F#ck Bouchercon by Josh Stallings

Christa Faust + Me

Q: Bouchercon San Diego is in the rearview mirror. What is your favorite Bouchercon memory, past or present, and what advice would you give to writers interested in attending Bouchercon, so they could get the most out of their experience?

A: Fuck Bouchercon. 

Really Josh? Damn, you definitely know how to win friends and influence board members.

Okay, not really, this is not entirely how I feel. It’s more complicated and nuanced. To figure out how I feel about it, I need to make a pros and cons list…

PROS:

1. Friends. Where else do I find myself chatting with Christa Faust and Jordan Harper about what color bandana in which pocket signifies your personal sexual proclivities?Spoiler alert - it’s much more complicated than I imagined. Where else do I get into a deep dive conversation with Gary Phillips about LA in the 1980’s, Central LA vs ELA experiences? I had lunch with Gabriel Valjan and chatted about our lives growing up as us. Laughed with Mike McCrary and Kevin Burton Smith. Ate vegan ceviche with Holly West, Curtis Ippolito and a whole table of wonderful folks I’m leaving out for lack of brains, mine not theirs. Chatted too briefly with Lou Berney and Chris Holm. Met an internet friend Beau Johnson, and a very cool horror writer, Johnny Compton. Hung out with many more old and new friends from the crime writing communities. 

2. I got to see an old friend who might become my next editor, (hush hush very secret until it is not.)

3. I met readers I didn’t know who love my books and that felt great. 

 

CONS:

1. Over $2000 in fees, hotel, over priced hotel food, and travel. Would this be better spent taking a vacation to say, anywhere other than a convention hotel? Would it be better spent on a couch surfing research trip to Denmark or the UK? Maybe. Back when I was making Hollywood money I’d say “do both.” But novel money has a very different scale to it. 

2. The ding to my ego when the only panel I’m put on is Sunday morning improv, which was fun as hell, but didn’t help me feel like I had much to share as a writer. And didn’t help bring any new readers to my books. Panel selection can be both a ding to the ego and hard on the business of selling books.

 

(Ego ding sounds small and petty, and it may be. But the thing about writing is it takes a ton of ego to face down the blank page. So having folks you don’t know make you feel less than, only feeds the negative voice in your head.)  

 

3. Most of the panels were the same people talking about the same subjects. A couple were brilliant mostly because the writers on them rose well above the same old standard questions and answers. I would have loved the Ann Cleaves interview if I could have heard it. The PA systems were spotty at best, and the set up in that big room delivered on a low mumble.  

4. It was a COVID super spreader. The Bouchercon’s tweety account said a few people got sick. Bullshit. Out of those attendants that I’m in contact with I’m one of the very few that DIDN’T contract COVID. Some mild cases, some very dire cases. This isn’t BCon’s fault, it’s a fact of life now, and it’s definitely a con to going to cons. 

                                                             ***

Laying it out like this I see that BCon is unjustifiable as a business expense. It also feels like there are a lot more writers than readers these days. If it’s a writer’s conference maybe it needs more workshops and interactive elements. If it is for readers and fans it needs to find ways to attract younger readers or it will die out. 

 

I won’t be going to BCon 2024, after that we’ll have to see. I will miss seeing all my wonderfully bright and talented friends. They really are my people. Maybe we can get together under a different umbrella. A writer’s twenty-four hour flash mob? Marathon weekend Noir Bar crawl? Campout writer's fest in Idyllwild?

Here's a rogues' gallery chocked full of reasons to get together with writers...

Beau Johnson

Mike McCrary

 Chris Holm

Curtis Ippolito

Gabriel Valjan

Gabriel Valjan and Sheryl A Head

Johnny Compton

Kevin Burton Smith

Lou Berney and Alexa Donne

S.A. Cosby 

                                                               ***

Unrelated but equally important - If you haven’t watched Lou Berney’s Good Morning America interview from last week, please check it out. He is humble and honest about his work life, “Maybe failure is part of my process.” If he needs to fail to write his books, maybe we’re all doing better than we think.

