Left Coast Crime: A Wrap Up by Jenn McKinlay

 Jenn McKinlay: Not gonna lie, in a post Covid world, I've had a hard time getting back into the flow. Conferences seem like breeding grounds for the plague (watching The Last of Us did not help) and the travel expenses and time away didn't seem worth it. But then Left Coast Crime decided to hold their conference in my home state of Arizona. Well, how could I not go to a conference I'd enjoyed for years when it was just two hours away? Obviously, I had to go.

On deadline, I arrived late (still didn't meet that pesky deadline but whatever). Hub came with me - his first conference as we're empty nesters now - and within hours I was back in conference mode. As we walked through the fabulous El Conquistador hotel and I saw readers and writers I hadn't seen in a couple of years, I would swerve into  people's conversations, invade their lunches, and jump over short walls to catch them as they walked by for fear I would miss them if I didn't. As Hub observed, "Conference you is rather terrifying." My defense, "I have very little time and a lot of people to hug."

One of those people is Dru Ann Love of Dru's Book Musing, a fabulous book blog, who happened to be the Fan Guest of Honor this year. I've known Dru since I don't even know when but she does more for writers than most publishers do and she is a treasure. Seriously, we must protect her at all cost! 

Well, when Dru gave her acceptance speech, she took me out at the knees. She talked about her very first Left Coast Crime in Phoenix in 2016 where she found herself sitting in the lobby, alone, wondering about her place in things. She then said (and I'm paraphrasing because I have the memory of a turnip), "And then who came shooting across the lobby and plopped down next to me? Jenn McKinlay. We talked for sixty minutes." She spotted me across the room in the banquet crowd and asked, "Do you remember what we talked about?" I didn't so I shook my head. And she said, "The Hooligans." 

LOL, well, of course we did! Dru Ann then went on to say that that interaction was what conferences and Left Coast Crime were all about -- finding your people, being accepted, and forging lifelong friendships. She was 100 percent correct...and she made me cry. 

Dru Ann accepting her award.

The Hub and me and our table mates, applauding Dru.
(Photos by Christina Estes) 

There were so many wonderful moments like this throughout the conference. Hub, who is a bigger reader than I am -- frankly, he is the most well read person I've ever known -- had read most of the authors in attendance and was delighted to meet Naomi Hirahara (he was stunned when I told him, "She's my friend") and Ed Lin who I was lucky enough to be on a panel with alongside Leslie Karst, Leslie Budewitz, and Emmeline Duncan. 

And of course, I got to see our Rhys, which was wonderful, as always.

Rhys and Jenn

I also attended Rhys's panel - How to Keep a Series Fresh - and her response to how to end it when the series was definitively over was, "Well, when Clare and I are tired of Molly, we're only a few years away from the Titanic." Which, of course, sent the packed crowd into peals of laughter. 

There were so many more memories made and special moments shared but I don't want to hold you hostage, so I'll close with the list of nominees and winners of this year's Lefty. 

My takeaway was this: livestreams and zooms and all of that are lovely but nothing beats being with your people in person to share the tears and the laughter and the hugs. 

Now how about you, Reds and Readers, what in person events have you been attending and how are you feeling about it? 

Back to Conferences: A Red Round Up!

JENN McKINLAY: It’s time for conference round up! Okay, yes, I just made that up. Still, I just registered for Left Coast Crime - it’s in Tucson, AZ next year - and Bouchercon, which is in San Diego! These will be my first conferences since I got sent home from Left Coast Crime in March of 2020 when the state of California was about to enter lockdown. That was one surreal couple of days, let me tell you. I am still on the fence about attending Malice Domestic as Bethesda is super tricky to get to from Phoenix, so we’ll see. So, chime in Reds, what conferences are you planning on attending next year if any? 

LUCY BURDETTE: Oh fingers crossed this all works as we hope it does! I too am registered for Bouchercon in San Diego–with any luck we’ll have a big Jungle Reds contingent and a game show! (I think my last ones were in Dallas, St Petersburg, and Toronto–all fantastic!) But I know I’ll also be headed to Crimebake, both because I miss my New England pals, and DEBORAH CROMBIE will be the guest of honor. Hooray! 

