Please Welcome Author KATHERINE HALL PAGE!

[becke_davis]

Please welcome the fabulous KATHERINE HALL PAGE! Katherine and I were both at Malice Domestic over the weekend. I just got back, so I'm going to post a very brief introduction and follow with more detail tomorrow. Plus pictures from Malice!!!

Katherine's website is here: http://www.katherine-hall-page.org/

[becke_davis]

Katherine Hall Page

Katherine Hall Page was born and grew up in New Jersey, graduating from Livingston High School. Her father was the Executive Director of The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and her mother was an artist. Page has an older brother and a younger sister. Early on the family developed a love of the Maine coast, spending summer vacations on Deer Isle. She received her BA from Wellesley College, majoring in English and went on to a Masters in Secondary Education from Tufts and a Doctorate in Administration, Public Planning, and Social Policy from Harvard. College had brought her to Massachusetts and she continues to reside there. Before her career as a full-time writer, Ms. Page taught at the high school level for many years. She developed a program for adolescents with special emotional needs, a school within a school model, that dealt with issues of truancy, substance abuse, and family relationships. Those five years in particular were rich ones for her. This interest in individuals and human behavior later informed her writing.

Married for thirty-five years to Professor Alan Hein, an experimental psychologist at MIT, the couple have a twenty-seven-year-old son. It was during her husband's sabbatical year in France after the birth of their son that Ms. Page wrote her first mystery, The Body in the Belfry, 1991 Agatha Award winner for Best First Mystery Novel. The fifteenth in the series, The Body in the Snowdrift , won the 2006 Agatha Award for Best Mystery Novel. Ms. Page was also awarded the 2001 Agatha for Best Short Story for "The Would-Be Widower" in the Malice Domestic X collection (Avon Books). She was an Edgar nominee for her juvenile mystery, Christie & Company Down East. The Body in the Bonfire was an Agatha nominee in 2003. Page's short story, "The Two Mary's" was an Agatha nominee in 2004. The Body in the Lighthouse (2003) was one of three nominees for The Mary Higgins Clark Award. The nineteenth in the series, The Body in the Gazebo, will be published by William Morrow in April, 2011.

Descended from Norwegian-Americans on her mother's side and New Englanders on her father's, Ms. Page grew up listening to all sorts of stories. She remains an unabashed eavesdropper and will even watch your slides or home movies to hear your narration. Her books are the product of all the strands of her life and she plans to keep weaving.

[becke_davis]

Dear Readers,

This is a letter I look forward to writing all year. It means that my new book is going on sale and I hope will soon be in your hands whether your own copy or from the library. And now electronic versions of all the books are available plus The Body in the Boudoir as an audio book, so Faith Fairchild is coming to you from many directions! I applaud all the technology we have, even as I regret the fact that we won’t have the kind of manuscripts to view that I saw this winter at the Morgan Library in New York City during the Charles Dickens 200th birthday exhibition.

The Body in the Boudoir, much to my astonishment, is the 20th book in the Faith Fairchild series, and with the YA and juveniles, my 25th book overall. Having been married for thirty-five years, I know once you hit your 20th anniversary, you’ve moved away from the early years of paper, wood and copper to the good stuff. The traditional anniversary gift for the 20th is china, (the modern is platinum) and 25th is of course silver. Much as I like china, and the overflowing china cabinet attests to my inability to pass up a find like a Royal Copenhagen vase in a yard sale, and precious metals are, well precious, the gift for this anniversary is the 255 page book with a fantastic cover designed by Emin Mancheril and my smiling picture on the back flap taken by the talented photographer, Jean Fogelberg. There are a few more lines on my face and a very different hairstyle from the first photo for The Body in the Belfry taken in 1988, but I’m not complaining. I’m happy to be doing what I love.