Baby seals and other loved ones, by Catriona

Bouchercon San Diego is in the rearview mirror. What is your favorite Bouchercon memory, past or present, and what advice would you give to writers interested in attending Bouchercon, so they could get the most out of their experience?

My first Bouchercon was San Fancisco in 2010, when I had lived in the US for about twelve weeks. Val McDermid and Russel McLean were there from Edinburgh and that helped me feel a bit less at sea. Two abiding memories: I was late checking in and the conference-rate rooms (you know, small with a view of the bins) were finished. Three hotel employees huddled over the computer trying to find a way to not do what they had to do in the end . . . give me a massive room with a balcony overlooking the bay. Result! The downside is that the experience turned me into a serial upgrader. 

The other memory that will stay forever is dancing with Toni Kelner at the 70s disco. 

Note that neither of these memories are about books or writing. That's as good an introduction as I can think of to a pictorial trip through eleven Bcons. (Eleven? In thirteen years? Yes, eleven in thirteen years. Curse you, COVID!)

I met Mary Higgins Clark at the librarians' tea in Cleveland. I also won my first ever award there and MHC was the only one who admitted that I made a complete spectacle of myself accepting it. "Congratulations, Honey. Boy, you were surprised!"

I met the late, great Doris Ann Norris and the incomparable Frankie Bailey at Bcon Albany. Frankie is who I want to be when I grow up (although I think she's younger than me) and Doris Ann is who I plan to be if I'm lucky enough to grow old - waving my ear trumpet and changing my will a lot.

Picked up Celine, the official (baby) seal of the office of the president of Sisters in Crime at Long Beach. Also won an Anthony, which was a raven, who is called Deon, obviously.

Had to hand Celine over to the incoming president, Leslie Budewitz, at Raleigh. Before you scoff that it's a teddy bear and I'm a grown woman, have you tried to do it? Laura de Silverio, who preceded me, said that Celine had heard her use language no one else - including midwives - would believe she knew. 

A very big moment at Bcon New Orleans was organising SinC into Great Writing, on diversity and inclusion in stories: characters of colour, LGBTQ+ characters and characters with disability. It was the other half of my legacy project, Report for Change, which looked at diversity and inclusion for writers. Both seem kind of quaint now, and thank God CWoC and QCW are in charge these days. (If WWD is brewing I'd love to know). But it was a step that needed to be taken and I'm still proud of it.

Sob. I was going to be the Toastmaster, my parents were coming, my serial upgrading had got us a two bedroom suite . . . but 2020 had to 2020. And so did 2021 as it turned out.

So imagine how high we all threw our hats in the air in 2022 at Bcon Minneapolis! It was joyous. Also hilarious to see two of the least attention-enjoying people I have ever met, Devin Abraham and Terri Bischoff, manage to chair a Bcon while reamining functionally invisible throughout.

And finally, this year's Bcon San Diego. I can't believe I made it! The week before it started I got my first positive COVID test and was sure I'd have to cancel. Five days later I was negative. So off I trundled, down through the state to - among other things - witness the Barbification of Kristopher Zgorski's banquet look. 

When I got to the check-in desk I told the clerk I wasn't ten days clear yet so would be eating alone in my room Wed, Thur, Fri and how much would it cost to upgrade to a room with a view. "Nothing!" she said, and threw in a balcony.

So, what makes Bouchercon Bouchercon? For me, it's the people., especially the SinC sibs. But - full disclosure - every file of photos I've just looked in to select these pics has a final snap of the book haul too. Here's just one example:

Which brings me to my top Bouchercon tip. Hang on though. Actually,  I've got three. 

No.3 Ask for late check out when you check in, before they're all sick of us.

No.2 Writers, talk about the books you've read and loved, not about the book you wrote (no matter how much you love it).

