Appearances :: News
APPEARANCES:
Where I’ll be: I’m back on the road, near and far, visiting with readers wherever I can. I hope to see you along the way!
April 11-14, 2024
Left Coast Crime Mystery Convention
“Seattle Shakedown,” Bellevue, WA
The Emerald City celebrates mysteries and more!
April 26-28, 2024
Malice Domestic Mystery Convention
Bethesda, MD
Celebrating the traditional mystery!
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Imagine If Library Spring Festival
1:00, on the grounds of the Conrad Mansion in Kalispell
Talking mystery with local authors Christine Carbo and Debbie Burke!
Sat, July 13, 2024 time TBD
North Lake County Library, Polson
Chatting about mysteries and more with Mission and Flathead Valley authors Milana Marsenich, Mary O’Brien, & Christine Carbo!
Sat, July 20, 2024, 12-3
Barnes & Noble, Kalispell
Signing To Err is Cumin and other books at the new B&N!
Sun, July 21, 2024, 2-4 pm
Bigfork Art & Cultural Center
Start More, Finish Better: How to live your best creative story
Author and artist Becky Blades and mystery author Leslie Budewitz lead you down the creative path, using their own stumbles and discoveries to spur insights, help you get started, and keep you going. We’ll also be celebrating the launch of Leslie’s newest Spice Shop mystery, To Err is Cumin!
Wed, July 24, 2024, 7-9 pm
Bigfork Art & Cultural Center
Become an Author in An Hour!
You’ve always wanted to write a book, right? Join author and artist Becky Blades and mystery author Leslie Budewitz, and write a book in an hour. A short one, maybe, but a book nonetheless. You’ll have a book, and more importantly, you’ll gain new insight into acting quickly on your creative longings. Materials provided.
Sat-Sun, August 3-4, 2024, 9:00-4:30
Bigfork Festival of the Arts
Celebrate the arts in the streets with several thousand of your closest friends – and me! I’ll be signing and selling To Err is Cumin and my other books.
Sun, Sept 1, 2024, time TBD
Lake Baked, Bigfork
Murder in the Mountains
Chatting about writing, our Montana-made mysteries, and more with local authors Christine Carbo, Debbie Burke, and Mark Hummel Leichliter.
Flathead River Writers’ Conference
Sat-Sun, Oct 5-6, 2024
Kalispell, MT
I’ll be speaking about the mystery and crime genre, with a focus on the cozy, and on bringing your settings to life in the annual Authors of the Flathead writers’ conference, a smart, cozy con that brings writers face to face with stellar authors and industry pros.
I am always delighted to talk mystery in person or in online events with book clubs, bookstores, libraries, and community groups. If you’d like to schedule an event or a visit, drop me a line. And subscribe to my newsletter for monthly updates on my schedule.
Remember you can find me sharing recipes and talking food on Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen on the 1st, 3d, and 5th Tuesdays. Visit my blog for insights about the writing process, weekly quotes for writers and other creative folks, and tidbits about my books and other bookish stuff. And if you’re on Facebook, join me on my Author page for book talk, giveaways, recommendations, and more. I’m new to Instagram, and happy to see you there.
I hope to catch up with you somewhere soon!
Where I’ve been:
Holiday Stroll – Downtown Kalispell
Fri, Dec 1, 5-8 pm, at The Bookshelf
Join me and authors Carol Buchanan and Mark Hummel Leichliter as we celebrate the holidays with books and stories!
Books and Bites featuring Montana Author Leslie Budewitz
Sat, Oct. 28, 2023, Bozeman
PEO Chapter CH annual fundraiser, serving yummy fall bites and supporting scholarships for women.
Mysteries and Murder in Montana!
Sunday, Sept 3, Lake Baked and Riverview Bar, Bigfork
Join me and local mystery authors Debbie Burke, and Mark Liechliter in conversation – come early to hear my husband, Don Beans, play music from 10 to noon!
NEWS, PODCASTS, AND VIDEOS:
Well, I’m not doing a good job keeping this updated, am I? Let me change that! I’ve got two books coming out in 2024: To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop mystery (July 16, 2024), and All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection (September 17, 2024). I’m also contributing to two anthologies coming this fall: Writing the Cozy Mystery, ed. Phyllis M. Betz — my essay is “Writing the World Around Us: Social Issues in the Cozy.” And my second Spice Shop short story, “The Devil’s Chair,” will appear in Murder in the Graveyard: A Destination Murders Anthology.
In February 2024, I talked with author and teacher Carly Stevens about what writers get right and wrong about lawyers and the law. Watch or listen here.
Death al Dente, the first Food Lovers’ Village mystery, turned 10 in August, 2023! To celebrate, my publisher brought out singles of two reader favorites from the short story collection Carried to the Grave and Other Stories: A Food Lovers’ Village Collection: “A Christmas Stranger” (ebook only) and “An Unholy Death,” the historical prequel to the series (ebook and paperback). And good news! Carried to the Grave will be out in audio April 16, 2024, featuring narration by Rebecca Mitchell, who narrated the earlier books in the series.
In May 2023, my first Spice Shop short mystery, “Seafood Rub,” appeared in Murder at Sea: A Destination Murders anthology featuring eight authors who write and walk on the light side. Pepper and her boyfriend Nate head to San Juan Island for a weekend getaway, only to find that trouble took the same ferry.
2022: March: My short story, “Coming Clean: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Story” (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Jan-Feb 2021), has been named a finalist in Best Short Fiction for the Spur Awards, given by the Western Writers of America! Here’s the full list of finalists and winners.
January: I’m serving my last year as a board member at large of Mystery Writers of America. It’s a terrific organization. For two years, I chaired the Diversity & Education Committee and continue to serve on it, as well as in other capacities.
Catch me on the Sisters in Crime podcast, available free to members and nonmembers, a conversation with SInC Executive Director Julie Hennrikus about the writing journey, lessons learned, publishing journeys, and the importance of community.
Writers, watch my 2 minute video on the Sisters in Crime YouTube channel, sharing a SINC-UP writing tip. SinC members can watch my archived webinar on Common Mistakes Writers Make About the Law, on the members-only section of the SinC website.
2021: Delighted to be part of this Bigfork Eagle photo essay illustrating the annual Bigfork Festival of the Arts the first weekend in August — and so glad the photographer came on Saturday, since Sunday was rained out!
2020: What a lovely way to end a difficult year, seeing The Solace of Bay Leaves on librarian, reviewer, and book goddess Lesa Holstine’s list of her Favorite Books of 2020. And what amazing company!
Whatever else we can say about 2020, it was a good year for reading. The Solace of Bay Leaves also made Kings River Life’s list of Favorite Books of 2020.
Mystery Writers of America is the country’s oldest organization devoted to serving mystery and crime writers, both fiction and nonfiction. I’m pleased to have been elected to a second two-year term, for 2021-22. I chair the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, whose purpose is to guide MWA’s efforts to seek and welcome writers from marginalized and under-represented communities into the organization, to advocate for equity and inclusion within the industry, and to support our members when related issues arise.
You love short stories, right? Watch for the Jan-Feb issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and my short story, “Coming Clean,” the third “Stagecoach Mary” Fields story, a followup to last year’s Derringer-nominated “Miss Starr’s Good-bye” and “All God’s Sparrows,” the winner of the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Short Story.
And in September, Library Journal gave The Solace of Bay Leaves a starred review, calling it “a complex, well-developed mystery,” and saying “Readers attracted to unusual settings and mature, introspective amateur sleuths will appreciate this intricately plotted story depicting the impact of murder on the family and community.”