The first meeting of every year is when we elect a new board of directors. To be eligible to vote, members must have attended at least three of the last five business meetings. (Business meetings are the first Wednesday of every month.)

This year's slate of candidates is:

President: Russell Connor
1st Vice President: A. Lee Martinez
2nd Vice President: Carolyn Williamson
Secretary: Nik Holman
Treasurer: Fred Campos
Director: Kristen Lamb
Director: Chris Lee Moore

Thanks to these members for stepping up to lead the organization through another great year!

The Workshop has a long-standing tradition that it meets every Wednesday, regardless. We've met on Christmas Day and July 4th. We've met during very icy winter storms when we probably shouldn't have been out on the roads driving. But we're dedicated like that.

The tradition was put to the test again in December. Both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve fell on Wednesdays.

We expected maybe four or five people to show up on these days (normal meeting attendance is between 40 and 50). But for Christmas Eve, we had 11 people, and for New Year's Eve, we had 20! And 10 of us went on to IHOP for after-meeting dinner and conversation. The Workshop is a fantastic group of people serious about their writing, and as you can see, we obviously like spending time with each other and consider the organization important to our lives. And if you've been thinking that associating with other writers might be a good experience for you, we encourage you to come visit us and give us a try!

At the December 3rd meeting during our annual holiday dinner, the Workshop recognized one of its very special members for years of service to the organization and for his accomplishments as a writer. Jack currently holds the Workshop record for most published novels, with 19 titles to his credit. A member since the 1980s, he has served on the Workshop board and was a voice of authority during the weekly read and critique sessions for many years. He doesn't get to attend as often as we'd like these days due to health reasons, but we wanted Jack to know how much he appreciate him. And we caught him totally by surprise! We made sure he was there for the meeting, but he had no idea we were going to present him with something. Thanks for all you've done for the Workshop, Jack!

"It's a wonder Laurie Moore's madcap mysteries haven't hit the big screen. The former Fort Worth cop's whodunits possess enough rowdy action, sex and rambunctious characters for a franchise.

Take the latest, Jury Rigged, third in her Cowtown police homicide series starring Cézanne Martin, a fiery, hard-driving detective with an attitude and law degree.

More Calamity Jane than Jane Marple, Cézanne has a big mouth, a badge and a Smith & Wesson five-shot just like her creator carried when she was on the job. She also has an unholstered libido.

Already the spunky sleuth has solved a couple of high-profile murders, one undercover involving the Dungeons of Decadence sex club in The Wild Orchid Society (2004). She also solved the murder of her captain's daughter, who was the secret lover of Cézanne's police partner, in The Lady Godiva Murder (2002).

On 90-day leave from the department to set up her law office, Cézanne gets a diamond ring from Sheriff Bobby Noah, who then disappears. Next, a murderess escaped from jail tries to kill her, and much to the detective's surprise, she inherits a stately brownstone on University Drive from her long-estranged dad.

But with the legacy come grasping relatives she didn't know she had, a missing brother (or is he?) and Deuteronomy Devilrow, her adolescent Voodoo-practicing ward with a harlequin Great Dane named Enigma...

Ms. Moore began writing crime fiction between classes at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law and sometimes played hooky to attend the DFW Writers Workshop, where members read and critique each other's work. Her breakthrough came when a visiting agent heard the Texan read from one of her policewoman procedurals. Perhaps Hollywood should bend an ear, too.

 

Jury Rigged

Laurie Moore

(Five Star Publishing, $25.95) "