No.1 If you've bought so many books you can't get them all in your case for the flight home, put them in first. Then pack your dirty clothes in the conference bag and send that from the UPS kiosk that's laid on. This way, you get home with new books instead of laundry.

Cx

Oh Bouchercon, my Bouchercon! by Cathy Ace

Bouchercon San Diego is in the rearview mirror. What is your favorite Bouchercon memory, past or present, and what advice would you give to writers interested in attending Bouchercon, so they could get the most out of their experience?

 

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend several Bouchercons, including the most recent event, held in San Diego. To be honest, I have so many happy memories, and tips, it’s hard to share them all, but here goes:

 

TIP #1: IF YOU CAN GO, GO. It’s not cheap, and travel isn’t always easy, but you will have a wonderful experience.

PRE-PANELS: With Lori Rader-Day and Catriona McPherson at Bouchercon 2023

 

TIP #2: PACK LOTS OF COMFORTABLE SHOES! The thing about Bouchercon is that you’ll want to go to more panels than you’re physically capable of attending, and I dare say we all know that planning your schedule is key…but…there’s a lot that goes on “between and after” the panels too – and that means you’ll spend a lot longer on your feet than you imagined you would. If your feet are comfy, and you can change shoes during the day, you’ll honestly have a better time!

BETWEEN PANELS: with James W Ziskin at Bouchercon 2023

 

TIP #3: THERE IS SUCH A THING AS BECOMING OVER-PANELLED: authors you’ve wanted to see in person are sitting on the stage, you’ve got a good seat, you’re primed and ready to go and…you zone out! It happens. It’s a real thing. Yes, we can all plan to use our time well, but using it wisely also means allowing for breaks. Brain breaks. Bum breaks. Time to hang out breaks. Plan these too!

AFTER PANELS: with Ann Cleeves at Bouchercon 2023

As for memories? The photos here show how using ALL your time can pay off!

AT A PANEL: with Lori Rader-Day, Martin Edwards, Ovidia Yu, and Elly Griffiths

If you're interested in finding out more about my work - especially my 13th Cait Morgan Mystery, which will be published on 13th November, you can do so at my website: https://www.cathyace.com/

Last night I dreamt I went to Bouchercon for the first time

 

What is your favorite Bouchercon memory, past or present, and what advice would you give to writers interested in attending Bouchercon, so they could get the most out of their experience?

 

My first and favorite Bouchercon was Toronto, in 2017. I was a conference newbie, a published author, and I had no idea what to expect. NONE. I wasn’t Bambi in the forest when it came to travel either, but Toronto was a new destination. My forays into Canada had been limited to Montréal and Québec City.

 

Going into the conference, I knew some authors virtually, either through Facebook or Twitter, so I was eager to match faces to their names online. I stayed within walking distance of the main hotel, and I’m glad that I did because walking into the host hotel was like walking into Las Vegas, with all the lights, bells, and sirens on.  Sensory overload.

 

Raymond Carver’s words came to mind, “I could hear my heart beating. I could hear everyone’s heart. I could hear the human noise we sat there making, not one of us moving.”

 

Except, we were moving like Canadian geese, left and right, up and down, to conference rooms for panels, to the Book Room to buy books, to the same Book Room for signings, and to the bar to quench our thirsts or make conversation. For people who are introverts by disposition, the energy drain from being ON for hours on end was real and exhausting.

 

My advice is both practical and idiosyncratic.

 

WEAR GOOD SHOES

Guys are Low Maintenance, but I’d tell the ladies to wear something comfortable for the Panel Hop because the Fitbit will rack up serious step count. Save dress shoes for cocktail hour or dinner. Your dogs will thank you.

 

CASE THE JOINTS

This should be a no-brainer for crime fiction authors, but you’d be surprised. Mark-up that pocket-sized panel booklet, so you don’t miss the panels and authors you want to meet and hear.

 

An extension of this advice is to scope out the city in advance, so you can splurge and treat yourself and your plus-one to a nice dinner. Yes, it’s an indulgence, but you’ve already spent serious coin on registration, on flights, and let’s not kid ourselves: books, so why not maximize the trip.

