Monday, June 11, 2007

Murder in the Grove

I spent this past weekend with Robert Crais in Boise, ID -- along with over a hundred other mystery writers and fans. :) T.L. Cooper and her committee really know how to put on a conference. As far as I could tell, every aspect of the event worked like a well-oiled machine.

Highlights included: Getting to know my roommate, Sunny Frazier, and liking her even more. Chatting with Bruce Cook and Robert Fate about Capital Crime Press at the Barnes & Noble mass book signing Friday evening. Hearing the tales from Bruce Cook, Robert Fate, Ken Sherman, Gammy Singer, and Robert Crais about what a messed-up place Hollywood is. Sharing with my panel-mates, Sunny Frazier, Ken Kuhlken, Conda Douglas, and Michelle Winkler, our love of the short story form. Catching up with L.C. Hayden, Honora Finkelstein, and Susan Smily again and swapping road tales. Laughing uproariously at the hilarious stories told by my table mates after the final reception. Sampling Basque food with our gracious local hostess, Joanne Pence. Meeting some new writer friends--both published and unpublished, and strolling the picturesque streets of Boise's downtown.

To top it all off, I volunteered to be bumped from my flight home in exchange for a free round-trip airline ticket. (We authors who have yet to make the NYT bestseller list need to save $ any way we can!) I only arrived home two and a half hours later than originally scheduled. Today, it's back to the butt-in-the-chair routine in front of the computer. Many thanks to whichever Murder in the Grove attendees are responsible for the bump in the Amazon rank of my book, A REAL BASKET CASE, today!

No comments: