Rusty Hodgdon, of Key West, Florida, has won a walk-on cameo appearance in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham’s next novel.

The “character placement” prize contest was an early registration promotion for the Mystery Writers Key West Fest, set to take place August 14-16 at the Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel.

“As an author and aficionado of mystery novels, I am thrilled and honored to be part of a work by Heather Graham, one of the greatest writers in the genre,” said Hodgdon, himself the author of five “psycho-thrillers.”

Graham, who has more than seventy-five million books in print published in approximately twenty languages, and whose 2014 novel “The Cursed” is set in Key West, is slated to be a featured presenter and panelist at the upcoming “Murder & Mayhem in Paradise” themed Fest.

Sponsored in part by the Mystery Writers of America – Florida Chapter, the Key West Citizen daily newspaper and the Florida Keys Council of the Arts, Fest registration is $125 and includes three days of panels, presentations and social events with best-selling and global award winning authors. For more information visit:

www.mysterywriterskeywestfest.com.