Off to Europe

I've been neglecting my blog lately and its going to be neglected for the rest of the month. My husband and I are leaving on June 7th for a 3-week trip to Europe, just the two of us. This is our first long trip without the kids (now 18 and almost-21) since they were born! I'm really looking forward to the break, and I'm NOT taking a computer or any writing work with me. Just a stack of books to read. I'll be back and posting in July. Here's wishes for lots of summer fun and relaxation to everyone.

A Graduation Celebration

My writing life has been pushed to the back burner this past week with all the activities surrounding my son's high school graduation last Thursday. I've lost count of how many graduation parties he's attended over the past week! My daughter flew home from college (and goes back tomorrow to finish the spring term and take some summer classes), and my parents drove out from Virginia for the ceremony. After watching 352 (!) kids cross the stage, we went out to dinner at our favorite French/Continental restaurant nearby, Marigold. When the owner (who we know) stopped by to chat, my husband asked if she had any openings in the kitchen for my son, who wants to be a pastry chef. She said they just happened to be short one person because someone hadn't worked out, so my son is now one of their pastry prep cooks. It's an ideal summer job for him, and he couldn't be happier. Nor could we! My folks left this morning, so after we put my daughter on the plane tomorrow, life will resume some sense of normality.

A Big Birthday for a Big Boy

Today is my son's eighteenth birthday, and we're celebrating with a big barbecue bash for thirty or so of his closest friends tonight. My "baby" is six feet tall and itching to be on his own in college this fall. It will be strange to have an empty nest when he leaves, but for now, I'm enjoying the milestones--birthday today and high school graduation next Thursday. He made it safely through prom night last weekend, crawling in the door at 7 am, so that was a relief!

Sniplits -- An audio market for short fiction

Many months ago, I submitted a short story to Anne Stuessy, editor and publisher for a new website called Sniplits. Her plan was to present short stories for sale in an audio format, for download onto MP3 devices. The website is now up and running and includes a wide variety of short fiction in many genres read by trained voice talent for only $.88 each. My story is "Covered Dish Casseroles", found under "C" under the "Stories" heading. I hope you enjoy the site!

http://www.sniplits.com

Malice Domestic XX Report--Part Two

The New Author's Breakfast was at 7:15 am Saturday morning, and I was there to support my fellow new Guppies and Five Star authors and listen to their pitches. It was nice not to have a give my own speech, since I'd done it last year--just as it was nice not to have to go through the unnerving Malice-Go-Round pitch session the day before. I sat in on the "Simply the Best" panel of nominees for the Best Novel category of the Agatha Award, then came my own panel of Best First Novel nominees, "New Kids on the Block." (See the first photo above.) Our moderator, Margaret Maron, obviously took a great deal of care to prepare for the panel. She made us all look so good! Then came my signing and the chance to talk to fans and sign their books What fun! I'm still new enough at this that I LOVE talking to people who have read and enjoyed my book.

Next was lunch with thirty-some Guppies at the Sbarro's restaurant in the Crystal City Underground. Lots of photos were snapped and stories were swapped. The afternoon was spent listening to the Ink in their Blood panel about reporter protagonists, chatting in the hallways, and listening to Robert Barnard's delightful interview with Lindsey Davis. I hadn't read any of her books before, but I'm definitely checking out the Falco series now! Fellow Five Star author Maria Hudgins let me change into my party dress in her room, then it was off to the banquet.

A crowd of paparazzi mobbed the four Guppies nominees and must have taken dozens of photos (see the second photo above). ;-) Poor Deb Baker. She gave all of us sitting at her table small dolls as favors, reminding us of her doll collecting series. One poor dolly ended up dangling by a ribbon noose from the table number sign. Demises of the others via water-glass-drowning, candle-burning and other nefarious means were discussed, but not executed. ;-) The anniversary speeches were all entertaining, but there were so many of them that by the time the Agatha Awards were announced, I was stifling yawns, not from boredom, but from sleep deprivation kicking in. I was glad to head back to my friends' home right afterward, pack up, and roll into bed.

