BIDDLE, Cordelia Frances 1947-

(Nero Blanc, a joint pseudonym)

PERSONAL:

Born July 25, 1947, in Philadelphia, PA; daughter of Livingston Biddle (an arts administrator); married Steve Zettler, August 13, 1988. Education: Attended Vassar College. Religion: Episcopalian.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—P.O. Box 63625, Philadelphia, PA 19147. Agent—Alice Martell, 545 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and actor. Has appeared in both stage and television productions, including the play Gemini.

WRITINGS:

(With Mary Kearney Levenstein) Caring for Your Cherished Possessions: The Experts' Guide to Cleaning, Preserving, and Protecting Your China, Silver, Furniture, Clothing, Paintings, and More, Crown (New York, NY), 1989.

Beneath the Wind, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1993.

(With Patricia Hearst) Murder at San Simeon, Scribner (New York, NY), 1996.

"CROSSWORD MYSTERY" SERIES; WITH HUSBAND, STEVE ZETTLER, UNDER JOINT PSEUDONYM NERO BLANC

The Crossword Murder, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 1999.

Two Down: A Crossword Murder Mystery, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2000.

The Crossword Connection, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2001.

A Crossword to Die For, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2002.

A Crossworder's Holiday (short stories), Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2002.

Corpus de Crossword, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2003.

A Crossworder's Gift, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2003.

Wrapped up in Crosswords, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2004.

Anatomy of a Crossword, Berkley Prime Crime (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor of short stories to Hemispheres.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Redemption, an historical novel.

SIDELIGHTS:

For Sidelights, see ZETTLER, Steve.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of Anatomy of a Crossword, p. 1823.

Editor & Publisher, March 1, 1997, Hiley Ward, review of Murder at San Simeon, p. 5.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 1999, review of The Crossword Murder, p. 1173; June 15, 2002, review of A Crossword to Die For, p. 839; September 1, 2002, review of A Crossworder's Holiday, p. 1266.

Library Journal, October 1, 2003, Rex Klett, review of A Crossworder's Gift, p. 121.

Publishers Weekly, July 12, 1999, review of The Crossword Murder, p. 79; June 12, 2000, review of Two Down: A Crossword Murder Mystery, p. 56; June 11, 2001, review of The Crossword Connection, p. 64; June 3, 2002, review of A Crossword to Die For, p. 69; June 2, 2003, review of Corpus de Crossword, p. 37; June 28, 2004, review of Anatomy of a Crossword, p. 35.

Weekly Standard, December 23, 2002, Jon L. Breen, review of A Crossworder's Holiday, p. 37.

ONLINE

Bookbrowser.com,http://www.bookbrowser.com/ (September 1, 2004), Harriet Klausner, reviews of Two Down: A Crossword Murder Mystery and The Crossword Murder.

CrosswordMysteries.com,http://www.crosswordmysteries.com/ (September 1, 2004).

Mystery Reader Web site,http://www.themysteryreader.com/ (September 1, 2004), Cathy Sova, "Meet Nero Blanc."

Suite101.com,http://www.suite101.com/ (September 1, 2004), Janet Kay Blaylock, review of The Crossword Murder.