Kristina Stanley

Kristina Stanley is the author of the Stone Mountain Mystery Series. Her books have garnered the attention of prestigious crime writing organizations in Canada and England. Crime Writers of Canada nominated her first novel for the Unhanged Arthur award. The Crime Writers' Association nominated her second novel for the Debut Dagger. She is published in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

That's my formal bio out of the way. Now let me tell you something about myself and my writing journey. My passions are writing, sailing, skiing and dogs.

In 2008, I received a certificate from the Humber School For Writers Correspondence Course. Joan Barfoot was my mentor.

In 2010, I attended the HSW Summer Workshop. Mary Gaitskill was my workshop leader. That same summer, I became a member of the Crime Writers of Canada association.

In an effort to improve my writing, I attended the crime writing workshop hosted by Vicky Delany at the Scene of the Crime Mystery Lovers Festival on Wolfe Island in August 2011.

The fall of 2011 gave me another mentoring opportunity. The Crime Writers of Canada mentorship program paired me with Garry Ryan. What an amazing experience to have the president of the CWC work with me on my second novel.

The learning continued in August 2013 when I attended the writer's workshop hosted by Barbara Fradkin at The Scene of the Crime Mystery Lovers Festival on Wolfe Island, Kingston Ontario.

Happiness in 2014 arrived in the form of a nominations.

Crime Writers of Canada nominated my first novel, Descent, for the 2014 Arthur Ellis Unhanged Arthur for excellence in crime writing.

The Crime Writers' Association nominated my second novel, Blaze, for the 2014 Debut Dagger.

My short story When A Friendship Fails won the Capital Crime Writers 2014 Audrey Jessup.

So now we're into 2015.

In March, I signed a two-book deal with Imajin Books for Descent and Blaze. As I type this, I feel very lucky and excited.

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine published When a Friendship Fails in their May 2015 issue.