Mystery Lovers Corner

Laura Durham is the author of Better Off Wed, the first novel in the Annabelle Archer mystery series from Avon.  Like her protagonist, Laura is a professional wedding planner in Washington, D.C. who has planned some of the city’s most extravagant weddings and dealt with some of the world’s most neurotic brides. She was inspired to write Better Off Wed because of an overwhelming desire to kill a particularly unpleasant Mother-of-the-Bride, or MOB.  Realizing that actually doing the deed would be bad for business, she settled for writing murder instead.  The resulting fictionalized expose of the Washington wedding industry has been called “the perfect mixture of mirth and murder.” 

Laura attended Duke University on a full writing scholarship, graduating in 1993 with a degree in English.  She is currently the owner of the D.C. based Engaging Affairs, Inc. and has planned nearly 300 weddings since she started the company in 1996.   She was voted DC’s top wedding planner in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005 by Washingtonian magazine and has been featured in numerous wedding publications throughout the country. 
 
Laura continues to plan a select number of weddings and manage her staff of top wedding planners as she writes more books in the Annabelle Archer series.  Despite her busy writing and touring schedule, she keeps one foot in the bridal business because her real wedding experiences continue to be the inspiration for her books.  True brides are always stranger than fiction!