Introducing Dulcie Schwartz

[Clea Simon]

Dulcie Schwartz was born for academia. A grad student at Harvard, she lives for research. Her discipline – the Gothic English novel of the late 18th Century – may seem minor to some. But for Dulcie, it's reason to dive into the library, into the ordered, reasoned world of books. At least, until her roommate is murdered, her mother starts calling with some strange psychic dreams. And the ghost of her late, great cat Mr. Grey appears to help her through it all ... or over the edge.

Dulcie is the heroine of "Shades of Grey," a slightly paranormal mystery I've been working on for more than a year now. And now Dulcie and her oddball cohorts have found a home at Severn House, a British publisher that has begun expanding into the US. Severn will be bringing out "Shades of Grey" in hardcover in the UK in June, with a US edition to follow (probably in August), and we're hoping for a trade paperback sometime after that. They've also contracted for a second Dulcie book, which I'm working on now!

Theda Krakow – my rock critic heroine – will be back in April in her fourth outing, "Probable Claws," with Poisoned Pen Press. And, yes, I still have that "pet noir" book in the works. Right now, it is drafted and I'm letting it sit – the better to see what needs fixing. Maybe that one will find a home within the year.

In the meantime, please give Dulcie a warm welcome! She's had a rough couple of months. But she's one of my favorite gals, and I look forward to introducing her around and spending more time with her!