Perseverance Press/John Daniel & Co.
Tony Hays: R.I.P. at the age 58. His mystery, Shakespeare No More, will be published by Perseverance Press in September.
The only information on his death is from the funeral home's obituary
http://www.jenningsandayers.com/obituaries/Thomas-Hays-2/#!/Obituary
Since last fall, Tony, a Tennessee native, had been living in Saudi Arabia, teaching English as a second language. He contacted us frequently by email concerning the editing, proofs, and cover of his book. The last time we heard from him was a few weeks ago, when he said he was going to Luxor in Egypt on vacation. According to the obituary he fell ill there and died.
I never met Tony in person, and knew him only through emails. He was charming, collegial, and very cooperative in doing anything possible to benefit the book, and make it the best it could be. He was quite a scholar on Shakespeare and various theories on his possible murder. This was the first in a projected series about Shakespeare's friend, a Stratford constable. Tony had written a previous four-book Arthurian mystery series that garnered nine starred reviews and an award nomination. He will be missed from the company of historical mystery writers, as well as by other colleagues, friends, and family.
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Tony Hays was a novelist and journalist who has visited nearly thirty countries, while living and teaching in six of them, including three and a half years in Kuwait. While writing his Arthurian mystery series, set in Dark Ages Britain (Tor/Forge), Tony continued to teach and lecture both at home and abroad. The first two volumes of his series, The Killing Way and The Divine Sacrifice, have been released to critical acclaim. The Stolen Bride and The Beloved Dead are also part of this series. He also wrote the Who's Who Dunit Series that includes Murder on the Twelfth Night and Murder in the Latin Quarter, as well as the non-series novel The Trouble with Patriots.
In addition to writing fiction, Tony Hays is a working journalist who has covered topics as varied as narcotics trafficking (earning his newspaper the Tennessee Press Association award for Public Service in 2000), political corruption, Civil War history, and the war on terror.
Read a PW interview with Tony Hays HERE.
What a shock. I met Tony at Bristol Crime Fest two years ago. He had a very thick Kentucky accent which stood out among the various British ones. He also came across as a very nice guy, well versed in British history. I bought the first in his Arthurian series and enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI worked with Tony in Oman a few years ago, and it was a real treat to share an office with him. Tony was a person comfortable in his own skin, effortlessly personable. Though he was only in Oman for a semester, we stayed in touch over the past few years and traded books and emails. I was looking forward to catch up with him in the Gulf and will certainly miss him.
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