Taffy Cannon

Taffy is one of the fine mystery writers published by Perseverance Press. One of the most unusual (and I’m guessing bittersweet) books she’s written is The Tumbleweed Murders. When her friend and fellow-mystery writer Rebecca Rothenberg died of a brain tumor at age 50 in 1998, Taffy took on the difficult assignment of finishing the half-finished manuscript Rebecca left.  Reviewer Susan Anderson wrote at the time on www.bookbrowser.com (now a part of Barnes & Noble), "This is a book that stands well and proudly on its own; knowing the story behind its completion only adds to its impact. Taffy Cannon undertook a difficult, no doubt intimidating, project. She succeeded impressively. Together and yet separately, she and Rebecca Rothenberg have given us a lovely coda to a beloved series." I’ve read only one of Taffy’s books, her latest stand-alone mystery, Paradise Lost, but I’m already a fan. It only adds to her luster that she’s a long-time and award-winning volunteer for her local public library.  

Books

Mysteries

Nan Robinson Mysteries:

Travel Mysteries Written as Emily Toll

Young Adult Mystery:

(1996)  Mississippi Treasure Hunt

Fiction

(1985) Convictions: A Novel of the Sixties 

Author Profile:

Taffy Cannon grew up in Chicago, graduated from Duke University in North Carolina, then passed through Texas on her way to Southern California, where she has felt entirely at home for the past quarter-century. 

She is the author of thirteen published novels in which a great many people die, often unpleasantly.  Her work includes both series and standalone mysteries, an Academy-Award nominated short film, and Convictions: A Novel of the Sixties.  Her books have been finalists for Best Novel in the Agatha, Macavity, Left Coast Crime Western Regional, and San Diego Book Awards. 

Her Booked for Travel mystery series, written under the pseudonym Emily Toll, has visited Sonoma Wine Country, California Gold Rush country, Autumn in New England, and the Florida Keys. She completed The Tumbleweed Murders, a Claire Sharples Botanical Mystery begun by her friend and colleague, Rebecca Rothenberg, who died in 1998.              

She has worked a multitude of odd jobs from carnival barker to professional feminist, but intends her epitaph to read: "She Never Waitressed."  She once correctly wagered everything on a Women Writers Daily Double as a Jeopardy contestant.

She lives in Southern California, where she runs a Friends of the Library Bookstore and was recently honored with a President's Volunteer Service Lifetime Achievement Award for giving over 4000 hours of community service to the library.   

Profile and photo courtesy from the author’s website. Used with permission

Author’s website:  www.taffycannon.com