Sunday, October 29, 2017

Boston Book Fest

Once again we proved that Boston is a book town! Thousands came out for the Boston Book Fest, to browse at booths from everyone in the city involved in books and their production.

I was at booths for both the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
We passed out information on each organization and answered questions as to our purpose and mission. 

Our booth at Mystery Writers of America was set up by Mo Walsh, local chapter President.


With Don Kaplan, Mo, and Judy Copek



Hans Copek creates a poster every year with the covers of books produced by our members in the last year. Notice A Sharp Medicine on the right, my fifth Zack Taylor mystery.


Dave Zeltserman drops by, on his way to giving a talk
To see an interview with Dave, click here


Our Sisters in Crime booth was staffed early on by this trio: 




With the titles done by SinC members in the last year


The new crew came in: 
To see an interview with Ursula, click here


Then came
 To see an interview with Connie, click here
 To see an interview with Arlene, click here


And we came on: Me, Sheila Connolly, Coralie Jensen
Thanks to Silke Hase for this photo and the one following! 



And were followed later on by Gus Berger, Clea Simon, and Sarah Smith


Lots of fans at our booths


 Lisa Lieberman talks to a fan


Hallie Ephron and Susan




And Ray Daniel drops by on his way to a talk.
To see an interview with Ray, click here


It was a lovely day, with sunshine and so much to see




And lots of our favorite people- authors and spouses.
Center is Sheila Connolly, who was at the booth with me. 


Many strange sights that day


Saturday, October 21, 2017

Having a Blast at Bouchercon 17

Well, that was fun! Bouchercon '17 has come and gone, leaving a Niagara of good memories, seeing old friends, and making new friends.




We dashed through heavy Toronto traffic in the early morning light, to get me there on time for Author Speed Dating, where a partner and I pitched our writer chops to 20 different tables of people. Arriving barely in time, I was a wee bit pumped, and my partner, the estimable Warren Moore, said of me: "The combination of adrenaline and coffee had placed him somewhere between “ebullient” and “auctioneer on meth"..."
Here's one of our soon-to-be stars from Boston, Joanna Schaffhausen, taking part.


And a Maine star, Bruce Robert Coffin, stopping by.
To see an interview with Bruce, click here


Had a blast telling our author pitch story 20 times over, as people took notes on new authors and books they'd like to try.
As soon as this event was done, it was off to the bookroom, with all the book vendors.
I was delighted that I'd gone with Myth Hawker Books as a vendor, because the long-suffering Pat loves Indies, and put up with me and my antics all weekend, while I did what I could to sell my Zack Taylor series.

Must have done something right- before Pat had even rung in the books to her inventory, my favorite new fan came by and bought all five books- the entire series! Many thanks to Michelle.


Other authors came by to see how their books were selling. Here's EC Bell and Lisa Lieberman




 Pat with Amy Reade


And the sassy and successful S G Wong


Angela Neary

There were gents as well. Here's Charles Salzburg



 And debut authors galore, with their first book out, like Roger Johns and Douglas Lutz


Another debut author, R. Daniel Lester


 A big part of the conference is author panels, explaining many different topics. 
Ours was on the dark side of fiction.


The crowd was good- more filled in as they kept coming.


And we got to sign books in the big room afterward. Someone who'd attended our panel bought the first Zack Taylor mystery, A Memory of Grief, because of what she'd heard in that hour.


So there were meals, in between seeing people and panels- here's lunch with Lisa Lieberman


And Sheila Connolly. Yes, that is octopus you see in her dish. I can't imagine how hungry I would have to be to ingest that...


And at the next table over were writing superstars Louise Penny and Ann Cleeves, 
who graciously allowed me to interrupt their meal and even posed for publicity.


And we had a celebratory official Sisters in Crime breakfast.
Here's outgoing President Diane Vallere saying her giving-up-office speech.

 

Leslie Budewitz (L), also a former President of SinC, along with Sheila

 


Saw lots more people I know from previous adventures, like Holly West and Neliza Drew
Sadly did not get a pic of their cohort, Josh Stallings


And Lou Berney, Katrina and Chris Holm, flanked by the ever-wonderful Hank Phillippi Ryan


Dana King, a man who knows the mystery genre and writes good ones
 To see an interview with Dana, click here


Ray Daniel with some friends- almost didn't recognize him, because Jay Shephard wasn't with him! (Which one is the sidekick?)
To see an interview with Ray, click here


Tom Pluck, with a fan, signing copies of his latest novel, Bad Boy Boogie
To see an interview with Tom, click here


Then photobombing Chris Irvin (right)


Other authors were out signing their books at publisher tables.
Like Barb Ross (L) and fan
To see an interview with Barb, click here


To see an interview with Cheryl, click here


The irrepressible Edith Maxwell 
To see an interview with Edith, click here


One of my new buds, Jessica Ellis Laine, with Sherry Harris

 

 Maine author James Hayman, looking wicked surprised!


Another person I had fun meeting- Rick Ollerman



Here's Kat Richardson with Leigh Perry/Toni Kelner
To see an interview with Leigh, click here


Kate Stine, of  Mystery Scene Magazine, with Hank


Doug with Brendan DuBois, who did better on Jeopardy than I did


Can you tell we're in Canada? That's a real live Mountie keeping a close eye on Edith


And more uniforms- Jayne Barnard adds a steampunk vibe


Writing legend David Morrell with Hank


Some fun folks I met from the Twin Cities Sisters in Crime chapter.
So we threw together a team for the Author Trivia, got the outer-outer-outlying table, and proceeded to heckle after we were treated like troublemakers.
So we escaped- a perilous adventure.
After a dangerous journey, we made it to the bar, where we calmed our nerves and wrote a musical about our escapade. It's sure to win all major awards- as long as Lin-Manuel Miranda has nothing in the running.
L to R- Mindy Mejia, Jessica Ellis Laine, Devin Abraham, Sherry Roberts


Bruce Coffin signing books, here with Mo Walsh, our New England Chapter President of the Mystery Writers of America.



Here's authors Helen Wilkie and Cynthia Drew


More of our local folks I said hi to but didn't get a chance to see more of:
Julie Hennrikus
 Hallie Ephron
Paula Munier
Clea Simon

 And so many more! Once again, it was magical, and a great time. If you're a mystery fan or a writer, you should come take part in a Bouchercon. Next year, St. Petersburg, Fla!