2016 Bouchercon writeup Part One

Hello all- though I've been back for a week, am just getting caught up on all that was put on hold by leaving for Bouchercon, the worldwide mystery conference in New Orleans.

It was my second Bouchercon, and my third time in New Orleans, and it's tough to say which I liked more- the conference, or the city itself. New Orleans appears to have bounced back since Katrina and then the massive oil spill that blew out their fishing industry and devastated the Louisiana coastline, among others.

I'll do a second post with a food report and pictures from all the sightseeing, but for now I'll talk about the cool people I met.

Got to meet the superstar mystery writer, Sara Paretsky, author of the V.I. Warshawski series. She also helped to start the Sisters in Crime organization, whose mission is to promote the ongoing advancement, recognition and professional development of women crime writers. Yes, I'm a member, and got to thank her for the supportive organization and for her work in the mystery field.

The organization had a huge meeting and breakfast, and I met some of the hard-working women who make things run- Leslie Budewitz, the outgoing President, and officers Molly Weston and Diane Vallere.

Saw lots of familiar faces as well, most happily the Wicked Cozys, with whom we had a delightful luncheon. Most of the gang were there (sadly minus Jessie Crockett): Barbara Ross, Edith Maxwell, Liz Mugavero, Sherry Novinger Harris, and Julie Hennrikus. Barbara Ross will be appearing on this blog with an interview soon, so stay tuned for that.

And happily met the new slate of editors at Level Best Books, Shawn Reilly Simmons, Verena Rose, Harriette Sackler, and Kimberly Gray. This foursome now publish the yearly anthology of the Best Crime and Mystery Stories in New England. My story will be appearing in the Windward collection this year (the third year in a row I've been selected for this prestigious anthology).

And I got to chat with a fearsome foursome of writers I met at the 2013 Bouchercon. Had a nice talk with Josh Stallings and Neliza Drew, and got to sit with Tom Pluck and Holly West for a bit longer.
For an interview with Tom Pluck, see here. Tom and I both have stories in the Nightfalls anthology.

Tom and Holly are also two of the writers at the cool mystery-writer blog Do Some Damage. Then I met another member of that crew, Scott Dennis Parker, and got his book All Chickens Must Die. Awesome title, and a good mystery homage to the pulp PI stories of the forties.

Here's a group of Maineiacs that just happened to be attending the same panel- all Maine mystery writers. L to R is Paul Doiron, Bruce Robert Coffin, moi, Richard Cass, and Barbara Ross.

Bruce, a retired Portland police officer, has just released his debut novel, Among the Shadows.
I'm almost done reading it, and it's a fantastic first novel- get it now.
To find out more about Bruce, read the recent interview.

Met up with another top writer from my previous Bouchercon, Dana King. Yup, he had an interview here as well. Yeah, I meet the most interesting people.

As proof, ran into Sheila Connolly, who has three popular series out- and she's another Sister in Crime.

Another three-series writer and SinC member, Leigh Perry/Toni Kelner, was met in passing.
(Her interview here)

And I marched in the fun parade with Cheryl Hollon, another SinC member. (Her interview here)

As is Ray Daniel, another great writer from our area.
(His interview here)

In cool news, saw another Maine writer, Chris Holm, pick up an Anthony Award for Best Novel, for his latest work, The Killing Kind.

Met many more writers as well: Walter Gragg, Sarah Smith, Sarah Chen, Marty Wingate, Ann Kellett, Rochelle Staab, Janet Finsilver, Sheyna Galyan, Kwei Quartey, Cindy Brown, Angie Gleason, Lisa Brackmann, C.L. Shore.

And others: Andrew Case, an attorney, Heather Malone, a fun Real Estate seller, and David Cook, a Forensic Research specialist who lives in New Orleans.

These are only a fraction of the attendees, of course. Sadly missing were two people I really wanted to talk to: Debbi Mack and Todd Robinson. Todd is editor of the recently-deceased ThugLit magazine, and my story "Forever Amber" is the last story accepted for that great publication.

Debbi Mack writes the Sam McRae mystery series, and also has put together a boxed set of mystery fiction, with my first Zack Taylor novel, A Memory of Grief, included. There's a cool trailer if you scroll down on this site.

