Five Compelling Questions with Shawn

Gabriel Valjan, the Agatha and Anthony Award nominated author of the Roma and Shane Cleary Mystery Series, joins Shawn to talk about juggling multiple series, short story writing and what he wanted to be when he grew up. 

Shawn talks with Lori Robbins, ballet dancer turned award-winning author, most recently of Murder in First Position, An On Pointe Mystery. 

Gerald Elias leads a double life as a world class musician and critically acclaimed author.

His award-winning Daniel Jacobus mystery series takes place in the dark corners of the classical music world. Devil’s Trill, his debut novel, was a Barnes & Noble Discover: Great New Writers selection. Elias’s prize-winning essay, War & Peace. And Music, excerpted from his memoir, Symphonies & Scorpions, was the subject of his TEDxSaltLakeCity2019 presentation. Many of his short stories and essays have appeared in prestigious journals ranging from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine to The Strad.

A former violinist with the Boston Symphony and associate concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, Elias has performed on five continents and has been music director of Salt Lake City’s popular Vivaldi by Candlelight chamber orchestra series since 2004. He divides his time between Salt Lake City and West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, maintaining a vibrant concert career while continuing to expand his literary horizons.

Join Award-Winning Author and Editor Shawn Reilly Simmons as she gets to know her guests by asking 5 Compelling Questions. 

Shawn's very first guest is Author Peter W. J. Hayes 

Peter was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and lived in Paris and Taipei before settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked as a journalist, advertising copywriter and marketing executive—including six years as Chief Marketing Officer for a multinational corporation—before turning to mystery and crime writing. He is the author of the Vic Lenoski police procedural series, and is a Derringer-nominated author of short stories. He is also a past finalist for the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Debut Dagger award. He can be found at www.peterwjhayes.com.

Shawn Reilly Simmons is an Award-Winning Author and Editor. She's published seven novels in her Red Carpet Catering mystery series as well as twenty short stories which have been published in various anthologies. Her story The Last Word, which appeared in Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible, won the Agatha Award for Best Short Story of 2019. Shawn, with co-editors Verena Rose and Rita Owen, also won the Anthony Award for Best Anthology or Collection for the same anthology.