Thanks for dropping by! 

Latest release: a Myrtle Clover mystery: Pretty is as Pretty Dies. August 2009 from Midnight Ink Publishers.

Summary:

No one in Bradley, North Carolina, is exactly crying into their sweet tea over the murder of Parke Stockard. Certainly not retired schoolteacher Myrtle Clover. Upon discovering the corpse, Myrtle is struck—not with grief, but a brilliant idea! Solving the murder would prove to everyone—especially her son Red, the police chief—that this eighty-something-year-old is still as sharp as a tack. Heck, going from crosswords to crime investigations isn't such a stretch. The old biddies of Bradley can waste away in blissful stagnation, but Myrtle's not ready to be put out to pasture just yet.

The victim, a pretty but pushy town developer, had deep pockets and few friends. Myrtle can't throw one of her gaudy garden gnomes without hitting a potential suspect. Even when another murder takes place, proud Myrtle forges on—armed only with a heavy cane, a venomous tongue, and a widower sidekick.

Blog:

Please pop over and visit me at my blog:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com

News:

I'm currently working on the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and a 3-book series for Penguin/Berkley Prime Crime--the Memphis Barbeque Mysteries (writing as Riley Adams).  Look for the first book, Delicious and Suspicious to arrive in bookstores in May 2010.

Reviews: 

Mystery Scene: "Craig’s skill at evoking a small town and its idiosyncratic inhabitants renders this mystery a pleasure to read. I’m looking forward to the further exploits of Myrtle Clover.”

"An amusing first in a new cozy series"
—Publishers Weekly

"The treat here is Myrtles eccentricity, brought to life with rich humor and executed for the most part with breezy skill."
—ForeWord

"I loved this book. The story is typical of a lot of small towns anywhere in the US, but Elizabeth Spann Craig added a new dimension with Myrtle and her elderly friends."

—Midwest Book Review

"Elizabeth Spann Craig delivers up one spunky crime-solver in her delightful new mystery.  I look forward to future tales of crime-fighter Myrtle and her band of Southern side-kicks!"
—Times Record News, Wichita Falls, Texas

The Publishers Weekly review: "The amusing first in a new cozy series from Craig...Myrtle's wacky personality is a delight."