As the new year begins, Toni L.P. Kelner is working on a new mystery, the first in a new series. (Clearly, the theme is “new.”) Without Mercy will be the first in the “Where Are They Now?” series.
In Without Mercy, freelance entertainment reporter Tilda Harper specializes in writing “where are they now?” articles about the formerly famous. One of her favorite subjects—and her favorite show as a kid–is “Kissing Cousins,” a cult sitcom that was a cross between “The Brady Bunch” and “The Addams Family.” Two of the show’s stars have recently died under suspicious circumstances, and when a third is found murdered, Tilda goes after Mercy, the actress who hasn’t been seen since the show was canceled. She just wished she knew if Mercy was in danger, of if Mercy is herself killing her former cast members.
Even the publisher for this book is new. Five Star Mysteries has scheduled Without Mercy for the last half of 2007.
First up is “Sleeping With the Plush,” a short story scheduled for the May 2006 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Again departing from her familiar Southern settings, Toni set this story in a traveling carnival.
By the way, the editor of AHMM is Linda Landrigan, who is married to John Landrigan of University Press of New England. One of the books John published last year is Motivate Your Writing! by Toni’s husband, Stephen P. Kelner. Publishing is a small world.
The contract hasn’t been signed yet, but Toni is working on something even further afield. Along with award-winning and best-selling author Charlaine Harris, she is co-editing Many Bloody Returns, a vampire anthology. Since Toni has long been a fan of vampire books and movies, and Charlaine’s Southern Vampire books are some of Toni’s all-time favorite books of any description, she’s extremely excited. Ace will be publishing the book in paperback.
Toni is extremely touched and gratified she’s been by the readers who’ve written and e-mailed to tell her they want to see more of the goings on in Byerly, NC, but she has no contract to write any more of this series. She hopes to keep them going in short stories as opportunities--and time-arise. But probably not in the vampire anthology.
In the meantime, Down Home Murder and Wed and Buried have been brought back into print in large print editions from Chivers.