Nominated for Award

Author Profile: Jessica Ellicott/Jessica Estavao

Jessica Estavao has always known that she wanted to be a writer. Lucky for us, she is now a talented, award-winning, bestselling author from New England with more than one alter-ego working at her computer.

As Jessie Crockett, she wrote the Sugar Grove Mysteries and “Live Free or Die,” a Daphne du Maurier winner.


As Jessica Estavao, she penned the Agatha nominated Change of Fortune Mysteries.


As Jessica Ellicott, she works on her current series, the Beryl and Edwina Mysteries which has received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal.

Meet the writer that composed all those wonderful pages, sometimes while listening to sounds of the ocean. She outlines all her books, always works in a comfortable space with a flask of coffee at the ready, and likes to begin new projects with special notebooks, colorfully filled fountain pens, wet erase markers, and a glass ‘scrawl wall’ to plan the story.

NBR: You’ve written several series, each with different time periods, and now the Beryl & Edwina books set in England. How do you choose the time period and the setting? How much time do you spend on the research before starting to write the book? Where do you get all those terrific details in the Beryl & Edwina books and are you continuing the research as the series evolves?

JE: I love historical novels in general and mysteries in particular, so it is a real pleasure to write about different time periods. I choose those that interest me for whatever reason feels intriguing at the time.

 

Some stories grow out of a particular time period like the Change of Fortune series set at the end of the Gilded Age. Since it involved Spiritualists and also the burgeoning tourist industry in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, that was the right time to set it as those things were at the fore then and there. For the Beryl and Edwina books I wanted to look at a lasting friendship between women during extraordinary times. The period between the world wars in the United Kingdom provided a good way to look at that very notion.

 

I love the research phase of any book and I enjoy doing quite a bit of it for each novel I write. The Beryl and Edwina books have been especially fun for this. It is such fun to look into the particular aspects of each mystery like the world of pigeon racing, the role of the Women’s Land Army, or the way the census was taken in 1921.

 

I look to resources like the Imperial War Museum, the National Archive, watch documentaries, and read newspapers and magazines of the day to provide details of life during that time and in that place. 

 

NBR: Some of the initial scenes in Edwina’s kitchen in “Murder in an English Village” revolve around the meager food supplies. That changes as the book develops and Beryl’s contributions improve the situation. Was this approach a result of the post-war research?

JE: I did make decisions about the available food for my sleuths based on research into the economic climate of the time. The U.K. hit a severe economic slump before the States did and for women like Edwina, things were especially difficult. It was a pleasure to give her some respite with Beryl’s arrival.

 

NBR: Do you like to cook? What are your favorite foods?

JE: I have lots of foods that I like but my two favorites are Thai Spring Rolls and Cheese Fondue. I often like to cook but don’t do it as often now that most of my children are grown as I did in the past. I may end up more like Beryl than Edwina for most of the time once the last one heads to college!

 

NBR: Are Beryl and Edwina based on historical figures?

JE: Beryl and Edwina are not based on historical figures. I adore books that feature actual people from history, but wanted to feel free to do just as I pleased with the pair of them. I decided to create them from imagination and a bit of wishful thinking!

 

NBR: People can truly identify with the women in the books. You’ve given Edwina a lovable small black and white dog, named Crumpet. Do you have pets?

JE: I do have a pet. I have a small white poodle named Sam. He’s almost two years old and he is wonderful company for me. He has a bed in my office and he does a great job of getting me to go out for some exercise a few times each day. His schedule helps me to plan my own and I am really grateful for what he brings into my life. 

 

NBR: Beryl’s car is a character in itself. Are you a fan of fast cars?

JE: I am not necessarily a fan of fast cars but I do love ones with distinctive style! And I am partial to those that are cherry red! Someday, I would love to own a car just like Beryl’s!

NBR: What do you like to do when you’re not hard at work, writing in wintry New Hampshire or on the coast of Maine in the summer?

JE: I have a lot of interests. I love to travel. I love long walks, especially on the beach. I am an avid knitter. I adore throwing parties. I recently began running with some regularity and have also started to learn to paint. 

 

NBR: What fun! You can stay physically fit, develop plot points, and do research, all while participating in activities you enjoy. Many thanks for taking time out to visit with the Nightstand Book Reviews community!