Love! This book is all about love. It’s a prequel that follows The Body in the Big Apple, my other prequel in which we meet the young Faith Sibley starting her career in Manhattan as a caterer and at the book’s end, unlucky in love. That book closes in December 1989 and this one starts in January,1990 when she meets the Reverend Thomas Fairchild at a wedding she’s catering. This time love comes her way. I had a wonderful time researching wedding lore and customs, putting much of it in an Author’s Note. I’ll end with a quote from that section to give you a taste (oh, and there are some good recipes in Boudoir too):

I love weddings. I love hearing about them, looking at wedding albums and most of all attending them. And yes, I always get choked up when the couple exchanges their vows. I’ve been to weddings in churches, synagogues, chapels, homes, museums, hotels, restaurants, in city halls, in tents, on beaches, in fields, in backyards, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some. The brides and grooms have ranged in age from eighteen to ninety. The music has been as simple as a single guitar to the full New Orleans Children’s Chorus (and after the ceremony a streetcar took guests to the reception in the Garden District!). The ceremonies have included several civil ones and most religions… However, my own wedding thirty-six years ago was the best of all. We were married in Holmes, New York at Beulahland, the home of dear friends on the first Saturday in December, holding our collective breaths about the weather. As it happened, it was so warm, guests sat out on the large terraces. A week later the area was hit by a blizzard. I still have my beautiful white dress, and it still fits, although I do have to hold my breath. My father gave me away, tears in his eyes. Everyone danced. I’m told the food was delicious, but somehow neither my groom nor I sat down long enough to eat—common for wedding couples. One of my parents’ oldest friends told my mother, “If they always look at each other the way they’re looking at each other today, they’ll be a very happy couple.” Prescient words.

With best wishes,

Katherine

(Photograph by Jean Fogelberg)

[becke_davis]

Contest at Katherine's website:

TREASURES IN THE ATTIC:
A NEW CONTEST!

To celebrate the May 1st publication of The Body in the Boudoir, we’re running a contest starting now and ending April 30th. The prize is a signed first edition of the book, but here’s the twist. Katherine recently came across a box of mixed titles, some hardcover, some soft, in her attic. The first 25 entries will receive one of these signed to the recipient or, if specified, just with Katherine’s signature. To enter, go to the website and click. All entries will be entered in the drawing for the new book, the twentieth in the Faith Fairchild series! The Body in the Boudoir is a prequel, which some of you have been requesting for a long time. Katherine loved writing it and Morrow has done a spectacular job with the cover. A perfect shower or wedding gift, or just a gift to yourself. Here’s what happens:

[becke_davis]

The Body in the Belfry (Faith Fairchild Series #1) 

The Body in the Kelp (Faith Fairchild Series #2) 

The Body in the Bouillon (Faith Fairchild Series #3) 

The Body in the Vestibule (Faith Fairchild Series #4) 

The Body in the Basement (Faith Fairchild Series #6) 

The Body in the Cast (Faith Fairchild Series #5) 

The Body in the Bookcase (Faith Fairchild Series #9) 

The Body in the Fjord (Faith Fairchild Series #8) 

The Body in the Big Apple (Faith Fairchild Series #10) 

The Body in the Bog (Faith Fairchild Series #7) 

The Body in the Bookcase (Faith Fairchild Series #9) 

The Body in the Moonlight (Faith Fairchild Series #11) 

The Body in the Bonfire (Faith Fairchild Series #12) 

The Body in the Lighthouse (Faith Fairchild Series #13) 

The Body in the Attic (Faith Fairchild Series #14) 

The Body in the Snowdrift (Faith Fairchild Series #15) 

The Body in the Ivy (Faith Fairchild Series #16) 

The Body in the Gallery (Faith Fairchild Series #17) 

The Body in the Sleigh (Faith Fairchild Series #18) 

The Body in the Gazebo (Faith Fairchild Series #19) 

The Body in the Boudoir (Faith Fairchild Series #20)                      

[becke_davis]

The Body in the Boudoir (Faith Fairchild Series #20) 

Publishers Weekly

Set in 1990 New York City, Agatha-winner Page’s satisfying 20th Faith Fairchild mystery (after 2011’s The Body in the Gazebo) flashbacks to the whirlwind romance that led to Faith Sibley’s engagement to the Rev. Tom Fairchild. Despite the carefully laid plans for a perfect wedding, someone appears to be making attempts on Faith’s life—and Faith has no idea who it is.Could the person determined to do her in, heaven forbid, be a Sibley family member or one of Tom’s disapproving Massachusetts relations?

