Bouchercon 2008 - CHARMED TO DEATH

The Blog That Will Not Go Away

2009-02-18T14:03:00.002-06:00

Bouchercon 2008 is closed for business and Judy Bobalik and Myself would like to give everyone an idea of where we spent money. The many places where we didn't spend any are what made this event so special for us. One last time from us to you, thanks for everything you did. Mystery is alive and well and racing towards Indy.

We had a final budget of $320,000 .

$240,000 from registrations
$2,500 from advertising in the program book
$4,300 from brunch tickets
$6,000 from Tee Shirts
$35,000 was passed on to us from Madison B-Con
$ 5,000 was passed on to us from Anchorage Bouchercon
and the Live and Silent Auctions raised just under $15,000 dollars (WTG Dave and Cindy)

You'll ask, "Did you spend the money on the attendees?" I'm happy to say that we certainly did.

That fab hospitality suite that was subsidized by Charmed and manned by SINC? $33,000
Food for Opening Night, Authors Without Borders & the Sunday Brunch? $70,000
We brought a lot of Guests of Honor from far away (and I think we'll all agree it was well worth it) so Charmed's travel and housing costs were perhaps higher than most years but we were payed back ten fold by the guests themselves and the international membership numbers. Cost? $34,000 (4,857 per guest)
The book bags and everything in them cost a total of $24,500
The Anthony Awards (mailings,ballots, supplies, awards and certificates) $3,400
Registration itself cost us $22,810 (pay pal fees, sales tax and supplies for registration table)
Audio Visual cost us $27,500 for both hotels
The Web site was $7,500
There was a volunteer dinner at the Pratt, that and a few meals paid for in the four years between inception and conclusion was all these people received for all of their work along the way. So you paid $5,000 to your staff.
We rounded up the Auction proceeds and donated $16,500. $15,000 to the Library and $1,500 to Viva House.

That brings us to a total of $244,210. YOUR DOLLARS SPENT ON YOU.

What of the Rest?

We've passed on; $10,000 to Indy, $20,000 to San Francisco & $10,000 to St. Louis. Note that our generosity is truly paying it forward as this is the same cash that came to us from Madison and Anchorage. We've also paid a few standing committee bills for the website (2,700) and We do have 9,000 in the bank and after we're sure there are no other bills that money will be donated to the official Bouchercon Charities.

I'm afraid the remainder of the cash went to the not so sexy infrastructure. Things like decorations, Window Office, office supplies, phone bills, advertising, signage, travel reimbursement, truck rental, tee shirts, security etc. And it all balances.

We're happy to make this report, happy to be working with the people who did this before us and who are planning both Bouchercon's future and future events. We hope we've taken some of the mystery out of the event for you. And While I'm very glad that we didn't need the money that was paid forward towards us, it was really nice to have that breathing space, to not go cross-eyed when I saw the coffee bill for day two or found out how much a digi-max player was going to cost us. So to the folks who took some of that financial burden off of us with sponsorships, donations, time and cash ..... forever, you are in our hearts.

Ruth Jordan

"That's The Nicest Thing Anyone's Ever Done For Me"

2008-10-16T06:39:00.002-05:00

If You know where this title comes from, I want you on my pub quiz team next time!

Was it the Bar, Was it the hospitality suite, was it the panels, it was you. Judy and I thank everyone who has thanked us and yes, you can keep them coming... but this thank you we needed to post, because the sender makes all the same points Judy and I have been making to one another. It was everything that made Bouchercon 2008 go well. If you receive an e-mail blast from either hotel and especially the Sheraton, please reply to it, and thank you, what a community we did this for.

And now, without further ado, a final goodbye,

I attended the 2008 Bouchercon in Baltimore and I have to admit, that after visiting eight of these events over the last nine years, this one was one of the smoothest, most polished Bouchercons ever. But I'm not certain that all the accolades being heaped on Ruth Jordan and Judy Bobalik are deserved.

I kept an eye out for the two ladies 'supposedly' responsible for this conference and the times that I did see them, they were almost always casually conversing with attendees, and just hanging out. The bar...often a scene of poor service and mass confusion at Bouchercon, ran almost perfectly. Plenty of staff, plenty of service, plenty of food and drink. I never once saw Ruth or Judy helping serve drinks, or buss tables.

The wide variety of exciting panels and discussion groups were well attended, and well monitored. Monitored by a very enthusiastic group of volunteers, there seemed to be no need for our two ladies to be involved. The registration desk was occasionally bombarded by the 1500 people who attended the conference, and again, even though I saw Ms. Jordan and Ms. Bobalik occasionally work the table, the volunteers handled the crowd very well.

The Sisters In Crime hospitality room was wonderfully stocked with coffee, juice and snacks and I never once saw our hostesses running in to re-supply the refreshments. The book room ran like a well oiled machine, with a generous selection of new and used volumes and it seemed that dealers and buyers all did business without any help from the organizers.

So, while everyone I talked to agreed that Bouchercon 2008 will go down in history as one of the best conferences ever, how much credit can we actually give to Judy Bobalik and Ruth Jordan? The only thing I really noticed was that they seemed to enjoy the event as much as anyone else.

It was a fabulous conference, ladies. Thanks.

Don Bruns

2008-10-14T13:29:00.002-05:00

Home at the desk top, cat purring at my feet.....

I'm reading all these great blogs and finally have been able to read the guest author posts at Read Street. If you missed this year's B-Con and are on the fence about next year's take a look at the boards, the news, and the web site... and then follow this link.

Jim and Mike and their team shadowed us from Tuesday on and next year will be just as FANtastic , if not more so,I'm sure.

Hosting one of these things is a bit different than my usual role of attending and so I missed a lot, but I also saw a lot. And I have to give out a ton of thanks. To everyone who stuffed bags with us on Tuesday, you guys rock. Registration desk volunteers worked every day and did a fab job.To the many who monitored, moderated and participated in panels, thank you all. I have received so many e-mails crediting me for your brilliance. And a couple of special shout outs. Stacey Cochran videoed the guest of honor interviews for us. Two are on the web site now and two more will be up shortly. And Heather Drucker of Harper Collins captured a live stream feed of the Billingham/Connolly conversation which I hope to put on the web site soon.

I heard that all the publisher dinners and cocktail parties were brilliant, unfortunately, I made none but next year if I'm lucky enough to be invited, I'll be there with bells on. And I cannot believe I missed my first Reacher Creature's party in nine years(sorry Jack and Lee). I also missed a brilliant event at the Library of Congress on Tuesday evening where one half of our Lifetime Achievement Award team, Robert Rosenwald gave a not to be missed speech on the future of publishing. It will be up shortly on the LOC site and I'll send everyone a link.

I did not miss the smiles on faces as they walked down the hall. Perhaps to visit the Hospitality Suite. I need to thank Sisters in Crime and Penny Clifton in particular. I came to them and told them what I wanted to accomplish with the space, gave them a budget and they executed my plan beyond any dreams Judy or I had.

The bookroom had the best representation of titles I've seen at a Bouchercon and they all worked hard to make sure that it happened. Each and every person in that dealer room deserves a shout out and consider this mine.

My thanks to everyone also who helped with bringing Bouchercon at the Movies to us. People were so happy to have a quieter, less kinetic evening event available to them. Kinetic was available too. Mark Billingham led us all through a lively opening ceremonies. The food was superb on that evening and the speeches brilliant. Followed by the presentation of the Crimespree, Macavity and Barry Awards there was no better note to go out on than George Easter so appropriately being awarded the Sandstrom Award for 2007.

Friday was Author without Borders and the Live Auction. Thank you to the four hundred or so people who bopped in and out for the hour long Authors event, and thanks also to everyone who came from abroad to play with us this weekend. The Live and Silent Auctions brought in just under 15,000 dollars and we're going to round it up. Thanks to Dave, Cindy, Beth, and all of their volunteers. I consider this a huge success, especially in last week's economic climate.

Saturday was pub quiz and those who joined us had a hilarious time. It was also the only time I got to spend with Fan Guest of Honor, Thalia Proctor... because I was so darned busy. So it was great on many levels thanks to the great team of Ted and Gary and the camaraderie of all who participated.

And to Sunday. What could we do but laugh when the fire alarm went off? Although I ran steadily that morning, as we all sat down for the brunch, the wonderful Mark allowed me to relax and he took over the end of the event. Judy and I had a few ideas, and Mark coordinated with Ben Leroy of Bleak House Books to make them happen.
A final toast to the forever to be missed James Crumley with a guest reading by George Pelecanos and a "shot on location" short honoring our Continuing Contribution to the Genre recipient, Lawrence Block. Thank You Larry. These were fabulous precursors to the presentation of the Anthony Awards but just as special to me was sitting with Bill and Toby Gottfried when they won the Sandstrom Award for 2008. Two heroes to everyone in our community and an inspiration to both fans and writers everywhere, I teared up as they went up on stage. The Anthonys were a celebration and then... it was over...

Baltimore gave us Sunny weather, both hotels gave us above and beyond service. The wait Staff and Management of both hotels worked hard to make all of us comfortable and everything go off with minimal hitches. And as much as we enjoyed them, they enjoyed us. Both hotels have said that we are fabulous and whenever we want to come back they'll be there for us. They thank you for your courtesy, patience, understanding, and the energy you brought to their hotels.

And my guests of honor . It's so hard to let go because from Meeting John and falling just a little in love (like Jon and myself he and his partner Sarah met one another through Bouchercon), to seeing Thal again, to having a lively discussion in Barbara and Robert's suite, To the sheer quake running through my body as I was able to introduce Lawrence Block and Charles Ardai to the membership, to Laura's radiance as she acted the role of hostess to the 1400 of us there and to Mark, who I knew would be brilliant and was an even better toastmasterer than I expected....I do not want to let you all go.

As I buzzed through the membership, I saw many faces and was unable to spend enough time with anyone, such a change from last year's cozy reunion feel. Some I said brief hellos too and some I missed entirely. Where was McKenna Jordan? And Joe Wallace, I know you were there but did I see you, even? Vicki Hendricks is one of my fav people and there was no time. But next year I'm free and clear and hoping for a lot of inspiring conversation, and cocktails.... lots of cocktails.

and now, back to the cat..... he needs pets from Mom,
Ruth

Good Bye ,Farewell

2008-10-13T03:52:00.003-05:00

First
the complete list of Anthony Award Winners...
Best Novel: WHAT THE DEAD KNOW- Laura Lippman Morrow

Best First: IN THE WOODS- Tana French Viking Adult

Best Paperback Original: A THOUSAND BONES P.J. Parrish Pocket

Best Short Story: HARDLY KNEW HER Laura Lippman- from Dead Man's Hand edited by Otto Penzler for Harcourt

Best Critical Work: ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE: A LIFE IN LETTERS by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower & Charles Foley Penguin

Special Services: Ruth and Jon Jordan

Best Web Site: Stop You're Killing Me: Stan Ulrich and Lucinda Surber

What a weekend and I think every one had a blast.
Judy we made it...
Judy Bobalik: hero, friend, traffic coordinator, and the best co-chair I could have ever had....
She's the one who did the heavy lifting, the panels (with Jon Jordan), the time framing, and well, kept me from being overwhelmed.

It all feels right and I'm about to go downstairs and begin clean up after passing out promptly at seven last night,

we'll have more on the web site shortly and the blog will descend into silence soon....

but please everyone who was able to attend share a favorite moment with those who weren't , Judy and I were both so busy we'd like to hear more about your Bouchercon.

bouchercon

2008-10-11T08:22:00.003-05:00

hey everyone, Ruth here and so sorry this is so brief. but Bouchercon? Baltimore? Fabulous. Busy. We do want to Share. So we'll have a wrap up for you tomorrow. and within hours.... Our first 2 GOH interviews will be on-line at the Charmed to Death Website. All four + the Anthony Awards will be available to you on the Charmed to Death Web Site. But today an experiment.... Live stream line video is coming up.... Toastmaster Mark Billingham's conversation with John Connolly will be coming to the web live at 3:oo p.m. So those of you at home join us 3:00 p.m. Baltimore time through either the Harper Collins or January Magazine websites.....
You don't have to miss everything! And please consider coming to Indy. I hate that my fellow mystery fans are missing this and wish everyone was here with us.

