tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post2583257925175359812..comments2024-03-28T14:33:26.011-04:00Comments on Jungle Red Writers: Mystery at the MLA by Cynthia KuhnJungle Red Writershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16646429819267618412noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-36675296454902115112017-03-16T02:26:50.267-04:002017-03-16T02:26:50.267-04:00Thank you SO much, Reds, for letting me visit toda...Thank you SO much, Reds, for letting me visit today! And thanks to everyone who stopped by. This has been very fun. Best wishes to all! <3Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-78220350106548732882017-03-16T02:24:19.690-04:002017-03-16T02:24:19.690-04:00Oh, Gigi, that must have been a lovely moment afte...Oh, Gigi, that must have been a lovely moment after all of the trials and tribulations!! Thanks for sharing that story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-14140517651089131512017-03-16T02:22:30.746-04:002017-03-16T02:22:30.746-04:00Thanks so much, Kait! Wow, your conference experie...Thanks so much, Kait! Wow, your conference experiences sound Animal-House-esque. And bail? BAIL? Maybe your next book could go in a new direction...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-4633598780834782012017-03-16T02:20:47.248-04:002017-03-16T02:20:47.248-04:00Oh my gosh, Pat! I can't imagine what their fa...Oh my gosh, Pat! I can't imagine what their faces looked like... ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-41926242896797708032017-03-16T02:18:25.807-04:002017-03-16T02:18:25.807-04:00:) Thank you, Libby!:) Thank you, Libby!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-31791417438085662072017-03-15T21:45:06.853-04:002017-03-15T21:45:06.853-04:00I was never much tempted by academia, but I think ...I was never much tempted by academia, but I think your books sound like great fun, Cynthia. These days I sometimes go with the band to music conferences, like the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) in San Jose, CA, a couple of years ago. I don't play, but I do ride herd on the musicians, the crew, and all their assorted instruments and gear. On the WASBE trip we had to a) get three overweight trunks full of weird (i.e. not easy to replace) percussion equipment from Dallas to San Jose and back again, b) coordinate two "Live at 35,000 feet" in-air performances for Southwest Airlines, c) find a source of insulin for a diabetic musician who had forgotten to pack his, when the local CVS was out, and d) ferry a musician who was having trouble walking to the performance hall and back. (Only when we got home did he tell me he had blood clots in his legs, and should never have flown at all. If he'd died on my watch I would have had to resurrect him so I could kill him myself.) Oh, and let's not forget babysitting the harpist's newborn! During a brief break between rehearsal and performance I dashed up to my room, sharing the elevator with a nice Japanese lady. I asked her if she was here with a band, which she was. I told her I was too, and that we performed that night. "I know," she said with the smile of a true, star-struck fan. Turned out they had come a day early just so they could hear us play. It was so weird to have to make that leap from my frazzled "this turkey better hold together or I'm gonna have to thump somebody" mindset to being the star of the show.Gigi Norwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00495357787099352860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-44025720006090803262017-03-15T19:07:05.779-04:002017-03-15T19:07:05.779-04:00Congratulations on the new book, Cynthia. I can...Congratulations on the new book, Cynthia. I can't wait to catch up with Lila again. Sending her to MLA sounds, well, cruel! I can definitely imagine a murder taking place at the conference. Miss Manners does academia? The most fun I had at a conference was working for a jewelry company. I worked for the sales manager and my job was to go to all the conferences, transport the line, and ride herd on the salemen (they were all male) who were like a bunch of over-sexed high school seniors let out for their first mixer. Seriously hysterical events occurred, bail had to be made on occasion (by me, not for me) and no one would believe the stories if written, but they WERE fun.Kaithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07758348842858993203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-54516504728528325912017-03-15T17:42:59.160-04:002017-03-15T17:42:59.160-04:00Hank, I absolutely loved this story. There was so ...Hank, I absolutely loved this story. There was so much about it that made me chuckle.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03178237041163360212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-69433120673403573502017-03-15T16:36:31.221-04:002017-03-15T16:36:31.221-04:00Back when I was a practicing CPA I was required to...Back when I was a practicing CPA I was required to earn so many hours of CPE a year. What a pain. I would go to conferences in the area, mainly about new tax law. The speakers were almost always boring as can be. After one particularly excruciating session about retirement I was sitting at a table, eating my lunch with a bunch of men. One man was gassing on about how to handle retirement, funding, etc. I killed the conversation when I told him my husband's solution. "Take me out in the woods with a gun and leave me."Pat Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12732230586783432052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-64597007055047127312017-03-15T15:23:01.942-04:002017-03-15T15:23:01.942-04:00"Now, I don’t tend to encounter much tweed on... "Now, I don’t tend to encounter much tweed on campus, but the last time I went to MLA, it was as though all of the remaining tweed in the world had been drawn together into a fabric sea that steadily engulfed the conference hotel. True story."<br />Perfectly crafted line!<br />Libby DoddUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03967590242114956411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-11807752615668235162017-03-15T14:10:54.171-04:002017-03-15T14:10:54.171-04:00Thank you very much, Kathy! And I hope you enjoy t...Thank you very much, Kathy! And I hope you enjoy the reading. :)<br /><br />The ALA conference has been on my bucket list--someday, maybe. Glad you had great experiences there. And Bouchercon is so terrific. Cannot say enough good things about that one!