 

An added benefit to a night out at a restaurant is your ears will thank you for the incessant drone of hundreds of people in a small space. If you dine out with new author friends, you can hear each other, and you are supporting the local economy. We went to Richmond Station in Toronto. Twice.

 

ETIQUETTE, PART 1

When you attend panels, mute your cell phone, and have your questions for panelists pertinent to what an author said, or to the panel’s theme. It’s their moment, not yours. I know this should be self-evident, but without fail, there’s that special someone who wants to scream their own name.

 

Less obvious, and it’s unfortunate, but ask permission to take pictures or to give that author you just met a hug. A Code of Conduct is thing, so read it and abide by the rules.

 

When you meet an author, please know (it is likely that) they are more terrified of you than you are nervous about meeting them. Let them you know appreciate their work. Compliments make all that time at their desk and the days of insecurity worth it.

 

Behave yourself at the bar. Authors are an observant lot, and you don’t want to become the murder victim in someone’s next book, or read about yourself, thinly veiled, as Mr. X or Ms. Y on social media. People talk, for better and for worse.

 

ETIQUETTE, PART 2

If you’re an author, impressions count. Act like a professional.

 

If you’re on a panel, don’t hog the microphone and all the air in the room.

 

What you say at a conference will attract readers, possibly an agent or publisher, so dress well, and have business cards in your pocket.

 

If you have the budget, have bookmarks made so you can insert them into the books you sign.

 

Carry at least two pens for signings: one to use and one to replace the one you lose.

 

VOTE

Voting for the Anthony Awards at Bouchercon isn’t a standardized process, from city to city, so make sure you have your ballot in on time.

 

 

HAVE FUN

 

HYDRATE

 

RECOVER

 

ENJOY THE AUTHORS, their BOOKS and REGISTER FOR NEXT YEAR, especially if there’s a discount.

Dani's back!

 Alas, this week’s question is not current for me. I’ve missed the last couple Bouchercons. My first was in Baltimore ages ago, memorable, before I even had a manuscript polished enough to share. Terry Shames and I went as buddies and while the size, number of people, and atmosphere were new, it was still a thrill rather than scary. One evening, several amazing, multi-published women we didn’t know personally waved us over to join them at the bar and treated us like fellow writers, not imposters. Huge, life-changing impact. If you’re working to get up the nerve to go, do not hesitate… unless you have political qualms about spending money in states that are in a desperate effort to turn back the social clock.

I’m going off topic to share the news that I’ve managed, with help, to re-publish the 3-book Dani O’Rourke mystery series. It got such great critical reviews in its multi-year, multi-format life but never took off. I decided the many boring, content-free covers and limp marketing help from my traditional publishers played a part, so I got the rights back and plunged in with the professional help of a book editor and an illustrator: Covers that help tell the story and make Dani herself visible, handsome POD paperbacks, e-book versions, both available on Amazon. It's my job now to do the marketing, with the wonderful advice of successful crime fiction writers. Will it work? I’m not sure yet, but the covers got lots of positive attention, and I’m going to post reviews next on my Amazon page. Step by step. It isn’t easy, even with help, but hybrid publishing is becoming more common and I like Dani enough to hope she wins more admirers.

“Wickedly funny.” Kirkus Reviews

 

“…great fun. Dani makes for an engaging protagonist [and] is also a keen observer of the human condition, and knows the difference between substance and fluff. Watching her thread her way through crowds of billionaires and mere millionaires is fine entertainment.” – Mystery Scene Magazine

Meanwhile, the trade paper of MURDER VISITS A FRENCH VILLAGE is available for bookstores, so I need to tend to it too while finishing the copyedit stage of the next in that series, MURDER AND THE MISSING DOG. 

 

And I know I’m no busier than my Minds compatriots. We are all introverted while writing, hustlers once our babies are out there! I could take lessons from all of you. 