And thanks to Mark, John, Chris Mooney, Karin Slaughter, and Laura Lippman. They not only got out of bed for all of us... 12 hours before the live auction even began we had a substantial kitty because these five people are very good, or is it really bad liars!!

Why I love Judy Bobalik

2008-10-08T01:21:00.002-05:00

I cannot count the ways. From the ground B-Con....

Well, I'd hoped Jon and I could sneak away, we had a chance to see the Library of congress via the wonderful Barbara Peters. I've never been within those halls and I should have realized, but I had to send one half of my Lifetime Achievement Winner a
"I'm so sorry" e-mail when she probably isn't even checking e-mails.
But, the book bags are DONE and I mean finished, the carroll can now turn into the signing room instead of the room with all those boxes....

And you know, the folks who came to us today and agreed to help without any stipulation for anything.. I love you all, really... all book bags full as I lay my head down? Brilliant.

I have to say, and I've done book bag stuffing before.. it's a far different animal when you move the books from a remote suburb, to the truck, from the truck, to the loading dock, to the prelim stuffing room, to the main room , boxes broken down..
i THANK EVERYONE , my bruises are well earned and your help? Invaluable....

Easy Like Sunday Mornings

2008-10-05T07:21:00.002-05:00

What a day Yesterday was.... Work and Play...

The entire staff at this Kinkos/Fed EX are know amongst my local Baltimore Heroes. Above and beyond . This is the staff that will be packing my books.

I read the event contracts page by page yesterday (this is a different animal than the original contracts you sign). Every Mike,glass of water table and room is accounted for in writing. This is to assure going into set up the hotel and Judy and myself are on the same page. Pretty dry stuff. And then I get to the bar set ups.

"The last two years the bouchercon bars have closed early. This group enjoys a late night gathering. There were several complaints to both hotels and we should expect late evening spikes"

Thank You....

Bar Time is 2:00 people.

And I'd talk more but Ayo is dressed hungry and waiting... God, it's great to see her again.
More later....

Walk This Way

2008-10-03T23:57:00.002-05:00

Remember this member name.

Penny Clifton...

Angel...

At my first Bouchercon, I stumbled into a room they called the hospitality room. I found this room purely by accident. I’d been to a reading by the wonderful Boston writer Linda Grant. As we all exited there was a queue to the room just across the hall and Dove Ice Cream Bars were being dumped onto the table and quickly devoured by the awaiting masses. I met Shirley Kennett in that room and Anne from PA.

At every Bouchercon since then (and I’m sure the ones before), there has been a hospitality room. And they are normally not easy to find. And here’s the thing…. (I’m throwing that in just for you John) Even if the hospitality room is easy to find; for some reason people think it is not meant for them. Members, you are Bouchercon and most decidedly everyone is always welcome in any hospitality room.

So word up, come visit the hospitality suite this year…. Sisters in Crime is making it possible for everyone and that very special sister Penny Clifton has worked long hours to give our membership a sampling of some of Baltimore’s home grown treats.

We’ll save it all as a surprise but it’s going to be a great room. The Hall of Fame Lounge is an inviting and comfortable room. Our secondary bar in the evening, it offers leather sofas and comfy chairs. The Billiard Table has been re-felted. There are tables to gather around and we hope that folks will stop by to participate in the official Bouchercon Blog. You don’t blog? We’ll type It for you, share an experience that’s making the con special for you. So many folks who planned to be here cannot be. Others who think they may like to attend one day are wondering what the experience is truly like… Let’s let them know what they’re missing, let’s share. During the day you’ll also be able to find giveaways from authors you either already know or should. What arrives in the end is unclear, but a variety of bookmarks, postcards and even chat books is expected. So come and browse, have a cup of coffee or a glass of water and … the aforementioned surprises.

We are only putting food out periodically but help us to run out this year. We’ll share our info with all future cons and hope to grow this, one of my favorite parts of Bouchercon.

And back to the Sisters. They have selected the foods that will be there, they will be represented throughout the duration of the con, staffing the hospitality suite Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are doing this as a thank you to our community. In 1986 a group of female writers were talking at a convention called Bouchercon in Baltimore Maryland and came up with a concept for a new organization. It would be called Sisters in Crime. 22 years later, I think we can safely say it was, is, and will be an important part of the mystery community forever.

And Judy and I thank you….. Sisters forever…..

Green on Green

2008-10-03T17:21:00.003-05:00

A Couple of things. There will be a green room for panelists at this years Bouchercon.
Located in the POE Room on your maps, It is just across from the signing room, and around the corner from your panel rooms. Highly accessible, we hope you'll feel welcome to make use of this room. If anyone should need help finding it ask a volunteer. We're here to help!

And yes the Auction is starting at 9:00 p.m. on Friday the 10th. It will be located in the Calvert Ballroom of the Radisson Hotel, located at 23 West Baltimore Street. Supporting the Enoch Pratt Library System and Viva House this Event is open to the public as well as our membership.We would like to thank everyone for supporting Bouchercon's annual auction. It is a joy to give back to the community hosting our convention.

coming up next.... the hospitality suite. And thanks to my favorite Baltimorian for the lovely lunch today...

Ruth

So you

2008-10-02T21:18:00.002-05:00

So you
thought you might
like to
come to the show.

Roger Waters everyone….

Our last short story nominee is up at Charmed to Death… Laura Lippman’s Hardly Knew Her from Dead Man’s Hand Harcourt edited by Otto Penzler now joins the others. Thanks to everyone for making this happen and Otto? Serious about the hero worship

We still Need Volunteers. If you can help e-mail judy at bcon2008@comcast.net

Yesterday goes down as one of those extremely memorable days. I did not get everything I wanted to done. But let me tell you Any Day I get to giggle with Charlaine Harris is truly memorable. What a week she’s having. And I didn’t know. I’m so embarrassed, so deeply buried in Bouchercon, I didn’t even know, and if you don’t know go take a look at the New York Times Best Seller List. Back? Charlaine Harris everyone. Give it up. When someone who has written such great books for as long as Charlaine has, who has made all those tough choices that writers do, for so long, has a week like this it feels like a win for the entire community.

We still Need Volunteers. If you can help e-mail judy at bcon2008@comcast.net

So I got to giggle with Charlaine. Pretty Great, right? Well then I got in the car and got to go to a book signing with Dennis Lehane. The Given Day is remarkable (and John P, I have your copy). But it was great just to see Dennis again. Three years is a long time, and the last time we saw one another was

at Bouchercon. In 2005

We’ve both had some remarkable years since then. And there was a store full of people at Richard’s . Folks who’ve loved his books from the very beginning and come back to every signing, and are as proud of Dennis as a parent could be. And with Every book he comes back to Mystery One to share with a room full of people who he appreciates so much, he comes to Richard’s store when there are any number of larger non Mystery stores who would love to have him. He does it for Richard and he does it for Richard’s customers. He’s truly one of the most fiercely loyal people I’ve met in my life.

In Vegas I remember sitting with Laura and Dennis and thinking to myself how remarkable the journey they had had since the first time I met them was. And now three years later? Wow.

So the last time I saw Dennis was at Bouchercon and the next time I’ll see him? Bouchercon 2008. See a couple of really good friends are guests of honor, and Dennis will be with us in Baltimore. Because that loyalty, that friendship it is fierce. I think it’s part of what makes him a great writer. I know it’s what makes him a great person.

We still Need Volunteers. If you can help e-mail judy at bcon2008@comcast.net

And then there was the hug from Sean. It’s good to have hugs from my friend Sean. It’s a bonus that he just happens to write books and they’re great books. Trigger City, the second in his series hits bookstores near you a week from next Tuesday. Sean Chercover, Jon Jordan and I stayed up way too late last night, talking, drinking, catching up. We hadn’t seen one another in way to long…. And So a day of mystery heroes and friends ended.

We still Need Volunteers. If you can help e-mail judy at bcon2008@comcast.net

I am at the airport, getting ready to leave. It’s been a long time coming. Stage two begins tomorrow bright and early. I’d like to let all the folks who were in contact with me anytime after 12:00 yesterday afternoon that I’ll be back to everyone by Saturday but these next few hours are for me and my husband, Jon. Do you know Jon Jordan? He’s the best friend, son, brother, husband and mystery champion I know. And he loves me.

We still Need Volunteers. If you can help e-mail judy at bcon2008@comcast.net

Tomorrow: Auction News (it begins at 9 pm Friday October 10th)
The Hospitality Suite and An Angel Amongst the Sisters
And anything else I can think of……

Again, With Feeling

2008-09-30T05:54:00.002-05:00

The wind woke me up an hour ago. Fall moving in all in a rush. It really is time for Bouchercon. First though one last day at work.... I have to thank all of my co-workers. They have carried me here. For years they've been great about switching weekends for my "book life" but the last three months they've gone above and beyond. Yesterday I think I spent an hour of on the clock time on the phone. A no no, to me and to them. They'll be happy when this is over. In the meantime, they've ohhed over the program book, ahhed over the book bag, and been my biggest cheerleaders. Amanda's taking care of the Cats for me while I'm gone. Ricky and Cathy will be working in overdrive, two weeks with no wiggle room in their schedules and extra weekends at the job. Alan has been just a great boss. So they'll all work together to take care of our store, and when I get back I'll do my best to try and take care of them. Because after eight years, We Are Family (you're welcome for the really bad song now going through your mind). 60th & Vliet.... HOME.

I've news for you dear members, I've sent Judy and Beeg the most current registration list and the names will be on the web shortly. Registrations are down to a trickle but I wanted to let all who intend to use the Pay Pal Option and want to be on the web attendees list...

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY I'LL BE ABLE TO FORWARD THAT LIST ON TO OUR WEB MISTRESS. WE ARE HEADING TO BALTIMORE, BABY.

You will still be on the main list. That I can update daily, but we are all on the road as of Friday and there will not be a chance for Beth to take care of this again after tomorrow morning's update is passed on. So register today. It looks like we might as well spend it now.

So, 12 hours until I punch out for the last time. 28 hours until Sean Chercover comes to visit. 36 hours until the Dennis Lehane signing. 48 hours until Amanda and I go to breakfast, 60 hours until we're in the air and I'm pretty sure 72 hours until I am packed,
ruth

BTW, the countdown clock is set to Central standard time..... so what ever it says; subtract one hour.

The Countdown Continues and Maigret comes to Baltimore

2008-09-28T09:47:00.002-05:00

Are you a fan of the great French Detective? Bouchercon 2008 is very proud to present the following for the membership. The film will run 90 minutes and therefore this does require a larger than normal time commitment but by Saturday..... 2 hours in a nice dark room might be just the ticket. We will be presenting Maigret at the Majestic at 8:30 am on Saturday in the Pratt Room.

MAIGRET AT THE MAJESTIC
[from Les Caves du Majestic, 1942, translated as Maigret at the Hotel Majestic, 1977]

Bad enough that there’s a corpse found at the ritzy Hotel Majestic, but then she’s the wife of a visiting American business man [played by Harrison Ford’s brother, Terence]. Director Goretta previously twice won prizes at the Cannes Film Festival.
Directed by Claude Goretta, 1993, 1992, color, French with titles, approx. 90 min

This series stars the award winning French actor Bruno Cremer and will be a treat for Americans..

The adaptation will be presented by Michael Jeck, shown in it's entirety, and he will be available to answer questions afterwards. There are now 41 of the 52 Maigret Films available for Home Sale. Mr. Jeck will have more info.

Michael Jeck is the former Programming director for the American Film Institute and is renowned for his knowledge of foreign film. An expert in Japanese film, this presentation will be a highlight for film fans.

