Paula L. Woods (born 1953 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) is an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

crime novelist and literary critic. Her 1999 novel, ''

Inner City Blues "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", often shortened to "Inner City Blues", is a song by Marvin Gaye, released as the third and final single, and the climactic song from his 1971 landmark album, '' What's Going On''. Written by Gaye and Jam ...

'', won the

Macavity Award The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' ...

for best first mystery, and was followed by other novels featuring its heroine, L.A. policewoman Charlotte Justice. She has also edited an anthology of African-American crime literature and co-edited (with Felix H. Liddell) three anthologies of African American literature illustrated with African American fine art.

Crime fiction novels

*''

'' (1999) *''Stormy Weather'' (2001) *''Dirty Laundry'' (2003) *''Strange Bedfellows'' (2006)

Editor

*''Spooks, Spies and Private Eyes: Black Mystery, Crime and Suspense Fiction of the 20th Century'' (1995) *With Felix H. Liddell: *''Merry Christmas, Baby: A Christmas and Kwanzaa Treasury'' (1996) *''I Hear a Symphony: African Americans Celebrate Love'' (1994) *''I, Too, Sing America: The African American Book of Days'' (1992)

References

External links

Interviews and articles on author’s website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, Paula L. 1953 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists African-American novelists American crime writers American mystery writers American women novelists Macavity Award winners Writers from Los Angeles American women mystery writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers