Welcome
Welcome to the official website of author Joan Long. Joan’s mystery novel, The Finalist, will be published by Level Best Books in March 2022.
Florida is Joan’s favorite setting for her novels and short stories, with tropical islands running a close second. She transports her readers to white-sand beaches where they can bask in the sunshine, sway in wide hammocks, and enjoy warm breezes. She takes them to Southern coffee shops and grand estates, to wonderlands where dreams come true and dreams end.
But even in the most beautiful places, crimes are committed. Villains are at large, and heroes are needed. After all, not everyone is good in paradise.
The Finalist
Coming March 15
Five authors, each with their own secrets, are chosen to complete a deceased novelist’s unfinished manuscript. For single mom Risa Marr, the competition is the opportunity of a lifetime. At stake is a million dollars and a contract to continue the famous novelist’s bestselling thriller series.
Transported to the tropical paradise of Key Island, the finalists are cut off from the world and given seven days to draft their best ending for the book. But when one of them turns up dead, theories and accusations abound. Accident? Suicide? Or Murder? To what lengths will competitors go to win? And who, if anyone, will leave the island alive?
Buy links coming soon.
About Joan
Joan is a third-generation Floridian who has been a finalist for several writing awards, including the Minotaur/Malice Domestic Award for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel. She was also a short-listed finalist for best novel-in-progress in a William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. In addition, she was a finalist for the Freddie Award for Writing Excellence, presented by the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of America.
Joan earned her bachelor’s degree in English/Creative Writing from Florida State University and a master’s degree in Journalism and Communications from The University of Florida. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, The Authors Guild, and International Thriller Writers.
She’s written for universities, healthcare institutions, a magazine, a public television station, anthologies, and more. Joan’s debut mystery novel, The Finalist, is coming from Level Best Books in March 2022. Her short story “The Extra Ingredient” appears in the Anthony Award-winning anthology Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible.
On a personal note, Joan once swam in a water-filled sinkhole. She doesn’t recommend it. While learning to waterski, she fell dangerously close to a congregation of alligators. She doesn’t recommend that either. Creating perilous adventures for fictional characters is much more to her liking.
Other Writing
The Malice Domestic anthology series returns with a new take on mysteries in the Agatha Christie tradition—36 original tales with a culinary bent! Joan’s contribution to this Anthony Award winner is “The Extra Ingredient.” The food may be tasty, but all is not well when a teenage hostess and a fair-minded cook match wits in a rural Florida diner.
Buy the anthology:
Events
2022
April 22-24
Malice Domestic
Bethesda, MD
May 31 – June 4
ThrillerFest
New York, NY
July 7-10
SleuthFest
Deerfield Beach—Boca Raton, Florida
Contact
Email Joan at joan@joanlongbooks.com or use the button below.
Media Downloads
