Susan Wittig Albert is a mystery writer from Vermilion County, Illinois

Vermilion County, Illinois

Vermilion County is a county located in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Illinois, between the Indiana border and Champaign County. It was established in 1826 and was the 45th of Illinois' 102 counties...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. She currently resides in Bertram, Texas

Bertram, Texas

Bertram is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,122 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Bertram is located at . This is 10 miles east of Burnet and 37 miles northwest of Austin....

, near Austin

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, with her husband, Bill Albert.

Career

She is the author of the China Bayles

China Bayles

China Bayles is the fictional protagonist of a popular and critically acclaimed series written by educator Susan Wittig Albert, formerly a writer of the Carolyn Keene series, Nancy Drew....

 herbal mysteries, a popular and acclaimed series centering around the title character's deductive reasoning and knowledge as an herbalist and ex-lawyer, who solves murders with her best friend, Ruby Wilcox, owner of a New Age

New Age

The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...

 shop. "China Bayles ... is a former corporate lawyer who grew tired of the rat race and left it behind in Houston. She has moved to the Texas hill country ... Despite the slower pace of life in Pecan Springs, Texas, China still manages to run across her share of murders."

Albert grew up in downstate Illinois, attending Danville High School

Danville High School (Illinois)

Danville High School is a public high school located in Danville, Illinois. DHS is part of Danville District 118, which also includes two middle schools and eight elementary schools....

 before moving to the nearby community of Bismarck

Bismarck, Illinois

Bismarck is a village in Newell Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the 'Danville, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 542 at the 2000 census.-History:...

, where she graduated. She became a college professor of English

English studies

English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...

 and university administrator and vice president. She writes a column for Country Living Gardener magazine.

Her writing career has included the Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew is a fictional young amateur detective in various mystery series for all ages. She was created by Edward Stratemeyer, founder of the Stratemeyer Syndicate book packaging firm. The character first appeared in 1930. The books have been ghostwritten by a number of authors and are published...

 mysteries under the penname Carolyn Keene

Carolyn Keene

Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery stories and The Dana Girls mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate...

 in the 1980s.

By the 1990s, Albert was ready to embark upon an independent career and wrote Thyme of Death, her first China Bayles novel. The book was warmly received, and was nominated for two national mystery awards, the Agatha

Agatha Award

The Agatha Awards are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write via the same method as Agatha Christie...

 and the Anthony

Anthony Award

The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher , one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America....

.

All seventeen of the China Bayles novels include the names of herbs, and the subsequent mysteries invariably include detailed, meticulously reported herbal themes that invoke the title. She is a popular guest speaker at both herbal clubs and women's groups around the country. Albert has described her books as "cozy mysteries," because they do not describe much violence or gratuitous behavior.

She and her husband, Bill, have also co-written the The Robin Paige

Robin Paige

Robin Paige is the pseudonym of husband-and-wife team writing team Susan Wittig Albert and Bill Albert.See the entry on Susan Wittig Albert....

 Victorian Mysteries, a series of a dozen mysteries set in the Late Victorian era. Albert is also the author of The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, a series of mysteries featuring author Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter

Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children’s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.Born into a privileged Unitarian...

.

She was a keynote speaker at the Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave

Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave

The Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave is an annual convention for mystery writers and fans held in Manhattan, Kansas. The Conclave is a Non-profit organization.-Panelists:...

 in 2005.

The China Bayles Mysteries

• Thyme of Death (1992)
• Witches' Bane (1993)
• Hangman's Root (1994)
• Rosemary Remembered (1995)
• Rueful Death (1996)
• Love Lies Bleeding (1997)
• Chile Death (1998)
• Lavender Lies (1999)
• Mistletoe Man (2000)
• Bloodroot (2001)
• Indigo Dying (2002)
• An Unthymely Death (Short story collection) (2003)
• A Dilly of a Death (2004)
• Dead Man's Bones (2005)
• Bleeding Hearts (2006)
• The China Bayles Book of Days (October 2006)
• Spanish Dagger (2007)
• Nightshade (2008)
• Wormwood (2009)
• Holly Blues (2010)
• Mourning Gloria (2011)

The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter

• The Tale of Hill Top Farm (2004) ISBN 0-425-20101-5
• The Tale of Holly How (2005) ISBN 0-425-20274-7
• The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood (July 2006)
• The Tale of Hawthorn House (Sept 2007)
• The Tale of Briar Bank (Sept 2008)
• The Tale of Applebeck Orchard (Sept 2009)
• The Tale of Oat Cake Crag (Sept 2010)
• The Tale of Castle Cottage (2011)

The Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries

These were co-written with her husband, Bill Albert under the name Robin Paige

Robin Paige

Robin Paige is the pseudonym of husband-and-wife team writing team Susan Wittig Albert and Bill Albert.See the entry on Susan Wittig Albert....

.

• Death at Bishop's Keep (1994)
• Death at Gallows Green (1995)
• Death at Daisy's Folly (1997)
• Death at Devil's Bridge (1998)
• Death at Rottingdean (1999)
• Death at Whitechapel (2000)
• Death at Epsom Downs (2001)
• Death at Dartmoor (2002)
• Death at Glamis Castle (2003)
• Death in Hyde Park (2004)
• Death at Blenheim Palace (2005)
• Death on the Lizard (2006)

Nonfiction

• Writing From Life: Telling Your Soul's Story (1997) ISBN 0-87477-848-4
• Work Of Her Own: A Woman's Guide to Success off the Career Track (1992) ISBN 0-87477-767-4

External links

• Partners in Crime HQ Official site, shared with husband Bill