CINCINNATUS – Maggie Shayne has been publishing books since 1992. With over 100 titles centered around romance, Shayne’s newest project is a mystery-thriller tackling some dark themes.

According to Shayne, she has been writing since first grade. “We’d be told to write a sentence or a paragraph and I would turn in a construction paper book with crayon illustrations and a binding provided by my teacher’s stapler.” However, her professional writing career began in 2002 when she published her first book, Reckless Angel. Since that time, the prolific author has published over 100 full-length books and at least 12 more novellas with many of the largest publishers in the industry. She added that none of those titles have required the use of AI.

“Most of my books have been in the romance genre,” Shayne said. “I’ve written every kind—paranormal romances with vampires, witches, and ghosts, suspense-filled romantic thrillers, down-home, small-town romances, western romances, and rom-coms.” Her newest book is far different than her usual. Shayne’s newest title, Arsenic and Old Ladies, has no romance themes. “Arsenic and Old Ladies is a wickedly funny mystery-thriller set in Cortland NY, about four female best friends in their 60s who accidentally kill a pedophile, and discover they’re pretty good at it,” Shayne explained. While the genre and tone of this book were very different than Shayne’s usual, she explained that writing about the friendship between four women that has spanned decades was even more powerful to her.

While the book tackles a dark topic, Shayne said it came to her rapidly. “Once I started it, I couldn’t stop. Sometimes my husband would hear me laughing—alone with my laptop, rapid-tapping keys, and laughing out loud,” she said. The fact that Shayne could laugh while writing about such a dark topic was not lost on her. “It’s a serious subject, but since it’s nearly impossible for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to get justice in the real world, it feels really good to dole it out in fiction.”

Arsenic and Old Ladies is available now in print, audio and ebook formats. “It is deliciously dark, tightly paced, and fun to read. You’ll laugh out loud and cry your eyes out,” Shayne said. “Then, if I’ve done my job, you’ll be asking when the sequel is coming.” The answer to that question is Dec. 8.