Susan Cummins Miller Home Page
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Susan Cummins Miller Home Page
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About the Author
Welcome to my website! Here's a short bio:
I was born and raised in southern California and now reside in Tucson, Arizona.
My educational background is in the sciences and liberal arts. My degrees include B.A.s in history, anthropology, and geology, and an M.S. in Geology.
I worked for the U. S. Government (primarily with the U. S. Geological Survey), conducting fieldwork in California, Nevada, Idaho and Utah. Subsequently, I taught introductory geology and oceanography at the college level and offered short courses in writing, geology, paleontology, and oceanography in Tucson area schools. I am currently a Research Affiliate of SIROW (the Southwest Institute for Research on Women) at the University of Arizona.
***The fourth Frankie MacFarlane novel, HOODOO, a puzzle mystery set in the Chiricahua Mountains of SE Arizona, was released this spring by Texas Tech University Press (ISBN-13: 978-0-89672-623-9; ISBN -10: 0-89672-623-1). HOODOO was an April, 2008, "Killer Book" pick of the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association [http://killerbooks.org/2008archive.html]. Signed copies may be ordered from Clues Unlimited, Mostly Books, or Antigone's, Tucson; and from Texas Tech University Press. For those of you in bookclubs, the TTUP website (http://www.ttup.ttu.edu/pdfs/HoodooConversationsFlyer%20022208.pdf) contains a conversation with the author.
DEATH ASSEMBLAGE (TTUP, 2002; HC ISBN: 0-89672-481-6; PB ISBN: 0-89672-517-0), the first mystery featuring geologist Frankie MacFarlane, involves ancient and recent murders in Pair-a-Dice, Nevada. For those in book clubs, the TTUP website contains book discussion questions (http://www.ttup.ttu.edu/BookPages/0896725170.html).
DETACHMENT FAULT (ISBN: 0-89672-520-0), the sequel to DEATH ASSEMBLAGE, is set in Tucson, AZ, and the borderlands of Sonora, MX. After geosleuth Frankie MacFarlane pulls a body from the Sea of Cortez, a friend disappears in Mexico, and a colleague and student are slain in Tucson, Frankie's search for answers leads her into the shadow world of money-laundering and the antiquities trade. Berkley Prime Crime's mass market paperback version of DETACHMENT FAULT (ISBN: 0-425-20893-1) is now out of print, although copies can still be found on the Internet.
When Frankie returns to UC-Del Rio, CA, to defend her geology dissertation in QUARRY (hardcover, ISBN: 0-89672-574X; cover photo above), police seek her help in resolving past crimes, her mentor is victim of a hit and run, someone's stalking her dissertation committee, and a student's disappearance triggers a manhunt in the Mojave Desert. Berkley Prime Crime released the paperback edition of QUARRY (ISBN 978-0-425-21488-6) in 2007. QUARRY was chosen as a 2006 Southwest Books of the Year Notable book, and a finalist for the 2007 WILLA Award (Contemporary Fiction). QUARRY also received the ForeWord Magazine 2006 Gold Award (Mystery) and the 2007 New Mexico Book Award (Mystery).
My poems have appeared in, among others, Sandcutters: Journal of the Arizona Poetry Society; OASIS Journal (2003-2007); and the anthology WHAT WILDNESS IS THIS: WOMEN WRITE ABOUT THE SOUTHWEST (2007).
In the non-fiction category: In December 2007, Texas Tech University Press released a new edition--with new preface--of my anthology, A SWEET, SEPARATE INTIMACY: WOMEN WRITERS OF THE AMERICAN FRONTIER, 1800-1922 (ISBN 978-0-89672-618-5). Signed copies are available from Texas Tech University Press.
At present, I'm working on Frankie's next adventure, FRACTURE, set in Arizona and northern California. In my spare time, I'm researching/writing about my grandmother's life, incorporating her published and unpublished autobiographical articles, short stories, and poems.
