Bouchercon Memories

 The winner of KILLIN' TIME IN SAN DIEGO is Lenita, in California! Lenita, please send an email to julia spencer fleming (all one word) at Gmail.com and I'll connect you to editor Holy West!

 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: How to describe Bouchercon? It's a party that moves from someone's suite to the bar to the restaurant to the publisher's shindig to the hotel lobby. It's a four-day university with the best crime fiction authors in the world telling you whatever you want to know about writing mysteries. It's a massive family reunion, if you actually enjoyed seeing everyone in your family.

 

At my first B'con, in Austin, I was nervous and shy (I know, it's hard to believe,) and had the great good fortune to meet Steve Hamilton, who sat down with me and gave me SO much information about the world of crime fiction writers. 

 The next year, in Las Vegas, I swept the awards and barely remember it. What I do recall was the awful hotel/casino (it got demolished a year later!) the bug that bit my butt at the breakfast bar (which will be the title of my children's book, if I ever write one) and getting phone updates on the League Championship final during the Opening ceremonies (Boston vs. Yankees, with Ross and Lee Child parked in front of the overflow bar TV, cheering on their respective teams.)

Julia, Edith Maxwell &"Sherry Harris" in Albany

Lots of my memories are crowded with people, but some are just lovely solitary moments - walking back to my hotel in San Francisco listening to street musicians playing in the warm dark. Looking out the porthole of my room at the Queen Mary at the glittering lights of Long Beach. Starting each morning in St. Petersburg soaking up the sun while swimming laps in the hotel pool.

What about you, Reds? What are some of your memorable Bouchercon moments?

JENN McKINLAY: My favorite Bouchercon was Dallas in 2019 - all the Reds were together. Why can’t I remember the name of this drink? Perhaps I had a few too many.

 

A great many of these were consumed

  

Other memorable times were…meeting Sue Grafton for the first time in Long Beach (2014) and chatting for a half hour in a hallway. No one else approached her, which I found shocking! It was also my first Bouchercon - so wow, just wow! 

 

Another fave was Toronto (2017) where I went to the top of the CN tower! I always try to do some touring while at a conference and that tower has a glass floor. So cool! 

 

Another stellar BCon moment was Raleigh (2015) where I was told my series was getting moved into hardcover and I found out I hit #8 on the NYT which made me useless for the entire conference. Seriously, I had to meet with the head buyer for Barnes and Noble over dinner and I was as dumb as a potato. Luckily, he was very understanding and we’re still in touch. I think that’s why conferences are so important. You get to meet people and form friendships that are truly sustaining in an occupation that can be, frankly, rather lonely.

RHYS BOWEN: My first Bouchercon I knew exactly 2 people. I was chatting with one of them but had agreed to have dinner with the other. A man in the group invited me to join them for dinner. I explained I had a dinner commitment. As they walked away my acquaintance hissed, “You just turned down Jeffrey Deaver!” 

(I was clueless obviously)

My most memorable was winning two Anthony awards  in Toronto only the award was a giant tombstone I could hardly lift. I had to stagger through customs with an incredibly heavy box , trying not to look suspicious 

Rhys, Louise Penny and Debs in New Orleans

 

Other fond memories are all the Jungle Red game shows, good food  in New Orleans, walking into Austin with matching purple cowboy hats   My least favorites were the horror in Las Vegas and the dystopian Albany site.

 

JULIA: We really need T-shirts that say, "I Survived the Las Vegas Bouchercon." And Albany... sigh. Well, at least it was close enough to visit family and friends upstate.

HALLIE EPHRON: Oh dear, I do remember Albany. An impossible city for a conference of that size. I felt bad for the folks who worked so hard to organize it.

I vividly remember my first Bouchercon - it was in Denver (in 2000? Egads). I knew *NO ONE*! I remember after eating alone I wandered over to the bar where Lee Child was holding forth, and chickened out on hanging out. Only now do I realize what a welcoming place that conference can be, wherever it’s held.

My all time favorite (after the Jungle Red game panels which have been fabulous) was when I got to interview GoH Elizabeth George. She is so lovely and smart and it was a breeze. 

 

GOH Elizabeth George & Hallie

 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Well, so many, and I think I remember the good ones more clearly. Certainly being Guest of Honor in Dallas, that was…well, I am still floating. I still kind of can’t believe it.  And I got to interview James Patterson, who was incredible, hilarious, and absolutely brilliant. I adore him, and we have stayed pals.  (Did you know he mentioned me and how much he loved  that interview in his autobiography? Aww.)

What is Patterson saying to Hank?

 

Anyway, yes, chatting with Sue Grafton. And  the time in maybe Cleveland, where I saw a guy putting out WHIrl360  tote bags, which I knew was for my favorite book at the time, Trust Your Eyes. And I said: “Are you putting out those for Linwood Barclay? I love that book, may I have one?” And turns out, it WAS Linwood Barclay, so that was nice.

