I always enjoy hearing from readers. You can catch up with me on Facebook, friend me at Myspace, trade tweets at Twitter @laurabenedict, or get in on the conversation at my Notes From the Handbasket blog.

Email me at laura@laurabenedict.com.

Questions about literary or film rights for my work? Please contact Susan Raihofer at the David Black Literary Agency, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Phone: 212-242-5080

I'm available for readings, workshops and conferences and am happy to answer any questions you might have about my availability. I love to get together with book clubs in person, on the phone or by video on Skype.

As much as I enjoy reading new fiction, I regret that I can't review unsolicited manuscripts. I highly recommend the books Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction by Patricia Highsmith and Stephen King's On Writing. And be sure to join a writers' group. You'll get great criticism and make friendships for a lifetime.

I'll be at Bouchercon 2011--Spirits of St. Louis September 15-18.

Check out my short story, Five Revelations Concerning Jenny L., in the anthology, Noir at the Bar. Watch the killer trailer here.

Read my essay on the Sherlock Holmes classic, The Hound of the Baskervilles, in the award-winning Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads. Available now!

Be sure to friend me on Facebook

Catch me on Twitter.

There's a wonderful Latin phrase-- in medias res --that means in the middle of things. To my mind, that's always the best place to begin a story...