I’m very pleased to announce that my stories, Mai Tai Murder and Embassy Row have done very well in the 2025 National Excellence in Story Telling (NEST) Contest! Mai Tai Murder placed second in the Suspense category. Embassy Row, tied for third place in the non-romance category of the Unpublished Nest contest. You can find Mai Tai Murder within the Hot & Sticky anthology for your reading pleasure. For Embassy Row, you’ll have to wait a little longer. I’m currently working through edits to finalize it but have attached the opening lines. Thank you to the organization, and to the judges for their hard work! 
Katherine McLellan 