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

Mary Feliz

 Melissa Yi

 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.

L to R: Mark Edwards, Me, Alexandra Sokoloff, Steven Cooper, Moderator Ben Coes

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

 Cheryl Hollon

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!