One Ring - To Scare the Crap Out Of Me

by Abir

 

It’s that time of year. What is the scariest short story or novel you read? 

 

Here’s the thing. I’m one of life’s natural cowards. I say coward, I mean I have an overdeveloped sense of self-preservation. This involves removing myself with utmost haste from any form of danger, real or imaginary, physical, emotional, visual or auditory.

 

This is why I have reached the age of almost fifty without ever being in a fight, (I don’t count stuff that happened before I was seven) and why my skin is still crease-free and my hair still lustrous and black.

 

My unwillingness to get into a fight, I pass off as a principled, Mahatma Gandhi-inspired espousal of an ethos of non-violence, but really it’s cos I don’t want anyone punching my perfect face.

 

As you can imagine, this philosophy of cowardice means I’m not a big fan of horror, and tend to treat anything in the genre as if it were infected with covid or possibly the plague. It is a policy that has served me well, and as though vaccinated against such things, my brain reacts to the slightest hint of fear in a novel by propelling me to shut the book, hurl it across the room and run away, sometimes screaming, sometimes crying. 

 

But like a covid vaccine, it’s not always 100% successful. The odd scary thing has beaten the sensors (and censors). In terms of books, the thing that first scared the bejeezus out of me (and possibly responsible for my lifelong fear of everything) was Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot. I can’t recall whatever possessed me to pick it up in the first place. The cover had a ghostly mask of a woman with a single drop of blood hanging from the corner of her mouth – I mean, that should have been enough to let me know it wasn’t exactly easy reading for a ten year old, but I started reading it and have had a negative impression of vampires ever since. I got so scared I even had to cover the book in brown paper.

 

My next few brushes with fear tended to come visually – on the TV of cinema screen, in my teenage years and generally involved some sort of peer pressure (generally not wanting to look like the complete coward I was/am in front of friends or girls). Three such moments spring to mind:

 

1.     Watching the Japanese version of The Ring, with a bunch of friends including a girl I was keen on. This is probably the scariest movie of all time. Rather than spoil it for you, I’d say – just don’t watch it. It might kill you. I would have run out the room crying in fear after five minutes if I hadn’t been trying to pretend to be brave. I was honestly scared witless for seven days and nights.

2.     Watching The Blair Witch Project – again, with friends. I really don’t understand why people watch stuff like this. I’d rather spend an hour at the dentist’s.

3.     Watching The Hand That Rocks the Cradle – This was at the cinema, on a date. Again, not my choice, but it wasn’t that bad until one particular scene where something happens (I can’t even remember what it was now), where I basically screamed in terror and all but jumped into my date’s lap. There was no second date.

 

And that was it. In subsequent years, I realised how to be comfortable in myself and learned that I was impressing no one by watching such films. I learned to embrace happiness and my cowardly side and have managed to get through the rest of life without my heart rate rising above 70 while sitting down.

 

That all changed last week though, when I had to read a new book by Norwegian rockstar author, Jo Nesbø called The Night House, as I was chairing him at a book event. I had expected it to be crime fiction. He’s a crime fiction author after all. Nope. It was horror. And the truth was, I rather enjoyed the book. Maybe I’m braver now, or maybe it’s that my fears these days revolve around mortgage payments and the electricity bill coming through my door. Either way, maybe I’ll give horror another go? Maybe I just needed to experience more of the horrors of real life to realise that the horrors of fiction can just be a pleasant thrill.

 

I’m still never watching The Ring again though. I’m not mental.

I Hear the Pines Whisper and Sigh from James W. Ziskin

It’s that time of year. It’s that time of year. What is the scariest short story or novel you read? The scariest that you wrote and why?

I don’t read or watch horror very often, so it’s hard for me to answer all of this week’s question. But I will do my best on the second half.

 

First, let me ask you, are you afraid of the woods? What about the woods at night?

 

The following paragraph is from my fourth Ellie Stone mystery, Heart of Stone, which won the Anthony Best Paperback Original and the Macavity Best Historical Mystery Award in 2017. It was also a finalist for the Edgar Best Paperback Original and Lefty Best Mystery Novel that same year.

