31 Oct Home From Bouchercon
Happy Hallowe’en! This will be the only one to fall on a Saturday for the next eleven years – an odd nugget of trivia to be sure.
Well, Bouchercon in Calgary was a blast. I went with my good friend Katherine Hobbs and we managed to find some great restaurants and pubs in between panels and author events. I’d never been to Calgary and quite enjoyed the city and everyone I met. The weather was a bit up and down. Kath and I spent Friday happy hour drinking margaritas in an outdoor patio near our hotel, listening to a really good busker in 18 degree sunshine … and the next day it snowed.
I met lots of old friends whom I hadn’t seen in a long time and that was mighty nice. My panel was Thursday morning with a heavy topic — domestic abuse and creating believable characters. Marjorie DeLuca moderated and guided us through the topic with thoughtful questions. My fellow panellists included Lis Angus and Steena Holmes. Unfortunately Delia Pitts didn’t arrive until after our session but I hope to meet her another time. This was followed by lunch with Anthony Bidulka, Rick Mofina, Vicki Delany, Cathy Ace, and Barbara Fradkin. So great to catch up!
Friday morning, those of us with stories in A Capital Mystery 1 met Louise Penny to give her a copy. Louise was kind enough to recommend the book to her followers when it first came out last year. This was followed an hour later by readings. I also sat at the Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) table on Saturday morning and took part in ‘two truths and a red herring’ that evening with Anthony Bidulka and Cathy Ace. Scott Ousdahl set up the interactive game (which must have taken hours) and David Poulsen moderated – Dave is a rodeo announcer as well as author! It was a lot of laughs and I thank CWC for inviting me to take part and for all the volunteer hours they put in before and during the conference. Scott also interviewed me Friday afternoon for his podcast, talking about my writing journey and giving words of wisdom to other authors.
I made it home Sunday around 11 p.m. and have only just adjusted my sleep to the two-hour time change, just in time for the clocks to fall back tonight. Yes, we are still keeping the tradition in Eastern Ontario for the foreseeable future.
My editor, Allister Thompson, returned my manuscript for the fifth Hunter and Tate to me while I was away, and I’ve been slowly going through it. He commented, “I think this might be my favourite in the series! Non-stop tension on all fronts, very compelling cases.” I’ve yet to come up with a title and will let you know once an idea strikes. It has to be the most difficult part of writing – finding a title to give a hint about the book that is marketable and memorable.
So now time to regroup, reorganize, and remotivate. I’ve got a week of editing ahead, bookkeeping to get through, and a thousand other things to attend to. But today is Hallowe’en and I’ve a 10 -month old granddaughter in a skunk costume to visit. Wishing you a fun evening and good week ahead!