Hi.  I’m Sally Handley, former professional services marketer and adjunct professor of English Composition.  I’m especially happy to announce that I have made the transition to full-time mystery writer.

Like so many others, I have loved reading mysteries since my first Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames books back in the 1950’s.  I got the idea for the Holly and Ivy series sitting in the garden at the Daniel Webster Inn on Cape Cod. My sister and I were admiring the flowers and I said something about Rosemary and Thyme, the PBS cozy mystery series that featured two women gardeners as amateur sleuths.  Suddenly I got the spark of an idea. Wouldn’t an American version be great…a series about two sisters who garden and solve mysteries? And that’s where it all began, the summer of 2010.

Since then I retired and relocated to South Carolina from northern New Jersey. I have been very fortunate to find a number of encouraging and supportive writers’ groups here, and I’ve even be honored to be elected President of the Sisters in Crime, Upstate South Carolina Chapter.

Best of all mystery writer, Judy Buch , whom I met at my first Sisters in Crime meeting, and I founded a Cozy Mystery Writers Critique Group to share and review writing samples and exchange helpful information about cozy mystery writing. We’re delighted to have noted author Cindy Blackburn  on board with us, along with aspiring author, Diana Manley. If you live in the Greenville, SC area and you’re a cozy mystery author looking for a group of like-minded writers, please contact me.

My move South and my transition to retirement have given me much to reflect on and write about. I’ve even begun the second book in the Holly and Ivy Mystery series, Frost on the Bloom, and hope to have that ready for publication at Christmas.

Please drop by my blog from time to time to see what I’m up to.  Be forewarned…that may not always be writing.  I find myself totally unable to resist the distractions of living in the culturally rich Greenville, SC community.  Most importantly, I’d love to hear from you, so please post your comments on the blog, share your opinions and experiences, and, perhaps, become a member of a mutual inspiration society.