HALLIE EPHRON: I went to my first ‘live’ conference a few weeks ago in Vancouver - the fabulous Surrey International Writers Conference - and lived to tell about it! It was so lovely to give a talk and tell from the audience reaction whether I was connecting. And hang out in the bar. And catch up with so many old friends. Sigh. Heaven. Not to mention hear the writing of some superbly talented as-yet-unpublished writers. And a few weeks ago I was at The New England Crime Bake where I got to actually hug Hank. Of COURSE I *plan* to go to Boucheron in San Diego – fingers crossed that we’ll all be there and gaming it! – and cheer on our own Deborah Crombie. 

RHYS BOWEN: this year I attended Left Coast Crime, Malice Domestic and the Edgars. No masks. Holding my breath all the time. But now, having had Covid, I’ll be more relaxed next year 

(unless the variant from hell emerges). I’ll be going to Left Coast in Tucson Malice and Bouchercon. Taking daughter Clare with me to introduce her further to the community I love my peeps! 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Well, of COURSE I’m going to Malice–I’m the Guest of Honor. Whoo hoo and I am already nervous. And Ann Cleeves is international GOH, and I am SUCH a fan! Jenn, fly to DC! I always do. And Rhys, we will all swoop Clare up and make her an auxiliary Red! Bouchercon, yes, how can I resist. Another Reds-o-rama. :-) ! 

And CrimeBake with queen Debs will be wonderful. (I was GOH for its first mid-post--Covid event. I was floating with the honor…who’d have EVER thought? It was so amazing to see everyone, and so fraught and fabulous at the same time.) In this crazy-wonderful year, I was GOH at Killer Nashville, too. It was incredible, I have to say. SO welcoming! And I’d adore to go back. I have never been to Left Coast Crime, hmmm. I HAVE to write!!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I haven't been to a conference since Bouchercon in Dallas in 2019, so 2023 is going to be very exciting. In March, I'm GOH for Murderous March, the virtual conference organized by the Upper Hudson Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Then in June, I'm GOH (along with the fabulous Rachel Howzell Hall) at the California Crime Writers conference in LA. I am registering for Bouchercon in San Diego as well (tackle that to-do list!) And then the icing on the cake, I'll be GOH at Crime Bake in November in Boston. It will be my first Crime Bake and I'm so excited! I hope we'll have a great REDs contingent there. I would dearly love to go to Malice (it's been much too long) but as Hank says, I have to write...

 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I'll be tagging along and applauding my friends at Malice, Bouchercon and Crime Bake next year. It's always fun when B'con is in a city I like visiting, and I plan to take full advantage of being in San Diego! 

 

I'll also be at the Maine Crime Wave in Portland next June and the Novelists, Inc. conference in St. Petersburg in September. That last is entirely for published authors, and I found the first one I attended, this past fall, to be so full of useful information, I definitely want to go back. Thrillerfest 2023? Maybe? I love the excuse to go the New York City, and I'd really like to teach a masterclass there one year, so that's a strong impetus to go.

What about you, Readers? What conferences will you be attending next year? Or are you not ready yet?

 

What We're Missing (sigh)

JENN McKINLAY: When I first started writing, I wrote in this Emily Dickensonesque solitude where not only did I not take any classes, go to any conferences, or find any other authors to commiserate with, I also didn't tell anyone I was trying to be a writer. This is one of my biggest regrets. Why?

Well, it turns out, writers are, by and large, very friendly, generous with their knowledge, and extremely supportive of their fellow pen monkeys. Conferences are where I've made some of the best friends of my life -- like this crew of divine women: 

Jungle Red Writers Bouchercon 2019

And I've been to places I'd likely never have gone to without a conference being held there, such as Toronto's CN Tower. Yes, I'm standing on the glass floor, looking down at the aquarium. (Bouchercon 2017).

The friendships that are forged while being on a panel with other authors, going to dinner with your editor and agent, or just hanging out for a coffee or a large breakfast (my favorite) with readers is the BEST.

My bestie and frequent conference roommate Kate Carlisle, whose book THE GRIM READER is coming in June! I can't imagine my life if I'd never met her. Yes, we're enjoying
pre-book signing "salads" here. 

At the recently aborted Left Coast Crime, I even got to see blogger and Reds regular, Mark Baker, moderate the panel What's Cooking? He did an amazing job!

