Rosemary Herbert

I am thrilled to report that my opening scene for a mystery thriller, "A Man in the House," has been selected by Val McDermid for inclusion in CrimeBits2: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles. I feel particularly honored to have my work selected by the groundbreaking Scottish crime writer McDermid, who is a major force in what has been called "Tartan Noir." Congratulations to Zoe Green, who is the top winner of the competition that brought 100 opening gambits together. Read more about the book on the publisher's blog. Published by Black Spring Press, the book is edited by Mc.Dermid and Luca Veste. CrimeBits2 will be published in the UK in August of this year and in the US on November 1, 2025. Pre-order from the publisher or from Amazon UK, or from Amazon US, or bookshop.org, or Barnes & Noble.

Poetry loves to straddle the edges of things. It is comfortable – or edgy in the most marvelous sense -- on the cusp. The poetry that comprises my chapbook Sisters in Time, forthcoming in June 2026 from Finishing Line Press, plays with borderlines, and junctures, and crossroads literally and of course figuratively. I will have much more to say about this as time goes on. For now, I celebrate having sent my manuscript ahead of deadline to my publisher, by sharing this photo. It was taken my me in the gorgeous edge environment along the water meadows of the River Itchen, in Winchester, England – where several poems in my book are set.

I am pleased to launch my blog on the occasion of having my poem, "Faith" published in Beyond Words, an international journal produced in print and online in Berlin, Germany. It is not easy to get published in any genre, and poetry is no exception, as there is such a wealth of excellent work vying for attention, hence I am thrilled to have my poem selected.

It takes perseverance and drive to get to this place, and I have that in abundance. I know this characteristic is partly constitutional. But I am also grateful for my years spent in the deadline-driven newsrooms of the Boston Herald and Portland Press Herald among others, for building my skills in working under pressure. Procrastination just does not cut it in the news world. And now, as I need to be a self-starter in producing and submitting work, I am glad to report that procrastination is a stranger to me.

Many who know me as a writer and editor in the crime and mystery genre, the poetry may come as a surprise. Let me assure you that I am still at work on mystery and mainstream fiction.

Now, it's time to fine-tune some work in progress.

Cheers!
Rosemary