JE: Thanks for inviting me for the interview!

 

She loves to keep in touch with readers through her newsletter and hopes you will sign up at https://www.jessicaellicott.com/newsletteri-wanted-to-check/

 

Please check out Jessie’s Book List found here. Links to more information about all her books is included, as well as links to my reviews of several of the titles. The banner below shows the book cover for the new book in the Beryl & Edwina series.

 

The photos are from Jessie Ellicott’s Facebook page as well as her website.  🙂

 

 

 

Author Profile: Jessica Ellicott/Jessica Estavao Read More »

2020 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction

 

The Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction was established to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “To Kill A Mockingbird,” written by former Alabama law student, Harper Lee. For the past several years, the University of Alabama School of Law and the ABA Journal have partnered to award the prize to a published work of fiction from the previous year that best demonstrates “the role of lawyers in society and their power to effect change.”

 

Congratulations to the finalists (chosen from a field of 21) for the 2020 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. The winner is indicated in red.

Sujata Massey: “The Satapur Moonstone”

Victor Methos: “The Hallows”

Chad Zunker: “An Equal Justice”

 

Previous winners:

2011 – John Grisham, “The Confession”

2012 – Michael Connelly, “The Fifth Witness”

2013 – Paul Goldstein, “Havana Requiem”

2014 – John Grisham, “Sycamore Row”

2015 – Deborah Johnson, “The Secret of Magic”  

2016 – Attica Locke, “Pleasantville”

2017 – James Grippando, “Gone Again”

2018 – C.E. Tobisman, “Proof.”

2019 – Sharon Bala, “The Boat People”

 

2020 Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction Read More »

Shamus Awards 2020

 

 

The PRIVATE EYE WRITERS OF AMERICA (PWA) is an organization devoted to Private Eye fiction. A Private Eye is defined as “a private citizen (not a member of the military, federal agency, or civic or state police force) who is paid to investigate crimes. A Private Investigator can be a traditional private eye, a TV or newspaper reporter, an insurance investigator, an employee of an investigative service or agency, or similar character.”

The SHAMUS AWARDS 2020 are for works published in 2019. Winners are indicated in red.

 

Best Original Private Eye (Paperback) 

The Skin Game by JD Allen

Behind the Wall of Sleep by James DF Hannah

Paid in Spades by Richard Helms

Ration of Lies by M. Ruth Myers

The Bird Boys by Lisa Sandlin

 

Best Private Eye Short Story 

“The Smoking Bandit of Lakeside Terrace” by Chad Baker in EQMM May/June

“Sac-A-Lait Man” by O’Neil De Noux in EQMM Sept/Oct

“The Dunes of Saulkrasti” by William Burton McCormick in EQMM Sept/Oct

“The Fourteenth Floor” by Adam Meyer in Crime Travel anthology from Wildside Press

“Weathering the Storm” by Michael Pool in The Eyes of Texas anthology from Down & Out Books

 

 Best Private Eye Novel (Hardcover)

The Tower of Songs by Casey Barrett

Lost Tomorrows by Matt Coyle

The Shadows by Matt Goldman

Below the Line by Michael Gould

Cold Way by Julia Keller

 

Congratulations to all!

 

 

Shamus Awards 2020 Read More »

“New York Times Best Fiction and Nonfiction of 2019”

 

It’s always interesting to see which books the Book Review editors choose for their “Best of…” lists for the year. The titles are sometimes bestsellers, sometimes from debut or international writers, but more importantly, the NYT Book Review editors have fallen in love with the story (or the writing) and ta-da! the book makes the list.

 

Check out their Best of Fiction and Nonfiction choices from 2019. Listed in alphabetical order by author, click on the book titles to read their reviews.

 

Fiction:

 

Night Boat to Tangier” by Kevin Barry

 

Exhalation” by Ted Chiang

 

The Topeka School” by Ben Lerner

 

 

 

Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli

 

 

Disappearing Earth” by Julia Phillips

 

Nonfiction:

 

The Yellow House” by Sarah M. Broom

 

The Club” by Leo Damrosch

 

Midnight in Chernobyl” by Adam Higginbotham

 

 

 

 

 

Say Nothing” by Patrick Radden Keefe

 

 

 

No Visible Bruises” by Rachel Louise Snyder

 

Have you read any of the titles? Please let us know what you thought in the comments below.