And of course the wonderful Hank Phillipi Ryan was at the conference, and again at the airport. She introduced me to Joseph Finder, another best-selling writer. And then Dave Zeltserman sits down near us, and I meet him, and we chat about how well the Patriots and the Red Sox are doing, as well as Dave himself. His book Small Crimes (next on my TBR pile) is being made into a movie, with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister for you Game of Thrones fans) playing a major role. Awesome stuff. He's read the screenplay, and it looks to be a good telling of his book, according to the author himself.

And almost got away with not talking to author Pete Morin. Caught him at Logan airport, after trying to see him all conference. 

So many memories crowded into a few days. Bouchercon is a great place for panels on crime writing, and talking to the writers themselves, and for doing business with all the ins and outs of writing and publishing.

Writers Helping Others- Consortiums, Donations, and Good Books

A few cool things to talk about today.

First up is a great article on the site of the wonderful Jane Friedman by Ursula Wong, author of Purple Trees. The article talks about writer's consortiums, where writers get together for mutual help and support. Well worth the read.

And here's an interview with Ursula.

*****

Next up is a chance to contribute to the education and growth of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in southwestern New Hampshire by making a donation of an autographed copy of one of your books to the10th Annual Online Auction.
Over 400 friends and businesses, including 137 New England and New York authors and/or illustrators, contributed to this fundraiser last year.

The Children's Center, in Harrisville, NH, is a non-profit early care and learning center for children ages 6 weeks to 6 years old. They serve children from over 14 towns in the Monadnock Region of southwestern NH. All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to the Center to help fund the many wonderful programs offered to young children  and their families throughout the year.

The auction will run on their website from February 21 - March 20, 2016.
Contact:
Linda MacGillvary, Director
Harrisville Children's Center
66 Main Street P.O. Box 128
Harrisville, NH 03450
www.harrisvillechildrenscenter.org Federal ID Number: 23-7399517

*****

And lastly, the book recommendation of the week is the Paul Forte trilogy by Pete Morin.

Start with Diary of a Small Fish and go to Full Irish and Half Irish (the latter two had Susanne O'Leary as co-author)


And check out an interview with Pete here.

Interview With Pete Morin

Today we're interviewing Pete Morin, author of Diary of a Small Fish, and the just-released Full Irish, which you can steal for 99 cents on Kindle- and it'll be the best buck you ever spent!

Q. So how did this novel come to be? Was it envisioned from the start as a bigger canvas, or did it expand organically out of an idea? Please tell us a bit about the origin.

A. This novel arose out of a new collaboration with co-author Susanne O’Leary. I have known Susanne in the virtual (and virtuous) sense since we became acquainted on the Authonomy community website in 2008. Although Susanne previously has written principally romance novels, she has the particular skill that I lack: an ability to work through a plot from beginning to end quickly. Another skill she has is handling a curmudgeon.

But really, the thing that clinched it was that Susanne is married to a former Irish diplomat; so she had had many years of exposure to the Irish political establishment, knew and understood it well. And we happen to share a virulent disdain for crooked politicians.

Anyway, having realized that two and a half years between novels wasn’t going to make it in today’s marketplace, I sent out a solicitation for a collaborator, and Susanne responded. We decided to chat about it further, and after a few Skype sessions, we’d settled on a story about dirty Irish politicians, in Ireland and in Boston.

Q. Did you start with the germ of an idea and start writing to see where it went, or did you map a good deal out in your head (or even outline) before crafting?

A. Something in between. We were both committed to a return of Paul and Shannon Forté, so we had our heroes. Then we had to invent a Boston-based political/legal controversy to throw Paul into. Say, a seemingly dull-sounding contract procurement – until Paul learns that an ex-rep who cheats at golf is the lobbyist for the competitor.

Then we had to marry it to an event in Dublin, like, say, ohhhh…the murder of an Irish politician, which got Finola McGee, the political editor for a Dublin newspaper involved.

Then we sent Paul and Shannon to Ireland, and arranged for them to meet Finola at a castle in Kerry.

Then…well, you get the idea.

Q. What do you feel is the main theme(s)?

A. The theme is the avarice, mendacity and hubris of people in power, with a special look at Irish family feuds and rivalries along the way.

