Giveaway update: Gram and Kathy Reel won "Our Little Secret" from Roz Nay, and Karen in Ohio won Susan Shea's latest "Dressed for Death in Burgundy." Email your mailing addresses to me at ingrid@ingridthoft.com Congrats!
One of the delightful aspects of being a writer is that you're invited to places you might not have occasion to visit otherwise. This was the case this weekend when I traveled to Boise, Idaho to teach at the Idaho Writers Conference hosted by the Idaho Writers Guild.
These past couple of days have been an opportunity to step away from my desk and interact with writers and readers. It was so inspiring and affirming to spend time in Boise's vibrant literary community and also to visit their fabulous indie bookstore, Rediscovered Books.
So join me as I share some snapshots from my quick trip to Boise. They have much more to offer than just potatoes!
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Boise does rock!
The welcome reception at Rediscovered Books featured the conference presenters and coincided with the awarding of the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award to Emily Ruskovich for her appropriately titled novel, "Idaho."
Fellow Seattle mystery writer Mike Lawson was also a presenter.
Yes, they do have lots of potatoes, too, and baked potato magnets!
Those baked potato magnets are absolutely adorable!
ReplyDeleteI can’t say as I’ve ever been taken off the beaten path, but it does look as if you had a wonderful Idaho weekend, Ingrid . . . .
They were very cute, Joan!
DeleteSounds fabulous! I've been reading through the other short stories in Mystery Most Geographical, this year's Malice anthology. The stories have taken me to Maine, Iceland, Alaska, Tahiti, England, and elsewhere. My story is my first crime fiction set in Burkina Faso. It was fun and a challenge to remember the little details of life there that brought the story alive.
ReplyDeleteI forgot about all the places I've visited because of mystery conventions! So far New Orleans, Monterey, and Toronto are my favorites.
DeleteBurkina Faso! I know you lived in Africa for a time, but how did you decide to set your story there?
DeleteIngrid, I had written a book of memoir essays the year I lived in Burkina. The one I wrote about visiting an American friend who was doing research out in the bush with diviners just seemed to suit itself to transforming into a crime story! I had many of the details of the sights and smells, just had to add plot. ;^)
DeleteMy reading brought me to Scotland, England, Ireland and France and will bring me to Australia next fall. I always wish to compare real places with the images in my head and the feelings inspired.
ReplyDeleteIt also brought me to Toronto last year to meet Bouchercon's writers and readers : off my path but so enjoyable and memorable.
Did I miss meeting you in Toronto? I hadn't been there in decades and really enjoyed myself.
DeleteI was there, too, Danielle and Edith. Great fun, wasn't it?!
DeleteEdith we met when you were giving signed books . I love your books and wanted a signed copy of a book I already had as Ebook. You graciously complied and I was very happy.
DeleteAnd Amanda, great fun indeed, I wish I could have met every JRW's members.
Good, Danielle! And sorry I didn't remember you...
DeleteI've been to England,Ireland, Scotland, Australia, Japan, Tibet, France, Africa, Canada and probably others places that I can't remember. It's one way to travel without the hassles.
ReplyDeleteFor years we have chosen a vacation spot based on books we've read. This has included Salisbury, after reading SARUM by Edward Rutherford, Nether Wallop, where the Miss Marple series was filmed, Brittany, Bordeaux, the Perigord (Bruno), Paris many times, Provencal, Rome and Florence. Not to mention the Three Pines trip we took last fall, be still my heart. This year we are going back to the UK after 18 years, and I'm yearning to visit Shetland and Newcastle, hoping to run into Jimmie Perez and Vera. And maybe we'll get to Ludlow and meet Kate Charles!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful way to pick your vacation destinations, Ann!
DeleteWhat a great way to combine reading and holidaying. Enjoy your trip back to the UK. I hope to one day to go back to Scotland, where I was taken on some wonderful coastal walks by my aunt, uncle and cousin. And it was glorious blue sky and sunny - truly. The photos prove it!
DeleteThat is so brilliant!
DeleteI was thinking of your trip to Three Pines when I posed that question, Ann. I'd love to go to Shetland and run into Jimmy Perez!
DeleteWhat a perfect way to pick vacations, Ann!
DeleteGuess I am going to have to talk you into reading Carl Hiassen and Randy White, Ann.
DeleteHow wonderful! I love those potato magnets and I wonder how I can get some without going to ID. Glad you had a good time!
ReplyDeleteHoping for a trip to Inspector Bruno's Dordogne.
ReplyDeleteOh, I hear that is amazing amazing amazing.
DeleteYou will love it. Amazing caves, castles, rivers and great food markets. You must try the vin noix. We stayed in Sarlat
DeleteI second what Rhys wrote. Dordogne is fabulous. I knew nothing about this place when I learned that my ancestor came from there. Informations taken, I could relate to many books of different periods, especially those of J.M.Auel. I went and enjoyed a lot.
DeleteRhys, we stayed in Sarlat too! I think the Sud-ouest May be my most favorite part of France. And in our travels, I’m pretty sure we saw Bruno!