Left Coast Crime 2020

For most of us in the crime fiction world, this is the week for the Edgars, where our Hank is up for a Mary Higgins Clark Award for The Murder List (Available RIGHT NOW in ebook form for $1.99). It will be announced on Twitter on April 30th at 11:00 EST. I love you, Twitter (okay, not really) but this is NOT the same.

Today, I should be on a plane headed to the second Malice Domestic I've ever attended. Kate Carlisle and I were going to check out the Library of Congress, but the big event was to celebrate our Julia, who was Guest of Honor! Obviously, it, too, was canceled. 

This is particularly sad for me, because one of the friendships I forged at Malice, way back in 2012, was with our dearly departed Sheila Connolly.  Sheila passed away last week. It was a crusher for the entire cozy mystery community, but her blog mates at Wicked Authors say it best with a lovely tribute written by our friend Edith Maxwell. It's cold comfort, I know, but I'm so glad we have Sheila's books to take us with her to Ireland or an apple orchard or wherever her talents lead. 

Sheila was a genuine character, wickedly smart and with a delightful sense of fun. Here we are posing as Charlie's Angels, with finger guns and everything, because we're both so tall. We laughed pretty hard at ourselves. I'm so sorry I won't get to laugh with you again, my friend. RIP. (photo by Dru Ann Love)

So, if there is one thing I've learned and learned and relearned in the spring of 2020, I won't take any of these conferences, the amazing people who put them together, or those who attend them for granted -- ever again! Here's hoping I get to see you all at a signing, a conference panel, or a breakfast again soon! 

So, tell me, Reds and Readers, what conferences, signings, or other book centric events are you planning to attend, if any, when the world starts up again?

Grounded! Betcha can't not touch your face...

Hallie Ephron: It’s been a rough few weeks and no end in sight.... The cancellation of Left Coast Crime at the last minute left so many in our community stranded. Our vehement get-well wishes go out to anyone who’s got COVID-19 or thinks they do. Since it’s been nearly impossible to get tested unless you’re Tom Hanks and working in Australia.

Yes, things have changed. Our local schools are closing for at least six weeks. So scary. Let’s not talk about how many times a day I check the stock market. Or how many times each minute I try to stop myself from touching my face. 

I always work at home, often in my PJs, so that’s not new. But now, going to the supermarket, first thing I do is grab a wipe and use it to wipe down my shopping cart. Head straight to the produce department where I grab two plastic bags to wear over my hands before I touch a single honey crisp apple or baby tangerine. One minute, the end cap at my local Stop ‘n’ Shop is chockablock with antibacterial products; a few hours later they’ve sold out.

Since I’ve stopped going to my fitness center, I’m giving my exercise bike (for so long it’s been a coat rack but fortunately my husband wouldn’t let me give it away) a workout and sadly I’m running out of The Great British Baking Show episodes to watch while I pedal. Spring has come early, so I’m out raking. 

Online shopping is still a GO, and I’m thinking about buying these. Exercise, clean, and try not to go stir crazy.

What are you up to... or not?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I just got back from Palm Beach where I did a wonderful book event--but let me tell you, I was happy to be on that plane heading home. And no more trips for me anytime soon. The airport was WEIRD, although the plane was full. And everyone with wipes. And so strange--at some point, I realized that no one was laughing. In the airport, on the plane, nothing. Once you notice it, it’s so disconcerting.

I feel so awful for all the convention planners--they have spent so much time and brainpower only to be hit by this. It’s so unsettling and scary. I said to Jonathan last night--I fear the locusts are next. And then--in the paper this morning--I read that deadly locusts in Africa are threatening to wipe out the crops.

Also, I am putting a limit (Jonathan doesn't know this yet) on CNN-watching. 

But I can make you laugh.

In the Uber on the way to the Palm Beach event: 
My young Uber driver says: “How about that corona?”

Me: “Yeah.”

Driver: “I’m not worried too much about myself, but I do worry about elderly people like you.”

RHYS BOWEN:  I was so sad to cancel Left Coast Crime but I’ve had sniffly stuffy allergies and thought I’d be more vulnerable to what was out there, also John is high risk. I was so relieved when the state made the convention cancel as they would not now lose their shirts. I’m about to cancel an upcoming cruise and doing a lot of wiping and washing 

But how can anyone actually keep safe? The mailman coughs on my letter. The waitress touches my plate? The man handing out communion in church uses hand sanitizer then holds the handrail down from the altar!

