Join us for another installment of Novel Night, a monthly celebration of all things prose! Here’s how it works: published authors will read from their books and there’ll be an audience Q & A. And we’ll also have “Book Talk,” in which an intrepid Malvern staff member will introduce you to one of our favorite prose titles. Also worth noting: we’re offering 20% OFF ALL FICTION TITLES during Novel Night (from 6pm till closing).
This month’s Novel Night is full of mystery (fiction)! Our guests are N. M. Cedeño, Meredith Lee, and Laura Oles.
N. M. Cedeño was born in Houston, grew up in the Dallas Metroplex, once lived in Amarillo, and currently lives near Austin, Texas. She writes mystery short stories and novels that are typically set in Texas. Her mysteries vary from traditional, to romantic suspense, to science fiction.
Meredith Lee is the pen name for the Austin-based writing team of Dixie Lee Evatt and Sue Meredith Cleveland. Their process includes research trips to foreign countries to sample wine and food and, when required, the occasional dramatic performance of a scene to make sure it “works.” Dixie Lee Evatt is a former political writer for the Austin American-Statesman. She later taught writing at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University. While there she published a book, along with colleagues, on the communication practices of small organizations, Thinking Big. Staying Small. When she teamed up with Sue to write fiction, they sold a screenplay treatment to a Hollywood producer. Although the movie was never made, they used the seed money to found ThirtyNineStars, their publishing company. They also produced a second screenplay based on the life of a Waco schoolteacher who was imprisoned in World War I because of his German heritage and his work with early radio broadcasting. That screenplay, Wireless, was a finalist for the Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project in 2003. Sue Meredith Cleveland is an award-winning artist who has worked in multiple media including oil, watercolor, and fiber. Her earliest publications include articles advocating childbirth education and humanizing hospital care. Shrouded, a mystery Sue collaborated on with Dixie, was a finalist in the 2017 Writers’ League of Texas Manuscript Contest. Sue’s essays, literary memoir pieces, and short stories have been featured in award-winning literary journals, magazines, and blogs. Sue has written two pre-published Middle Grade novels: A Shadow Over Silver and Blue Water Over Dark Secrets.
Laura Oles’ debut mystery, Daughters of Bad Men, is an Agatha nominee, a Claymore Award finalist, and a Killer Nashville Readers’ Choice nominee. She is also a Writers’ League of Texas Award Finalist. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies, including Murder on Wheels, which won the Silver Falchion Award in 2016. She lives with her family in the Texas Hill Country.