DeleteI sometimes tell my friends that I grew up in Prydain.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Ann, I don't pick my travel destinations based on what I read, and my writing tends to stay fairly close to home, but the places I've been when I open a book? Marvelous. And somehow or another I managed to luck onto Lloyd Alexander's "The Book of Three" when I was at exactly the right age to love the fantasy world he created from Welsh mythology. Year after year, as each new book came out, my sister and I devoured them--much as more recent fans did with the Harry Potter books--right on through our childhood and adolescence. So, yes, I grew up in Prydain. Some day, I may even get around to visiting Wales.
I have traveled extensively in my mind through my reading, and my reading did get me to Boucheron last year in Toronto. That was a fabulous experience. Many many years ago, I traveled to Australia and was inspired by the adventures of a woman who wrote a book about riding camels across the desert in that country. I cannot remember the book's author or title, but it conjured such vivid images in my mind. I didn't make it to the town of Alice, but I did make it to Uluru (Ayer's Rock, it was called back then). Remarkable landscape.
ReplyDeleteI would love to go to Uluru, Amanda. We didn't make it there when we visited Australia a few years ago, but it may be the reason for a return visit!
DeleteI was there in 1993 and tourists were still allowed to climb the rock, which I did. I would not do that now, as the site has been rightly reclaimed by Aborigines as their sacred site.
DeletePotato magnets! Love that — and what a fabulous event! Let’s see… I just got invited to take part in the South Dakota Book Festival next year in Deadwood! How terrific is that? You have inspired me to look back at my calendar over these past years… It has been— and continues to be —astonishing.
ReplyDeleteOh, gosh, SO MANY TIMES and hoping for more to come. I'm going to scenic Lancaster PA for PENN WRITERS later this month. Scenic parts of Oregon for Puget Sound Writers and Willamette Writers. And I can't get to NYC too often, so I happily am teaching at the Writers Digest NYC conference in August.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Idaho (hint hint hint)... Or South Dakota...
ON travel where you read: I must say I'd love to get to Ucross and visit Craig Johnson's ranch.
I think that the smaller cities and places off the beaten path have what feels like a more vibrant arts community, perhaps because they are less diluted by the many options of bigger cities? I was so impressed by the enthusiasm of the participants.
DeleteHallie, I hope you’ll have a car and be able to explore the farm country around Lancaster. Blue Balls, intercourse, and Bird in the Hand are must sees. Or there is the Lancaster Market, lots of great food. Enjoy
DeleteI've just spent a few days in NY and DC for the Edgars and Agathas and this month I'm filming in Seattle then off to Europe, if John's health permits.
ReplyDeleteWait. "Filming in Seattle" - news I haven't heard, Rhys?!
DeleteFilming in Seattle sounds better than Sleepless in Seattle. Do you have any more to tell about that, Rhys?
DeleteIsn't Idaho a beautiful state? I have not seen much of it, but the bit west of Yellowstone is such scenic country.
ReplyDeleteHallie, Craig and his wife live near Buffalo, which is not far from Ten Sleep, Wyoming. His stories take place all around that area, which is fantastically beautiful. One of my daughters, the climber, has spent many early Julys at Ten Sleep, for an annual Fourth get-together. My husband and I finally drove through it a couple years ago and I was blown away by how lush and spectacular the scenery is there, with steep creeks and waterfalls, and magnificent vistas.
Wyoming is on my list; C.J. Box country!
DeleteMuch of Wyoming is more like a lunar landscape, very dry and flat. At first I was not impressed, until we got into the river valleys and other beautifully lush areas.
DeleteMy granddaughter is at the U of Wyoming, in Laramie, working on her PhD in anthropology. Would love to go there too
DeleteLaramie is stunning! My late nephew lived there and his wife and two lovely children still do. I went for the funeral last year and wished I could stay longer.
DeleteAnd thanks again for the book! What a nice surprise on a gloomy Sunday.
DeleteYou're welcome, Karen!
DeleteIngrid, I did the Nimrod conference in Tulsa last fall, and it was fabulous. I know exactly what you mean about the smaller cities having a vibrant arts community--I was so impressed with Tulsa. And such fun to explore a city I'd only visited briefly.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that so many of you enjoyed Toronto last year (sorry about the weather, eh?)
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled to learn that I won a copy of Roz Nay's Our Little Secret, as I had put it on my TBR list and Amazon wish list. I'll email you my address as soon as I finish here, Ingrid.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned the other day how my reading of Julia's series took my friend and me off the beaten path on a brief visit to the Adirondacks, which fulfilled my desire to dip a toe into the world of Clare and Russ. That whole first Bouchercon trip to Albany, New York took me completely off my beaten path, as we traveled through upstate New York on our way to Niagara Falls after the conference and back. I fell in love with a small town, which I later discovered was a ski resort area, called Ellicottville. Visiting the backyard cottage at the residence of Robert Frost's friends, where he lived for a time after his wife died, in Key West was a rather surreal experience. My plans are to visit England in the next year or so and take in some Agatha Christie sites. And, a trip to London to visit some of the places that Debs has brought alive to me in her books will be a must on that trip.
I would love to go on a Duncan and Gemma tour of London, Kathy!
DeleteI've hinted for years to Debs that she should head up one for those of us here on Jungle Reds. Maybe you can twist her arm, Ingrid.
DeleteThis looks really lovely! Yes, I did get to go to the twin cities in Minnesota for a fabulous 2 days of 2 different events and it was delightful to meet other authors as well as readers! Thanks for sharing this experience with us, Ingrid!
ReplyDelete