I am in Arizona with very few cases. How about banning travel of more than 20 miles? 

Stay safe everyone and order books online from your favorite bookstore!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: We are in for at least a week of rain and thunderstorms here, and while the unappealing weather may help keep people home, it does nothing for the general state of gloom! I’m trying to bring back my winter hygge in full force--hot tea, puzzles, a fire, and lots of uninterrupted time to work.

While NOT touching my face! The more I think about it, the more my nose itches!

In the meantime, I’m lucky enough to have a netgalley of Lucy’s THE KEY LIME CRIME, and am very grateful for a dose of Key West and fabulous food.

Rhys, I am washing my hands thoroughly after opening the mail and throwing away the outer envelopes. There is so much to be mindful about.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I hadn’t thought about the mail! Holy cow, it just goes to show how hard it is to keep track of everything someone might have touched. 

I’m prepping this week to move the last seven weeks of my community college course online. Since I can barely use the online gradebooks, I’m going to be relying heavily on the tech helpers to walk me through it. The final project divides students into small groups to research and write a recommendation paper. That part will be easy to transfer online, but I’m at a loss how they’re going to do the oral presentation to the class that caps the semester! Any suggestions are welcome.

My own college kid is NOT coming home - she has an “operations-necessary” work-study job they want her to keep doing, so she’s taking over a cheap apartment from a friend. Since her courses will also move online, she’ll be able to triple her weekly work hours, so she may come out well ahead in this crisis! Of course, it helps to be 19 and healthy as a horse…

JENN McKINLAY: I was at Left Coast Crime, drinking a coco pina margarita, when the convention was canceled. While it wasn’t completely unexpected, it was still weird to be at an event and have the plug pulled right as it got underway. The rain was also relentless, which added to the feeling of

doom.

I am now back home in the frat house and the hooligans are off from school for the next two weeks while I am on deadline, so this should be fun. Also, I am not a hoarder and go to the grocery store every day because I never know what I want for dinner until that day, so we have no food and only four rolls of toilet paper. Save me!

LUCY BURDETTE: It’s such a bizarre time isn’t it? And cancelling all events is going to make us feel even more isolated and worried, even though it’s the right thing to do. FINALLY, the city of Key West has banned cruise ships landing in our port for the next 30 days. It’s our busy season so we often have 2 or 3 a day--all those people pouring off ships...scary!

I’ve checked my freezer. Here’s what was on one shelf! 

We were expecting two different groups of visitors (both cancelled), so I’d stocked up. I hope to make one more run to the grocery store tomorrow morning. I’ve got meat and pasta and sauce and rice and beans, but I’m very low on vegetables and fruit.

HALLIE: So are you all ‘sheltering in place’ and staying hydrated? 

Here’s a final word from Sergeant Esterhaus in Hill Street Blues.

When Friends Become Rivals: Leslie Karst and Ellen Byron

JENN McKINLAY: Three years ago at Left Coast Crime in Phoenix, I was sitting outside the Sheraton with my pal, Kate Carlisle, when we were joined by two other authors whose books I'd read and loved. The four of us ended up talking for hours and much hilarity ensued, because of course it did - look who I was with! Those writers were Leslie Karst and Ellen Byron. So, when the Lefty noms came out and I saw they were both nominated, I had to ask...so how's that feel going up against a bestie? And here they are to talk about it. Welcome, Leslie and Ellen.

Troublemakers and how: Ellen and Leslie

Ellen and Leslie: When the Left Coast Crime award nominations were announced a few weeks ago, it wasn’t surprising that our first impulse was to call each other. After all, not only had we been pals ever since meeting at the California Crime Writers conference back in 2015, but we also share the same publisher (Crooked Lane Books), andwe’re both members of the fabulous Chicks on the Case blog. Which makes us almost like sisters, right? 

And now we’d been nominated for the exact same award—the coveted Lefty, for Best Humorous Mystery—for our recent books, Mardi Gras Murder (Ellen) and Death al Fresco (Leslie). Would the competition strain our friendship? Read on, for a word-for-word transcription of our phone conversation the very morning we received the news:

LESLIE KARST: Ohmygod, Ellen! I had to read that email like six times to make sure it said what it did. Can you believe it? Both of us nominated? In the same category? And Cynthia and Kellye, too! Dang. It’s a veritable Chicks-fest!

