A Few Big Surprises...

And MAY you find some free books you like inside!

May 17, 2026

May Raffle: Win a Digital Copy of the Agatha-winning Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to New England

As you’ll read below, the first volume of Vacations Can Be Murder won several awards this past month, and so I’ll be raffling it off in May. Here’s the blurb:

As Close as You Can Get to Murder While Still Breathing!

For the true crime lover: Finally, a travel guide from an award-winning travel journalist and suspense author that gives you the down and dirty on exactly where the major crimes occurred, and where the bodies are buried. For aficionados of paranormal, prison, and tombstone travel, there’s a goldmine of tourism suggestions for you here as well.

Along with summaries of the major crimes committed in New England, you’ll discover where to find the best crime and ghost tours; which hotels and restaurants are former jails, courthouses, or harbor paranormal activity; where infamous criminals are/were jailed, and which venues and attractions might feed your fancy for murder and justice. Reading lists in each chapter will guide you to books expounding on the crimes discussed.. Best of all, suggested itineraries bring all the pieces together to help you traverse New England’s criminal landscape in an organized and entertaining way. Up for a true crime road trip? Let Vacations Can Be Murder be your ultimate travel guide.

To win an eBook copy, send me an email between now and May 31st with the subject line: “Vacations Can Be Murder May Raffle.” That’s all there is to it! I’ll pick a winner shortly after the end of the month and will announce that winner in next month’s newsletter. Good luck!

NOTE: The winner of April’s raffle was Janice Rexroth, who won a paperback copy of The Dark Library by Mary Anna Evans. Congratulations, Janice!

FREE BOOKS!

My gift to you: two links to free books offered by some other mystery, suspense, and romance/romantic suspense authors for you to download.

Here are this month’s links:

May Flowers & Pretty on the Surface, Deadly Underneath:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/deadlyunderneath/bujwkfx4jt

Free, Forbidden, Addictive:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/freeforbiddenaddictive/9on5p65klq

This Month, The Accolades Commenced…

I went to the Malice Domestic conference in Bethesda, MD this past month because Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to New England had been nominated under the Nonfiction category. What a great event! It was a fun-filled four days, seeing old friends and making new ones, participating in a panel, auctioning off an 80,000-word edit to benefit childhood literacy, signing some books, attending one dinner with the Miss Demeanors attendees and a luncheon with the attending members of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, sponsoring a banquet table with Elizabeth Crowens, and best of all, WINNNG THE AGATHA! So many wonderful authors, including Catriona McPherson and S.J. Rozan, came up to congratulate me. I’ve added some photos below.

But that wasn’t all. Though I didn’t attend their banquet, I learned a few days later that the same book won First Prize in the Chanticleer Instruction and Insight category and then…two weeks later, I found out it had been nominated for the Anthony Award, to be given out at Bouchercon in Calgary in October. I am so excited that this book has gotten so much attention and I hope that if you’re interested in travel and true crime, you’ll pick up a copy!

Here are some pics from the event:

Pictured: Mavens of Mayhem authors Cathi Stoler, Mally Becker, me, Tina deBellegarde, Eleanor Kuhns, Carol Pouliot, and Shelly Jones.

Panel of Contemporary Novelist Nominees (and me): S.J. Rozan (moderating), me, Connie Berry, Lori Robbins, Mindy Quigley (who won), Leslie Karst, and Annette Dashofy, who was a guest of honor at the event.

Meeting Catriona McPherson, who gave me a congratulatory hug!

Celebrating with S.J. Rozan

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Hanging out with fellow Miss Demeanor Connie Berry

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Still in awe that I won!

What am I Reading?

I’m back in the pool five days a week with my waterproof headphones, and my iPhone waterproofed and playing books I’ve downloaded from Audible. Right now, I’m listening to the second book in Don Winslow’s Danny Ryan series, titled City of Dreams and it’s great, especially if you like anything in the Goodfellas mode.

On the nonfiction front, I’m reading Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss because hey, I still sell real estate, and I try to keep on with books on negotiation practices.

Thanks for reading Barr Sinister: The Suspenseful World of D.M. Barr! This post is public so feel free to share it.

What have I been up to?

Exciting News:

I have been elected to serve as co-president of Sisters in Crime-New York/Tristate. We have over 175 members, so this should be a challenge. My co-president is the wonderful playwright and short story writer, Nina Mansfield. The adventure awaits!

Editing:

One of the books I edited has been offered a publishing contract with a hefty advance, but I don’t want to mention more until the author decides what he wants to do because he’s considering self-pubbing due to a time crunch.

If you’re a writer attending Killer Nashville, I’ll be meeting with authors to discuss the manuscript snippets they send me in advance. This looks to be an amazing conference, and I hope to see you there.

Personal Appearances:

I was part of Sinister Spring at the Clifton Park Half Moon Library in April (where I got to have dinner with Terry Farley Moran of Murder She Wrote fame!), and also participated in a panel on mystery writing at the Putnam Valley Library, both with fellow Mavens of Mayhem. Pictured below are authors Eleanor Kuhns (moderator), myself, Lori Robbins, and Rodney Carpentier.

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I attended CrimeConn on May 16th and the Mind of the Serial Killer “Experience” in New York on May 17th. Here’s what’s still coming:

May 20th: Hosting QueryFest online for SinC-NY/Tri-State, 6:30-8:00 pm

May 26th: New York Travel Writers Assoc. program, Soho Photo Gallery NYC, 5-7pm

May 30th: MWA Mystery Writer Panel, Hoboken Public Library 2-4pm

June 10th: Sisters in Crime Year-End Party, ushering in my Two-Year stint as Co-President 6-8pm Taylor Public House NYC

June 11th: MWA Spring Fling, Taylor Public House NYC 6-9pm

\August 21-24: Killer Nashville, Franklin, TN

October 21-25: Bouchercon, Calgary, Alberta

November 10-14: Author Nation, Las Vegas, NV

I love interacting with readers! If you’d like me to speak at your organization or appear at your book club (in person if in the NY Tristate area, otherwise via Zoom) please contact me at dawnbarclayauthor@gmail.com.

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Do you know someone who needs a good editor? Refer me, and if they use me, you’ll get a referral payment as a thank you! Contact me for more details. You can see information and pricing at http://suggesteddevelopment.com. I edit everything except science fiction, fantasy, poetry, and anything with discriminatory or hateful content. I am also a book coach, if you need accountability, hand-holding, and someone to walk you through the querying process.

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My past post from Miss Demeanors (www.missdemeanors.com) ran on May 5th and was all about character and author naming trends. In June, I’m writing about how to get more involved in short-story writing. Be sure to check both out here. Miss Demeanors is a great blog that was voted #25 in the Top 400 Mystery/Suspense Blogs list for 2025, so be sure to subscribe!