Bouchercon was more fun than a writer should be allowed to have.  I won’t bore you with details of all four days of wonder but I will hit the highlights just to give you an idea. 

I sat on a panel with some excellent writers and got to talk about how we construct a puzzle to keep the reader interested.  I watched a slew of great panels too and, while it’s hard to rate them on a relative scale I’ll admit that my favorite panel had only 3 people on it.  Christa Faust talked about Richard Prather (Shell Scott’s creator,) Gary Phillips talked about Chester Himes (Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones) and Max Allen Collins schooled us on Mickey Spillane (I don’t have to tell you he wrote Mike Hammer, do I?)  They were all amazing in both depth of knowledge and understanding of these seminal authors.

Another highlight of the event was the most excellent hospitality suite that Sisters in Crime put on.  It was an oasis in the midst of merry chaos.

Then there’s the whole ego thing.  It’s kind of cool to have fans ask about my work.  It’s very cool to have new writers ask for my advice.  It is super cool to be recognized by guys like Max Allen Collins (Road to Perdition and a zillion other things) Louis Bayard (Edgar nominated The Pale Blue Eye) and Bob Randisi (founder of the Private Eye Writers of America.)  When guys like that call you by name you feel like a star yourself for a minute.

I left the hotel long enough to give a presentation Saturday at the Canton Library,  the nation’s first branch library, standing in the same place since 1886.  Those wonderful folks kept me there, answering questions and signing books for two hours.

In the meanwhile, my Bouchercon blog post for the Baltimore Sun was so popular that it was referenced and quoted in the competing Washington City Paper.  And then it was referenced again in an article in the Baltimore Sun, and again in the Baltimore Sun’s Read Street blog.

An exciting few days for me all the way around!

Bouchercon continues with more special events.  For example, tomorrow I’ll give a presentation about “Why We Love Crime Fiction” at 2 pm at the Canton Library, 1030 S. Ellwood Avenue and O’Donnell St. in Baltimore.  The setting couldn’t be more appropriate — the Canton Library was the nation’s first branch library back in 1886, and on the outside it looks like the perfect setting for a Victorian mystery.  After the talk, I will be signing copies of my novels at a reception featuring homemade refreshments made from recipes handed down from generations of Canton’s oldest families.

If you can’t make it you can see a version of my talk in the “other works” section of my web site.

I’ve already told you that today thru Sunday I’ll be at Bouchercon in Baltimore.  Now I want to tell you about one of the books I’ll be pushing there.

For the third year in a row, Wolfmont Press has released an anthology of winter holiday crime fiction to benefit the Toys for Tots program.  “Dying in a Winter Wonderland,” is also the second such collection to feature a new Hannibal Jones story.  But don’t order the book just for that.  It features stories from a dozen other talented authors.  All of us contributed our time, effort and stories to make this anthology a success.  Last year’s anthology raised $2,000 for the kids, and our goal is to reach at least $3,000 this year.

So when you order you get a top-notch anthology of thirteen winter holiday crime stories including a Hannibal Jones mystery you can’t read anywhere else and all the profits will go to the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program.  Each story is like a present waiting to be unwrapped. As Peggy Ehrhart, author of “Sweet Man is Gone” said, “Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanzaa all get their due, as well as the Yule traditions of the ancient Scots.”

Show your holiday spirit by stuffing lots of stockings with “Dying in a Winter Wonderland.”

Order yours in time for gift giving.

This week is all about Bouchercon - the biggest mystery fan and writer event of the year.  The four-day extravaganza featuring guests of honor like Lawrence Block and Laura Lippman kicks off Thursday morning.  I’m on a panel at 10 am on opening day called THE RIDDLE on which I and four other authors will discuss the art of challenging the reader.  It all happens at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel, 101 West Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD.

In conjunction with Bouchercon - THE mystery fan’s event of the year - I was invited to be a guest blogger on Read Street, the Baltimore Sun’s book blog.  My entry about African American private investigators went up yesterday.  I promise it will be interesting, so please read my guest blog, and leave me a comment.

Thanks!

Being a lover of word play I had to smile when I came upon this headline:

Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery.

Delicious!  And a great reminder that playing with the language doesn’t have to serve any purpose.  A good pun is its own reword.

Today I had a very nice, though short signing at Borders in Waldorf.  It was scheduled to go from noon to 4 pm but I had signed all the copies of Blood and Bone they had by 2:30.  My friends in Maryland definitely support me better than the home state crowd.

On line, friends have reported sightings of my new book trailer for Blood and Bone on half a dozen popular web sites including Blip TV, Readers entertainment TV, Clever, Revver, Mefedia and of course YouTube.  Let me know if you see it anywhere else. 

Yesterday I told you I had a signing at a Virginia Barnes and Noble, but they failed to order books in time so don’t go there looking for me. 

Tomorrow I’ll return to the full size Borders in Waldorf.  From noon to 4 pm we’ll have a chance to see if my Maryland friends support me better than the Virginia crowd.  This Borders is at 3304-A Crain Highway.

Tomorrow I make a are stop at the Barnes and Noble Booksellers in Westgate Plaza.  I’ll be there from 1 pm to 3 pm signing my novels and I hope my friends in the Manassas, VA area will stop by to let Barnes and Noble know they’re missing out by not booking me more often.  The store is at 8117 Sudley Road, Manassas.

I have a small part in the book I’m recommending this week, but you should certainly add it to your library.  “New Lines From the Old Line State” is a multi-faceted anthology published by the Maryland Writers Association and edited by Ally Peltier. 

For more than 20 years, the Maryland Writers Association has nurtured and supported the state’s literary arts community with monthly meetings, workshops, lectures, author showcases, newsletters, and an annual writers’ conference.  I am a long time member, and even held the presidency for a couple of years.  One of my goals in those days was to get the Association to publish some of its members.

Luckily, leadership after me was more effective.  So now, for the first time, a select group of MWA members delivers a riveting introduction to the region’s writing community in New Lines from the Old Line State.  It’s a great collection of poetry, essays and short stories.  Among those stores, you’ll find the only solo Felicity O’Brien story every published.  So if you’re a Camacho completist, you’ll want to see Felicity in action before she partnered up with Morgan Stark.  And even if you’re not, you’ll want to read this collection from some of Maryland’s best upcoming literary talents.

Check out New Lines From the Old Line State.