Award-winning North Carolina photojournalists Joyce and Jim Lavene write the Peggy Lee Garden Mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime. Each book in the series, (PRETTY POISON, FRUIT OF THE POISONED TREE and POISONED PETALS) has been a national bestseller, a Barnes and Noble top-pick, and has gone into multiple printings. The next book in the series is PERFECT POISON, May 2008.

The couple are Master Gardeners and have worked with botanists in their state to save endangered wildflowers. Joyce also writes a syndicated garden column each week for local newspapers.

The Lavenes have written the Sheriff Sharyn Howard Mysteries from Avalon Books since 1999. The first book in that series, Last Dance, was nominated for the Master’s Choice Award for best first mystery novel.

Both series are set in North Carolina.

Their new projects are the Stock Car Racing Mysteries (Spring 2007, winter 2008) and the Pet Psychic Mysteries (summer 2008), from Midnight Ink Publishing.

They will have a new series with Berkley as well, the Renaissance Faire Mysteries (September 2008).

The Lavenes have also written 20 other novels in various genres and a book about writing, The Everything Guide to Writing a Novel, by Adams Media.

They promote with the Carolina Conspiracy, a group of North and South Carolina mystery authors. They are members of the Southeast Mystery Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters-in-Crime.