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Member News – February 2026

Lynn Slaughter

Lynn is excited to share that Missing Mom is a finalist for the Imadjinn Award in the young adult category. Lynn tells us that she is “Feeling very grateful.”

 

 

 

book cover of Missing Mom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeanette Pope

Jeanette had a successful book launch for her new novel, Throwaway Kids. The event was held at the University of Louisville Alumni Club.

Stay in touch with Jeanette via her website: https://popeauthor.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DRS received another order for our Bourbon Anthology, Murder, With a Splash of Bourbon, from Heaven Hill Distillery. Susan trucked them down where they will adorn the book section in their lovely gift shop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Send your news items to the following address: news@derbyrottenscoundrels.com

We will post on our Facebook page weekly and do a monthly round-up of news on the website.

 

Congratulations!

DRS Chapter Meeting – February 14

 

DRS President Miki Reilly-Howe speaks on:

 

The Business of Publishing: Author Newsletters

 

 

 

 

 

 

DRS Program Chair Pam Hirschler presents:

To Prologue or Not to Prologue, So Many Questions

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t miss this great opportunity for actionable content and group discussion.

Chapter Meeting Details

  • Date:  February 14, 2026
  • Time:  11:30AM to 1PM  EST

This meeting will be zoom only. Please use the following link to register: 

Zoom Registration Link

 

 

 

Member News – January 2026

Lynn Slaughter

Lynn is excited to share the following news for her novel, Missing Mom:

  • Missing Mom was named the 2026 Independent Press Award winner in the young adult fiction category!
  • Missing Mom has been nominated for an Agatha in the juvenile/young adult category. 
  • Missing Mom has been named a finalist for the Dante Rossetti Award (CIBA) for Young Adult Fiction.
You can visit Lynn’s blog at www.lynnslaughter.com

 

Beverle Graves Myers

Noncorporeal IV: Phantom Dusk, the latest annual anthology of ghostly tales from Inkd Publishing, launched this January. Beverle Graves Myers is proud to have her spooky story, Late for the Reunion, join 18 other strong author voices.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leanne Edelen

Leanne’s short story, Myrtle’s Way, is a winner in the Fiction category of Kentucky Monthly’s Penned Literary Contest.

It will appear in the upcoming February 2026 issue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeanette Pope

Jeanette will have a book signing event for the launch of her new novel, Throwaway Kids:

When: Feb 21, 2026 from 2PM – 5PM

Where:

University of Louisville Alumni Club

200 E Brandeis Ave, Louisville, KY 40208

Signing is in the Library at the Club

Stay in touch with Jeanette via her website: https://popeauthor.com/

 

Our Next Chapter Meeting will be February 14 at 11:30 am, EST. A separate post will go out next weekend with program details.

 

Send your news items to the following address: news@derbyrottenscoundrels.com

We will post on our Facebook page weekly and do a monthly round-up of news on the website.

 

Congratulations!

Video Recording – Paul Stansbury – Writing the Short Story

Paul Stansbury provided a very informative talk to our chapter on Saturday, on writing the short story. Due to technical difficulties, though the video of the zoom call worked, we only got attendees on screen – no video of Paul talking. So I added a still picture of Paul through most of the video. The audio is fine. On behalf of the entire video and web team here at DRS, we apologize for any inconvenience.

Paul Stansbury is a lifelong native of Kentucky. He is the author of the five volume Inversion short story collection, Down By the Creek – Ripples and Reflections, and Under the Faerie Moon, an illustrated poetry collection. Over one hundred forty of his stories and poems have been published in print anthologies as well as online publications. He is a Kentucky Monthly Penned winner. His short play, Nana Toby, was selected for the Festival of New Plays at Union Commonwealth University. He is Scheduling Coordinator for The Jeanne Penn Lane Celebration of Kentucky Writers. He is the owner of Sheppard Press. Now retired, he lives in Danville, Kentucky.

Email Paul Stansbury: pstansburywriter@gmail.com

Follow Paul Stansbury on Facebook: Paul Stansbury Author

Website: https://www.paulstansbury.com

 

DRS Chapter Meeting – October 11 at 11:30am ** Zoom Only

Reading Like a Writer Book Club

This month the Scoundrels will be discussing When Cicadas Cry by Caroline Cleveland. Henry has already done his homework! Hopefully you all have had a chance to read the book. Scroll down to the very end of this post to see who the killer is!

Elaine and Bev will lead the book discussion in which they’ll focus on the writing and craft issues

All writing consists of a series of choices. As we read Cicadas, we’ll examine Cleveland’s choices in structuring the story she wanted to tell.

Just to get you started, here are a few thoughts that occurred to us on a second read:

  • Bev thought she’d identified the killer by around page 68. Wrong! The author led us right down the garden path.
  • Cleveland starts the book with a first-person scene in the killer’s head and continues to work these in. Would the book work as well if she’d left these out?
  • The crimes involve a present-day murder and a cold case murder. Different characters focus on separate investigations that are deftly woven together to reach a climax. How did this structure affect your reading experience?
  • Set in the Deep South, the novel uses racial issues not just as background but to drive the plot and increase tension. How do you feel Cleveland handled these themes?
  • Does the romantic subplot detract from or add to the tension?

Date: October 11, 2025

Time: 11:30 am EST

Location:  This meeting will be zoom only

Zoom Registration Link

 

 

The Killer is . . . . are you kidding? I’m not going to tell you who the real killer is. Read the book!