributed to and published for the chapter.

Check this space for future exploits!