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Ellen Byron


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aka Maria DiRico

Ellen Byron is a television writer, playwright, and freelance journalist. Shes also an author; Her debut novel, Plantation Shudders: A Cajun Country Mystery, will be published in Fall 2015 by Crooked Lane Books. She is also a recipient of a William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant from the Malice Domestic Conference.

TV credits include Wings, Still Standing, and Just Shoot Me, as well as network and cable pilots. As a journalist, she's written over 200 magazine articles for national publications. She recently served on the Editorial Board for the UCLA Writers Program's books, Cut to the Chase and Inside the Room. Her plays, published by Dramatists Play Service, include the popular Graceland and Asleep on the Wind.

A graduate of Tulane University, Ellen lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, daughter, and the familys spoiled rescue dogs, which they describe as a corgi-jack-huahua and a cherrier. A native New Yorker, Ellen still misses her hometown and still drives like a New York cabbie.
 

Genres: Cozy Mystery
 
New and upcoming books
Ellen Byron recommends
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Death by Demo (2023)
(Home Renovation Mystery, book 1)
Callie Carpenter
"Callie Carpenter nails it with this delightful debut in her Home Renovation Mystery series, introducing an intrepid contractor heroine who proves equally adept at solving mysteries and bringing new life to old homes. I can't think of a more enjoyable way to take a break from HGTV!"
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A Man of Lies (2023)
Ben Crane
"With razor-sharp writing, a plot that twists and turns without ever veering off course, and an anti-hero protagonist who proves resourceful and sympathetic, Ben Crane claims a spot on the bookshelf next to Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen."
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Final Cut (2023)
(Hollywood Mystery, book 1)
Marjorie McCown
"A must-read movie mystery packed with juicy details from a Hollywood insider, Final Cut gets my nomination for best debut."

More recommendations 


Awards
Agatha Award Best First Book nominee (2015) : Plantation Shudders
Agatha Award Best Contemporary Novel nominee (2016) : Body on the Bayou
Agatha Award Best Contemporary Novel nominee (2017) : A Cajun Christmas Killing
Agatha Award Best Contemporary Novel winner (2018) : Mardi Gras Murder
Agatha Award Best Contemporary Novel nominee (2019) : Fatal Cajun Festival
Agatha Award Best Contemporary Novel nominee (2020) : Murder in the Bayou Boneyard


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