Beth Groundwater

{{infobox writer

|name=Beth Groundwater

|image=BethGroundwaterWithPaddle.jpg

|caption=Groundwater in Colorado Springs, Colorado in March 2010

|occupation=Author

|nationality=American

|education=College of William & Mary
Virginia Tech (MS)

|genre=Mystery fiction

|website={{url|https://bethgroundwater.com/Home.html}}

}}

Beth Groundwater is an American author who has written three novels. Her first novel, A Real Basket Case, was nominated for the Best First Novel Agatha Award in 2007.{{cite web|url=http://calendar.denverpost.com/westminster-co/events/show/84988458-beth-groundwater-on-tour-for-book-a-real-basket-case-five-star-mystery-five-star-mystery-series|title=Beth Groundwater on tour for book 'A Real Basket Case (Five Star Mystery) (Five Star Mystery Series)' |date=October 2008|publisher=Zvents|accessdate=October 18, 2008}} She writes primarily in the Mystery genre, but has a published science fiction novella.

Writing career

Groundwater first began writing fiction in the fifth grade, and in high school took an independent study in English.{{cite web|url=http://bethgroundwater.com/About_Beth.html|date=May 5, 2008|publisher=Beth Groundwater|accessdate=October 18, 2008|title=About Beth}} She went to the College of William & Mary and earned a degree in Psychology and Computer Science in 1978. She received a Master of Science degree in software engineering from Virginia Tech in 1983.{{cite journal

| date =Fall 2009

| title = Book Notes

| journal = Virginia Tech Magazine

| volume = 32

| issue = 1

| pages = 47

| issn = 0274-9904

| accessdate = April 8, 2011

| url = http://www.vtmagazine.vt.edu/fall09/books.html

| url-status = dead

| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721050111/http://www.vtmagazine.vt.edu/fall09/books.html

| archivedate = July 21, 2011

}} She worked as a software engineer until 1999, then decided to become a writer.

After attending multiple writers' conventions, she began writing short stories. Seven were published before she met a literary agent who agreed to publish her first novel, A Real Basket Case. It was published in 2007,{{cite web|url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/923993.A_Real_Basket_Case|title=A Real Basket Case|date=2008|publisher=Goodreads Inc |accessdate=October 18, 2008}} and was nominated for the Best First Novel Agatha Award in 2007.{{cite web|url=http://coloradosprings.yourhub.com/User.aspx?UserID=46827 |title=beth groundwater |publisher=ColoradoSprings.com |accessdate=October 18, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406015740/http://coloradosprings.yourhub.com/User.aspx?UserID=46827 |archivedate=April 6, 2008 }} Of her short stories, nine have been published including one translated into Persian. Another of Groundwater's short stories has been adapted into a live theater performance. Her most recent short story, "Fatal Fish Flop," was published in Fish Tales, a 2011 mystery anthology.{{cite web

| url = http://www.sinc-guppies.org/authors/a.guppy.antho.html

| title = Fish Tales Page

| work = Sisters in Crime—Guppies

| accessdate = April 6, 2011

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111126042548/http://www.sinc-guppies.org/authors/a.guppy.antho.html

| archive-date = November 26, 2011

| url-status = dead

}}

Awards and recognition

Groundwater's short stories have won several contests. Her short story "New Zealand" won first place in the 2003 PPW Paul Gillette Memorial Writing Contest, and was the winner of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Short Story Anthology Contest.{{cite web|url=http://bethgroundwater.com/Resume.html|title=Resume|date=July 12, 2008|publisher=Beth Groundwater|accessdate=October 18, 2008}} "Flamingo Fatality" won the Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave Short Story Anthology Contest in 2005, and her 2005 short story "Lucky Bear" placed first in the Storyteller Magazine Flash Fiction Contest.

Groundwater's first two novels have been award candidates. A Real Basket Case was nominated for the Best First Novel Agatha Award in 2007. To Hell in a Handbasket was a finalist in the Colorado Romance Writers' 2010 award category, Mainstream with Romantic Elements.{{cite web

| url = http://crw-rwa.ning.com/page/2010-award-of-excellence

| title = 2010 Award of Excellence Finalists & Winners

| work = Colorado Romance Writers

| accessdate = April 14, 2011

| url-status = dead

| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110814025435/http://crw-rwa.ning.com/page/2010-award-of-excellence

| archivedate = August 14, 2011

}}