Bouchercon at the Movies

2008-09-27T11:12:00.003-05:00

All Movies will be shown in the Pratt Room….. follow the red carpet..

Let the Right One In- Friday at 7:00 p.m.

Terrorized by bullies, lonely 12-year-old Oskar befriends a new neighbor, a mysterious young girl whose arrival coincides with a series of gruesome deaths and attacks. Though Oskar realizes that she's a vampyre, his friendship with her is stronger than his fear.

“Adapted for the screen (from his own award-winning novel) by John Lindqvist, Let the Right One In is not only a truly excellent horror movie, but it's also a bizarrely touching and personal little movie. It's clear that Lindqvist and director Tomas Alfredson are using vampirism as an accessible metaphor for the myriad problems that face today's teens -- but the movie also feels a lot like a smart horror flick combined with a slice of one of John Hughes' better movies. Whether the film is focusing on the carnage, the puppy-love romance, or a few side-stories with the local townsfolk, Alfredson presents the movie with an appreciable sense of humor, confidence, and sincerity. And while I was initially a bit skeptical about the flick's 114-minute running time, once it had ended I found myself wishing it had been just a little bit longer. Surely that's the sign of a successful movie.”

Jar City - Friday at 9:00 p.m.

A murder opens up a bleak trail of long buried secrets and small town corruption for a worn out police detective and his squad.

This Movie has made a lot of noise in Europe. Starring Ingvar Eggert Sigurdsson and adapted from the novel JAR CITY by Arnalder Indradason, this is a film not to be missed by fans of Noir.

The Shovel- Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

When weekender Paul Mullin discovers his neighbor digging a hole in the middle of the night, he writes it off as simply a bizarre encounter. Until the neighbor... and his cheating wife... disappear. Worried he’s stumbled upon more than he’s bargained for, he calls on the local sheriff to help unearth the truth. And finds out that, in a small town, some secrets are better left buried.

A Short Film by Nick Childs adapted from Steve Hamilton’s Plots with Guns short story A SHOVEL WITH MY NAME ON IT. Starring David Strathairn(Good Night and Good Luck), Neal Huff (The Wire) and Tim Guinee. Winner of the Best Narrative Short at the 2006 Tribecca, Woodstock, Wood Hole and HD Fest Film Festivals, this is a great opportunity to watch a film and talk to the collaborators.

DOUBLE BILL

THE GRAND INQUISITOR & THE LAST LULLABY- Saturday at 8:00 PM

In the tradition of our youth Saturday Night will feature two Bouchercon Premieres for the Price of one.

The Grand Inquisitor-

Legendary blacklisted Hollywood actress Marsha Hunt, 90, makes a stunning return to the screen in this haunting short film that writer-director Eddie Muller describes as "a noir fairy tale, based on actual events." A young woman (Leah Dashe) discovers a cache of used books that she believes holds clues to the solution of decades-old crimes. When the authorities dismiss her, she takes matters into her own hands, ringing the doorbell of Hazel Reedy (Hunt), a lonely recluse who may or may not be the widow of America's most notorious serial killer. Their cross-generational confrontation, played out in real time (20 minutes), leads to an unexpected and shocking conclusion. Adapted from Eddie Muller's short story of the same name, published in A Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir (Busted Flush Press, 2007).

The Last Lullaby

Price, a former hitman, is struggling to cope with retirement. He left the assassination business to live the "easy life." However, retirement arrived with its own agenda. It was not the instant peace and calm that Price expected. Rather, it was emptiness, boredom, and, worst of all, restlessness. The Last Lullaby plummets Price back into his old life and forces him into a corner from which he may never escape. Price's old ways no longer work for him when his heart opens, and he finds life beyond his profession. The tension finally comes to a head as Price must decide to close himself off again or open himself up to a world beyond his control.

Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan) and Sasha Alexander (NCIS) head the cast in this mystery-filled love story. Co written by Mystery’s own Max Allan Collins, he’ll be on hand to view it with you Saturday night.

a real countdown

2008-09-27T09:33:00.003-05:00

We are getting close enough to countdown on just 2 hands. Ruth and I will be in the air Thursday this coming week and on the ground that night. So the scramble around the Jordan house to make sure we have all our ducks in a row is as you might imagine rather like prepping for the D-Day invasion. It's been a long time since I packed for a trip of two weeks. I think it was camp.

A couple of things.

If anyone is in the Baltimore area, or more specifically the Westminster area and have some time on Sunday the 5th and may be interested in helping us load a truck with all the goodies for the book bags could you get in touch with us before Wednesday? You can reach me at
jon@crimespreemag.com

We have four people so far, but another two or three would make this go a lot quicker.

There are a lot of really cool books that have been donated.
In addition to the book bags there will be some panels that give out books as well.

A number of people have asked about how to dress for different things. My thought is to dress comfortable. I'll be dressing up a bit for the Anthony Brunch on Sunday but other wise I'll be dressing casual.

T SHIRTS

We have Bouchercon t-shirts, one design, two colors to chose from. They will be available for $20.

The program books are done and we got a sneak peek. I have to say the Jim Barker out did himself on the cover, they really look nice. A special thanks to those who contributed and to Martine for doing such a great layout. And Digital Graphics for printing so fast and so well.

Ok, I'm off to pack. See you soon!

Jon
,

Another Short Story!!!

2008-09-26T07:09:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone,

Steve Hockensmith has given us a link to his Anthony Nominated Short Story DEAR DOCTOR WATSON, take the jump.

And from member V.M. more places to eat.

I spent 6 weeks in Baltimore this summer and would love to share some places to eat. The reading taking place over at the Johns Hopkins Barnes & Noble is right where I lived. The area has wonderful restaurants - Donna's, Tambers, and my favorite a block away on Charles Street the Baltimore Museum of art. The museum is free the restaurant is great.
The museum has the Cone collection which is the largest Matisse collection in the U.S. The two sisters were childhood friends with Gertrude Stein and they collected Picasso, Matisse and others.
No one has mentioned Little Italy in the Harbor, the neighborhood behind the National Aquarium. Great food.
Nancy Pelosi was born a Delassandro. Her father and grandfather were Balto. mayors.
The G&M restaurant (a stones throw away from the airport) has the BEST crabcakes I have ever had. Maryland crabcakes being backfin and almost no filler. Crabmeat, chopped parsely, a little grated bread, mayo, mustard and 1 egg. Refrigerate to get it to hold together before pan frying or baking. Obryicki's downtown is the traditional crab place. - "welcome to Balt'more Hon"

Obryicki's gets a vote from me. This Baltimore tradition still allows you to get down and dirty with your soft shells.

Ruth

I have a present for you....

2008-09-25T02:58:00.002-05:00

Two more of this year's short stories are now up on the Charmed to Death WebSite.
Read Rhys Bowen's Watch Your Step from the spring edition of The Strand Magazine and Toni L. P. Kelner's How Stella Got Her Grave Back care of Ace Hardcover and editors Toni Kelner and Charlaine Harris. All five nominees are great stories and we're happy to continue to bring them to you.

Special thanks to Andrew Gulli and Toni Kelner for making my desire for on line availability of all stories so much closer to an accomplishment. You guys Rock.

Why Hosting a Bouchercon is Cool

2008-09-24T20:13:00.002-05:00

So a few things to present for a membership. First Ken Bruen is coming. It was looking unlikely but he moved hell and high waters and will be here for us this year.

I got an e-mail from an author today. I will not embarrass him but he’s new and registered via paypal today and he’s so excited. And that was such a great e-mail to read.

I have the program book in my hands (well actually to the right of my hands). I never got to see this early before.

It all seems so real now...

So, anyone else out there getting excited?

(and for the record, and to avoid unnecessary shuddering, I have already packed Jon's underwear)

ruth

All Dressed Up?

2008-09-23T07:35:00.002-05:00

So we’re now 15 days out…. Stomach just flipped. On the phone yesterday with a friend who had a very bad week (son’s appendix ruptured)she asked how I was doing and I said , “Getting ready to leave for Bouchercon next week” Her response was, “It’s here? Finally….” Over the past two years it’s become rather like the Holy Grail to those close to me near to home. Mythic, unattainable…. Perhaps not even existing at all. And soon it will be just a memory. A series of blog posts, shared experiences , and an unworthy song title or two forever etched in my brain.

Still, I’m calming down…. Things are shaping up, contracts coming in furiously, party invites galore, so….

I experienced girl panic yesterday. It’s time to pack and I have nothing to wear…. Girl panic.. How does one dress for opening ceremonies when you need to talk in front of people? When packing for 15 days is there even room for accessories? Do I have time to find new black shoes? What will the weather be like? So when you see me at the Anthony awards in jeans and a Crimespree T Shirt, you’ll know I gave up and moved on, in the meantime it’s kind of fun to be in touch with this part of me again, she’s been missing for awhile….

Ruth

UNCLE

2008-09-22T19:23:00.003-05:00

Hi all,

First, I'm very excited by this news. Busted Flush Press with Megan Abbott and Daniel Woodrell has made the short story UNCLE, one of this year's Short Story Nominees, available to the entire membership for reading you can find it here in PDF downloadable format.... at the top of the page . So enjoy.

Judy B is constructing the volunteer list right now and has tried to be in touch with everyone who said they'd like to help. If you haven't heard from Judy and want to help please e-mail her.

Also from Judy, there are still spots open for the Karaoke Bar portion of our programming. Contrary to popular belief you do not have to sing (but you can) . This is Author's choice where you can talk about anything you'd like to for 1/2 an hour. Hey, I know everyone out there can do better than they did at the Emmys last night. For this you can e-mail either Judy (see above) or my very own better half, Jon Jordan

We have now sold out for the Sunday Anthony Brunch. Thanks everyone,

Ruth

Metallica or ACDC

2008-09-20T09:56:00.003-05:00

So Metallica is selling music. But I'm a bigger fan of the new tracks by ACDC and if I had to go with just one would definitely hang on for the later which feels fresh rather than a retread of an old tire. I'm way too in to the whole programming with song titles part of this year's Bouchercon.

Ruth here. With a jumbled list of messages for the membership.

YES YOU CAN

Still Register, that is. There are two ways left to register. You can Pay Pal from your puters until October 4th. If you choose this option please also send a registration form which is available on the Charmedtodeath Website. And at the convention itself you may register with a check or use the paypal option. We will ask you to fill out a registration form at that time. I am still getting inquiries into day passes and I regret it but we will be unable to accommodate folks with day passes this year. For those local to Maryland the good news is the dealer room will be open to the public, so come on down, take a look around and if you like what you see, remember Indy is just a year away.

On Refunds.... if you requested a refund after the cut off date of Sept 1, we will be addressing it at the conclusion of the convention. At that time if there are any left over monies, you will of course be reimbursed.

The programming has been updated.

Please go to the blog Your Charmed to Death Programming for the new daily lists.

Of note:

Author Ace Atkins will be ably filling the shoes of Ken Bruen at the Saturday at the Pratt- Govan's Branch Event Saturday October 11th.

George Pelecanos will still be joining Bouchercon 2008 but has had to move his signing time from the previously posted Saturday to Friday, October 10th at 11:00 a.m. in the Carroll Room.

Frank Wydra who was a friend to many of us lost his battle to Cancer in August. A true fan and author of mystery, Frank will remain on the Charmed to Death Web Site. Our best wishes go out to his family and friends. For more on Frank visit here

The MWA table will be opening on Friday afternoon after the Business Meeting.

Once again, the standing committee STRONGLY encourages all of our membership to attend this meeting. It's our Bouchercon, please be a part of the future.

We are showing a variety of films throughout the con. Some are already on the schedule but I'll be back with a full list soon as everything is firmed up.

There will be a "So you want to put on a Bouchercon" panel Thursday morning at 8:30 am. If you and your community are interested in possibly hosting a con, you may want to attend. This year I'm bringing in people from the Tourist & Hotel Industry specific to my own history but who also can help you find the people in your own area to make this process easier along the way. 8:30 on Thursday morning? I told you Judy and Jon were harsh.

