Mystery authors Susan Alice Bickford and Janet Dawson offer an inside view of how crime novels are constructed, along with personal insights, and book readings. Please register to get a reminder email about the event.

They will cover:

- Crime genres (mystery, thrillers, cozies, romantic suspense...)
- Mysteries vs thrillers: what do they have in common, what is different (talk about our books specifically)
- Crafting suspense
- Introductions to the story: how do you cover a lot of backstory in the beginning.
- What about a series? How does that work vs standalones? 

- Setting / character / plot: which comes first

About the authors: Susan Alice Bickford is the 2020 President of Sisters in Crime Northern California Chapter. Her latest mystery is The Dread of Winter, a thriller about a women returning to her small town to face her dying mother and help her half-sister, Maude. The predators Sydney thought she’d escaped are threatening both her and Maude. To get free, Sydney will have to discover the truth about what happened when she left—and decide what should stay buried, deep in the unforgiving snow . . .

Janet Dawson's latest mystery is The Devil Close Behind, a missing person mystery set in New Orleans and featuring private investigator Jeri Howard. Jeri is based in Oakland, Calfornia so she teams up with a local PI. Jeri’s investigation takes her from
French Quarter clubs to workaday NOLA, then back to California, into
jeopardy―and an explosive conclusion.