Q. Why do you feel this is important, and what would you want a reader to take away from reading this book?

A. Important? I wouldn’t be so precious. I hope readers will take away smiles.

Q. What makes a good book or engaging story?

A. Loveable characters, snappy dialogue and a different plot that isn’t predictable.

Q. Are there writers with similar themes to yours? Who are your influences (can be writers, or even artists, musicians, or others) and what is it about their work that attracts you?

A. The avarice, mendacity and hubris of politicians are not unique themes. Watch the news today? But focusing on the unique connection and bond of the Irish people with Boston (and Boston Irish with Ireland) hasn’t been done, to our knowledge. I’m a huge fan of Raymond Chandler, John D. MacDonald and Dashiell Hammett, but my more recent appreciation is for Tim Callinan, who wrote a hilarious three-book series about a professional thief named Junior Bender. Humor is what turns me on.

Q. Is storytelling mostly entertainment, or does it serve other functions? Do you have particular goals other than telling a good story?

A. It’s all about entertainment, touching the buttons of reader’s emotions. Think about your favorite movies. You laugh, you cry, you get angry, you feel vengeful, you boo, you cheer, and you clap. That’s entertainment.

Q. Any other goals you've set for yourself, professionally or personally?

A. Professionally, none whatsoever. I’ll write as long as it is the pleasure it is. Personally? Maintain a sense of humor in a world going to shit, try to prepare my children for what they’re likely to face, and enjoy good health and family.

Q. Some writers write fast and claim not to rewrite much. Do you do this, or painstakingly revise? When you send the book off to the publisher, are you happy with it, or just tired of it?

A. I write and revise as I go, but “painstaking” is not an adjective I’d use. There is very little pain involved in my process. I don’t send books to publishers, so I’d better be happy with it. On the other hand, one cannot be captive to the truth that a work can always be better. Of course it can. But there is no such thing as the perfect novel – or if there is, it’s not something I’m compelled to chase.

Q. Do you have good editors, and if so, how do they help you? Do they look for particular things? Do you have different people for different editing levels?

A. Very much a hit-or-miss thing. I tend to rely more on beta readers for the Big Picture things, and editors for the wordsmithing. I have one killer beta reader who is truly a reader’s reader. He catches everything and doesn’t hold back.

Q. If a writer came to you for advice, how would you help?

A. My advice is always this:

Don’t be in a hurry, and if you don’t have thick skin, reconsider your commitment to being a good writer.

Q. Stories can be told by using a different medium. Can you see your book as a film, audio, etc.? How would that alter the telling?

A. I don’t see my book as anything but a story in written form. I don’t dream about a movie. An audiobook is a nice proving ground for a story. If it doesn’t read well in the oral telling, it’s not going to sound good in an audiobook.

I was awfully lucky to have Diary of a Small Fish produced as anaudiobook by a superb television character actor, Keith Sellon-Wright. He did a masterful job of capturing Paul Forté’s voice, and read the highly emotional scenes in that story with incredible feeling.

Q. What's the next step in your writing world?

A. Susanne and I are committed to doing at least one more Ireland-Boston tale starring Paul and Shannon in Boston and Finola McGee in Dublin. After that, who knows? Six months is a long time in the ebook world. No sense in planning into an ever-changing world.

Q. Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

A. I play blues guitar and love to cook.

Q. Any other information you'd like to impart?

A. My golf game is going to shit. Don’t tell anyone.

---

Thanks, Pete.

Web page: http://www.petemorin.com

Where to buy:

Amazon

Barnes& Noble

Apple

Kobo

Scribd

PageFoundry

Bio:

Pete Morin has been a trial attorney, a politician, a bureaucrat, a lobbyist, and now spends his time writing legal arguments and crime fiction.

Pete's short fiction has appeared in NEEDLE, A Magazine of Noir, Words With Jam, 100 Stories for Haiti, and Words to Music.

When he is not writing crime fiction or legal mumbo jumbo, Pete plays blues guitar in Boston bars, and on increasingly rare occasion, plays a round of golf. He lives in a money pit on the seacoast south of Boston, in an area once known as the Irish Riviera.

Pete is represented by Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary Agency.