Meanwhile, her sister, Hope, asks Faith to help her discover who’s stealing her business clients. In addition, Faith’s former employee, Francesca, appears to want her family in Italy to believe she’s living in England, not New York, so there’s plenty to distract Faith before the wedding—if there is a wedding. Cozy fans will be enthralled. 

 

Library Journal

The 20th entry in Page's Agatha Award-winning series (after The Body in the Gazebo) has caterer and amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild recalling 1990, when she almost became a hit-and-run victim on her wedding day.

[becke_davis]

Guest blog by Katherine Hall Page

This is a blog I look forward to writing all year. It means that my new book is going on sale and I hope will soon be in your hands whether as the hardcover, an electronic version, the audio book, or large print— Faith Fairchild is coming to you from many directions! And I especially am grateful for the technology that will permit me to chat with all of you today. Thank you so much, Becke.

The Body in the Boudoir, much to my astonishment, is the 20th book in the Faith Fairchild series, and with the YA and juveniles, my 25th book overall. Having been married for thirty-five years, I know once you hit your 20th anniversary, you’ve moved away from the early years of paper, wood and copper to the good stuff. The traditional anniversary gift for the 20th is china, (the modern is platinum) and 25th is of course silver. Much as I like china, and the overflowing china cabinet attests to my inability to pass up a find like a Royal Copenhagen vase in a yard sale, and precious metals are, well precious, the gift for this anniversary is the 255 page book with a fantastic cover designed by Emin Mancheril and my smiling picture on the back flap taken by the talented photographer, Jean Fogelberg.There are a few more lines on my face and a very different hairstyle from the first photo for The Body in the Belfry taken in 1988, but I’m not complaining. I’m happy to be doing what I love.

Love! This book is all about love. It’s a prequel that follows The Body in the Big Apple, my other prequel in which we meet the young Faith Sibley starting her career in Manhattan as a caterer and at the book’s end, unlucky in love. That book closes in December 1989 and this one starts in January,1990 when she meets the Reverend Thomas Fairchild at a wedding she’s catering. This time love comes her way. I had a wonderful time researching wedding lore and customs, putting much of it in an Author’s Note. I’ll end with a quote from that section to give you a taste (oh, and there are some good recipes in Boudoir too):

I love weddings. I love hearing about them, looking at wedding albums and most of all attending them. And yes, I always get choked up when the couple exchanges their vows. I’ve been to weddings in churches, synagogues, chapels, homes, museums, hotels, restaurants, in city halls, in tents, on beaches, in fields, in backyards, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some. The brides and grooms have ranged in age from eighteen to ninety. The music has been as simple as a single guitar to the full New Orleans Children’s Chorus (and after the ceremony a streetcar took guests to the reception in the Garden District!). The ceremonies have included several civil ones and most religions… However, my own wedding thirty-six years ago was the best of all. We were married in Holmes, New York at Beulahland, the home of dear friends on the first Saturday in December, holding our collective breaths about the weather. As it happened, it was so warm, guests sat out on the large terraces. A week later the area was hit by a blizzard. I still have my beautiful white dress, and it still fits, although I do have to hold my breath. My father gave me away, tears in his eyes. Everyone danced. I’m told the food was delicious, but somehow neither my groom nor I sat down long enough to eat—common for wedding couples. One of my parents’ oldest friends told my mother, “If they always look at each other the way they’re looking at each other today, they’ll be a very happy couple.” Prescient words.

Share your own thoughts about love, marriage, and above all, mysteries!

[becke_davis]

Please welcome KATHERINE HALL PAGE! 

[writerfire]

Welcome!  I hope you enjoy the board!  Thank you for coming!!

[ReadingPatti]

Katherine, Hi, hope you have a great visit. I must check out some of your books. I like the titles. Do you have running theme with them?