In the book’s opening passage, I wanted to create a wistful, nostalgic mood. And somewhat mysterious. I used the five senses in the present tense to describe fragments of Ellie’s memories. Considered together, they paint a picture of the dense Adirondack woods that terrified Ellie when she spent her summers there as a child. But it wasn’t the feel of the cool night air that frightened her. Not the sight of moonlight, the smell of the earth, or the taste of the wild berries either. Her fear manifests itself in her recollection of the sound the wind made when hissing through pine needles.

 

In this scene, the first four senses are benign. Perhaps not warm and fuzzy remembrances of things past, but not malignant either. For me, this passage succeeds thanks to the personification of the fifth sense—sound. The wind and the accompanying simile comparing the pine needles to sharpened blades. Sighing, whispering pine trees can be spooky enough, but needles cutting voices into the wind? I don’t know about you, but that scares me.

 

 

I remember the cool breath of the night woods on my neck. I see the glow of moonlight on the highest boughs, filtering down in a pale cast, weak and washed-out, fading into darkness. I smell the moss and the decay of the forest floor, heady, damp, musky. And I can taste the earthy mushrooms and bitter berries on my tongue. But most of all, I hear the pines whisper and sigh, their needles, like millions of tiny blades, carving voices into the breeze.

 

—Heart of Stone

 

 

 

 

 

Shaking in my boots

It’s that time of year. What is the scariest short story or novel you read? The scariest that you wrote and why?

by Dietrich

Horror is not one of my go-to genres, so I don’t write scary stories. I realized when I was a kid after watching a TV movie called Crowhaven Farm — through the sleepless night that followed — this just wasn’t for me. At that early age, I decided I didn’t like being scared stiff.

As I got older, I did enjoy reading Edgar Allan Poe: The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, no longer scared to the point of checking under the bed. And I liked classics like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stroker’s Dracula, and some of Anne Rice’s vampire stories too.

Over the years I was drawn in, and I’ve read many novels from the king of horror. Stephen King brought us the clowns, the freaky twins in the hallway, the ‘Here’s Johnny’ moment, Annie Wilkes with her sledgehammer, the buried pets, pig blood, and countless more images that just won’t wash away. But, he’s just such a good writer, I keep reading his stories regardless of genre. And there have been some great film adaptations of his books too (fifty-two in total): The Shining, The Green Mile, Misery, Carrie, Stand by Me, Delores Cairborne, The Shawshank Redemption, are among my favorites.

And Hitchcock, the master of  suspense, dished up some pretty scary moments in Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Rear Window, and The Birds. Who could ever forget the shower scene? I think every slasher film that was ever made after tried, but failed, to hit viewers half as hard.

After seeing Jaws in 75, I thought twice before sitting on the side of a kiddie pool. I went to Jamaica after seeing it for the first time, and I made the mistake of going snorkeling along a reef. Through the air bubbles, I could almost hear that John Williams music start up as I swam. I sure wasn’t looking at the reef and all the pretty fish. I couldn’t take my eyes off my flippers, making sure they were still there.

And let’s add Ridley Scott’s Alien to the scary list, because in space no-one can hear you scream, right? And The Eyes of Laura Mars freaked me out when it came out in ’78. The Silence of the Lambs came out in ’91, and Anthony Hopkins sure cranked up the creepy. As did Stanley Tucci in 2009s The Lovely Bones. So, these days while I don’t check under the bed anymore, it’s still not my thing to write stories that will scare readers. 

Bouchercon Rocks!

 

Week of October 1. Mea Culpa! I answered the wrong question this week. This is next week's question, but I like it, so I'm keeping it! 

 Bouchercon San Diego is in the rearview mirror. What is your favorite Bouchercon memory, past or present, and what advice would you give to writers interested in attending Bouchercon, so they could get the most out of their experience? 

