I am very honored and happy to announce that my mystery novel PAGAN SPRING has just been nominated for 2014 Agatha and Dilys awards.

The winner of the Dilys will be announced at Left Coast Crime in Monterey, California, in March. The winner of the Agatha for Best Contemporary Mystery will be announced in May at the Malice Domestic convention in Bethesda, Maryland.

Here is the full list of Dilys nominees, with thanks to Robin of Aunt Agatha's bookstore, head of the Dilys Award Committee, for providing the list:

2014 Dilys Award Nominees

Seven for a Secret, Lyndsay Faye, Amy Einhorn Books
The Black Country, Alex Grecian, Putnam Adult
Spider Woman’s Daughter, Anne Hillerman, Harper
Ordinary Grace, William Kent Krueger, Atria Books
Pagan Spring, G.M. Malliet, Minotaur
The Land of Dreams, Vidar Sundstol, University of Minnesota Press

I will be appearing on a panel with William Kent Krueger next month at the Tucson Festival of the Book. Anne Hillerman will also be in attendance. And maybe one more person from this list? Anyway, I am beyond thrilled by this and by the Agatha nomination for Best Contemporary Mystery Novel:

2014 Agatha Award Nominees

Best Contemporary Novel:
Through the Evil Days by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Minotaur Books)
Pagan Spring by G.M. Malliet (Minotaur Books)
How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
Clammed Up by Barbara Ross (Kensington Books)
The Wrong Girl by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge Books)

Best Historical Novel:
Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
Death in the Time of Ice by Kaye George (Untreed Reads Publishing)
A Friendly Game of Murder by JJ Murphy (Signet)
Murder in Chelsea by Victoria Thompson (Berkley)
A Question of Honor by Charles Todd (William Morrow)

Best First Novel:
Death Al Dente by Leslie Budewitz (Berkley)
You Cannoli Die Once by Shelley Costa (Pocket Books)
Board Stiff by Kendel Lynn (Henery Press)
Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero (Kensington)
Front Page Fatality by LynDee Walker (Henery Press)

Best Short Story (note that links take you to copies of these short stories):
"Evil Little Girl" by Barb Goffman, Don't Get Mad, Get Even (Wildside Press)
"Nightmare" by Barb Goffman, Don't Get Mad, Get Even (Wildside Press)
"The Hindi Houdini" (PDF) by Gigi Pandian, Fish Nets (Wildside Press)
"Bread Baby" (PDF) by Barbara Ross, Best New England Crime Stories 2014: Stone Cold (Level Best Books)
"The Care and Feeding of House Plants" (PDF) by Art Taylor, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2013

Best Nonfiction:
Georgette Heyer by Jennifer Kloester (Source Books Inc.)
Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes by Maria Konnikova (Viking Penguin)
Not Everyone's Cup of Tea: An Interesting & Entertaining History of Malice Domestic's First 25 Years by Verena Rose and Rita Owen, Editors (Wildside Press)
The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War by Daniel Stashower (Minotaur Books)

Best Children's/Young Adult Novel:
The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (HMH Books for Young Readers)
Traitor in the Shipyard: A Caroline Mystery by Kathleen Ernst (American Girl Mysteries)
Andi Unexpected by Amanda Flower (Zonderkidz)
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein (Random House Books)
Code Busters Club: Mystery of the Pirate's Treasure by Penny Warner (Edgmont USA)

Agatha Award nominees were announced a couple of days ago. I am SO very happy to be able to tell you that A FATAL WINTER is nominated for best novel of 2012! Winners will be announced in early May at the Malice Domestic conference.

See the full list of nominees here.

Best Novel:

The Diva Digs Up the Dirt by Krista Davis
A Fatal Winter by G.M. Malliet
The Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
The Other Woman by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Max Tudor's second adventure is now available for preorder, wherever you prefer to shop: Online, in bookstores--and don't forget the beloved independent bookstores. Here are the ISBNs that officially identify the book for booksellers:

Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-312-64797-1

E-book ISBN: 978-1-250-01825-0

The book cover is coming soon and I'll post it here. It is a knockout.