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Beacon Correspondent
A cross-section of mystery fans, authors, agents, editors, and publishers gathered at the Marriott Waikoloa Hotel on the big island of Hawaii the second week of March. They came from all over the western states to celebrate this year's Left Coast Crime Conference. They came to hear panels of authors present on a wide variety of subjects, everything from forensic art to the history of mysteries. The conference also provided attendees a rare opportunity to informally get to know some of their favorite mystery writers.
Among those gathered was Kelli Stanley whose first mystery novel, “Nox Dormienda,” came out last July. Not only was this South Fork High graduate thrilled to be rubbing elbows and exchanging tips with authors, such as Rhys Bowen, Barry Eisler, and Sharan Newman, her Roman mystery was one of five titles nominated for the Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery Award.
This year's Bruce Alexander Award recognized one of last year's best historical mysteries; the Lefty was given for outstanding humorous mystery, and the Hawaii-Five-O for best island-inspired mystery. Each winner was decided by secret ballot during the early days of the conference and announced at Wednesday's Banquet Brunch.
”While Awards Banquets are typically held in the evening, for Hawaii, the organizers decided to make it a brunch, which was much more fun and less tense. Because we were on the Big Island, it was a tad less formal than these things usually are, but nerves were still running high. I sincerely never thought I could win, and was, and am extremely honored to have been nominated! So when they announced my name, I went into shock, and even now I can't remember the next 20 minutes. I don't remember what I said at the podium, but my friends assured me that I was coherent. Choked up too.”
Kelli said that receiving the award is a moment she'll always treasure, but she hasn't had much time to bask in the limelight. She's under contract with Thomas Dunne/St. Martin's Minotaur for her next book. Her editor expects her to meet a whole series of writing deadlines, and Kelli is writing every spare minute she gets. Unlike her first novel set in Roman occupied Britain, Kelli set her second book in the city that she now calls home, San Francisco. Kelli said the City in the 1940s makes a great backdrop for a thriller.
”Rice Bowl introduces noir heroine Miranda Corbie-PI, former Spanish Civil War nurse, and ex-escort-who defiantly risks all to investigate a hushed-up Chinatown murder ... and exposes an unexpected confederacy of pain and exploitation amid destructive racial tensions between Chinese-American and Japanese-American communities.”
Kelli plans to revisit ancient Britain in a sequel to “Nox Dormienda,” but is pleased with how “Rice Bowl” is taking shape. “Every novel stretches you as a writer, and I'm extremely proud of this book. It deals with important themes, and I hope it will really have an impact.”
