FICTION
As a lifelong mystery reader who devoured every Nancy Drew and Agatha Christie novel on the shelves, I realized I was meant to write fiction in the genre I love most. My mysteries center women who are rediscovering themselves, where a sense of place is indelible to their characters, and a sense of humor cuts the tension when, inevitably, a dead body turns up.
I am a member of the Association of Writers and Publishers (AWP) and the crime writing association Sisters in Crime, and I take regular craft classes through Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver. My work is represented by Zoe Sandler at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.
Follow my writing journey and latest book recommendations over on Instagram @samduboiswrites.
CURRENT PROJECTS
First Novel: Dead Letter
Twenty-five years after solving her first mystery, Nancy Drew is an ex-police detective, still haunted by the mistake that ended her career. She’d come so close to finding her long-missing mother – but even closer to death. When her beloved father, Carson Drew, dies, Nancy returns to her hometown of River Heights, grief-stricken and aimless. Until a notorious heiress with a penchant for blackmail washes up dead near Carson’s funeral, turning friendly townspeople into likely suspects. Suddenly, solving the woman’s murder seems like Nancy’s perfect chance for redemption.
But as the clues mount, an enemy from Nancy’s past reemerges to challenge her grasp of the truth, and a mysterious letter from her father suggests he knew more about her mother’s disappearance than he let on. Now, Nancy must decide between finding the heiress’ killer or risking her life again for the one mystery she could never solve: What happened to Laura Drew?
DEAD LETTER is the first in a three-novel arc in which Nancy uncovers the truth about her past with each mystery she solves. Like other mystery fans, Nancy’s adventures kept me racing to the library as a young reader. But unlike her readers, the character herself has never evolved. DEAD LETTER reprises this iconic sleuth and reimagines her as a mature woman, now with secrets of her own.
Work in Progress: Murder at the Scene of the Crime
Helen Randall is struggling to keep her late mother's mystery bookstore, The Scene of the Crime, afloat. That is, until she unlocks the store one morning to find a corpse strategically placed within the bookshop's gimmicky chalk body outline. A murder investigation ensues, but when the attention suddenly reinvigorates the shop's slumping sales, Helen finds herself as the prime suspect. Can she solve the murder to clear her name and keep the bookstore from going under?
Stay tuned for more!