Last Licks on Bouchercon

 
LUCY BURDETTE: As you've already heard from Rhys and Kaye, a majority of Reds spent the weekend in Cleveland. I'm afraid we've staggered out of the Bouchercon conference a tad brain-dead, so I'm postponing our group post until tomorrow to give more Reds time to chime in. In the mean time, here are a few more highlights from the conference. (I always intend to be a better and more prolific photographer...but fun intervenes!)

 As Rhys mentioned, the opening ceremonies were at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame--what a spectacular venue! (Here are Deb and me on the plaza in front.) I wish I'd had more than half an hour to check it out, but a series of frantic text messages from our fearless leaders called me back to the hotel to rehearse. I did take a fast spin around the exhibits--chock full of wonderful costumes and cars and videos designed to make the viewer sick with nostalgia...

Besides the Jungle Red Family Feud, which was wonderful fun, another highlight was seeing Hank bestowed with the "seal of office" as the new president of Sisters in Crime. I adore this organization for all it's done for women writers. And I so clearly remember taking the seal from SJ Rozan at the conference held in Anchorage, Alaska, and then tucking him into the suitcase for the flight home. I know Hank will find a good place for him to spend the year of her tenure--as she lends her amazing enthusiasm and talent to SinC.





 Next came Deb's delightful interview with guest of honor Elizabeth George. Deb said she'd never met her before, but it sounded like a chat between old friends--except for the 100 plus fans looking on. I was so proud of her!



And here I am waiting for the Anthony awards to be announced, sitting with Nancy Parra, Julie Hyzy, and Julie's handsome husband. We may look a little shell-shocked, but that was due to waiting over an hour while raffle ticket numbers were called out. (What can I say--this event takes a huge amount of courage to undertake, and not everything can go perfectly...)

 While neither Julia nor I won our categories, we truly were honored to be nominated--and congratulate Dana Cameron for her winning short story and Louise Penny for her novel. Oh, and it was a thrill to see my pal Julie Hyzy win for best paperback original--she was so excited!

I promise you we won't clog up the rest of the week with news of this conference, though I did snag a few wonderful writers to talk to us later on. In fact, I'm excited about the whole line-up. So please come back tomorrow to hear about how we'd design our family crests. And then Wednesday, I know you'll enjoy hearing about Downton Abbey food from a real chef and tea expert. And Thursday, writer and marketing magician Chris Knopf will visit, followed by Terri Ponce with her debut novel on Saturday.