And the moment in St. Louis  when William Landay told me he was worried that there were so many arcs of Defending Jacob, because he feared no one would buy it because everyone would already have it. I remember I said: Boucheron is NOT everyone. 

And when Robert Crais had to cancel at the last minute, and the Bouchercon people, in a real Hollywood moment, asked me if I could fill in for him and interview David Baldacci the next day. Well, of COURSE I could. And did. And it was great.

And winning the ANTHONY four times.  PLUS another time winning with the Reds for this very blog! (Where was that, you all?) And every moment with the Reds!

 

JULIA: St. Petersburg! I missed the awards because I was deep in conversation with Brad Parks and lost track of the time. Go on, Hank, I cut you off. What about your first?

HANK: Oh, my first Bouchercon? In Baltimore. I was MISERABLE, and lonely,  and decided to give up on this whole writing thing. Lee Child, who just happened to be there when I was looking pensive, and asked me about it,  told me not to. And I always do what Lee Child says.

LUCY BURDETTE: My first Bcon was in Milwaukee– 2000? I knew not a soul and I was petrified! Terrified! If I hadn't wanted to get published so badly, I probably would have flown right home. I am truly not a natural extrovert, so a big conference like that was very challenging. I have so enjoyed the times the Reds are able to all get together, especially to do a game show. My favorite might have been the one that Julia’s Ross filled in. He was hysterical! This is the photo of the Reds winning best website in St. Petersburg. Oh but wait, Dallas was great fun too, and it was an honor to interview our own Debs!

 

Some extremely happy & honored Reds in St. Petersburg

 

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, so many Bouchercons, so hard to choose! My first Bouchercon was in Pasadena in 1991! I was so nervous and so overwhelmed. But people were so nice and I made friends I still have to this day. I remember Jonathan Gash (he wrote Lovejoy, if you remember) stopped and spoke to me and I thought, “Wow, a real author just talked to me!"

Dallas was fabulous for so many reasons, but some of the others that stand out in memory: Las Vegas (the worst hotel, ugh); Raleigh (my luggage went to California); Albany (we all know how many times we walked up and down those hills but, still, I had a great time at that one); Toronto (Susan Shea and I discovered a pen shop!); St. Petersburg, where the Reds won Anthony!  I am so excited to be making more memories in San Diego.

 

Debs & our own Ann Mason in Toronto

 

 JULIA: Notice how everyone has a happy memory of Lee Child at Bouchercon? That goes to show what a truly lovely gentleman he is. Now it's your turn, dear readers. Share your memories of B'con or any other literary conference/ festival you've been to. And if you're appearing in San Diego today, tomorrow or Sunday, let us know in the comments! 

My Tour Buddy, Nick Petrie

INGRID THOFT

I had lots of fun on my "Duplicity" tour in January, largely because of my tour buddy, Nick Petrie.  Some of you may be familiar with Nick from his debut novel "The Drifter," which is nominated for the Edgar and Barry Awards for Best First Novel and the Hammett Prize for Best Novel.  The second book in the series, "Burning Bright" was released in January, hence the shared tour dates.  Nick's main character, Peter Ash, has been likened to Jack Reacher, by Lee Child himself!  His books are critically acclaimed, thought-provoking thrillers, and I have nothing but acclaim for Nick as a travel companion and friend.  He was recently in Seattle, and we caught up,

INGRID: Tell me about your main character, Peter Ash?  What inspired you to write a character who is a veteran?

NICK: Peter Ash is a highly-trained Marine Corps veteran who signed up to help his country and make a difference.  After eight years of war, he returned home with an unwanted souvenir, what he calls the White Static – an intense claustrophobia caused by post-traumatic stress that makes it hard for him to be indoors for more than a few minutes.  Like many veterans I’ve met, Peter has a deep need to be useful and a profound sense of right and wrong, which combine into a powerful drive to help others out of trouble.

I’m not a veteran myself, and for many years I didn’t think I knew many people who’d served in the military.  But in my day job as a home inspector – I’m that guy you hire to tell you (hopefully) everything wrong with your dream house – I realized during the early stages of the Great Recession that many of my inspection clients were veterans just coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.  I’m a pretty curious guy, and I found myself having some truly fascinating conversations with my clients.  They really opened my eyes to the challenges our veterans face coming home from war.  I didn’t know I was researching a novel, but as it turned out, I’d already started writing “The Drifter” somewhere in the back of my mind.  Funny how that works.

Anyway, Peter is a lot of fun to write – he gets himself into some fairly crazy situations – and he’s a great excuse to keep learning more about the evolving lives of veterans and anything else that my oddball brain finds interesting.

INGRID: “The Drifter” takes place in Milwaukee, and “Burning Bright” is set on the West Coast, including some heart stopping scenes in a forest of giant redwoods.  Why did you change locations, and can you tell us where the third book is set? 

I love writing about place – I think of the setting of a novel almost as another character – and certain stories lend themselves to certain settings.  Milwaukee, a rust-belt city suffering hard in the Great Recession, was the perfect place for "The Drifter."  With "Burning Bright," I wanted to write about technology, and the west coast was the logical setting for that.  I also lived in Seattle for ten years, have travelled all over the west, and wanted to write about some of the places I truly love.

Another answer, to be completely honest, is that I’m deeply afraid of getting bored, and changing settings feels like a great way to keep a series fresh and evolving.  I can change the subject matter and the scale of the story easily just by dropping Peter in a new town with new characters.  Plus each new setting suggests a new plot – so the truest answer, I suppose, is that I’m kinda lazy.

My third Peter Ash book is called “Light It Up” and is set in Colorado.  Peter gets involved in the new cannabis industry – drugs, guns, and big money.  It was big fun to write, plus it gave me a great reason to go explore Denver and Boulder and spend a few days backpacking in the Rockies.  

INGRID: That's the first I've heard of the title!  Very apropos!  So what do readers think about Peter?  What kind of feedback do you get from them?

NICK: I was really nervous, writing about a veteran when I’m not a veteran myself.  This is a subject I’ve grown to care deeply about, and it was important to me to get things right.  Since “The Drifter” came out, I’ve had many conversations, both in-person and online, with veterans and their family members, telling me how much they appreciate the care I took with the emotional details.  One of my favorite conversations was at a library event.  Two sisters, whose husbands both served in Vietnam, told me the book helped them understand their husbands better.  Honestly, I can’t think of a higher compliment. 

INGRID: What has surprised you most about becoming a published author? 

Frankly, I was surprised I’d ever become a published author to begin with!  I’d written three books I couldn’t get published, and I’d given up on ever publishing anything.  I wrote “The Drifter” just for myself, writing the book I most wanted to read.  To discover not only that a major publisher wanted the book, but that so many people would actually read it and enjoy it and tell their friends about it?  Pretty much blows my mind on a daily basis.   

Another great surprise is how welcoming the crime fiction community has been.  Who’d have thought that people who write about death and dismemberment would be so nice?  (I’m from Wisconsin, so I’m required to be nice.  Otherwise the authorities make you move to Illinois.) 

INGRID: It is an amazingly supportive community.  Is there a wannabe book lurking in the back of your brain, something you would write if you didn’t have to consider agents, editors, and fans?  A romance?  Sci-fi?

Oh, I have a few ticklers in the dark recesses of my demented brain.  I’d like to write about Milwaukee again – it’s a fascinating place, with a lot of layers.  The book would be something gritty and weird and maybe internet-y.  I’d like to try my hand at writing for young adults – maybe Peter Ash’s teenage years?  I’m so impressed by good YA writers.  Those books have to be extremely tight, and I think it must be really difficult to make them look so damn easy.  But those two ideas actually seem fairly reasonable.  The true leap would be some science fiction space opera – I’m a sci-fi geek from waaaay back, so that would be loads of fun.  If I could pull it off. 

If you haven't read "The Drifter" or "Burning Bright," you're missing out on a terrific series.  Nick will be here today to answer your questions, and he's giving away a signed copy of "Burning Bright."  Be sure to include your email in your comment!

BURNING BRIGHT

In the new novel featuring war veteran Peter Ash, “an action hero of the likes of Jack Reacher or Jason Bourne” (Lincoln Journal-Star), Ash has a woman’s life in his hands—and her mystery is stranger than he could ever imagine.

War veteran Peter Ash sought peace and quiet among the towering redwoods of northern California, but the trip isn’t quite the balm he’d hoped for. The dense forest and close fog cause his claustrophobia to buzz and spark, and then he stumbles upon a grizzly, long thought to have vanished from this part of the country. In a fight of man against bear, Peter doesn’t favor his odds, so he makes a strategic retreat up a nearby sapling.

There, he finds something strange: a climbing rope, affixed to a distant branch above. It leads to another, and another, up through the giant tree canopy, and ending at a hanging platform. On the platform is a woman on the run. From below them come the sounds of men and gunshots.

Just days ago, investigative journalist June Cassidy escaped a kidnapping by the men who are still on her trail. She suspects they’re after something belonging to her mother, a prominent software designer who recently died in an accident. June needs time to figure out what’s going on, and help from someone with Peter’s particular set of skills.

Only one step ahead of their pursuers, Peter and June must race to unravel this peculiar mystery. What they find leads them to an eccentric recluse, a shadowy pseudo-military organization, and an extraordinary tool that may change the modern world forever.

 

Nick Petrie received his MFA in fiction from the University of Washington and won a Hopwood Award for short fiction while an undergraduate at the University of Michigan.  His story “At the Laundromat” won the 2006 Short Story Contest in The Seattle Review, a national literary journal.  His first novel, "The Drifter," was nominated for 2016 Edgar and Barry awards for Best First Novel, and the 2016 Hammett Prize for Best Novel. A husband and father, he has worked as a carpenter, remodeling contractor, and building inspector.  He lives in Milwaukee.  "Burning Bright" is his second novel, and the sequel to "The Drifter."