 Before I get to the business of answering the question, I want to do a bit of crowing: Today is launch day for Samuel Craddock #10, Guilt Strikes at Granger’s Store, published by Severn House. I’m thrilled to report that the book has drawn a starred review from Library Journal, which summed up the review with these words, “The Samuel Craddock series may be the best regional crime series around today. This installment is no exception.” I mean, who wouldn’t love that review! 

 There are a few murders in the book, and one that happened thirty years ago. If you want to know how to cover up the smell of a body hidden under a floorboard…you have to read the book to find out! 

*****

 Now, on to this week’s question. I started attending Bouchercon long before I was a published writer. My friends Marilyn Wallace and Judy Greber urged me to go because they thought I would have a great time…and they were right! 

 It’s impossible to single out a “favorite” memory , but here are a few: At the first ever Bouchercon I attended, none other than Mary Higgins Clark spotted me when I walked into a restaurant. I was dining alone because I didn’t know many people and the few I did know where off at events with their publishers. She waved me over and said, “You’re with Bouchercon, aren’t you? Come sit with us. She had a waiter bring a chair next to her and proceeded to dazzle me with her charm. But there’s more. The next year when I was at Bcon, she spied me and asked me how my son was doing. She remembered every detail I had told her about him! 

 At that same Bouchercon, I attended the first general organizational meeting of Sisters in Crime. I was so amazed that someone had thought to put together a group to advocate for women authors! And we all know how that meeting panned out. Sisters in Crime has been a force in the industry ever since. And a few years ago I got to serve as president of the Northern California Chapter of Sisters in Crime. 

 I’ve had so many laughs and serious conversations over the years at Bouchercon! Conversations about the publishing industry, about writing, about being discouraged and soldiering on, about being disappointed with publishers, agents, and other writers, and the opposite; being grateful for astute and caring publishers, agents and fellow-writers. 

 From the first Bouchercon, where I knew a few people, I’ve come to know many authors, publishers, reviewers, booksellers, and pre-published writers. 

I''m  grateful and astonished at the generosity of best-selling authors who could be disinterested in “lesser” writers. And yet they are almost all thoughtful and caring, and eagerly lend a hand to those struggling to get better at their craft and to find a publishing home.

People in the publishing business, from writers to publishers, to reviewers are my tribe. Together at Boucheron we commiserate, give and take advice, make suggestions, hear each other’s tales of excitement or woe. I've talked with writers whose careers have taken off, and those whose careers have foundered. We all understand the effort it takes to write in the face of discouragement, the disappointment of rejection, and the thrill of having a book published. They’ve seen the way the industry has changed, sometimes really fast, sometimes grindingly slowly. 

 But at Bouchercon you have not only those in the business of publishing, but readers, as well including those golden readers who are fans of my books. It’s a joy to be among people who attend simply because they love to read mystery novels and enjoy attending panels where they may get to hear some interesting stories told by their favorite authors. And they also like to find new authors to read. Getting to talk to them is part of the fun. 

 So my advice to anyone interested in attending Bouchercon is, DO IT! 

And to make your experience as rich as possible, here are a few tips: 

 1) Think about what you want to get out of the conference. Are you an aspiring writer? How far along are you in the process? What are your most pressing questions? 

 2) When you look through the list of panels, look at panels that may answer some of your questions about craft, how to get an agent, what publishers might be right for you—or if you might want to consider the independent publishing route. But also choose a few panels just for fun! It’s surprising how often tidbits of advice come from the less serious panels.

3) Attend panels that are peopled by writers you think might write the same kind of books you are interested in writing. You may be tempted to attend panels where one of your favorite authors is speaking, but your time might be better spent listening to a lesser-known author who writes the same things you are working on to find out what their techniques are. 

 4) Attend the interviews of well-known

writers. One of the biggest surprises to me is how seriously those with thriving careers take their role as guides for those who are working on their craft. No matter how often I attend these interviews, I’m often grateful for words of wisdom that seem to be directed at me. 

