Myers, Amy 1938-

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MYERS, Amy 1938-

(Alice Carr, Laura Daniels, Harriet Hudson)

PERSONAL: Born August 3, 1938, in Kent, England; daughter of Albert Edward (an electrical contractor) and Grace Violet (Hudson) Howlett; married James K. Myers, 1976. Ethnicity: "English/Caucasian." Education:University of Reading, B.A., 1959. Politics: "Variable." Religion: Church of England. Hobbies and other interests: Country walking, theater history, "thinking up new plots."

ADDRESSES: Agent—Dorian Literary Agency, Upper Thornhill, 27 Church Rd., St. Marychurch, Torquay, South Devon TQ1 4QY, England.

CAREER: William Kimber and Co. Ltd. (publisher), London, England, director, 1960-88; novelist, 1988—.

MEMBER: European Association of Planned Giving, Crime Writers Association, Romantic Novelists Association, Society for Theatre Research.

WRITINGS:

CRIME NOVELS

Murder in Pug's Parlour, Malvern Publishing (Worcestershire, England), 1986, revised edition, Headline (London, England), 1989, Avon (New York, NY), 1992.

Murder in the Limelight, Malvern Publishing (Worcestershire, England), 1986, Avon (New York, NY), 1992.

Murder at Plum's, Headline (London, England), 1990, Avon (New York, NY), 1993.

Murder at the Masque, Headline (London, England), 1991, Avon (New York, NY), 1993.

Murder Makes an Entree, Headline (London, England), 1992, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Murder under the Kissing Bough, Headline (London, England), 1993.

Murder in the Smokehouse, Headline (London, England), 1994, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1997.

Murder in the Music Hall, Headline (London, England), 1995.

Murder in the Motor Stable, Headline (London, England), 1996.

Murder with Majesty, Severn House Publishers (Sutton, Surrey, England), 1999.

Murder in the Queen's Boudoir, Severn House Publishers (Sutton, Surrey, England), 2000.

Myers's crime novels have also been published in Germany.

NOVELS; UNDER PSEUDONYM HARRIET HUDSON

Look for Me by Moonlight, Headline (London, England), 1989.

When Nightingales Sang, Headline (London, England), 1990.

The Sun in Glory, Headline (London, England), 1991.

The Wooing of Katie May, Headline (London, England), 1992.

The Girl from Gadsby's, Headline (London, England), 1996.

Into the Sunlight, Severn House Publishers (New York, NY), 1996.

Not in Our Stars, Severn House Publishers (New York, NY), 1998.

Winter Roses, Severn House Publishers (New York, NY), 1999.

The Songs of Spring, Severn House Publishers (New York, NY), 2000.

To My Own Desire, Severn House Publishers (New York, NY), 2000.

Quinn, Severn House Publishers (New York, NY), 2001.

Here Comes the Sun (novel), Severn House Publishers (New York, NY), 2003.

Other titles as Hudson include Tomorrow's Garden, Severn House (New York, NY).

OTHER

(Editor) Ghost Stories, Volumes 1-4, William Kimber (England), 1995-98, Volume 5, Robert Hale (England), 1991.

(With Jean Cockett) Lenham and Boughton Malherbe in Old Photographs, Meresborough Books (England), 1991, revised edition, privately printed, 1998.

(Under pseudonym Laura Daniels) Pleasant Vices (novel), Headline (London, England), 1994.

(Under pseudonym Laura Daniels) The LakenhamFolly (novel), Headline (London, England), 1995.

(Under pseudonym Alice Carr) The Last Summer (novel), Orion (London, England), 1996.

(Under pseudonym Alice Carr) Dark Harvest (novel), Orion (London, England), 1997.

(Under pseudonym Harriet Hudson) Murder Most'Orrible (short stories), Crippen & Landru (New York, NY), 2003.

Work represented in anthologies. Contributor of short stories to periodicals, including Ellery Queen.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Murder by Moonlight: A Parson Pennywick Mystery (tentative title); research on the history and prehistory of Kent, England.

SIDELIGHTS: Amy Myers told CA: "I started out with the intention of changing the world, but have found that what I'm best at is telling stories. So that's what I do—and as the world will always need stories, that satisfies me and I enjoy it.

"The first influence on my writing was working my way as a child through my parents' bookshelves, including the forbidden territory. The second was the 'Golden Age' crime writers, an influence that remains with me, though I adapt it to our modern age.

"My writing process is, in one word, tortuous. I usually begin a novel in longhand, put it into the computer, rewrite it in longhand, put it into the computer again, and then revise, revise, revise. I plot, say, sixty percent of the novel before I begin, including the beginning and the end, and the remaining part works itself out as I go along.

"My early married life in Paris gave me the idea of using a French master cook as a detective, and my love of history gave me the Victorian/Edwardian setting for my crime novels. My love of history, together with editing historical nonfiction and fiction in my publishing career, led to my women's fiction novels. In particular, a present of two Victorian photographs from an author whose theatrical memoirs I edited led to a great interest in theater history."