William Kent Krueger is great. Here in Milwaukee last night on tour for Red Knife the latest in the Cork series, he once again reminded me of why Mystery, the community, is such a wonderful place to be.

And of biggest note today, because I just don't say it enough ..... Judy Bobalik is one of those very special people. I cannot imagine my life without her in it. With a Dorothy Parker wit and heart larger than the Grinch's after little Cindy Loo get's to him..... I, like many, am forever in her debt..... and entirely relieved that three weeks out I still mean this from the bottom of my heart.

Ruth

A Shamus Award Update!!!

2008-09-18T19:29:00.002-05:00

Tickets Are Still Available

I got this message from Bob Randisi and am sharing with the membership. Please consider attending this event. Marthayn has found Baltimore's best venue for a mystery gathering and take another look at this year's nominees. A Who's Who of Detective Fiction.

I understand people think the PWA banquet in Baltimore is sold out. Not true! We're going to have a great event and we still have tickets available. Email me at RRandisi@aol.com for more details, or for an invitation to be sent to you.

8 Days a Week

2008-09-15T17:59:00.001-05:00

hi all,

A Note for Authors:

Please note, the deadline is Sept 22nd.

We are adding a Karaoke Bar. (Usually known as author’s choice.)

12 sessions per day. Right now just Friday and Saturday. We may add Thursday if necessary.

Half-hour each. Same time as regular panels. Signing in the karaoke room.

Half hour is self-contained to do anything (except break the law)

Groups okay, it’s your half hour.

We need a song title, brief description and who will be doing it.

First come, first serve.

Contact Judy at bcon2008@comcast.net

Must sign up by September 22, 2008.

"Quality of Life"

2008-09-10T07:33:00.002-05:00

So,
Yesterday I got my paperwork at work. For this year's Bouchercon I'm taking a quality of life leave. I am now officially excited. 12 more work days and we're in Baltimore.
Yeah! So no more second guessing or trying to throw more into the mix. There's some things I'm looking really forward to but I want to know what you all think is going to be your high light at Charmed to Death.....
Ruth

Comings and Goings

2008-09-07T11:12:00.002-05:00

Morning everyone!!

I have some very good news. Best Selling and Award winning author George Pelecanos will be making an appearance at Bouchercon and will be in the signing room to sign your copies of this year's THE TURNAROUND or any other book you might need signed Saturday at 12:30 p.m in the signing room.

Also on the roll now, authors Ace Atkins and Scott Phillips. Two of my generation's best and brightest have taken the plunge and are coming to Baltimore.

I believe in good news first so mark these announcements on your dance card.

Unfortunately, I've also found out this week that Author Stephen Hunter will be unable to attend. We're very sorry. I was looking forward to welcoming Hunter to Bouchercon. One of this generation's premier Thriller Writers as well as about my favorite Movie Critic of all time Mr. Hunter will be missed. For those of you in TX. however you can talk with Mr. Hunter on Oct. 7th in Dallas and on Oct. 8th in Houston.

Also withdrawing for personal reasons is the Irish novelist Ken Bruen. He asks us to assure everyone he is okay and that life simply came up.

The withdrawal of these two individuals may affect your programming choices and so I share. I've had other withdrawals that have affected me greatly over the past two years. People who because of their health, or family's health, or financial constraints have to give our celebration a pass. They all intend to come next year though and that's heartening. One of the best e-mails I got this week was from Philadelphia native Lou Boxer. You know Lou. First the dreaded, "I have to withdraw", and then the reason, a great reason, his son is in a Soccer Tournament that weekend. Parents don't get very many years of these experiences and Lou has taken the dread out of opening the header, "Unable to attend" at least for a little while.

Oh I promised a report on "COLD IN HAND" .... to use an English phrase... it's a fuck off book. Charlie Resnick remains one of fiction's best police but as we all know author Harvey never stays in the same place for long. "COLD IN HAND" is another look at contemporary times wrapped up in police procedural where the stakes will become as high for the reader as they are for Resnick himself.

Ruth

Where did the Week Go?

2008-09-05T17:20:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone,

I'm getting a little busy. But I realized I haven't been on the blog for a week and wanted to stop in to say hi and give you updates on a few matters.

First, for all of you who haven't read Ms. Laura Lippman's Letter this month, there is additional dining advice supplied for attendees by our American Guest of Honor at the end of a very good piece on writing itself. And be sure to check out her serialized story in the New York Times this Sunday.

Going, Going ...... I have two folks who need to withdraw from the con but are willing to release their rooms to individuals. Are you homeless? Be in touch. Quickly.

Today, I got John Harvey's new book in the mail, looks like I'll be reading tonight. I promise a report, Resnick on the weekend, what could be better? So no e-mail please (just kidding).

I'm going to ask everyone to continue to check the the attendee list. We've had some great additions to the list as well as a few withdrawals that have me deeply saddened. It is the nature of things that life happens and I know this is going to be great, but it's very sad not to share Bouchercon with everyone you've been planning on sharing it with. I'm making Jon take his Birthday off. Hell, I'm making myself take his birthday off. I cannot remember the last time we had a non-Bouchercon conversation....

I have sent out the last batch of refund checks... all those who withdrew by the 1st of September should be receiving a check.

And now it's story time. This is a great Story so I hope you don't mind me sharing.
My family is great and entirely supportive of this journey Jon and I are on. They've given up their daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, until October 13th. But, on Wed I got to hang with sister Paula and brother Pete for the first time in months. And as it happened writers Marcus Sackey and Joe Konrath were in town. Now, Jon and I had known that Marcus and Joe were coming for awhile, and we ended up hooking up with them for drinks and dessert after their signing at Mystery One. My brother had never seen Jon and myself in the mix as it were, and Peter went into this with god-given Irish skepticism. And as we all compared recent reads, talked about movies and baseball and music, rehashed old stories and just caught up with one another, I saw Peter visibly relax. The little brother who's always been overly protective of his "Chick" and has accused me of being too much of a joiner since I was eight and had a bad experience with the Brownies, for the first time, was able to comprehend that my "Mystery Community" isn't just something I give to, but something I receive from. So special thanks to Richard, Dave, Joe and Marcus. A night to remember in the Flannery Clan. My brother, the fantasy reader, has given mystery his seal of approval.

And everyone in Baltimore, good luck with the weather this weekend.

A quicky

2008-08-28T06:33:00.002-05:00

Morning,
Well I have to say the music may have been loud last night, but there sure weren't a lot of people on my street. I'm hoping it stays like that but we'll see.
And your panels are here!!

Read away, comment, as I mentioned it is our intent to update the list as needed in the month between now and the convention so I've set it up so that each day has it's own post and will let you all know, here on the main blog when/if there are any changes. I expect there will be a few.

Many thanks to my panel chairs the fabulous Judy B. and my own other half Jon J. You guys rock my world.

Ruth

Vvvvrooom

2008-08-27T14:42:00.002-05:00

That's the sound outside of my window right now. There's also a whole lot of biker music blazing. Tonight I get to explore my parking lot which has been transformed into a music and beer venue for the official five days of the 105th Harley Davidson Anniversary. And the exploring will be done with very good company. Michael Koryta is here in town today, talking books with fans at Mystery One and we get to play for a bit after the signing.
Bouchercon is now all consuming and I will be laboring over Labor Day, available even during Barack's speech tomorrow night. If you need me, I'm here.

One of our favorite people and one of the genre's greatest scribes was on just about everybody's wish list to attend Bouchercon. It cannot come to pass and I know I'll miss him but he's going to be plenty busy here in the States and the folks at Little,Brown have been kind enough to share his itinerary with us. Ian Rankin is my favorite writer. And this October marks the end of one chapter of his writing career and the beginning of the next. EXIT MUSIC is the final book in his series featuring everyone's favorite police John Rebus. A bestseller across the globe, The American release is set for the last week in September. Although he's going to miss this Bouchercon he's been very supportive of it since the very beginning and is a true friend of every Bouchercon. So visit him along his travels if you can, buy the book,
and raise a glass in fond farewell to John Rebus, Siobhan, and the many characters he's created within this series.

Here's that list, contact the bookstores for more information

10/01: Washington, DC
07:30 PM
BORDERS BAILEYS CROSSROADS (#45) -- Reading / signing
5871 Crossroad Center Way, Baileys Crossroads, VA

10/02: Raleigh-Durham, NC
7:30 PM
QUAIL RIDGE BOOKS -- Formal Reading/Signing
3522 Wade Avenue Raleigh, NC 27607

10/03: Chicago, IL
07:00 PM
BORDERS #495 - LAGRANGE -- Reading / signing
1 N. La Grange Rd LaGrange, IL 60525

10/06: Seattle-Tacoma, WA
12:00 PM
SEATTLE MYSTERY BOOKS -- Book signing
117 Cherry Street Seattle, WA 98104

10/07: Portland, OR
7:00 PM
POWELL'S BOOKSTORE -- Formal reading/Signing
Cedar Hills Crossing 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd Beaverton, OR 97209

10/08: Houston, TX
06:30 PM
MURDER BY THE BOOK -- Reading / signing
2342 Bassinet Houston, TX 77005

A Whole Lotta Love

2008-08-24T22:58:00.002-05:00

the pageantry. the glamor. the Summer Olympics everyone. And Baltimore's favorite 21st century son played a huge role in the success of these Olympics. As I watched the passing of the torch, from Beijing to London it hit home again. B-Con is 44 days away. Charmed to Death will soon make way for Indy just as Alaska made way for us. The memories of Bouchercon are an evolving entity, one that our membership propagates on a rotating schedule, both cities and populace. I'm Charmed that Dana, Dee and Bearly Alive came before us, and thrilled that Jim, Mike and Indy are coming next. I'm glad I've been a part of this history. Thrilled that you're coming, lets make the magic happen.
Off the blog for a couple of days while I attend to business,
Ruth

From the Desk

2008-08-24T15:31:00.003-05:00

I promised everyone pix and Jon's put up a few at Central Crime Zone .

And always the Helpful Héloise : Swifter Dusters over fingerprint dust are very effective, Simply use the swifter cloth first and finish up with one swipe with your favorite all purpose spray cleaner. New knowledge gained today,
Ruth

Lunchtime Follies

2008-08-24T15:29:00.001-05:00

From Ray Charles Everyone!!

Prithee, One, Two, Three, Four, Five,
Six, Seven,
Eight, Nine, Ten, Gadzooks, and
Eleven.
Prithee, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta,
Bend thy back, and pull in thy belta.
And by gums, by gees, by gollys,
Work ye out in ye Lunchtime Follies.

[All]
Instead of lunch-we get ye Lunchtime Follies.

[Galahad]
This is station B-O-S-S
Teaching you to-

[All]
Yes! Yes! Yes!

[Galahad]
I give you lunchtime relaxation
So you won't need a summer vacation.

[All]
Prithee, One, Two, Three, Four, Five,
Six, Seven,
Eight, Nine, Ten, Gadzooks, and Eleven.

[Galahad]
Today the boogie-woogie has become a bugaboo.
We swing from swing to saccharine,

From saccharine to goo-
To the sentimental singer with a sentimental song.
Our monarch is a crooner and our king can do no wrong.

Eating part 2.....

So there are a lot of places close to the hotel but if em you'd like to get away from the convention for a bit......

Here are 2 for You:

The Lexington Market is located 4 blocks from the hotel. There's something for everyone in this chaotic and centralized market place including the Famous Faidley CrabCakes , consistently ranked "the best of" . one long time Baltimore Resident mentioned to me the other evening "Other's threaten to take the top spot but Faidley's prevails." If you're in a mixed group gather up everyone else's lunch first, finish up at Faidleys and when you all are done leave by the Faidley's exit. There are tables aplenty outside the Market on both sides of the street. when done head back to Fayette but not the hotel. Take a right and two blocks up you'll be at Westminster, where Mr. Poe is buried. The grave yard here celebrates it's most famous corpse but if you take the time to explore you'll find a myriad of American History. John Calhoun's grandfather is here and so is a family that tried for years to have a child..... I'll let you find the rest of the story..... I believe it will take more than the hour we've set aside for lunch but I can guarantee it's worth the time.

