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MISSION: Sisters in Crime was founded in 1986 to promote the ongoing advancement, recognition, and professional development of women crime writers. Please view our Code of Conduct.
Sisters in Crime Orange County – The Blood Orange welcomes everyone interested in or passionate about the mystery genre, including writers—published, aspiring, or pursuing careers—readers, booksellers, publishers, librarians, editors, agents, promoters, reviewers, and fans.
If you love mystery fiction as much as we do, join us. Mystery lovers of every kind make up our Orange County, California, chapter. We meet on the fourth Sunday of the month (unless otherwise noted) to learn, discuss, and have fun with all things related to crime fiction.
To join The Blood Orange, SISTERS IN CRIME ORANGE COUNTY, visit our Join / Renew Page.
Announcement – Call for the 2026 Board Nominations…
WE NEED YOU!
Sisters in Crime Orange County chapter is at a crossroads! Our current Board members are terming out after multiple years of service, and we are looking for passionate volunteers to serve as President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Membership Chair.
These positions normally require 1-3 hours a month, and while helping fellow writers grow and succeed – you’ll be building your own author platform and expanding your professional network at the same time! All we need is 4–6 committed members to keep our chapter alive.
Sisters in Crime OC is a community where creativity, camaraderie, and craft come together, and if you – or you and a friend interested in job sharing –want to hear more about any of the above positions– please email me before November 18th at maddiemargarita@gmail.com!
Here’s a brief overview of each position:
President – Leads chapter meetings and events, sets goals, monitors activities, and acts as the primary liaison with SinC National and other chapters. The President calls and presides over Executive Committee meetings, polls members on major decisions, and ensures the chapter’s operations run smoothly.
Vice President – Steps in when the President is unavailable and chairs the Programs Committee, planning meeting programs, securing speakers, and organizing special events. Oversees webpage.
Secretary – Keeps accurate minutes for all meetings, manages correspondence, organizes elections, and maintains the chapter’s Google Drive and Gmail accounts.
Membership Secretary – Chairs the Membership Committee, maintains the roster and membership lists, welcomes new members, tracks attendance, coordinates with the Treasurer on dues, and encourages guests to join.
Treasurer – Oversees all financial matters, collects dues, pays expenses, maintains records, handles IRS filings, prepares financial reports, and manages the chapter’s bank and online accounts.
Next Meeting
Sisters in Crime Orange County
The Blood Orange
Presents…
Novelists vs. Screenwriters: The Great Storytelling Showdown
Sisters in Crime Orange County – The Blood Orange
23 NOV 2025
3:00 p.m. @ Book Carnival in Orange, CA
Lights, camera, action—plot twist!
Join authors Patricia Smiley and Andrew Rubin at Sisters in Crime Orange County for a lively, behind-the-scenes conversation about the art of storytelling on the page and on the screen. From crafting gripping novels that keep readers up all night to writing screenplays that leap off the page and onto the big (or small) screen, Patricia and Andrew will reveal what it takes to make stories shine in two very different worlds. Expect laughter, insider tips, and maybe a few plot twists of their own as they compare characters, pacing, and the magic of translating imagination into words—or into film. Don’t miss this engaging dialogue that proves great stories can thrive in any format—if you know how to write them!
The Details
What: Novelists vs. Screenwriters: The Great Storytelling Showdown
When: Sunday, November 23rd, 2025
Time: 3:00 PM
Where: Book Carnival – 348 S. Tustin St., Orange, CA 92866
Patricia Smiley
Patricia is the author of the Tucker Sinclair Mysteries and the Pacific Homicide Series. Her short fiction has been featured in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Two of the Deadliest, an anthology edited by Elizabeth George. A DARK SEPTEMBER NIGHT is the first book in her new Justice Bay Mysteries, which is set in a small coastal town in Northern California. Patty has taught writing at various writers’ conferences across the U.S. and Canada. She is the former president of Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles and a current board member of the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America.
Patty earned a BA from the University of Washington in Seattle and an MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She resides in Los Angeles with her loyal and opinionated Siberian Forest cat, along with a backyard feeding station for possums, raccoons, marauding cats, and other critters searching for snacks and a cool sip of water. Despite the distractions, work continues on the second Justice Bay book.
Andrew Rubin
Andrew is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied Film Production and History—and, like a lemming over a cliff, launched his career straight into the Great Recession. Over the past decade, he’s weathered the wilds of Hollywood development, earned his WGA card, and marched the picket lines, all while crafting his debut novel, HELL or HIGH WINTER, a ten-year odyssey that finally found safe harbor with Rare Bird Books. Beyond fiction, Andrew co- directed the acclaimed documentary Ride with Larry, which sparked international conversation—and a viral BBC segment—about Parkinson’s disease and medical marijuana (starring his father, a.k.a. “Mary Jane’s Apostle,” the only Jew known to
smoke pot in the Vatican). A true multi-hyphenate, he’s also president and co- founder of Symptom Media, an online mental health education platform used by over 500 institutions worldwide, including Stanford, Yale, and Johns Hopkins. When he’s not writing, producing, or accidentally injuring himself in pursuit of
recreation, Andrew divides his time between Los Angeles and San Diego—usually with his dog and a good story in progress.
- Sisters in Crime Meetings are open to the public. Your first two meetings are free; subsequent meetings are $5 each. Members are free.
- Donations are graciously accepted! Any amount helps to keep amazing programing, events, and more coming your way.
Please visit the Join/Renew Page for information about Sisters in Crime OC and how to join our chapter.
