For Immediate Release For Additional Information Contact: Joyce Krieg (831) 649-6171 joyce@joycek.com FORMER SACRAMENTO  RESIDENT WINS MAJOR LITERARY AWARD WITH PUBLICATION OF JAZZ JUBILEE-THEMED NOVEL Former Sacramento resident Joyce Krieg has been named winner of the St. Martin's Press/Malice Domestic contest for "Best First Traditional Mystery" for her novel Murder Off Mike. Krieg's book is being published this spring by St. Martin's mystery imprint, Minotaur.  Murder Off Mike introduces Shauna J. Bogart, a smart and sassy radio talk show host/amateur sleuth. Shauna J. is used to dealing with the controversial, the contentious, the cranky, and the just plain crazed as the host of the afternoon gab-fest on the top-rated station in California's state capital. But nothing prepares her for the day a fellow shock talker turns up with a bullet in his head. The cops say it's suicide, but Shauna J. isn't buying it. She launches her own investigation, putting herself and the station at peril. The action climaxes with a page-turning chase scene through the streets of the Old Sacramento historic district during the city's famed Jazz Jubilee. St. Martin's Press, a major New York publisher, conducts an annual contest to discover the best mystery novel created by an unpublished writer, with the grand prize being publication by St. Martin's. The co-sponsor, Malice Domestic, is an organization of fans of traditional mysteries typified by the works of Agatha Christie. Krieg based Murder Off Mike on her experiences as a veteran staff member of KFBK NewsTalk 1530 in Sacramento, as well as 20-plus years attending the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee as a loyal fan. She joined the KFBK in 1978 as the first female news anchor, took in her first Jubilee in 1980, and spent many years as KFBK's Promotion Director.             Murder Off Mike is already garnering national critical accolades, with starred reviews in both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Publisher's Weekly says, "So vividly does the author describe the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee and the streets and heat of the city in May, one can hear the music, feel the crowds," while Booklist raves,  "Krieg's debut reads like the work of a seasoned mystery writer--in many ways, in fact, it reads better than the work of many genre veterans."  Kirkus Reviews calls Shauna J. Bogart "a keeper," while Roger Krum, executive director of the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, sums it up as "Incruckin' fedible!"             Krieg currently lives in Pacific Grove (Monterey County) and is busy working on the sequel to Murder Off Mike, which has just been sold to St. Martin's Press as part of a two-book contract. -0-0-

 

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