We’re heading back to the paddock for another party at Cowgirl! They’ve updated their menus, so we’ll have a great selection of food, including vegetarian options, in our favorite private room with cash bar. There’ll be chips, salsa and guacamole (of course!), plus cajun fried shrimp, black bean quesadillas, BBQ ribs, and artichoke fritters! (You might want to splurge on one of their signature margaritas in a jelly jar. It’s just like your tía used to make.) The dinner cost will be $38, and checks made out to New York/Tri-State Sisters in Crime (or NYSinC) must be received by June 17th.

During the evening, we’ll hear reports on the past year’s business from all of our officers, updates and news from our members, and discuss the chapter’s year to come. To RSVP for this fun night of mingling and celebration with your Sisters, send your check to: Stephanie Wilson-Flaherty, 537 84th Street, Brooklyn, New York 11209

Giddy Up!

In lieu of the usual chapter meeting, for May, we have a SPECIAL EVENT at a SPECIAL TIME!

Dr. Jonathan Hayes, crime writer and forensic pathologist, will give us a tour of New York’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Thursday, May 17th. The OCME office is located at 520 First Avenue. Because the tours are necessarily limited in size, members who wish to come must pre-register by RSVP to susan-dot-chalfin [at] gmail (dot) com. Attendees must also be able to arrive by 4:50pm sharp, before the office closes to the public, and bring some usual form of ID as well. The tour begins at 5pm, and we’ll gather for an optional dinner to follow. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to tour Gotham’s morgue with a Senior Medical Examiner!

Don’t just “Follow” the Crowd–Minimize your Effort and Maximize your Exposure!

Authors are told they need online presences that represent their “brands.” But how do you design a personal digital strategy to promote your work in realistic, effective ways for your goals and personality? Laura Kramarsky and Clare Toohey, who both participate personally and professionally in digital marketing and social media for publishing, will present a discussion of the Whys and How’s of various approaches and how to integrate them, with special focus on Facebook and Twitter, plus examples in living pixels!

This Thursday, March 15th, our program will be held at the Muhlenberg Library and begins at 6:30pm. More details are on our 2012 Chapter Meetings page.

Caridad Piñeiro is a multi-published, award-winning, NYTimes best-selling author of romance and romantic suspense whose work celebrates Latina culture and vampires, to name only two areas of her expertise. She also happens to be an intellectual property lawyer, so if you want to know about balancing writing with a busy life while writing for a variety of audiences, don’t miss our Valentine’s week meeting!

Thursday’s meet and greet begins at 6pm at NYC’s Muhlenberg Library. As always, the gory details are at our 2012 Chapter Meeetings page.

Thursday, January 19th, we’ll have a fun reprise of a popular chapter event. Share your work, published or unpublished, with your Sisters. Everybody who wishes gets five minutes in the spotlight. Listeners welcome, too. The time limit will be strictly enforced, so that everyone who wants has a chance to read. That works out to about 3 1/2 double-spaced manuscript pages. We look forward to hearing yours!

We’ll be meeting at the Muhlenberg Library as usual.  See the Chapter Meetings page for more details about the wheres and whens!

Annie Cheney is a private investigator who began her career as a freelance reporter. Her book, Body Brokers: Inside America’s Underground Trade in Human Remains, expanded on a prize-winning investigative article “The Resurrection Men” she did for Harper’s. After completing the book, Annie applied to Kroll, the risk management and fraud investigative company, where she was hired as an analyst and was recently promoted to director. She specializes in investigating financial fraud. She also advised Susan Isaacs on the life of a private eye for As Husbands Go. As a crime writer and now a P.I. in one of the foremost detective agencies, Annie Cheney’s got incredible stories and knows how to tell them!