Indie Reads Aloud with Erica Miner and "Aria For Murder"
- Diana Kathryn
- Oct 17
- 2 min read
Indie Reads Aloud Radio
Episode # 255
Aria For Murder:
Book One in The Julia Kogan Opera Mystery Series
Written by Erica Miner
Excitement mounts as the moment arrives for brilliant young violinist Julia Kogan's debut in the orchestra of the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera. But the high-stakes milieu of this musical mecca is rocked to its core when, during an onstage murder scene, Julia's mentor, a famous conductor, is assassinated on the podium. Thrust into the investigation when her closest colleague in the orchestra is named chief suspect, Julia teams up with opera-loving NYPD detective Larry Somers to solve the murder. In the process, they are shocked to discover the venerable opera house is rife with a web of secrets, intrigue, and lethal rivalries. But all bets are off when Julia suddenly finds herself the real killer's prime target.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:After a successful career as a violinist with New York’s Metropolitan Opera, award-winning writer, lecturer, arts journalist, and screenwriter Erica Miner transitioned into writing full time. In her Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series, she draws on her experience with her two great loves, music and writing, to create fanciful plot fabrications that guide readers through a dramatized version of the opera world by revealing the dark side of that fascinating milieu.
In 2022, Level Best Books published the first in Erica's Opera Mystery series, Aria for Murder (finalist in the 2023 Eric Hoffer Book Awards and Chanticleer Independent Book Awards), in which talented neophyte violinist Julia Kogan witnesses the murder of her mentor, a famous conductor, during a performance at the Met, soon finds herself entangled in the murder investigation, and becomes the killer's next victim. The equally thrilling sequel, Prelude to Murder, (‘A skillfully written whodunit of operatic proportions’—Kirkus Reviews; a Distinguished Favorite in the 2024 NYC Big Book Awards), which takes place at Santa Fe Opera, released in 2023. Book 3, Overture to Murder, set at San Francisco Opera, releases in Oct. 2024.
Erica frequently contributes reviews and interviews of real-world musical artists for the well-known arts websites BroadwayWorld, Bachtrack, and LA Opus. Her writings also have appeared in PNWA Magazine, Vision Magazine, WORD San Diego, Our City Istanbul, and numerous E-zines. She has lectured about writing and opera for groups from coast-to-coast and internationally, and has been interviewed numerous times on radio and online podcasts.
Erica has presented writing workshops for Sisters in Crime; Los Angles Creative Writing Conference; EPIC Group Writers; Write on the Sound; Fields End Writer’s Community; Savvy Authors; numerous libraries on the west coast; and a solo Author Spotlight at the 2023 Bouchercon Conference in San Diego.
Musically speaking, Erica has been featured in pre-concert lectures for the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall and seminars at: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of California San Diego and the University of Washington; the Creative Retirement Institute at Edmonds College in the greater Seattle area; and Wagner Societies in Boston, New York, the Bay Area, Los Angeles, San Diego, North Carolina, and New South Wales (Sydney, Australia).
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