ELLEN BYRON: I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can I share a room with you at LCC? Because I’m excited, but also cheap.

Leslie:[Laughs.] Absolutely, let’s be roomies! It’ll be super fun! We can have big parties in our room every night after the bar closes! Oh, hey—and that way, I’ll be assured that you won’t even consider knocking me off to lessen the competition, since then you’d be stuck with the entire bill. 

Ellen: Damn, there goes Plan A. 

You know, it should feel weird that we’re competing in the same category but it doesn’t. I love you too much. Same with the other Chicks, Kellye and Cynthia. So that leaves Catriona and Tim. I am taking them DOWN! 

But back to our relationship. Honestly, I would be totally thrilled if you won, Leslie. I’ll never forget when you came running up at CCWC and threw your arms around me in the biggest hug ever. You know how you instantly feel someone is a friend soulmate? That’s how I felt the instant we met.

Leslie: Same for you, girl. Remember how your first book, Plantation Shudders, was coming out in like two months, and I’d only just turned in my manuscript for Dying for a Taste to Crooked Lane? I knew diddly-squat about publishing and peppered you with all these newbie author questions, but you patiently explained to me all the crazy stuff I’d have to navigate over the next year. I swear, you immediately became like my big sister that day. 

Oh, and speaking of books, Mardi Gras Murder SO deserves that nomination! I love how you include all that fascinating Louisiana history about the Orphan Train in the story, but it’s still laugh-out-loud funny at the same time. Must be all that TV writing you have under your belt. Hey, ya wanna maybe give me some lessons, some day?

Ellen: Hah! Like you need lessons. I’ve been a fan of your series ever since I cracked open Dying for a Taste. I love how you weave different arts into all your books, like Sally joining a chorus in A Measure of Murder and taking up painting in Death al Fresco. The series is so smart and funny. And your recipes are to die for! I swear, recipes are the hardest part for me. In my next book, Fatal Cajun Festival, I finally gave up on one. Instead I wrote “R.I.P. Sweet Potato Pralines,” and explained that no matter how hard I tried, I could not come up with a decent recipe. I had to do something, because I make such a big deal about sweet potato pralines in the book.

Leslie: Dang, that sounds good. I love pralines! Maybe I should make a batch to bring up to Vancouver for LCC. We can keep them in our hotel room as snacks for our after-the-bar-closes parties. [A pause.] Come to think of it, maybe I should bring up allof my own food and keep it locked up away from you in our hotel room safe. Wouldn’t want you to get any ideas about poisoning my poutine...

Ellen:[Sighs.] Oh well, there goes Plan B.

JENN: And the nominees are (which I highly recommend):  

 

To celebrate their exciting news, Ellen and Leslie will each give away a copy of their Lefty-nominated book to one lucky person who comments on this post below! 
 Thanks so much for joining us, Leslie and Ellen. So, Reds and Readers, have you ever been up against a pal for an award? How did you handle it? 

Ellen Byron’sbestselling Cajun Country Mysteries have won Best Humorous Mystery Lefty awards and been nominated for multiple Agathas. Mardi Gras Murder,the newest addition to the series, garnered Ellen her fourth Lefty nomination. Writing as Maria DiRico, she’ll debut a second series, The Catering Hall Mysteries, in 2020. Her TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly OddParents.Fun fact: she worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart.

http://www.ellenbyron.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ellenbyronauthor/

https://twitter.com/ellenbyronla

https://www.instagram.com/cajuncountrymysteries/

https://www.bookbub.com/books/mardi-gras-murder-a-cajun-country-mystery-by-ellen-byron

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23234.Ellen_Byron

The daughter of a law professor and a potter, Leslie Karstlearned early, during family dinner conversations, the value of both careful analysis and the arts—ideal ingredients for a mystery story. Putting this early education to good use, she now writes the Sally Solari Mysteries (Dying for a Taste, A Measure of Murder, Death al Fresco),a culinary series set in Santa Cruz, California. An ex-lawyer like her sleuth, Leslie also has degrees in English literature and the culinary arts. The next in the series, Murder from Scratch, releases April 9^th.