 

 

 

“New York Times Best Fiction and Nonfiction of 2019” Read More »

National Book Awards – 2019

 

The prestigious National Book Awards2019 for last year's books were bestowed in New York City on November 20, 2019. There were 25 finalists – five each in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People's Literature.

 

Take a look at the finalists and winners (indicated in red) and click on the titles to learn more about the books:
 

FINALISTS FOR FICTION:

 

FINALISTS FOR NONFICTION:

 

FINALISTS FOR POETRY:

 

FINALISTS FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE: 

 

FINALISTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE’S LITERATURE:

 

Congratulations to all!!!

 

 

National Book Awards – 2019 Read More »

Barnes & Noble booksellers choose 8 Best of Year Finalists

 

Barnes and Noble did a survey of booksellers at its brick and mortar stores, asking which books they enjoyed selling the most during the year. Here’s the list of the eight top nominees. In December, the booksellers chose among the finalists for the B&N Book of the Year. It's highlighted in red.
 

Click on the titles to learn more about the books.

 

"The Testaments (Barnes & Noble Book Club Edition)"  by Margaret Atwood

 

 

"The Food of Sichuan"  by Fuchsia Dunlop

 

 

"Mythos: (Ancient Greek Mythology Book for Adults, Modern Telling of Classical Greek Myths Book)"  by Stephen Fry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse"  by Charlie Mackesy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Silent Patient"  by Alex Michaelides
 

 

"Olive, Again"  by Elizabeth Strout

 

 

"No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference"  by Greta Thunberg

 

 

"The Nickel Boys (Barnes & Noble Book Club Edition)"  by Colson Whitehead

 

 

What do you think of the list? Which one(s) did you read? Let us know in the comments below.  🙂

 

 

Barnes & Noble booksellers choose 8 Best of Year Finalists Read More »

Macavity Awards-2019

 

Each year the members of Mystery Readers International nominate their favorite mysteries in five categories from the previous year for the Macavity Awards. The winners of this coveted award were announced at the end of October, 2019, at the Bouchercon convention in Dallas, Texas.
 

Mystery Readers International, Mystery Readers Journal, and the Macavity Awards, were created by Anthony Award winner, Janet Rudolph.

 

The winning titles are indicated in red.
 

Best Novel:

  • Lou Berney: November Road
  • Alison Gaylin: If I Die Tonight
  • Jane Harper: The Lost Man
  • Jennifer Hillier: Jar of Hearts
  • Naomi Hirahara: Hiroshima Boy
  • Lisa Unger: Under My Skin
     

Best First Novel:

  • Oyinkan Braithwaite: My Sister, the Serial Killer
  • John Copenhaver: Dodging and Burning
  • Delia Owens: Where the Crawdads Sing
  • Catherine Steadman: Something in the Water
  • C.J. Tudor: The Chalk Man
     

Best Nonfiction:

  • Laird R. Blackwell: The Metaphysical Mysteries of G.K. Chesterton: A Critical Study of the Father Brown Stories and Other Detective Fiction
  • Margalit Fox: Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World’s Most Famous Detective Writer
  • Leslie S. Klinger: Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s
  • Michelle McNamara: I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
  • Laura Thompson: Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life
  • Sarah Weinman: The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World
     

Best Short Story: (Click on titles in red for links to the stories)

  • Craig Faustus Buck:Race to Judgment” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov/Dec 2018)
  • Leslie Budewitz:All God’s Sparrows” (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, May/Jun 2018)
  • Barb Goffman:Bug Appétit” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Nov/Dec 2018)
  • Barry Lancet: “Three-Star Sushi” (Down & Out: The Magazine, Vol.1, No. 3)
  • Gigi Pandian: “The Cambodian Curse” (The Cambodian Curse and Other Stories)
  • Art Taylor:English 398: Fiction Workshop” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Jul/Aug 2018)
     

Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery:

  • Dianne Freeman: A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder
  • Elsa Hart: City of Ink
  • Laurie R. King: Island of the Mad
  • Sujata Massey: The Widows of Malabar Hill
  • Ann Parker: A Dying Note
  • Charles Todd: A Forgotten Place
     

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!   🙂

 

 

Macavity Awards-2019 Read More »

Scroll to Top