When I did breakfy the other day, someone inquired about the Hollywood Diner and it's only a short walk, but the Media Place for me has got to be Jimmy's Diner in Fell's Point. Where the cops on both Homicide and The Wire went to eat or grab coffee while talking Life on the Streets. I suggest the Jim Dandy. And here's your day planner at work. Take the walk to the Inner Harbour and grab the Water Taxi over to Fell's Point. For nine dollars a day you can get anyplace on the water by these boats (not suggested in bad weather). Stop at Jimmy's, drift up the two blocks to Mystery Loves Company. Kathy Harig is offering a discount to everyone who shops her store during the convention, just have your badge. Peruse the shelves and pet the cats and head on back. Maybe coffee at the Daily Grind, maybe a drink in the bar owned by Meldrick, Bayliss and Munch, a pic in front of the "Police Station" and back to Charmed to Death.

so again two from me to you,

ruth

Private Eyes, They're Watching You

2008-08-24T15:27:00.001-05:00

The Location of the Annual Shamus Awards is always one of my favorite surprises and this year Marthayn has outdone herself. Westminster Hall . How cool to celebrate the PI just above where the man himself rest in purpituity. Of course if Randisi has his way old Edgar A might just put in an appearance.

The best part?

PWA Shamus Award Banquet open to the public (hurry, space is limited)

PWA SHAMUS AWARDS BANQUET will be held on Oct. 10th. 6:30 pm cocktails, 7 pm dinner, 8:15 awards ceremony. Tickets are $60 each. No entry without ticket, no tickets sold after Oct. 1 or at the door. Location: Westminster Hall in Baltimore, MD--final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe, who we will try to raise from the dead for a reading. There will be a complimentary tour of the catacombs beneath the church as well as the burying ground after the ceremony.

For tickets send check or money order made out to PWA, Christine Matthews, P.O. Box 202, Clarksville, Mo 63336.

For more info or questions email RRandisi@aol.com

And in case you've been under a rock the nominees for this year's awards:

Best Hardcover

Head Games by Thomas B. Cavanagh (St. Martins Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books), featuring Mike Garrity.

Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman (Bleak House Books), featuring Moe Prager.

The Color of Blood by Declan Hughes (William Morrow), featuring Ed Loy.

A Welcome Grave by Michael Koryta (St. Martins Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books), featuring Lincoln Perry.

A Killer’s Kiss by William Lashner (William Morrow), featuring Victor Carl.

Best Paperback Original

Songs of Innocence by Richard Aleas (Hard Case) featuring John Blake.

Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong (Bantam) featuring Nadia Stafford.

Stone Rain by Linwood Barclay (Bantam) featuring Zack Walker.

Deadly Beloved by Max Allan Collins (Hard Case) featuring Ms. Michael Tree.

Blood of Paradise by David Corbett (Mortalis/Ballantine) featuring Jude McManus.

Best First Novel

The Cleaner by Brett Battles (Delacorte), featuring Jonathan Quinn.

Keep It Real by Bill Bryan (Bleak House Books), featuring Ted Collins.

Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover (William Morrow), featuring Ray Dudgeon.

When One Man Dies by Dave White (Three Rivers Press), featuring Jackson Donne.

The Last Striptease by Michael Wiley (St. Martins/Thomas Dunne Books), featuring Joe Kozmarski.

Best Short Story

"Kill the Cat" by Loren D. Estleman, DETROIT NOIR (Akashic), featuring Amos Walker.

"Trust Me" by Loren D. Estleman, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June 2007, featuring Amos Walker.

"Open Mike" by James Nolan, NEW ORLEANS NOIR (Akashic), featuring Vincent Panarello.

“Hungry Enough" by Cornelia Read, A Hell of a Woman (Busted Flush Press), featuring Philip.

"Room for Improvement" by Marilyn Todd, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Dec. 2007, featuring Lois Hepburn.

Homer's Food Song

2008-08-22T13:42:00.004-05:00

"i like pizza
i like bagels
i like hotdogs with mustard and beer
i'll eat eggplant
i could even eat a baby deer
lalalalalala-la-la
who's that baby deer on the lawn there?!"

This is the Yumm blog and will be split into 3 parts.

I mentioned pizza earlier in the week, and while It was quite tasty, this week was our week to eat like kings and queens. I'm going to start with breakfast since for many of us it needs to be quick and filling, for some it can be leisurely and a time to plan the days events.

Breakfast in America

The food at Shula II is good but not exceptional except, I'm told for the fans of eggs benedict. Their Breakfast menu also features a dish that is hollandaise with crab, for the more adventurous amongst us. Breakfast opens at 6:30 Thursday and Friday and at 7:00 Saturday and Sunday. Room Service is also available. Full breakfast runs about 15.00 per and a liter bite 8.00 to 10.00.

At the sister hotel,The Radisson Lord Baltimore they have the irreplaceable breakfast buffet, located on the lowest level at 14.95. It's filling , quite good and blissfully fast or slow as you need it to be. Opened at 6:00 a.m daily.For those of you staying on the concierge level of either hotel there is of course the ever present continental breakfast

For people willing to shop, visit Lexington Market and stock up on fresh fruit and Berger's bakery (five block walk). Caribou Coffee (two blocks down) and Starbucks (in the Radisson) are both accessible as well. Sadly, I've yet to find a decent cup of tea nearby. Suggestions, locals?

Newly installed just around the corner from the hotel is the Parthenon Diner. We didn't make it into this tempting venue on this trip but the prices are great and Baltimore's City Paper gives it high marks. Open 24 hours. That's the ticket.

There are several other restaurants not too far away including dunkin donuts and mickey ds ( I refuse to give them capital letters). David and Dad's on Charles gets my vote every time for breakfast and lunch, it's a half mile up hill, a bracing early morning walk, food and a full day of panels. What could be better?

Since You Ask........

Jon Jordan recommends Gina's Cafe. Located on the corner of Calvert and Fayette, just turn right at the door until you get there for breakfast by the pound or a la carte. Only available Thursday and Friday, Jon says if you sign up here he'll join you on Friday at 7:00 a.m. Watching my husband eat by the pound is an experience not to be missed and this may allow him one decent meal over the convention's four days. And there truly is everything on the menu!!

Friday Street

2008-08-21T10:18:00.005-05:00

Paul Weller everyone

Minds alive! On Friday Street
Summerflys around my feet
And wee still stars
Are in my eyes
And mine's alive on Friday Street
A pulse goes on, on Friday Street
Time seems longer against its beat
And it's easy to remember
And it's hard to forget
That mine's alive on Friday Street
Yeh! Mine's still alive on Friday Street
We're home!! I love Baltimore.

I'm really getting excited now. That Thursday morning is getting so close I feel it in my bones. I really hope that this year's Bouchercon is for everyone attending exactly like grabbing a rainbow. We all know that the company will be great, so come expecting to touch at least one.

So a week of meetings, glimpses of Baltimore. It's all coming together. The space has been charted, there are so many folks looking forward to this just in the two hotels. Sales people are sales people first, but both the team at the Sheraton and Radisson have made this easy. The man who runs the gift shop asked if it would be okay for him to bring books from home to have signed. Evyette in the dining room wants to meet Laura Lippman and Agatha Christie. The bellmen want to suggest their favorite restaurants.

I have a couple of notes meant to be informative to the folks attending, so this blog may run a little long and not be all that entertaining, but I promise to follow up with something a little more fun.
And being that I'm on the road I cannot connect to our large community through e-mail means also if you're a member of Dorothy L, 4MA, any of those wonderful blogs out there or our own facebook page & bulletin boards and you can pass along the link to this page I'd really appreciate it.

If you are somebody who's planning on attending but have yet to book a room the room block at both hotels' is full and our room rate is no longer available at the Sheraton, but as luck would have it, there are vacations going on at the Radisson so, if you hurry you may squeeze in before they shut their convention rate down. I imagine they'll cut it off no later than Monday (possibly before) so dial quickly.

I have also been asked by attendees to guarantee the quality of other hotels in the vicinity. I'm sorry, but there are only three I've been fortunate enough to enter in my various stays over the past four years. The Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace is right on the water, a seven block walk or a four dollar cab fare. Years ago it was the Renaissance who although they could not accommodate our meeting space needs worked with me to make sure I had what I needed to present a viable bid. Their roomrate is steep, 359 for 2 adults on hotel.com today. Four blocks from the Sheraton is the Day's Inn Inner Harbor. The building is nice and the walk is short and for Baltimore, level. Their rate today on hotel.com is 146. There's also a Holiday Inn that's a quick walk with current rates of 198 to 230 a night. I know some of you will book other rooms, farther out, and while my experiences with light rail, buses and the train have all been good (I love the rail from BWI, it's fast and you're let off a block from either of our hotels) I cannot guarantee that the transport of your choice will run on time. I've found it kind of amusing that some folks have asked for that guarantee, if only I had the power. There are links on the blog for many of the transports schedules and you can google everything, beyond that my powers fail.

Authors and others planning on contributing to the silent auction, our team would love to hear from you so they can begin to finalize the plans for both the silent and live auction. I cannot wait for everyone to see the Calvert Ballroom. It is a glorious space.

Most Potential Panelists should be hearing from the panel chairs by end of weekend.

AND THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE FOR NOW.

RUTH

Up Up and Away

2008-08-19T07:35:00.002-05:00

Did you know Baltimore was the site of the first hot air balloon ride?

So,
the first wave arrived in Baltimore last night. As we made our way to the hotel the Orioles-Red Sox game was just getting out. I mentioned to my cab mates that this was the first trip where the team was at home and I was disappointed not to be able to go. So we're going tonight!! My treat. This is too cool, an unexpected bonus. Buying tickets for this series on game day means nose bleed territory but that's okay, I think it's the same section where Munch caught the Yankee Fan dead body so long ago on Homicide.

Highly recommended for late night munchies while you're here. Michelangelo's Pizza. We fed and watered all four of us (Pizza Supreme 16" and Spicy Wings {10 piece} + six pack of soda for $30.00). The pizza was Chicago/New York quality, very garlicy, and had just the right amount of grease, the wings spicy and cooked through. And the wait? 25 minutes. Yummm

Off to work now, for you, our people
Ruth

Fresh off the Press

2008-08-18T14:11:00.002-05:00

When World's Collide

For the full story go here

This is an excerpt from Newsarama's exclusive interview with Karen Berger, head of the new Vertigo Crime Line. Strangely, Baltimore is known for Berger Cookies.

KB: Vertigo has a lot of great writers and great stories, and Brian's association with the work he's done for Vertigo is very much in urban crime fiction. So when Vertigo Crime was coming together, we thought "why not go out with our most popular comics writer?"

NRAMA: Hey, you get my seal of approval. Let's take out our binoculars and look to the horizon – what's on the horizon for future Vertigo Crime books? You've mentioned that you've already got several in the pipeline.

KB: We've bought a bunch of material and we'll be announcing a pretty full slate at BoucherCon in Baltimore this October. As I mentioned earlier, there's an array of comics writers and fiction writers in the mix. Some people who're well known and some people who aren't. There's a good mixture of different talent. A majority of material is set in the present time, but there may be one or two period pieces representing.

Wonder who we'll be hearing from next........

On The Road Again

2008-08-18T06:26:00.002-05:00

So this afternoon we're on a plane to Baltimore,

The final pre Bouchercon walk through. I'm feeling a bit sad, realizing that there's only one more visit after this week's and knowing that it will probably be years before I visit again. Still, I'm glad you all will be sharing Baltimore with me. It's a wonderful city with many distinctive neighborhoods , diverse culture still available, and all the comforts of yuppiedom to be found. So I'm bringing my camera with and will try and take pictures for everyone. It's summer in Baltimore and the weathermen say sunny for all four days. So I hope we'll all get some great shots of Charm City to share with you..

