Our Author Members

Tawn Skousen is a California native. She resides with her husband of more than forty years and frisky canine companion. She has a soft spot for animals and has hosted a menagerie of pets over the years, including a one-hundred-pound tortoise and a hairy tarantula. She worked at a wild animal park while in college and bottle fed the Bengal tiger cubs. She has four adult children and a growing number of grandchildren, who add love and humor to both her stories and her life. They say, “write what you know,” so she did. She is an attorney, working mother, and longtime San Diego resident – like the main character in her stories. Many of the humorous scenes are based on true incidents. And one character is modeled after her spunky Hispanic mother. Her books are grounded in real life, and she hopes they will come to life for the reader. The author is an avowed bookworm and has read whodunits since childhood. She has long enjoyed creative writing and is excited to create the pieces of her own mystery puzzle. The author is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and The Authors Guild. Seashells and Scoundrels, her debut cozy culinary mystery, is currently under submission. FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/TawnSkousenAuthor INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/tawnskousenauthor/

Shelley Burbank is a mystery and women's fiction author based in Maine and San Diego, California. Her debut mystery novel featuring Portland, Maine private investigator Olivia Lively will be traditionally published in March 2023 by Encircle Publications. Shelley's short fiction has been published in the confession market and literary magazines, and she worked as a journalist for a local weekly paper for many years. Her most recent flash fiction was included in San Diego Women Magazine.

Matt Coyle is the author of the best-selling Rick Cahill crime novels. He knew he wanted to be a crime writer when he was fourteen and his father gave him the simple art of murder by Raymond Chandler. Writing at night for over a decade his debut novel, Yesterday’s Echo, was finally published in 2013. The wait was almost worth it as it won the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, the San Diego Book Award for Best Mystery, the Ben Franklin Award for Best New Voice in Fiction. The ninth book in the Cahill series, Doomed Legacy, comes out November 2022.

S.K. Derban resides with her husband in Southern California. Although born in the United States she moved to London within the first three months, and remained in England until the age of five. Her father, an American citizen, was a decorated veteran of the Second World War. Her British mother was involved with the London Royal Ballet Company, and a great fan of the arts. After returning to the United States, Derban’s life remained filled with a love of the theatre, and a passion for British murder mysteries. Her personal travel and missionary escapades are readily apparent as they shine through into her characters. Readers are often transported virtually across the globe. Beginning with her faith in the Lord, S.K. Derban relies on all aspects of her life when writing. She hopes her books will allow readers to go on holiday without having to pack!

Corey Lynn Fayman was born in La Jolla, CA in the same hospital where Raymond Chandler died. He holds a B.A. in English, with a specialization in creative writing and poetry from UCLA, and an M.A. in Educational Technology from San Diego State University. His creative career includes work as a musician, songwriter, sound designer, educational technologist, multimedia developer and college professor. He is the author of six mystery novels, including the San Diego Book Awards Geisel award winner Ballast Point Breakdown and the 2024 Shamus Award finalist, Gillespie Field Groove.

Curtis Ippolito is an Anthony Award and Derringer-nominated author. His first novel is BURYING THE NEWSPAPER MAN, set in San Diego. His short fiction has been published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Vautrin Magazine, Shotgun Honey, Bristol Noir, Mystery Tribune, and more. He is a former newspaper reporter, health care marketing specialist and writer, and currently works as a development writer at the Salk Institute in La Jolla. When he’s not writing or reading, you can find him taking hikes, exploring San Diego native plants, or hanging out at the ocean.

Kim Keeline, when not running a 1907 Steam Locomotive or lecturing on Shakespeare, is active in the mystery community. She is currently organizing Bouchercon 2023: San Diego. Her first published story, in San Diego's anthology CROSSING BORDERS, was a 2021 Derringer finalist. Her fifth short story will be published in 2023. She is currently revising her novel in hopes of getting an agent while freelancing for authors in marketing & web designing.

Kathy Krevat is the author of the GOURMET CAT MYSTERY series featuring cat food chef Colbie Summers and her demanding cat Trouble. She also writes the bestselling CHOCOLATE COVERED MYSTERY series under the name Kathy Aarons. Her short story “One Flu Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was selected for the Crossing Bordersanthology published by Down & Out Books in March 2020. Kathy lives in San Diego with her husband of twenty-nineyears. When she’s not writing, she’s volunteering with youth arts organizations and performing stand-up comedy – now via Zoom. Follow Kathy on Facebook or Twitter or visit her at: www.kathykrevat.com.

Deborah Holt Larkin holds a bachelor’s degree in American History and Literature from the University of California at Davis, and she studied creative writing at the University of California at San Diego. She has a master’s degree in the Education of Exceptional Children from San Francisco State University. She spent more than three decades teaching students with special needs before becoming an elementary school principal.

Wanda McLaughlin has published numerous short stories in both print and online magazines. Two of her short stories have received awards in area library writers’ contests. Her mystery, Murder Most Fowl, received Best Cozy Mystery from the 2019 Southern California Writers Conference. A graduate of the University of Texas, Wanda lives in Vista, CA. Her debut suspense novel, High Desert Heat, was published October 31, 2022.

Barrie Summy grew up in Canada on a steady diet of books and tobogganing. She tries to read a book a week and always breaks for tea and cookies at three o’clock. Her book The Disappearance of Emily H was featured on 3 episodes of AppleTV’s GHOSTWRITER show. She also write a YA/Middle Grade series called the I So Don’t Do… mysteries.

Jolie Tunnell, award-winning and Amazon best-selling author, brings the past to life with suspenseful historical mysteries. She lives in Southern California with her hubby, five kids, and a pear-shaped cat. Minus the murders, Idyllwild has been her summer retreat for years. Cozy up with a cuppa and enjoy her mountaintop mysteries with a feisty small town community, hidden villains, and the unsinkable Loveda Brown. She offers readers a historical whodunnit with the flavor of turn-of-the-century Wild West. Visit JolieTunnell.com to sign up for her newsletter and get a free book!

Carl Vonderau’s novel, MURDERABILIA, won the Lefty award in 2020 for Best Debut Novel and the San Diego Book award for Best Mystery. He also has a short story in the CROSSING BORDERS anthology. A former banker, Carl is president of the San Diego chapter of Sisters in Crime and also a member of ITW and MWA.