What do you like about writing mysteries? I love a really good mystery.

Again, enjoy your visit.

ReadingPatti

[eadieburke]

Welcome Katherine!

The first book I have read of yours was THE BODY IN THE ATTIC. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to start with your first book, THE BODY IN THE BELFRY, and read through the rest of your Faith Fairchild books.

I am halfway through THE BODY IN THE BELFRY and can't wait to get back to the book and find out who murdered Cindy.

I love your characters, Faith and Tom. They are such a cute couple and even though he is a minister, he is not a stuff shirt! I think he handles Faith pretty well. He allows her to be herself but constantly warns her to be careful.

Can't wait to read the rest of the books and watch how their relationship grows!

Hope you enjoy your visit with us and keep on writing!

[becke_davis]

---

eadieburke wrote:

Welcome Katherine!

The first book I have read of yours was THE BODY IN THE ATTIC. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to start with your first book, THE BODY IN THE BELFRY, and read through the rest of your Faith Fairchild books.

I am halfway through THE BODY IN THE BELFRY and can't wait to get back to the book and find out who murdered Cindy.

I love your characters, Faith and Tom. They are such a cute couple and even though he is a minister, he is not a stuff shirt! I think he handles Faith pretty well. He allows her to be herself but constantly warns her to be careful.

Can't wait to read the rest of the books and watch how their relationship grows!

Hope you enjoy your visit with us and keep on writing!

---

Isn't this a great series? There's a reason it's still popular 20 books on!

[eadieburke]

---

becke_davis wrote:

---

eadieburke wrote:

Welcome Katherine!

The first book I have read of yours was THE BODY IN THE ATTIC. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to start with your first book, THE BODY IN THE BELFRY, and read through the rest of your Faith Fairchild books.

I am halfway through THE BODY IN THE BELFRY and can't wait to get back to the book and find out who murdered Cindy.

I love your characters, Faith and Tom. They are such a cute couple and even though he is a minister, he is not a stuff shirt! I think he handles Faith pretty well. He allows her to be herself but constantly warns her to be careful.

Can't wait to read the rest of the books and watch how their relationship grows!

Hope you enjoy your visit with us and keep on writing!

---

Isn't this a great series? There's a reason it's still popular 20 books on!

---

Yes it is - I am really enjoying it immensely!

[dhaupt]

Welcome Katherine, the first book I've read of your was

The Body in the Sleigh (Faith Fairchild Series #18)  

from there I went back and started from the top.

I really enjoy your writing style and your characters

Thanks for being here and Thank you Becke for bringing her

[maxcat]

Welcome, Katherine, to the Mystery Forum. I hope you enjoy your week here. I have read quite a few of your books and have enjoyed every one. I hope you have continued success with your series.

[becke_davis]

Hi all - Katherine is with us but, once again, the gremlins and gnomes are trying to prevent her from visiting. I've told her a few of our tricks to defeat them, so hopefully she'll be able to sign in soon. 

In the meantime, I'm uploading my Malice pictures - I'll share them with you soon!

[KatherineHallP…]

Becke, you are a genius ! (Everyone, I was having trouble signing in and Becke solved the problem!)

Love the hearts...

[KatherineHallP…]

What a wonderful, and oh-so-true, phrase!

[KatherineHallP…]

This is a great question. I think one of the things I like most about writing mysteries is putting the pieces of the puzzle together—and in a way that is both filled with suspense and yet makes sense!

[KatherineHallP…]

Aaargh! It's posting all the replies at once, so I'll just write one here to all of you!

Thank you so much for being here. And yes, I think there is a theme to all the books, which is that the world can be a just place, evil uncovered—another theme: the difference between public and private faces. I'm thinking about that now hearing people comment on what a nice man and good friend the poor man in Oregon was who killed his wife and daughter. My books don't deal with this sort of tragedy, but Faith Fairchild , especially in this new one, is always looking below the surface.

Just a beautiful, sunny spring day here and hope all of you have the same!