Really? You want to know about me? Okay…

My name is Laurie Sheehan. By day I’m a mild-mannered Program Analyst for the Department of Defense. Don’t get too excited, I work at a university – The Naval Postgraduate School. I do get to handle some cool unmanned systems, but there’s not much cloak and dagger to my job.

I’ve long been a member of Mystery Writers of America (MWA), a relationship that began with me in a flapper dress drinking cocktails in a cemetery in Potomac, Maryland near the graves of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. That’s a tale for another time, or, better yet, my first blog post. Back then I was “only” a fan, but over the years some super sweet and supportive MWA members have encouraged me to write.

Now I’m also a member of Sisters in Crime and the Guppies – more encouraging souls.

I read everything, but I’m most comfortable with cozy mysteries. My world can be awfully real, and I find that I often turn to lighter material as a distraction.

I have a degree in Cultural Anthropology (heavy on archaeology with a lot of physical anthropology and forensic anthropology tossed it), and year’s ago I started to write The Delaney Cross Mysteries – she’s an Archaeologist. I love Delaney and her friends, but when I started to write I had no idea what I was doing. Delaney’s stories seem to be a Rubik’s Cube, and I fear I’ll never be able to align the colors. Plus, I didn’t write with any thought of publishing, I just wrote for fun.

When I decided to get serious I began to write The Modern Speakeasy Mysteries. All the books will be named for Prohibition Era Cocktails. The first will be Death in the Afternoon, then The Bee’s Knees. After that maybe Blood and Sand, The Corpse Reviver, The Fencer, White Lady, Chicago Fizz… there are so many potential titles. The books will be culinary, with the title drink and other beverages (some Mocktails as well) featured along with food pairings.

I’ll go back to Delaney one of these days. She’s super fun, and she has some fantastic friends. It’s always good to hang at with them. The first book in that series is called Skinny-dipping with Sputnik.

I live in Pacific Grove with a supportive husband and a chunky tortoise shell cat with an attitude. I can often be found (when alone) at home singing off key or at a café over creaming my coffee.