http://www.lesliekarstauthor.com/

https://www.facebook.com/lesliekarstauthor/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/leslie-karst

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14220589.Leslie_Karst

With Malice in our Hearts

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: It's that time of year - the Edgar Awards tonight (fingers crossed for our own Rhys Bowen, who's been nominated for Best Paperback Original and Hallie Ephron who's been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award!), and the opening ceremonies of Malice Domestic tomorrow. All over the country, people who read mysteries, write mysteries, sell mysteries and critique mysteries are packing up and headed for the train station, the interstate or the airport. Destination: Bethesda, Maryland, for the 30th Malice Domestic conference. I'm not going this year (alas!) but I have so many memories surrounding Malice, I feel it's a part of my life, like the sleep-away camp you went to every summer, or the yearly trip to Grandma's house. 

Just as with summer camp or Grandmother's they're not all rosy recollections. There was the year I got a migraine a half hour before the Agatha Awards banquet was to begin. I was a nominee, and my publisher was expecting me at the table, so I popped one of my VERY strong anti-migraine pills. The pain and halos went away, but the medication made me strung-out and nauseous. I was happier than Louise Penny was when she won, because it meant I could take off for my room as soon as the event ended! Then there was another time I lost - yes, y'all, I am a MULTIPLE Agatha Award loser! - and my publisher, Andy Martin, decided to console me by ordering a nice bottle of wine at the after party. And then another. And then another... somehow I made it up to my floor and, with no one in sight, I literally crawled to my room. NEVER AGAIN.

Many of my best memories center around the times I was at the con with my husband. Taking place near the end of the school year, it was often harder for Ross to get a substitute, so he didn't come to Malice as frequently as he did, say, to Bouchercon. But if you met him at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, you'd remember - he was the bearded redhead handing out bound interviews with the Best First nominees and talking about his "beautiful and talented wife." Ross would get WAY overexcited at the charity auction and several times wound up with enormous baskets that were nigh-on impossible to bring home on a flight. When I pointed this out, the next year he switched up and bid on a character name... in our dear friend Jeff Cohen's next book. $300 for a name Jeff would have popped in if we'd asked him! The next year (I think in recompense) Jeff took us out for the ultimate "guy" dinner - a top-end steakhouse owned by, as I recall, a major league baseball player. I had never been in that sort of restaurant before, and we all got increasingly silly as the enormous slabs of meat emerged with sides of vegetables that appeared to have been exposed to nuclear radiation a la the 50 Foot Woman. I had a broccoli stalk bigger than most bonsai trees. When the waiter brought out a baked potato that was literally as large as Jeff's head, we all lost it.

But my favorite memory was in 2003, the moment the announcer said, "The Agatha Award for Best First Mystery goes to..." I had been concentrating so hard on my game face - I wanted to look pleased for whoever won and not show any disappointment - I didn't immediately register that she had said my name. Ross didn't miss it, though. He jumped straight into the air (in his tuxedo, mind) pumped his fist and said, "Yes!" loud enough for the rest of the ballroom to hear. It makes me smile to this day.

How about you, Reds? What's your memorable Malice moments?

 RHYS BOWEN: I've attended every Malice since 1998, except for last year when John was having major surgery and I didn't want to leave him. Oh, and the time I was in the hotel, but not actually able to attend because I had fallen and broken my pelvis and was awaiting a limo to take me home. And Carolyn Hart took such wonderful care of me and Hank and many others came to visit as I tried to smile bravely, while all the while screaming inside "I want to go home. Get me out of here!".

But my favorite Malice memory is when I won my first Agatha. The awards are usually given starting with best YA and moving toward best novel at the end. This presenter must have been nervous because she started with best novel. I thought I heard my name but didn't quite believe it. Then everyone around me was jumping up and down and beaming at me. I don't remember how I floated to the podium or what I said. I half expected, when I got there, that the presenter would say, What are you doing here? We didn't call you. But they did. And it was true. and it felt wonderful. 


I've been nominated many times since and won twice more but the thrill never gets old. The butterflies as the names are being read, the "gracious-loser" smile at the ready and the rush of pure joy when you hear your name.

