Miss Demeanors

Author: Keenan Powell

Keenan Powell is the Agatha, Lefty, and Silver Falchion nominated author of the Maeve Malloy Mystery series. While still in high school, she was one of the illustrators of the original Dungeons and Dragons. Art seemed an impractical pursuit – not an heiress, wouldn’t marry well, hated teaching – so she went to law school instead. An Air Force brat, she was ready for a new place to go upon graduation so the day after commencement, she moved to Alaska where she continues to practice law. Her career has spanned the gamut from criminal defense, family law, dog law, personal injury, workers compensation, and appeals. In addition to writing the Maeve Malloy series, she has published a number of short stories including The Banshee of Adams, Massachusetts which short-listed for the Al Blanchard award. When not writing or practicing law, Keenan can be found oil painting, studying the Irish language, or hanging out with her friends at mystery conventions.

Titles, the Torture Of

June 20, 2022
Keenan Powell

suffered so much over my first title. #amstillsuffering

June 7, 2022
Keenan Powell

In In Place of Fear, we meet Helen Crowther the day before she begins her new job – her first job. She’s steeling herself, deciding what to wear, and still trying to persuade her parents that she’s not making a big mistake, biting off more than she can chew.

May 12, 2022
Keenan Powell

Kelly Oliver; Fiction is the Best Revenge!

April 29, 2022
Keenan Powell

Ideas come at you fast – and at weird times. Sometimes the best books take years to bake.

April 18, 2022
Keenan Powell

I just discovered a wonderful resource for the aspiring crime writer: The Manuscript Academy.

April 5, 2022
Keenan Powell

Spoiler Alert! The Letter in Fiction In series six of the popular crime fiction television show, Shetland, Donna is on her death bed when she asks Duncan to post a letter for her. That letter is received and opened after Donna’s demise and causes a whole lot of trouble. My lawyer-self said to my viewer-self, “that can’t happen! Everyone knows that letter is hearsay and thus inadmissible. Evidence Rule 802.” My viewer-self retorted: “Yeah, what the Linehan trial?” This was a case widely reported nationally a few years ago including on NBC’s Dateline and CBS’ 48 Hours. Dead Man Named His Killer, The Letter in Real Life Mechele Linehan was an exotic dancer in Anchorage who, through the course of her employment, met one Kent Leppink and one John Carlin III. She was living with both of them in 1996. Leppink was obsessed with her. He told people that she was his fiancé. He even purchased a $1 million life insurance policy naming her as his beneficiary. But he began to suspect she was having an affair with Carlin. Five days before his death, he changed the beneficiary to his father. His body was dumped near Hope, Alaska, shot to death. […]

March 23, 2022
Keenan Powell

Congratulations on writing your mystery! And you want the world to see it! Today we’re talking about independent publishers.

March 10, 2022
Keenan Powell

You want to be a published author. Perhaps you have written your first murder mystery novel and you think it’s pretty good. Don’t be shy! Pat yourself on the back! Writing an 80,000-90,000-word book is no small feat.

February 25, 2022
Keenan Powell

I’ve had mixed experiences with writer groups. So, I asked my Sister Miss D’s about their experiences and this is what they said.

February 14, 2022
Keenan Powell

Catriona McPherson asks the burning question: Now, as ever, when I think up a top five list, I am preparing to hear what I missed. Let me know your favourite romantic sub-plots and, once again, Happy Valentine’s Day!