I'm a SIROW Scholar and a member of the Geological Society of America, Western Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, Society of Southwestern Authors, Women Writing the West, Sisters in Crime, Arizona Geological Society, and Western Literature Association. I'm also a member of Southwest Crime Ink with mystery writers Elizabeth Gunn <http://home.comcast.net/~pgunn18/ElizabethGunn.html>, J. M. Hayes <http://www.jmhayes-author.com/>, and Margaret Falk <http://www.jcarsonblack.com/>.
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Upcoming Events and Signings, 2008-9
I'll be teaching, participating in author-panels and workshops, giving readings, attending conferences, and/or signing copies of my books at the following locations:
2008:
Saturday, September 20. Southwest Crime Ink (Elizabeth Gunn, J.M. Hayes, and myself) panel discussion/signing. Desert Foothills Library, 38443 N School House Rd, Cave Creek, AZ, 10 a.m.-noon.
Saturday, September 20. Southwest Crime Ink panel discussion/signing. Velma Teague Library, 7010 N 58th Ave, Glendale, AZ, 2 p.m.
Saturday September 27. New Mexico Women Authors' Book Festival, Milner Plaza on Museum Hill, Santa Fe, NM. Presentation on Nancy Curtis Burlin and Alice Corbin Henderson (from A SWEET, SEPARATE INTIMACY: WOMEN WRITERS OF THE AMERICAN FRONTIER, 1800-1922) at the “History and Biography Pavilion,” 10 a.m., followed by signing.
October 5-9. Houston, Texas. 2008 JOINT MEETINGS--GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA (GSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies, and Gulf Coast Section of SEPM (GCAGS); hosted by the Houston Geological Society (HGS)--celebrating the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF PLANET EARTH. Author event sponsored by GSA Bookstore during opening of the Exhibition Hall, Sunday evening, October 5, 7-9 p.m.
Saturday, October 18. AAUW Branch Meeting, The Fountains at La Cholla, Tucson, 9:30 a.m. (speech/signing)
Friday/Saturday, December 5-6. Arizona Historical Society Holiday Book Fair. Arizona Historical Society Tucson Main Museum, 949 E 2nd St, Tucson. Signings Friday evening, 6-8 p.; Saturday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
2009:
Sunday, January 11. Book discussion & signing, small clubhouse, Desert Pueblo Senior Park, 1302 W. Ajo, Tucson, 1 p.m.
March 7-12. Left Coast Crime 2009, Waikoloa Marriott, Hawaii. Panel discussion/signing (time TBA).
March 13-15. Tucson Book Festival. Southwest Crime Ink (Elizabeth Gunn, J.M. Hayes, Margaret Falk, and myself) panel discussion/signing, UA campus, Tucson (time TBA).
Tuesday, March 24. Mystery Book Club talk/signing, Geasa-Marana Branch Library, 13370 N Lon Adams Rd, Marana AZ, 5 p.m.
June. Western Writers of America Convention, Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, OK.
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Recent Awards
Artist-in-Residence, Djerassi, Woodside, CA (Winter, 2008).
Winner (Turquoise Award), 2007 New Mexico Book Award (Mystery), for QUARRY.
Finalist, 2007 WILLA Award (Contemporary Fiction), for QUARRY.
Gold Award, ForeWord Magazine 2006 Book of the Year (Mystery), for QUARRY.
Notable Book, 2006 Southwest Books of the Year (TPPL), for QUARRY.
2006 Arizona Humanities Council grant for program presented at the Arizona Book Festival.
Finalist, 2004 Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers' Book Award (Adult Fiction), and Honorable Mention, ForeWord Magazine 2004 Book of the Year (Mystery), for DETACHMENT FAULT.
Finalist, 21st and 22nd Annual Tucson Poetry Festival Statewide Poetry Contests (2004, 2005).
Artist-in-Residence, Djerassi, Woodside, CA (Winter, 2004).
2002 Amanda and Mike Tevis Fellowship for residency at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside, CA.
Artist-in-Residence, Djerassi, Woodside, CA (Spring, 2002).
1st and 3rd places, Arizona State Poetry Society Annual Contest 2000.
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