The Chesapeake Chapter usually holds a monthly meeting with a speaker on the first Saturday of each month, unless there is a holiday, venue scheduling, or convention conflict. Occasionally, the chapter offers a field trip or special event instead of a meeting. Upcoming meeting dates are listed below. You will receive an email notice in advance of the meeting, along with a registration form and menu choice (if applicable). To reserve your place at a meeting, follow the directions as stated on the email notice or on the meeting’s announcement on this website. Guests and non-members are welcome to attend (unless otherwise noted).
UPCOMING CHAPTER MEETINGS/EVENTS
ZOOM MEETING:
Saturday, August 7, 2021
Time: 12:30 pm – Mingling
1:00-2:15 pm – Presentation
Speaker: Catriona McPherson
Topic: Deep in a Bowl of Porridge: Planting Clues
Catriona McPherson joins us for our August meeting, where she’ll share tips for where, how, and when to plant clues in a mystery. She’ll cover what makes a good clue (and a bad one), how to make sure it doesn’t matter if we get it wrong, and how to handle red herrings, Easter eggs, and loose ends. She’ll illustrate these points with real examples from the works of fellow crime writers—the good ones will be attributed, and the “stinkers” will remain anonymous (though, she says, there’s always Google…).
This event will take place over Zoom on Saturday, August 7. Mingling begins at 12:45 p.m. ET, and the event officially begins at 1:00 p.m. ET.
About the Presenter
National bestselling and multi-award-winning author Catriona McPherson (she/her) was born in Scotland and lived there until immigrating to the U.S. in 2010, where she lives on Patwin ancestral lands. She writes historical detective stories set in the old country in the 1930s, featuring gently-born lady sleuth Dandy Gilver. After eight years in the new country, she kicked off the comic Last Ditch Motel series, which takes a wry but affectionate look at California life from the POV of a displaced Scot (where do we get our ideas, eh?). She also writes a strand of contemporary psychological thrillers. The latest of these is A GINGERBREAD HOUSE, which Kirkus called “a disturbing tale of madness and fortitude.” Catriona is a member of MWA, CWA, and Society of Authors, and is a proud lifetime member and former national president of Sisters in Crime. Visit her website at www.catrionamcpherson.com.
To register
To RSVP, follow this link and click the green “register” button: https://planting-clues.eventbrite.com. You’ll receive a confirmation email that contains the Zoom login info.
If you used Eventbrite to register for one of our previous meetings:
Make sure you’re still logged in (or log in again) to avoid having to type in your name and contact info when you RSVP—it should auto-populate once you’re signed in. Keep in mind that you’ll still have to uncheck the two boxes at the bottom of the page so that you do not receive any spam from Eventbrite. Be aware that these boxes are checked by default—you must manually uncheck them.
If you’re new to Eventbrite:
1) Once you navigate to this link—https://planting-clues.eventbrite.com—and click on the green “register” button, you will be taken to an Eventbrite registration page.
2) Don’t worry about selecting a number of tickets—you won’t need any tickets for this free event.
3) On the registration page, you can register as a guest or create a free Eventbrite account. (We strongly recommend you create an Eventbrite account because when we use Eventbrite again in the future, having your own account will make it much, much easier—next time, your contact information will auto-populate, meaning you won’t have to enter it time and time again.)
4) To continue the registration process, fill out your name and email address twice. (But remember—if you create an account, you’ll never have to do it again after this!)
5) IMPORTANT: Uncheck the two boxes at the bottom of the page so that you do not receive any spam from Eventbrite. Be aware that these boxes are checked by default—you must manually uncheck them.
6) Finally, to finish RSVPing, click the “register” button.
UPCOMING CHAPTER AUTHORS’ EVENTS