The picture in today's blog is a shot of Baltimore after the 1904 fire which crippled the city .For a dab further of the City's history start here

I'm off to do the 101 things you do before taking a trip. Soon the cats see the suitcases and all hell will break out at our house.

Ruth

A Moment

2008-08-17T15:24:00.002-05:00

On Murderati today:

My two cents. At the D.C. Bouchercon I was a shiny eyed fan and newlywed. Despite the truly bizarre feelings we all experienced during that convention because of the events of 9/11 the solidarity amazed me. Even more so, when on Saturday morning I received a phone call from Richmond VA. My Grandfather had died and my Grandmother needed me. to say I was a mess doesn't begin to cover it. And when things like this happen and you're muddling through, the last thing you want is everybody knowing what's going on. I'm not a person who can take heart felt condolences from well meaning acquaintances without bursting into tears. So by the end of the day there were some who knew what was going on but by no means was it common knowledge.
I soldiered on through the Anthony Awards, tried to be my happy self, but heaven help the people who met me that day. They've no idea of my own true self. Those who did know and who helped me out, making travel arrangements (thanks Charles), spiriting me off for a quiet cigarette, keeping Jon company while I bubbled in the bath, or made sure I had a view of the Yankee/Diamondback game that night. They are special people. And the thing is, within the Bouchercon community, I believe any individual would be a caregiver and probably has been if they've been to more than one Bouchercon. It's why we keep coming back and welcome new people into our fold every year. It's why we covet these four days every year. It's why many of you who I see only once every year are extended family to me. And it's why that old chestnut "Judge no people....." always applies.
In the Naked Bouchercon there are 2000 stories. Mine is just one of them.

way down in the hole.

2008-08-16T13:23:00.003-05:00

First things first. Thursday's panel assignments are being e-mailed to the prospective panelists. Judy and Jon will be finalizing each day before sending out assignments for the next. The plan is that by doing it this way if someone has forgotten to mention availability problems they will then be able replace the individual and hopefully find another time slot for the person who is unavailable. This is Bouchercon and the pool of potential panelists is mind boggling to me. I'm glad I delegated this job. With 90 time slots and 450 people asking to be on a panel there's a lot of integers before they can get to the final equation. So if you hear that somebody has received a panel assignment and are wondering where yours is do not fret. Also note that certain folks will be asked to be on more than one. So you may not be done yet even if you have received a request. These two people are doing a great job. They can also be harsh when need be....... I was the first person to sign up for Bouchercon, I'm available all four days, actually had fiction published last year as well as helping with Crimespree and writing a couple of non Crimespree pieces and for the first time in five years the panel chairs informed me that I don't get a panel. I had no say at all, I was simply struck off of the list. Of course I did put them in charge of panels. They may have me on their s*#t list.

That said and leading into my final paragraph some folks have been very good to us. For the past several years, beginning in Austin, Mark Billingham, John Connolly, Laura Lippman and Karin Slaughter have delighted everyone on what has become one of the membership's favorite panels. In Toronto, Ian Rankin was with them. This year the wonderful Chris Mooney is participating. When you ask? 8:30 on Friday morning. That's right a panel featuring two of our guests of honor and five of our favorite people will be held first thing in the morning. When asked, all of the panelists just said, "whatever you need!". Bless you, everyone. "Would I Lie To You" Friday morning at 8:30 am.

Last Sunday, I spent the afternoon on the phone with one of my favorite people. Mark Billingham and I were plotting out opening ceremonies and the Anthony Awards. The great thing about doing this over the phone rather than through e-mail was feeding off of his enthusiasm. When you don't see people for awhile you forget why you love them. So Sunday was a refresher course for me in Billingham 101. Mark is in the middle of a killer tour for the new book, IN THE DARK. The book is out now in the U.K. and will come out here in the U.S. the week before B-Con. IN THE DARK is Mark's first Stand Alone Novel. While many of you will certainly miss your yearly fix of Tom Thorne do not miss this book. The plot is full of the twists and turns that thriller readers love while the characterizations within the novel encapsulate the realism of the noirest of books. That one of the most real and charming people I know can go to places this bleak and horrifying is a conundrum of our community. The fact that all of you, like myself, equate evil and murder with entertainment is another story, one we can mull over together in Baltimore.

2008-08-15T06:59:00.002-05:00

Robert Rosenwald & Barbara Peters are being honored for their foray into publishing this year. In 2004 Poisoned Pen Press was strong and their formula seemingly obvious (publish books you want to read). In the intervening years many small presses have gone and some have arrived. All have made contributions to the genre. None, more so then this team from Scotsdale. That they do it while also having their finger in every other pie continues to amaze me. Yesterday I was thinking to myself, "Wow, what made you so certain PPP would still be in existence, with the turnover in small presses?" I then laughed at myself, it's the people running the press. While Robert handles most of the business, Barbara works with the authors. It's a winning combination.

So today, if you're of a mind visit the pair and the body of work they've managed to put together for we, the readers at Poisoned Pen Press.

And may I suggest you also visit Barbara's interview with "Continuing Contribution to the Genre" recipient, Lawrence Block. Amongst other talents, lady gives great interview.

On the Lighter Side

2008-08-14T07:45:00.000-05:00

So one of the chores on my to do list was going to the bank. Our neighborhood branch is is a beautiful building. If they ever decided to move out I think I'd try and talk Jon into buying it , I'm not sure if the standing safe would be the library or the bedroom but it has the advantage over our place of skylights and no steps. I digress. This missive is actually about the power of Mystery in our everyday lives.

I pulled into the parking lot and every space was full. I scooted into the ally with my Ford Ranger and alas, neighbors had parked that area up to. Everyone, it seems was banking. So I did something I rarely do and beelined for the business line. and then....... just ahead...... A young, very attractive man, in hot topic pants and a Hanes wife-beater. The gentleman had tats running up and down both arms (beautifully done, must have cost a fortune). There were three tellers helping him. My go mode is effectively stopped at this point and I settle in for a wait. I'm trying to respect his privacy so I concentrate on the tats. As I run to the top of his bicep I'm distracted(and no, not that). There's a scar right at the top of his spine. It looks like a healed over bullet wound.

For the next several minutes multiple scenarios run through my mind, the same ones that would run through all of yours. The best though was when the teller counted out several thousand dollars inn hundred dollar bills. Enough to make my eyes go blurry. He promptly put that money in the pocket of his oversized hot topic pants, thanked the tellers apologized to me for the wait and went on his merry way.

Mystery, it's not just a convention, or a book, sometimes it's what gets you through long lines and periods of waiting.

I know there was a story there but I'm thinking it isn't nearly as nefarious as any of the ones I came up with,

Ruth

Of Volunteering

2008-08-11T07:16:00.002-05:00

Hi All,

I sent out a mass e-mail just now to the folks who had expressed interest in volunteering for Charmed. Not many bounced but some did. So I thought I'd also put the note up on the blog, and share with the membership. Perhaps you wanted to volunteer and don't any longer, perhaps you weren't sure but would like to help now.... And if you're a member whose e-mail has changed since you regestered perhaps you might drop me a line.

For your consideration. As always if you'd like to be in touch email me at ruth@crimespreemag.com .

I loves the internets!!!
Ruth

Hello Everyone,

Happy Monday ! Bouchercon is now two months away. So while Mike Phelps kicks butt in China Judy and I are working on Bouchercon.

You are getting this email because when you signed on for Bouchercon you generously agreed to Volunteer. Thankyou!

Question one for you, David and Cindy have asked me to reach out and find volunteers to help them with both the live and silent auction. If you are willing to help with either or both please get back to me. The live auction would entail setting up and whatever manner of running the auction chairs need to make all go smoothly. Your time commitment would be from about 6:30 Friday night to the end of auction. Our action chairs are very well organized and your help would be greatly appreciated. The silent auction needs a body of volunteers to man the tables in the dealer room, Running from 9:00 a.m. on Thursday the 9th until 12:00 noon on Sat the 11^th. if you'd be willing to take a shift or two please let me know and I'll pass on your offer to the chairs

Question two. If you live near enough to Baltimore to make the trip downtown for a meeting the committee would love to meet up with you on Tuesday August 19th in a location to be determined. We will not meet in the hotel this time as they have a convention going on the first part of the week so we're thinking someplace fun. Perhaps in Fell's Point, an area I've fallen in love with over the last four years. If you could let me know by Wed the 13th I'll make arrangements.

Question three. While we are waiting for the panel blocks to be posted before we ask you to make a time commitment, if you are ready to make that commitment now please do e-mail with preferred jobs and times.

I've a list below. You'll note that the bag stuffing is not on here yet, Michael Dymmoch will be doing this for us.

Registration Desk- We will have the desk open from Wed through to the Anthony Award Banquet. Heavy Staffing is necessary on both Thursday and Friday due to the High holidays,

Room monitors- two hour time blocks with responsibility for one room, making sure water on the Dias, temperature and audio working properly and placards are positioned. also timekeeper for the moderator. making sure the panelists get to the signing area quickly and without fuss.

"Red Shirts" - we'll need folks for this one who'll be there from Wed on as you'll have to do a walk-through of the hotel. This position was suggested by Beth Tindall, you will be the folks who between panels are in the hallways and can answer questions for members about where things are, which room what panel is in, where's the dealer room, is the sky blue. And if you don't have the answer you'll have both Judy's and my number and we'll find an answer for that person. We will probably not go with red shirts but will have something to make you stand out in the crowd.

For the techies:

We will be blogging at the con and While I'm donating my laptop (since I've been doing the blog and have the simplest access) I need a group of people who blog and can help the folks who don't. So if you're willing to put in some time in the hospitality room please let me know.

Please let me know if you prefer not to receive further e-mails and I'll take you off of this list.

This e-mail comes to you from me due to an Indiana Tornado. Please note that my co-chair Judy fully intends to co-ordinate all volunteer schedules but because of time constraints re the auction and Baltimore meeting I am sending this e-mail. Of course both of us are available to and thank you for everything you’re doing and will do to make this convention a success.

Ruth

Getting Ready For the Show!!

2008-08-09T08:17:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone...

We're getting ready to bring you panel information in the most effective way possible. So I created another blog. We hope that this blog will allow everyone a first look at panels as the times and participants are determined and that in the event of changes you will have timely updates.

The first post is the official announcement of a project close to our heart. I am a Milwaukee Girl, Gal, Lady..... whatever your moniker of choice may be, but the Pratt Library system has been special to me for many years. Not only is the wonderful Kathy of Mystery Loves Company is a former employee but many years ago I was able to meet her partner in crime(books), Paige Rose. Paige was a beautiful, kind and passionate apostle for our favorite genre. She inspired writers, impassioned readers and with wicked wit had every argument about the viability of the Crime Novel covered in just a few sentences. She's gone to us but never forgotten. I do not step into Baltimore without thinking of her immediately. If this year's convention had a Ghost of Honor it would certainly be Paige. I'm quite certain she would quietly correct me and declare Spirit to be a much better title.

So Click on the title link... create a new book mark or read below

Saturday at the Pratt

The Pratt Library has been an asset to Baltimore since the 1800s. One of the most respected Library Systems in the U.S. it continues in it's quest to make books, film, and glorious slices of American History available to every citizen in its community. This made the Pratt an obvious choice as Bouchercon 2008's main Charity.

Bouchercon and the Pratt got together for another project as well. On Saturday, October 11th there will be a series of authors' panels at several of the Pratt's branches to introduce the community of Baltimore to the membership of Bouchercon. Author Ann Cleeves will be visiting the Pratt as well on Wed. October 8th. Details to come.

We thank our members who are participating and we welcome the people of Baltimore to a little slice of Bouchercon- Charmed to Death

Roland Park Branch
5108 Roland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21210

11:00 a.m. Saturday Oct. 11th

Discuss Femme Noir with four of Mystery’s finest Dames. McKenna Jordan of Murder By The Book in Houston will moderate authors Val McDermid, Lauren Henderson, Vicki Hendricks and Megan Abbott in a talk about mystery with a female point of view.

