Desert Sleuths Chapter
of Sisters in Crime
An Organization for Writers, Readers, and Fans of Crime Fiction and Mystery
Welcome!
Desert Sleuths is a proud member of Sisters in Crime, an international organization that promotes the ongoing advancement, recognition, and professional development of women crime writers. Sisters in Crime helps women achieve equality in the industry by raising professionalism, serving as the voice for excellence, and achieving diversity in crime writing.
Desert Sleuths is located in the Phoenix Metropolitan area and serves members throughout the State of Arizona and beyond! Our members include bestselling, award-winning authors, emerging writers, fans of mysteries and crime stories, and other writers of other genres. We are an inclusive organization. Whatever your gender, level of experience, or genre, you are welcome to join us!
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Current Events
Due to their popularity, Desert Sleuths is continuing hybrid (virtual and in-person) programs throughout 2023. We encourage local members to join us in person at the Tempe Public Library and those farther away to continue using Zoom.
Member Meeting: 6:00 p.m.; Presentation: 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
The current month program is highlighted below. See our entire month-by-month programming under the 2023 Events page.
October 2023

TWO-TRACK MIND: How a Second Career Shapes Your Writing Career (and vice versa), A conversation with screenwriter/teacher Wendall Thomas and author/licensed psychotherapist Dennis Palumbo
Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Most writers, even highly successful ones, balance two careers. In this workshop, authors Dennis Palumbo and Wendall Thomas will discuss the benefits and challenges of being a novelist with a full-time job.
Wendall will focus on how teaching screenwriting strengthens her novel writing, and vice versa, but also how her screenwriting career helps with pitching to agents and editors, hitting deadlines, participating on panels, and writing short selling documents. She’ll also discuss how she manages her own writing while keeping boundaries with her clients and creates vital time off in both arenas.
Dennis will discuss how his career as a psychotherapist contributes to the accuracy and relevance of his psychological thrillers, and how being a fiction writer informs his understanding of his patients’ personal narratives. He’ll suggest ways to glean expertise from your “day job” and weave it into a unique and realistic backdrop for your fiction, illuminating a world readers may not be familiar with. He’ll also provide some tips on how to address “burnout” in both careers.
Bios:
Wendall Thomas teaches in the Graduate Film School at UCLA, lectures internationally on screenwriting, and has worked as an entertainment reporter, development executive, script consultant, and film and television writer for companies including Showtime, NBC, Warner Brothers, A&E, Disney, and PBS. Her first Cyd Redondo novel, Lost Luggage, was nominated for the Lefty and Macavity Awards for Best Debut Mystery of 2017. Her second, Drowned Under, was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original and a Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery of 2019. Fogged Off was a finalist for Best Humorous Mystery of 2021. Her short fiction appears in the crime anthologies Ladies Night (2015), Last Resort (2017), the Anthony-nominated Murder-A-G-Go’s (2019), and Crime Under the Sun (2023). Her fourth Cyd Redondo mystery, CHEAP TRILLS, will be published on October 30th. https://www.wendallthomas.com/
Dennis Palumbo, formerly a Hollywood screenwriter (My Favorite Year; Welcome Back, Kotter; etc.), is a licensed psychotherapist whose work with creative people has been featured on CNN, NPR, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. He’s also the author of the popular nonfiction book, Writing from the Inside Out. His mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand and elsewhere, and is collected in From Crime to Crime. His series of Dennis Palumbo, formerly a Hollywood screenwriter (My Favorite Year; Welcome Back, Kotter; etc.), is a licensed psychotherapist whose work with creative people has been featured on CNN, NPR, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. He’s also the author of the popular nonfiction book, Writing from the Inside Out. His mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand and elsewhere, and is collected in From Crime to Crime. His series of award-winning mystery thrillers (the latest of which is Panic Attack) feature Daniel Rinaldi, a psychologist and trauma expert who consults with the Pittsburgh Police. Recently, Dennis served as Consulting Producer on the Hulu TV series The Patient. https://dennispalumbo.com/
Members, please come to the chapter member meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Preregistration required. Presenters are virtual unless they are already in the area. Select in-person or virtual. In-person attendance is at the Tempe Public Library. The Virtual Presentation is on Zoom. You will receive a confirmation message with the information for attending or to register on Zoom.
Please register for Twin-Track Mind before the event!
It’s all over except the replay!

WriteNow! 2023, September 22-23, 2023
Named Best Writers Conference in Arizona (2020, The Writer magazine)
Arizona’s premiere mystery/crime writers conference for authors, readers, and enthusiasts welcomes writers from all genres. WriteNow! 2023 will again be virtual, with an in-person anthology release and author signing.
With a focus on Craft ♦ Publish ♦ Market, there’s something for writers at all stages. Friday’s Pre-conference program includes one-on-ones with agents, manuscript assessments by an editor, and a marketing workshop. Saturday’s Main Conference has interviews, presentations, and a craft workshop.
Details are on our conference page.
2023 Events
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All 2022 Events
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Covid-19 Guidelines from SinC National and AZ DHS
SinC National has published their meeting guidelines for this stage of the Covid-19 pandemic:
2021 In-Person Meetings Guidelines
The AZ DHS has as well:
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