Sunday kicked off with the Sisters in Crime breakfast at 7:30 am, followed by the Agatha Christie's Legacy panel where Denise Swanson kept the audience in stitches, some hallway chatting time, the Women Who Sleuth Too Much panel, and Robert Barnard's interview with Peter Lovesey. All too soon, it was time for the final tea. I had to quickly gobble down some food--making sure I got my chocolate covered strawberry and chocolate mousse in a teacup-shaped dark chocolate shell. Yum! Then I had to dash off to the airport, but I did get to see Liz Zelvin's lovely hat featuring a bobblehead figure of Edgar Allan Poe, a bat, and a red rose, that won the "Most Creative Hat" award in the hat contest. And, on the two plane rides and long layover in Chicago, I polished off Hank's PRIME TIME. A lovely way to end a lovely weekend!

Malice Domestic XX Report

The 2008 Malice Domestic conference was a special one for me, not just because it was the twentieth anniversary, but also because I was an Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel. So, I basked in the glow of congratulations and praise until the end of the Saturday banquet. Then, when Hank Phillippi Ryan won, I could celebrate that a fellow Sisters in Crime Guppies chapter member had won--and I didn't have to give a speech. :-) I came home with some Guppies books: Hank's PRIME TIME and FACE TIME, both autographed, Liz Zelvin's DEATH WILL GET YOU SOBER, signed of course (Liz was my Malice-Go-Round pitch mate last year), and the MURDER NEW YORK STYLE anthology with signatures from five Guppies whose stories were included in the volume, including Liz's and Nan Higginson's Agatha Award-nominated stories. I'm looking forward to reading them all, and I expect that anthology to become a collector's item as the authors become big-name mystery authors!

To save money on this trip, I used frequent flyer miles, which meant connecting through Chicago's O'Hare airport versus flying direct, and I stayed at the home of friends in Arlington, VA. They received many of my conference bag books as a hostess gift. All four of my flights were delayed, resulting in me arriving at my friends' home at midnight on Friday and arriving at my home in Colorado Springs at midnight on Sunday. Thank goodness I didn't turn into a pumpkin either time! But, my butt was sure dragging yesterday.

I did get up in time on Friday to breakfast with some Mystery Babes at 8:30 am, and finally got to meet Pari Noskin Taichert in person after corresponding via email for years. I'd missed her at LCC the month before because she'd been sick and in her room a lot of the time. Then came the chores of registering, dropping off my silent auction gift basket, checking in consignment books with Tom & Enid Schantz of Rue Morgue (good thing, too, because they sold ten of them!), signing myself and my two escorts (fellow Five Star authors Mike Befeler and Michael Allen Mallory) up to sit at Deb Baker's banquet table, etc. After a quick granola bar and cup of tea lunch, I went off to the Sisters in Crime chapter training session from 1-3 pm. Being the only board member (I'm secretary) from the Rocky Mountain chapter in attendance, I was directed to take good notes. The session was very informative and lively, and I found it to be immensely useful. Plus, I got to meet chapter board members from all over the USA!

After resting with my feet up a bit and looking out for DorothyL and 4MA members, I headed for the Opening Ceremonies, where I received my suitable-for-framing nominee certificate. After a dinner of munchies from the reception, five of us Five Star authors headed to the Clarendon Barnes & Noble Booksellers store for a Malice Domestic conference kick-off signing (see photo above). We have a tale to tell about getting lost and finding every screwy and confusing street and intersection on the "short 8-minute drive" from the hotel to the store. We made it in the nick of time and quickly set up to start talking to customers. Too tired after that to stay awake for the Murder On the Air program, I returned to my friends' home to chat with them briefly then collapse on my bed. I was their "mystery guest" because I left every morning before they got up and returned late at night. I'll talk about Saturday and Sunday in my next post.

Top Ten Rules for Networking as a Writer blog

Well, I've resisted setting up my own MySpace page so far, but I did guest blog Monday on the Murder in the Grove conference blog on MySpace. My entry was about how to network at conferences such as Murder in the Grove to get the most out of them. I hope those who check it out find it to be useful:

http://www.myspace.com/murderinthegrove