Southeast Anchor Library
3601 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224

11:00 a.m Saturday Oct. 11th

In Conversation: Join authors Heather Graham and Alexandra Sokoloff in a discussion on life, books and mystery. These two ladies have a lot to talk about and you are invited to listen in.

Govans Branch
5714 Bellona Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21212

2:00 pm Saturday Oct. 11th

Authors Ken Bruen, Alafair Burke, Sean Chercover and Lee Child will be interrogated on all things mysterious by their peer Marcus Sakey

Orleans Street Branch
1303 Orleans Street
Baltimore, MD 21231

2:00 p.m. Saturday Oct. 11th

Author Laurie King moderates a panel on Mystery with fellow scribes Frankie Bailey, Charlaine Harris, Gary Phillips and Cara Black.

When the Weather Gods Step In

2008-08-06T18:42:00.002-05:00

Hi All,
Well the good news is that Judy, her husband, and all the cats are fine. The bad news is they are now going into day three with no power. Storms ripped through Indiana the other night and as Judy sat on her computer finalizing the panel grids she heard a sprinkle and then a true downpour. There was a sharp noise (the transformer behind her house), and then there was blackness. A noise on the roof. Sometimes things come up. In this case trees fell down. On the roof. blocking the driveway and the front door.
Wednesday brought the sound of chainsaws to the Munster community, and cleanup continues. Judy and her neighbors have all been pitching in together. No electricity until tomorrow p.m earliest, which means panel placement is on hold until the power comes up. We hope the delay will prove to be a short one once we're up and running. Judy promises photos of home when possible, for now you can see a bit of the storm here

If you've tried to e-mail either Judy or bcon08@comcast.net in the last few days and have a situation that needs to be immediately addressed please feel free to e-mail me at ruth at crimespreemag.com. We'll get you sorted asap.

The Monday Clean Up

2008-08-04T17:14:00.002-05:00

I've a few memos I'd like to share with the membership. Just odds and ends.

*** author's and distinguished guests: about those author bios and photos. We've mailed, blogged and posted. We've e-mailed. The deadline is long past. If your bio and or photo has not been received by jon at crimespreemag dot com. tomorrow 12:00 p.m. central daylight time, you will not be included in the bio section of the program book.

If you're still on the fence about coming, I really hope you do. Every day I get registrations, fans who've never been before and are looking forward to it. Friends who I'd given up on but really should have known better (Hi Barry, I love you too, Chris). And the folks I've always wanted to but have never had the chance to meet. It's pretty cool getting my mail these days.

About those registration updates:
They're coming about twice a week now. Please don't panic if you register on Tuesday and aren't on the list Thursday. It may take up to a week.

As we move closer to the convention people are running into conflicting commitments. We totally understand, I even threatened to cancel a few weeks back when I found out one of my favorite entertainers will be coming to Milwaukee on Oct. 11th . We will honor all requests for refund until Sept. 1st. If you find after that date that you need to withdraw, let us know

For the two hundred + people who've offered to volunteer for this year's convention. Thanks for staying in touch if you have. And do not think you're off the hook if you haven't. We will be in touch as soon as the preliminary panel list is up on the web. We don't want you missing your favorites on their panels and already have a very nice grid set up so that once we've gotten started you should be able to pack your itinerary around shifts that work for you.

The music in my player right now is the Foo Fighters but I think it may be a Coltrane Evening. (too much information?)

Finally, I have to give a cyber hug to all of my guests of honor. It's your party and you've all been there for us; suggestions, encouragement & good will to spare. You've given me memories to last a lifetime already and we haven't even gathered in Baltimore yet.
Thankyou
Ruth

Spirits to Consider on the Weekend

2008-08-01T18:01:00.006-05:00

THE SPIRITS OF ST LOUIS

Where: The Renaissance St. Louis Grand Room Rate: $ 161 for a single

When: Thursday,September 15th through Sunday, September 18th

Your Hosts:

McKenna Jordan from Murder By The Book
David Thompson of Busted Flush Press
Jon Jordan of Crimespree Magazine

Pictured to the left with the beginnings of the committee during our site visit to St Louis.
This was taken at the site of the World's Fair and on of the largest City parks in the country.

OUR GUESTS OF HONOR

American: Robert Crais & Charlaine Harris
International: Colin Cotterill & Val McDermid
Life Time Achievement : Sara Paretsky
Fan Guest of Honor: Kate Stine and Brian Skupin
all brought together by Toastmaster Ridley Pearson

In the last ten years downtown St. Louis has gone through a rebirth: the mixture of nightlife, museums, history and right now will make St. Louis a remembered convention. With eclectic neighborhoods within cab distance and the arch just five blocks away we're excited to be proposing this venue. The hotel will accommodate all of the conventions needs, from a generously proportioned Dealer's room to the personalized bedding in your rooms.

Sites
Cool Cooler Coolest

Dining
Kitchen K
Wasabi Sushi Bar
Kemoll's

Wining
Morgan Street Brewery
The Dubliner
Flamingo Bowl

Local Bookstores

Left Bank Books

Big Sleep Books (mystery)

The Book House

Double Down
Casino Queen
President Casino
Lumiere Place

We thank our partner The St. Louis Area Convention and Visitor's Commission and hope you'll explore the many options St. Louis has to offer.

Registration Rates and more will be announced during the official bid proposal 12:30 p.m. at the Bouchercon General Business Meeting on Oct. 10th 2008 in Baltimore Md.

Jon and David and McKenna would like to thank Ruth for putting this post together.

Charmed to Death- Wish Upon a Star

2008-07-31T18:09:00.003-05:00

Hey folks,

I came home this afternoon to Jon and Judy working on the grid for panels. Looking good so far, let me say. But while we're all here waiting for the last bid presentation and our panel assignments I invite everyone to play the WISH GAME with me. Take a look at folks attending the con this year and then let me know who you want to be there who isn't signed up yet. and we'll see what happens. As an organizer I have perhaps more information on the why certain names are missing from the list, so for those of you who know me well, you may be surprised at my picks...and if nothing else maybe people we suggest will mark Indy on their calender.

My first pick is someone those of you who've been on line since the beginning will remember well. Kathy Bartlett of Massachusetts. My own B.C. Sherlock, without her? Hell , I wouldn't even know there's a mystery community. Kathy is fan , friend, and everything special in this community.

Jeff and Judy C. from Ram. I'd sure like to recreate that second Rammer's party. Here's crossing fingers.

Of authors there are many but I'm a greedy girl and really I'd love to meet Janet Evanovich. About the same time Kathy B. introduced me to the on-line mystery community ONE FOR THE MONEY came out. And Janet was the best, coming to our Wed. Evening group for on-line chats repeatedly, sending the funniest missives out of the blue and making me feel incredibly special to be included in the beginnings of a career about to hit the stratosphere. I left aol but I'll always remember just how special those first chats were.

My list goes on and on but why don't you take a turn.

Jon says Peter Robinson.
and you, fellow attendees ?

Bouchercon 2010- In Tempe

2008-07-30T17:16:00.006-05:00

Proposed Dates: Thursday October 7 thru Sunday October 10, 2010.

Proposed Location: Tempe Mission Palms
60 E Fifth St,Tempe,AZ 85281 USA.

The hotel is located downtown with approximately 75 restaurants within 1/2 mile including shopping, night clubs, etc.; site includes a free shuttle to/from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Room Rate: US$185.00/nt plus US$10.95/nt hospitality fee plus taxes; this is valid for single/double/triple/quadruple occupancy depending on room type and includes all Standard rooms,Executive rooms,Handicap Access rooms and Suites.

Proposed Overflow:
Scottsdale Conference Resort,
7700 E McCormick Parkway, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 USA,
shuttles will be arranged for transfer to/from the primary site.

Nearby Overflow Sites:
Courtyard By Marriott (0.2mi west), 601 S Ash Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281, 480-966-2800,Fax: 480-829-8446,Reservations: 866-898-7540
155 rooms (5 suites), free airport shuttle, free high speed internet(public areas wireless, rooms wired), free parking, rates (October 2008) starting at $169/nt plus tax.

University Motel (0.4mi south), 902 S Mill Ave, Tempe, AZ 85281, 480-966-7221, rates (October 2008)starting at $55/nt plus tax.
Twin Palms Hotel (0.8 mi south), 225 E Apache Blvd, Tempe, AZ 85281, 480-967-9431, Fax:480-303-6602, Reservations: 800-367-0835,
139 rooms (1 suite), freeairport shuttle, free high speed internet, rates (October 2008) unavailable.
Best Western Tempe (1.0mi northeast), 670 N Scottsdale Rd, Tempe, AZ 85281, 480-784-2233,Fax: 480-784-2299,
103 rooms (2 suites), free airport shuttle, free parking, high speed internet, rates (October 2008) starting at $89.99/nt plus tax.
Hotels between 1 and 2 miles of primary site: 10+
Hotels between 2 and 3 miles of primary site: 15+

Who We Are
Bid Committee Information: Mike Willmoth is the Bid Chair. He has
chaired the 2004 World Horror Convention and the 2004 World Fantasy
Convention, and is chairing the 2009 Westercon Convention. Mike has
been involved with convention running since 1987 for everything from
Program Director to Hotel Liaison. Lee Whiteside is the Bid Vice
Chair. He has chaired the 2006 Nebula Awards and is chairing the 2009
North American DiscWorld Convention. Lee has handled many positions
with local, regional and world level conventions including Publicity
Director and Guest Liaison. Nadine Armstrong is the Bid Program
Director. She has worked local and regional events for many years.
Nadine is well-read in the mystery genre and an avid collector.

Area Information: Tempe is located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area
which includes a number of museums, shopping districts and other items
of interest; examples include the Heard Museum of southwestern art and
downtown Scottsdale. Arizona offers a plethora of places to see and
things to do; examples include the Grand Canyon and Tombstone, the
town too tough to die. Poisoned Pen Bookstore, the country's largest
independent mystery bookstore, is located between the primary and
secondary sites.

Bouchercon 2010 Bid Plans for Arizona

For Bouchercon 2010 we are planning a wide variety of programming items with multiple tracks so that members can choose from a variety of panels. A half-track of readings will be paired with a half-track of programming on book collecting including hands-on workshops on repair,restoration and cataloging systems. A full track of panels will be centered on mysteries in media,with discussions ranging from the importance of soundtracks in film to the emerging uses of mystery in multimedia. Also, the influence of book covers will be explored.

Two tracks of programming about the written mystery will be scheduled. These tracks will include discussions of the Golden Age of British mystery and its current reinventions, the resurgence of the Gothic mystery and the pulp mystery, war-time mysteries (the way wars have been used and portrayed), the close relationships between noir and urban fantasy, futuristic mysteries, and mysteries set in alternate versions of our own world.
Discussions of the place of short fiction in the current market and a survey of the state of the field in general will also be offered. Rounding off there will be presentations by working scientists on various topics of interest to mystery writers and fans.

Other program offerings will include a Charity Auction, the Anthony Awards, and special presentations by our Guests-of-Honor.

Extra activities away from the convention hotel, but still nearby, could include a guided tour of the internationally recognized Heard Museum (one of the finest collections of Native American Art and artifacts in the USA) or a trip to the Pueblo Grande Museum (a combination museum and working archaeological dig trying to sort out the mysteries of the past.) We would also like to offer a trip to one of Arizona's historic Old West towns if there is interest.

your blog amateur has included the information below because Mike and his crew have run cons before, and are allowing us to vet them not only as individuals but also as a business.

Arizona Corporation Commission
06/29/2008 State of Arizona Public Access System 4:27 PM
Corporate Inquiry
File Number: -0154405-9 Corp.
Statutory Agent Information
Agent Name: MIKE WILLMOTH

Additional Corporate Information
Corporation Type: NON-PROFIT Business Type: CONDUCT SCIENCE FICTION
CONVENTIONS DONATE BOOKS TO LIB
Incorporation Date: 03/16/1983 Corporate Life Period: PERPETUAL
Domicile: ARIZONA County: MARICOPA
Approval Date: 03/24/1983 Original Publish Date: 05/20/1983

2010- San Francisco Bid!

