Ann Parker

Dani, a visitor to the Cozy Library, suggested Ann Parker would be a good author to feature. I have always told people that I’m not an avid reader of historical mysteries. But the more I think about that, the more I believe it’s a lie. Lately, I’ve been reading – and enjoying -- more and more historicals featuring female characters in American or English settings: Rhys Bowen’s Molly Murphy, Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, Jeanne Dams’ Hilda Johansson. Now I can add to the list Ann Parker’s Inez Stannert. She’s a wonderfully complex character – a saloon owner in Leadville, Colorado in the 1880s. After reading Ann Parker’s latest book featuring Inez, Iron Ties, it’s easy to see why the author is being nominated for award after award for her historical writing. Visiting her website, it’s also easy to see that she’s incredibly enthusiastic about the research and writing that she does … and just look at the smile in her photo! What’s not to like about an author who so enjoys her work? Make sure to visit her website (www.annparker.net) – which is rich with references for readers with a serious interest in history, or those who just want to know more about Leadville.

Books

Profile

Ann Parker earned degrees in Physics and English Literature at the University of California, Berkeley, before falling into a career as a science writer nearly 30 years ago. The only thing more fun for her than slipping oblique William Butler Yeats references into a fluid dynamics article is delving into the past. Her ancestors include a great-grandfather who was a blacksmith in Leadville, a grandmother who worked at the bindery of Leadville's Herald Democrat newspaper, a grandfather who was a Colorado School of Mines professor, and another grandfather who worked as a gandy dancer on the Colorado railroads.

Her Silver Rush historical mystery series, published by Poisoned Pen Press, is set in the silver boomtown of Leadville, Colorado, in the early 1880s. The first in the series, Silver Lies, won a Willa Award for Historical Fiction and the Colorado Gold Award. Silver Lies was chosen a "best mystery of 2003" by Publishers Weekly and The Chicago Tribune, and was a finalist for the 2003 Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award as well as for the 2004 Western Writers Association Spur Award for Best Novel of the West.

Iron Ties is the sequel to Silver Lies. In its starred review, Publishers Weekly says, "Parker's outstanding second Silver Rush mystery finds her heroine, Inez Stannert, corset-deep in the intrigues of Leadville, Colo. . . . Plenty of convincing action bodes well for a long and successful series." Booklist adds, "This sequel to the critically acclaimed Silver Lies will not disappoint Parker's fans. . . . The characters have depth, their motivations are subtle, and their pain very human. Add carefully researched and fascinating period details, and one has a well-crafted novel that will appeal to readers of mysteries, historical fiction, and genre westerns."

Ann is a member of the National Association of Science Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Historical Novel Society, Women Writing the West, and Western Writers of America. Ann, her husband, and their two children reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, whence she has observed numerous high tech boom-and-bust cycles.

Profile and photo from author website. Used with permission.

Website: http://www.annparker.net/