Marilyn writes dark, gutsy crime fiction rooted in contemporary themes.
Although a long-time lover of murder mysteries, she didn’t begin to write one until the ripe old age of 65.
She began her multifarious career as a medieval historian, writing articles about early legendary and historical figures, including King Arthur and early Welsh princes, for the Dictionary of the Middle Ages as Marilyn Kay Kenney. Realizing that the market was limited for historians, she turned to freelancing for business publications.
Marilyn then worked in communications, mainly for the Ontario government. While in the communications branch of Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, she managed the board’s website and spun her internet skills into social media coaching.
Her own brush with serious illness made her realize, it was time to fulfill her dream of becoming a fiction author. She wrote her first short story, “Journey into the Dark“, and entered it into the competition for a spot in the Bouchercon 2017 anthology, Passport to Murder. To Marilyn’s surprise, hers was one of 18 stories out of 116 entries to be chosen for inclusion. The anthology was published October 12, 2017 in conjunction with the Bouchercon convention.
Her next short story, “That Damn Cat,” appears in the Mesdames of Mayhem anthology, 13 Claws. On October 26, 2019, her short story, “Her Perfume” launches in the Mesdames’ In the Key of 13 anthology. Meanwhile, she is writing her first mystery novel.
Marilyn is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.
She happily lives in Toronto with her husband and flies over to the UK whenever she can to visit her daughter, who inspired her to write “Journey into the Dark“.