From LCC, clockwise:Annette Rogers, Ingrid Willis, Jenn, Catriona McPherson, Rochelle Staab & Tammy Kaehler

, 

JENN McKINLAY: Oh, Julia, that sounds like a bushelful of wonderful and humorous (minus the migraine) memories. As for me, I've only been to one Malice. It was lovely, and I got to meet so many wonderful people. But it's just too darn hard to get to Bethesda (why is it always Bethesda?) from Phoenix, so I haven't made the trek again. Left Coast Crime makes up for it, and I do try to go there every year, except this year it was in Reno and I already have to go to Reno in May for the RT Convention because I've been nominated for the Reviewer's Choice Award and it feels like bad form if I don't show up. So many conferences so little time! Gah!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, Julia, that is so wonderful! I love that Ross moment, and I can completely picture it.  Well, Malice, it's amazing, non-stop, seeing everyone and talking talking talking!
My very first year, before I have a book,  I was SO clueless, but I figured I'd better go get the lay of the land because Prime Time would be eligible for the next year. If I remember correctly, well, I was such a newbie, that Charlaine Harris was the guest of honor, and I had absolutely no idea who she was! I was friendless and lonely, until I figured out that there were lots of people just like me, and so I tried to talk to everyone, and it was fine.

Louise Penny and Hank

The next year--long story short--PRIME TIME won for Best First! I could NOT believe it. I am having a racing heart even just thinking about it! And that year was Louise Penny's first win, too, and we bonded and hooted and hollered about it. I will also never forget how incredibly happy she was. "I have an Agatha!" she pretend-bragged to me. "I do, too!" I pretend-bragged back. It was fabulous.

I have won several times since then, and each time is a total utter complete life-changing joy.

This year I don't have a book even eligible, since TRUST ME doesn't come out til this year, and SAY NO MORE (which lost to  Margaret Maron, so that's okay :-)) was in 2016.  So it'll be fun to go without any pressure!

Hallie with Susan Van Kirk, from her blog

But readers and commenters, count off! Who'll be there??
 
HALLIE EPHRON: Not me. I wish. I've been to Malice and loved it each time. You know, every mystery conference has its own special flavor, and there's a sweetness to Malice that reflects the content of the cozy mysteries and the generosity of its authors. 

 

Barb Ross, Lucy & Krista Davis

LUCY BURDETTE: I totally remember that moment when Ross shot out of his seat, Julia. He was the king of enthusiasm and your greatest supporter! I have missed the last few Malices, as it conflicts with our driving north with elderly pets or else other more exotic travels. It's a lovely conference--and so much fun to meet readers and see old writer pals. Penguin used to take all its authors to the Ruth Chris steakhouse where everyone would eat and drink too much and share state secrets. I've got to try to get there next year!



 

Sara Paretsky & Ingrid at Bouchercon

INGRID THOFT:  I’ve never been to Malice, but it sounds like I’m missing out.  Maybe you experts can answer a question for me:  Is it still a conference for “traditional mysteries” as the website says?  I admit I haven’t seriously considered attending because I’m not sure that my books fit that description!  Any thoughts, Malice Mavens?



 




DEBORAH CROMBIE: Julia, what great memories of Ross! Oh, gosh, thinking about Malice makes me a little sad. I haven't been in ages, and it was such a big part of my first few years as a writer. 

Kaye Barley, Debs, Marcia Talley &; Kate Charles

 I've been nominated twice, for Best First and for Best Novel, so you can put me in the multiple loser category! But I had a great time, regardless, and I met so many wonderful people there, some of whom have been my besties for years. But it just got to where two big conferences and a trip or two to England were too much to put in the schedule, and I have made it to Bouchercon every year I possibly could since 1991! Have fun, everyone!

JULIA: Ingrid, "Traditional mystery" covers a lot of ground, and I think your books would fit in fine. The attendees love cozies, but they're also BIG readers of every sort of mystery. Louise's series has a cop at the heart of the story. Hank's got a reporter, which falls squarely into the "shamus" category, Margaret Maron has a judge...I don't think a private eye is too far a stretch. 

How about you, dear readers? As Hank says, are you going? Or following along at home? And do you have any conference memories you'd like to share?

Note: The photo of me and Ross was taken by Sharon Wheeler of Reviewing the Evidence. For some reason, I can't caption it!