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Joyce's Homepage All About Joyce: Author Biography Joyce's Books: Read about Joyce's two mystery series: the Betty Trenka series and the Lady Margaret Priam series. Character Interviews: Find out what Lady Margaret Priam and Prince Paul Castrocani have to say! Sign the Guestbook: Stop by to say hello. Email Joyce: Do you have questions you would like to ask the characters in Joyce's books? Wondering about Joyce's thoughts on life, the universe and everything? Email her here! Favorite Links Return to Author Index |
Something About Joyce Christmas
Joyce Christmas is the author of 11 mysteries published by
Fawcett Gold Medal, eight featuring expatriate Brit in
Manhattan, Lady Margaret Priam. A ninth Lady Margaret book,
Going Out in Style, is scheduled for summer 1998. Her second
series stars retired office manager, Betty Trenka, a senior
sleuth who's facing the problems of aging, and finding a new
life for herself. The most recent, Downsized to Death, was
published in November, 1997, for a total of three in the series
so far.
Okay, let's switch to first person, for the Real Me: Although I don't consider myself an accomplished short story writer, I've written a few, and one of them, "Takeout," appeared in Malice Domestic V, and was nominated for a Macavity Award. Someone else won. Another story, "Up the Garden Path," will be published in 1998 in Murder, They Wrote II. An essay on "The Aristocratic Sleuth" was published in 1997 in Deadly Women, a sensational collection of essays, interview and articles about women in and writing mysteries, edited by Jan Grape, Dean James and the late Ellen Nehr. I've also had a few pieces in Mystery Readers Journal, including one on my favorite author, John Buchan. I've just finished a term as a national board member of Mystery Writers of America, and chose not to run for a second term, although I did receive one write-in vote, proving that I have a small fan base among my colleagues. Other memberships include the Author's Guild, Sisters in Crime, and International Association of Crime Writers. In July, 1997, I was Co-Fiction Guest of Honor (with the esteemed Jeremiah Healy) at Cluefest, the Dallas mystery convention. Because I suffer from Compulsive Book Disorder and a deranged love of fine, if sometimes bizaare, jewelry (including tiaras), I cannot support my habits by writing full-time, so I am an executive with an international consulting firm specializing in hotel technology, and edit the company's newsletter, as well as newsletters for two other organizations. Although I plan to continue both the Lady Margaret and Betty Trenka series for the next few years, I harbor a secret desire to write an historical mystery series, and hope to get cracking on that before the trend evaporates, as trends so frequently do. Back when I was young, before those gentle streaks of grey appeared in my hair (I still say they're blonde!), I was the associate editor of The Writer Magazine and Plays Magazine in Boston, which was an amazing learning experience, thanks to editors Abe and Sylvia Burack, two people who certainly knew their way around a semi-colon. I learned an awful lot about writing and editing from them. "When in doubt, cut," Sylvia used to say, and you know - she was right. Right now, I'm a New Yorker, although I've lived in such far-flung places as Vienna, Rome and the Caribbean. My words to live by: No cable TV, no Chinese takeout - no Joyce! |