 5) Mingle! If you don’t feel comfortable talking to strangers, listen. And ask questions. Don’t be afraid to approach “famous” authors. Early on in my career, I spotted Laura Lippman, whom I greatly admired. I had a specific question I wanted to ask her, so I took a deep breath and stopped her. My “quick” question turned into a 20-minute in-depth answer. 

 6) Volunteer. It’s a great way to get to know a few people so you won’t feel quite so marooned. 

 So, to end, go to Bouchercon and have fun. 

Spooky Tales to Raise the Hairs on the Back of Your Neck

It’s that time of year. What is the scariest short story or novel you read? The scariest that you wrote and why?

Brenda here.

This might be hard to believe seeing as how I write crime fiction, but I don't do well with scary when I'm watching tv and movies or reading other people's work. Maybe my imagination takes me places it shouldn't, but creepy stuff keeps me up at night and makes me mighty uncomfortable, particularly if based on a true story.

I think I'm okay with writing scary scenes because I'm in control of what happens. Even at that, I've had to take breaks and go for the odd walk when something awful is happening to one of my characters. 

The second book I wrote for middle grade is called Hiding in Hawk's Creek. I placed my fourteen-year-old protagonist Jennifer Bannon in a cottage alone during a storm in the wilds of Northwestern Ontario. That freaked me out as I wrote it. Here's a sample:

I turned back toward my bedroom, thinking about getting into my pajamas and    pulling the quilt over my head. The cottage seemed to rock in the wind, and I wanted to be somewhere snag and safe. I opened the bedroom closet and reached for the fleecy green pajamas, the ones covered in panda bears that looked perfect for such a story night. Without warning, a wild knocking started at the back door.It was so unexpected that I screamed as you do when somebody sneaks up on you. Then I stood perfectly still, clutching my hands together against my mouth with my heart pounding so hard, I thought it would come out of my chest.

Okay, so writing for kids is less scary than creating suspense for adults, but still...

I'm trying to think which of my books for adults is the scariest, and I can think of scenes and situations, but I can't pick just one novel. (I'd be interested to hear what my readers would choose!)

I've always had a fear of going into the basement at night when alone in the house, particularly in my childhood home, which was big and creaky when the wind howled. Here's my fears put into In Winter's Grip, my first standalone adult mystery.

I looked back into the shadowy depths of the basement and pictured the layout .... I took tentative steps down the dark stairwell, picking up speed as my eyes adjusted to the gloom. The smell got worse as I got closer to the bottom, and I put a hand over my mouth. By the time I reached the bottom step, dread had begun stealing up my legs and arms. It was all I could do to keep moving forward. I felt along the wall until my hand landed on the wall switch....

All that to fetch a bottle of wine from the cellar.

As I pen my twenty-fifth novel, I continue to disturb and scare the bejesus out of myself. I'm thinking this writing is keeping me off the psychiatrist's couch. Here's one final snippet from Blind Date, first in the Hunter and Tate Mysteries:

She waited in a brilliant shaft of moonlight pouring through the window, tree limbs swaying black shadows across her face as she stood anxious and shivering in the cold apartment. There was a clink outside on the landing, and she pivoted. She’d left the lights off but could see well enough in the murky light to the door. Her heartbeat picked up speed and she stepped closer, aware suddenly of her nakedness. Carefully, silently, she lifted the dangling chain and eased it into the slot. A woman’s voice began speaking into her ear, asking which patient she was enquiring about. She moved back into the shadows, grabbing her raincoat from the wall hook as she passed by. “Danny Tate,” she whispered and watched in horror as the door handle slowly turned.

As for which book is the scariest that I've read in the recent past, that award goes to Kathy Reichs first published work Déjà Dead. Based on a real live serial killer case, Reichs builds the suspense to edge-of-your-seat level. All I wanted to say to her protagonist Temperance Brennan was "stop working alone at night in an empty office building... and don't even think about looking for bodies buried in the woods on the way home..." But then, what would be the fun in heeding that?!

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