J. Michael Orenduff

The 8th book in J. Michael Orenduff's award-winning "Pot Thief" murder mystery series - The Pot Thief Who Studied Edward Abbey - was released in May after receiving a starred review in Publishers Weekly and is already setting sales records.

The first book in the series, The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras, won the national Dark Oak Mystery Contest, and the Kindle version won the EPIC eBook Mystery of the Year for 2009. It was also named New Mexico Book of the Year.

The second book in the series,The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy, won the Best Fiction Book of the Year for 2010 from the Public Safety Writers Association, and the Kindle version won the EPIC eBook Mystery of the Year for 2009. This was the first time that two books in the same series had won back to back "Eppies."

The most impressive award is the Lefty, awarded to The Pot Thief Who Studied Einstein at the Left Coast Crime Conference in Santa Fe for the best humorous mystery of the year.

Mike received his M.A. from the University of New Mexico and his doctorate from Tulane University. He taught at universities in seven states and three countries including serving as president of New Mexico State University before starting a writing career after taking early retirement (or, as his friends describe it, a midlife crisis).

One of Mike's stage plays, The Christmas Visitor, had its world premier in December, 2013 at The Pasadena Little Theater to full houses for all ten performances. The play won the 2009 Jewel Box Playwriting Contest, and has also received recognition from the Solano Repertory Playwriting Contest in California, the McClaren Comedy Contest in Texas and was selected as one of the "Top 100" by Writers Digest.

Mike loves to hear from readers and theater patrons: ThePotThief@gmail.com