Hunnings, Vicky 1947-

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HUNNINGS, Vicky 1947-

PERSONAL: Born October 29, 1947, in Rushville, Indiana.; son Robert and Gladys (Rouse) Hunnings; divorced; children: Philip Bradley. Education: Nursing degree; postgraduate training as a nurse practioner. Religion: Presbyterian Hobbies and other interests: Reading, writing.

ADDRESSES: Home—Hilton Head Island, SC. Agent—c/o Avalon Books, 160 Madison Ave., 5th Floor, New York, NY 10016. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Author and nurse. Cardiac and intensive care nurse and family nurse practitioner in Indiana until 1981; nurse in South Carolina, 1981-98.

MEMBER: Sisters in Crime, Island Writer's Network.

AWARDS, HONORS: Hilton Head Monthly award for fiction, 2000.

WRITINGS:

The Bride Wore Blood, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Death on a Cellular Level, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Contributor of articles to professional journals.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Third book in the "Shark Morgan" series, Murder 101.

SIDELIGHTS: Mystery author Vicky Hunnings enjoyed a long and active career in medicine before becoming an author. She spent her early years in Indiana where, as a nurse she worked with cardiac and intensive-care patients. She has also been involved in reproductive health. In 1974 she was one of the first nurses in the country trained as a nurse practitioner. After graduation she established the first rural health clinic in Indiana staffed by a nurse practitioner where she did family practice for seven years. In 1981 Hunnings and her family moved to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, where she continued her work in medicine until 1998. Her fiction writing began with her retirement from medicine, but was not a completely new activity, as she had written articles on various aspects of nursing for journals and other professional publications. She joined a writers' group in South Carolina and thus, began her move into the mystery genre. Her debut novel, The Bride Wore Blood, was published in 2002 by Avalon Books. The second book in the series, Death on a Cellular Level, was released in August 2003.

Set in the Hilton Head area, The Bride Wore Blood is the first book in a series. Hunnings's novel begins with a dramatic murder in a small community, as businessman Marcus DeSilva is shot dead on the steps of the church on his wedding day. Nothing about the incident is clear: was it an accidental shooting by a careless hunter or a premeditated murder? An array of motivated suspects keeps the detectives busy, as does a growing romantic interest between the new widow and Shark Morgan, the chief detective on the case. In a review of the novel in the Beaufort Gazette, Keith Wells remarked that this is more than a mystery, it is also a study of love that is believable and full of complexity. Critics have noted the well-drawn nature of the characters' relationships and the skillful unfolding of the plot. A second work featuring Shark Morgan, Death on a Cellular Level, was issued in 2003.