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-38448580949000491542017-03-15T14:07:27.901-04:002017-03-15T14:07:27.901-04:00Hi Ingrid, thank you! And oh, the topics range so ...Hi Ingrid, thank you! And oh, the topics range so widely. Here's a link to the special sessions from the most recent conference--so interesting! https://apps.mla.org/conv_listings_type?type=S&year=2016<br /><br />I agree with you about mystery conferences. The Festival sounds amazing!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-26735055858030893222017-03-15T14:02:37.198-04:002017-03-15T14:02:37.198-04:00Hi Deborah: Thank you! The book focuses Lila's...Hi Deborah: Thank you! The book focuses Lila's attempts to solve a mystery involving a famous author who is scheduled to headline "Arts Week" at her university--his disappearance throws everything into chaos and kicks off a string of other unfortunate events...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-18978954340352873402017-03-15T13:38:07.130-04:002017-03-15T13:38:07.130-04:00Cynthia, I'm a fan of academic mysteries, and ...Cynthia, I'm a fan of academic mysteries, and your series is on my series catch-up list. I need to jump in before you've written any more books in it. I love your covers, too, with the subtle differences. Congratulations on The Semester of Our Discontent being an Agatha nominee for first novel, and I need to remember it's eligible for the Anthony in the same category. Looks like I'll be taking it on vacation with me next week to read and review. <br /><br />I've been to a couple of ALA (American Library Association) conferences, which are wonderful because, well, librarians. I got to hear some great talks by reading and literacy experts at these. Of course, Bouchercon is the conference that I dearly love in the mystery community, and I can't wait to attend the next one.Kathy Reelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17004247271452356577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-51395544990382317832017-03-15T13:09:21.480-04:002017-03-15T13:09:21.480-04:00Aimee, that sounds like SUCH an experience. ("...Aimee, that sounds like SUCH an experience. ("and then I got to spend the week explaining back that they weren't "my" numbers, they were math's numbers and it wasn't my fault if they didn't like them" = HA HA!) So glad that your new conferences are more peaceful and fun. :)<br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-23440402693664389712017-03-15T13:07:05.705-04:002017-03-15T13:07:05.705-04:00Mary, those conferences you attended sound wonderf...Mary, those conferences you attended sound wonderful! <br /><br />And yes, I agree that the dream-job aspect does intensify things a great deal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-48047042650976736962017-03-15T13:05:18.891-04:002017-03-15T13:05:18.891-04:00I loved the story too, Hank! As soon as I read you...I loved the story too, Hank! As soon as I read your description, I had to read. (Nancy/Nancies AND Ned!) Thanks for the link...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-61143992356319474262017-03-15T12:55:42.398-04:002017-03-15T12:55:42.398-04:00Bless you, Hank! Thank you for the kind words.
&...Bless you, Hank! Thank you for the kind words. <br /><br />"As all of whom are clamoring to be better better better and know more." Sigh. Can see it.<br /><br />And oh, how I love that story about the organized filing expertise. I would have bought a ticket to hear those techniques! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-53865644700886792002017-03-15T12:52:26.558-04:002017-03-15T12:52:26.558-04:00Susan, that is something else, isn't it? And w...Susan, that is something else, isn't it? And what Lucy says--a motive indeed. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-86920658868307990952017-03-15T12:31:20.843-04:002017-03-15T12:31:20.843-04:00Oh, thank you! xoxoOh, thank you! xoxoHank Phillippi Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17420701704169428286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-20385234193411785622017-03-15T12:30:31.840-04:002017-03-15T12:30:31.840-04:00Oh my goodness, Flora! That would make a great sce...Oh my goodness, Flora! That would make a great scene. So much wonderful tension. Thank you for the comment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-9997754267569339762017-03-15T12:22:30.537-04:002017-03-15T12:22:30.537-04:00Lucy/Roberta, that is perfect set up! How did that...Lucy/Roberta, that is perfect set up! How did that paper go? I bet the panel was a smashing success. <br /><br />The new book follows Lila as she confronts more mysterious things...focusing especially on a famous (cantankerous) author who is supposed to be headline the university's Arts Week.<br /><br />Thanks so much for hosting today. (And I'm sorry my comments say an url instead of name--after the first one, I can't seem to change it.) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-38328734315787805302017-03-15T12:17:58.678-04:002017-03-15T12:17:58.678-04:00You're an experienced attendee, wow! And that ...You're an experienced attendee, wow! And that is great advice, Edith--simple but absolutely wise. Those nerves right before presenting can be so powerful!!<br /><br />Thanks very much for the kind words about the books.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-65518307075421804992017-03-15T12:13:03.678-04:002017-03-15T12:13:03.678-04:00Congrats on the new book, Cynthia! You mentioned ...Congrats on the new book, Cynthia! You mentioned the pleasure of discussing "highly specialized topics you care about with others who care as much as you do." I'm curious what some of those topics were. I'm always fascinated by the highly specialized areas of study that people undertake, probably because I can't imagine having that level of focus!<br /><br />Mystery conferences are great; not only because you get to meet readers, but you get to catch up with fellow writers/friends who you only tend to see once a year. I just got back from the Tucson Festival of Books, and I highly recommend it to any book lover. Authors from all genres participate, the panels are great, there's lots of entertainment, and the sun! I actually saw the sun!Ingrid Thofthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04063912686011336076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1001156153899984046.post-49544189197201196692017-03-15T12:11:39.345-04:002017-03-15T12:11:39.345-04:00Cynthia, I love academic mysteries! And I love you...Cynthia, I love academic mysteries! And I love your cover! Do tell us more about the new book.<br /><br />Deborah Crombiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16988750789088153601noreply@blogger.com