2024 Guest Speakers
March 2024 Speaker
Nick Petrie
Life Logistics
“Writing is challenging. It will always be challenging. I don't know a way around that, but I do know a few simple hacks, as well as some Jedi mind tricks that have really helped me get out of my own way and keep my book projects moving forward.” — Nick Petrie
Join us on March 23, when bestselling author Nick Petrie will join us to talk about everything from life logistics to work habits to the mental and emotional aspects of the writing life.
Nick Petrie received his MFA in fiction from the University of Washington and won a Hopwood Award for short fiction while an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. His story “At the Laundromat” won the 2006 Short Story Contest in The Seattle Review, a national literary journal.
His first novel, The Drifter, won the ITW Thriller and Barry Awards, and was nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Hammett Awards. He won the 2016 Literary Award from the Wisconsin Library Association and was named one of Apple’s 10 Writers to Read in 2017. Light It Up was named the Best Thriller of 2018 by Apple Books. Both Light it Up and The Wild One were shortlisted for the Barry Award.
His books in the Peter Ash series are The Drifter, Burning Bright, Light It Up, Tear It Down, The Wild One, The Breaker, and The Runaway. A husband and father, he has worked as a carpenter, remodeling contractor, and building inspector. He lives in Milwaukee, where he is hard at work on the next Peter Ash novel.
For more information about Nick and his books, please visit his website at nickpetrie.com.
View this event on YouTube.
Life Logistics
“Writing is challenging. It will always be challenging. I don't know a way around that, but I do know a few simple hacks, as well as some Jedi mind tricks that have really helped me get out of my own way and keep my book projects moving forward.” — Nick Petrie
Join us on March 23, when bestselling author Nick Petrie will join us to talk about everything from life logistics to work habits to the mental and emotional aspects of the writing life.
Nick Petrie received his MFA in fiction from the University of Washington and won a Hopwood Award for short fiction while an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. His story “At the Laundromat” won the 2006 Short Story Contest in The Seattle Review, a national literary journal.
His first novel, The Drifter, won the ITW Thriller and Barry Awards, and was nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Hammett Awards. He won the 2016 Literary Award from the Wisconsin Library Association and was named one of Apple’s 10 Writers to Read in 2017. Light It Up was named the Best Thriller of 2018 by Apple Books. Both Light it Up and The Wild One were shortlisted for the Barry Award.
His books in the Peter Ash series are The Drifter, Burning Bright, Light It Up, Tear It Down, The Wild One, The Breaker, and The Runaway. A husband and father, he has worked as a carpenter, remodeling contractor, and building inspector. He lives in Milwaukee, where he is hard at work on the next Peter Ash novel.
For more information about Nick and his books, please visit his website at nickpetrie.com.
View this event on YouTube.
February 2024 Speaker
Laura Van Arendonk Baugh
BookFunnel, an Essential Tool for Your Author Business
Whether sending out ARCs of your new book, selling ebooks at author events, fulfilling your ebook orders to readers, or even delivering your book’s “reader magnet” to attract new readers, BookFunnel does it all for you — efficiently and quickly. According to Laura Van Arendonk Baugh, BookFunnel is an indispensable tool for marketing and distribution, and once you give it a try, you won’t know how you managed without it.
Laura Van Arendonk Baugh writes captivating epic and urban fantasy, historical fiction, and mystery, as well as non-fiction on animal training & behavior. Many people known to have exceptional taste think it’s pretty cool stuff. Laura was born at a very early age and never looked back. She overcame her childhood deficiencies of having been born without teeth and unable to walk, and by the time she matured into a recognizable adult, she had become a behavior analyst, an internationally recognized animal trainer, a costumer/cosplayer, a chocolate addict, and of course a writer. Now she is an award-winning writer of speculative fiction, mystery, and non-fiction. Her works have earned numerous accolades, including 3-star (the highest possible) ratings on Tangent‘s “Recommended Reading” list. She admits a mental turning point in her career when she realized she could buy that sexy red Tesla with income from her books!
For more information about Laura, her books, and her blog, visit lauravanarendonkbaugh.com/.
View this event on YouTube.
BookFunnel, an Essential Tool for Your Author Business
Whether sending out ARCs of your new book, selling ebooks at author events, fulfilling your ebook orders to readers, or even delivering your book’s “reader magnet” to attract new readers, BookFunnel does it all for you — efficiently and quickly. According to Laura Van Arendonk Baugh, BookFunnel is an indispensable tool for marketing and distribution, and once you give it a try, you won’t know how you managed without it.
Laura Van Arendonk Baugh writes captivating epic and urban fantasy, historical fiction, and mystery, as well as non-fiction on animal training & behavior. Many people known to have exceptional taste think it’s pretty cool stuff. Laura was born at a very early age and never looked back. She overcame her childhood deficiencies of having been born without teeth and unable to walk, and by the time she matured into a recognizable adult, she had become a behavior analyst, an internationally recognized animal trainer, a costumer/cosplayer, a chocolate addict, and of course a writer. Now she is an award-winning writer of speculative fiction, mystery, and non-fiction. Her works have earned numerous accolades, including 3-star (the highest possible) ratings on Tangent‘s “Recommended Reading” list. She admits a mental turning point in her career when she realized she could buy that sexy red Tesla with income from her books!
For more information about Laura, her books, and her blog, visit lauravanarendonkbaugh.com/.
View this event on YouTube.
January 2024 Speaker
Tim Byers
Building the Novel Only You Can Build
Tim Byers, author of the young adult thriller, The Order of the Red Lion and the first of a series, will be with us on January 27 to talk about what sparked his interest in World War II and what prompted him to set his first novel in 1939 Luxembourg, amid the perilous circumstances leading to the war. Tim also will delve into his research of long-ago and far-away Luxembourg and how it has impacted his life. Writers of historical fiction will find Tim’s journey as an author as fascinating as it is inspiring.
Tim grew up building World War II-era model airplanes and tanks in his basement. On long, summer vacation drives with his family, he discovered spy novels. It was only natural then, that after a semester in Luxembourg, Tim’s first novel, The Order of the Red Lion, was born. When Tim’s not writing, he enjoys remodeling his home in Carmel, traveling, and savoring life’s adventures with his wife, Mary.
For more information, please visit Tim at www.tim-byers.com and Facebook @tim.byers.184.
View this event on YouTube.
Building the Novel Only You Can Build
Tim Byers, author of the young adult thriller, The Order of the Red Lion and the first of a series, will be with us on January 27 to talk about what sparked his interest in World War II and what prompted him to set his first novel in 1939 Luxembourg, amid the perilous circumstances leading to the war. Tim also will delve into his research of long-ago and far-away Luxembourg and how it has impacted his life. Writers of historical fiction will find Tim’s journey as an author as fascinating as it is inspiring.
Tim grew up building World War II-era model airplanes and tanks in his basement. On long, summer vacation drives with his family, he discovered spy novels. It was only natural then, that after a semester in Luxembourg, Tim’s first novel, The Order of the Red Lion, was born. When Tim’s not writing, he enjoys remodeling his home in Carmel, traveling, and savoring life’s adventures with his wife, Mary.
For more information, please visit Tim at www.tim-byers.com and Facebook @tim.byers.184.
View this event on YouTube.
See Speed City Sisters in Crime's Youtube Channel for more past guest speakers