2008-07-28T22:39:00.003-05:00

I'd like to let the membership know that the proposed Chair, Rae Helmsworth has an astounding powerpoint presentation but blogger and powerpoint? a bit beyond me so below you will find the text and I can send people a download, just e-mail me at ruth at crimspreemag dot com.

Hello,

Bouchercon by the Bay is pleased to invite you to consider San Francisco as your 2010 conference location.

Our preferred hotel, the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, is ideally located on the San Francisco waterfront, with a cable car stop just outside the front door. The hotel is a short walk away from historic North Beach, Chinatown and the Financial District. Fisherman’s Wharf and Union Square are nearby, as are ferry services to Alcatraz and Sausalito.

There are many restaurants and shops located in the Embarcadero Center, just across the street from the Hyatt Regency.

The hotel itself is one of Hyatt’s premier properties. Recently refurbished, the rooms are comfortable, and include amenities such as coffee makers, safes, and robes.

Conference facilities are conveniently located within the hotel, and will provide excellent opportunities for Bouchercon members to mix and mingle between panels, as well as providing ample space for booksellers.

The following pages provide information about the hotel, as well as our current programming plans. The programming is, of course, flexible and will be finalized in early 2010.

We appreciate your consideration. Please feel free to email me with any questions.

Regards,

Rae Helmsworth, Chair

rae@bcon2010.com

Registration- $175 prior to December 31st, 2009, and $195 thereafter.

Hotel

Hyatt Regency, San Francisco

5 Embarcadero Center

San Francisco, California 94111

Dates - Oct.14 to 17

Roomrates- $269 a night

September and October are San Francisco’s busiest time of year. The Hyatt Regency’s rate is typically around $470 per night, so they’ve given us a great discount.

Even with a deep discount, $269 is a higher room rate than Bouchercon usually pays. There are many smaller hotels within easy walking distance or a short cab ride away from the Hyatt, whose rates will be somewhat lower. We will work with Bouchercon attendees to help find alternative accommodations, if they’re desired.

Hotel Amenities

Concierge level available

Smoking rooms available

Each room contains

•Coffee maker

•High speed internet plus data port

•Minibar

•Safe

•Robes

SCHEDULE OUTLINE

WED.

Casual Evening Event
Movie Night
Bay Cruise

THUR.

Afternoon Panels
Welcome Ceremony
Special Event For First Timers

FRI.

Full Day of Panels
High Tea
Free Night

SAT.

Full Day of Panels
Banquet

SUN.

Morning Panels
Brunch

Panel Schedule

9:00 -10:00
10:30-11:30
1:00- 2:00
2:30 - 3:30
4:00 - 5:00

***** the 4:00 panel block may be eliminated depending upon interest
***** we expect to offer 1/2 hour spotlights for those who would like to discuss special topics or have not been assigned panels; again this programming depends upon interest.

BOOK ROOM Daily, beginning at 10:00 am.
*** there will be a gift shop and cafe area
*** location is central to panel areas

Additional Programming and Special Events

The Bouchercon Bar Daily at 1:00 p.m.- reserved area in hotel atrium- bar snacks-

music (tentative)

High Tea Friday Afternoon in the Hotel Atrium- Will be ticketed- Free if Budget allows

Movie Night Wed and or Saturday -at hotel or local theater- fee will probably be required

San Francisco Mystery Walk Lots of material-e.g. Sam Spade's Office

Hospitality Suite - daily 9 to 5 - light snacks- staffed with volunteers

Committee Structure

We expect to complete our committee membership later this year, after acceptance of our bid.

Chair : Rae Helmsworth

Advisors : Ruth and Jon Jordan

Program Board: tbd

Treasurer / Registration tbd

Book room tbd

Banquet and awards tbd

Book bags tbd

Hospitality suite tbd

Guests of Honor

We are in contact with several potential honorees and will publicize names later this year::

•Lifetime Achievement / Contribution to the Genre

•International Guest of Honor

•US Guest of Honor

•Toastmaster

•Fan Guest of Honor

Holy Comic Book News Batman

2008-07-28T06:14:00.002-05:00

Checking back?
Take a look at this post on the PW blog. Scroll towards the end. I have to admit I have my geek on with this one.
Bouchercon mentioned at ComicCon. How cool is this?

DC Comics will be at Bouchercon this fall to roll out the Vertigo Crime Line. That's all I can say at this point. As a fan of both Azzerrello and Rankin, I know this will be an exceptional line. Who else is getting their comic on?? We'll all find out.

Allowing an inspired pool of writers and artists to work within a one book format on tales from the darkside is an impressive piece of management thinking and there's no imprint out there more suited to the task of trying something new than Vertigo, home to both my favorite series and favorite books.

News from the front:

2008-07-27T14:55:00.003-05:00

Auction:
David and Cindy are hard at work and you will be hearing from them. Check out their blog post!

Panels:
Panelists should start hearing from the panel chairs by Aug 15th. The chairs are working diligently now.

Communication:
The wonderful people at Laurie King’s website have set up Bulletin Boards for Bouchercon attendees.
Follow the url and start talking to one another. You do have to register as a member but it’s pretty painless.

Mary Anna Evans has created a Bouchercon page on FaceBook under Events.

I’d like to address Bouchercon’s Future and your role in it.

As you may or may not know with you registration fee you became a part of the process and have an active vote at the General Business Meeting this year. Your membership with this year’s registration extends until the beginning of the Indianapolis Bouchercon. The standing committee is going to ask for the membership to be active in the next several months. I will be posting messages on this blog periodically until Charmed to Death begins. Although each convention and the standing committee are separate entities it is the committee’s feeling that right now this is the fastest and least intrusive way to get the message out to our membership.

And here’s big news

For the year 2010 two bids have been presented to the committee. Both reached us by the July 1st cut off date and were deemed sincere. This means that you will decide where Bouchercon is held at the General Business Meeting this year.

For the year 2011 one bid was presented. The committee has approved the bid and there will be a motion to carry at this year’s General Business Meeting.

There is within the Bouchercon Rules and By-Laws a stipulation that all future bids for upcoming conventions should be presented the first day of the convention. The Standing Committee is waving this wording for 2008 because a portion of the membership would be unable to be active in the discussion. However, we feel it is important to honor the spirit of the wording and so all three bids will use this space this week to present their proposal to our membership minus contract specifics. For the membership who does not yet use the internet there will be copies of all three bids available at this year’s registration tables.

This year’s Standing Committee has been by far the most active of my tenure. It is also a passionate committee, working with the current language to assure the future of Bouchercon. We are asking for our membership to work with us. Your participation will help us to evolve so please make time to attend this year’s meeting and keep checking this blog.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

2008-07-21T06:56:00.002-05:00

On being 70....
So it's my mother-in law's birthday. Karen Jordan has been an inspiration to me since the day I met her. Some of you have met. Karen has attended two Bouchercons. Madison, where she bopped in and out for the day... and Alaska.
While many of Bouchercon's membership decided not to attend the event last year... for either financial or time constraints, those of us who did go had an intimate experience... and the best setting that will ever be. Karen and Jon's dad had always wanted to go to Alaska. Karen going was a dream realized by the entire family.
She loved the locale and I will always remember Karen, Jen4 and myself setting out for our sightseeing tour. I'll always remember Dana Stabenow taking the time on Anthony night to talk to one of her biggest fans about Alaska and her books. And yes, I'll remember forever the poor gentleman who was VERY interested in getting to know her better. When you have friends who write crime fiction.... well.... they can be very protective of Mother.

But today it's 70. With kids like Jon, Jen, Paul and Dianne, it's been tempestuous, active and very rewarding. I look at Armand and Karen's children and I see great individuals. I also see two people who raised their children to believe in dreams and supported them every step of the way. Karen is a mother who believes that ceilings belong only in buildings and that her Children are the best group ever. I tend to concur.
And today I celebrate a class act who's been in my corner from the day I met her, folding me into her brood with open arms and celebrating every major event in my life for the last ten years. So shout out people.... for Karen, keeper of kitties and kids..... and the best mother-in-law ever.

Ruth

Otto Penzler remembers Bouchercon

2008-07-17T05:56:00.002-05:00

Good morning:

First I'd like to let everyone know that the Fell's Point Ghost Tours has set aside four group tours for us at a reduced rate. Click the link to get to our own private tour.

And as promised, again from Otto Penzler Bouchercon, this time year XIV.

BOUCHERCON XIV

When Chris Steinbrunner and I went through names for a suitable Guest of Honor, we got ambitious and decided on the notoriously reclusive John D. MacDonald. I wrote him a long letter, meticulously explaining what the Bouchercon was, why we selected him as G of H, and why he should attend. Weeks went by, then months, with no word. A follow-up letter fared no better. As we were now getting close to deadline for producing the program, I called his house and got his assistant, who said John was on a long cruise with his wife, not due back for a month. Frantic, I asked if he would try to get a message to him as we were on deadline. Two days later, I got a telegram that said: “OTTO–OK–JOHN D.”

Much relieved, we printed the program and congratulated ourselves for this terrific coup. I sent a letter thanking him. A month later, I got a phone call from him in which he asked why was I thanking him and what did he agree to. It seems he got the telegram from his assistant on shipboard at 3:00 a.m. after a long night of drinking. To get rid of the porter, he told him to just say OK.

He lived up to the agreement, making one of his very rare public appearances. A short time before the Bouchercon, I got a call from Stephen King, asking if he could present him the

G of H award at the luncheon. We never announced this until the event, stunning the attenders. John was a wreck. I sat next to him and watched him pop one Valium after another as he was too nervous to eat. When he spoke, he gave one of the most interesting, informative, charming and memorable presentations I have ever heard.

Hey Man!! My Spine's out of Place!!

2008-07-15T19:33:00.002-05:00

I've been at the computer awhile now.

Thanks Mr. Bowie, tonight you are my music of choice. We haven't checked in in a while but boy, we are about to hit you all on many fronts. Bouchercon 2008 is in full swing. Authors keep those bios and pix coming!!

As to registration, for now the cost will remain $175.00. Just keep registering and we'll update you here, at least a week in advance if the rate is going to go up. We want to give you all the best value for your money that we possibly can.

Never have I spent such a large part of my summer in front of a computer terminal. Truly I believe I'm about to merge with the machines, Judy is feeling the same way I know .... but you know what? It's one year and it's been a privilege. And we are getting truly caught up to where we wanted to be thanks to many people. all of you who've sighed a sigh, answered a bizarre e-mail at six in the morning and gone about your day. To the people behind the scenes, love and first born kittens (there will be no babies in this house).

So thank you all. This is a great community and astounding things happen everyday. We started a feature called B-Con memories to keep you all coming back and I hope that anyone who'd like to share a memory, or promised to share one will write to me at ruth@crimespreemag.com . Reading others experiences has been grand.

So as I begin to type in the registrations that have arrived the last two days and coordinate the pay pals that have come in, I will not think of this as work.... instead I'm leaving you with a different kind of Bouchercon Memory.

Otto Penzler is passionate about this genre. He has embraced it in every way, in every guise. A true champion, who always gets people talking simply by sharing his opinions about the state of this giant umbrella now known as Crime Fiction (with 2000 sub genres and counting). For me, he'll remain short story champion, editor extraordinaire, and the guy who dumped me on the floor the first time we interacted. But it's the mystery community and the story is a good one I'm sure this man has long forgotten.

So today and tomorrow... Otto will share his experience hosting TWO Bouchercons. TWO? That proves to me that beyond all his other contributions, OTTO is first and foremost..... one insane fan. So look back and marvel at how far we've come and how once bitten by the Bouchercon Bug you will never be able to let it go.

Ruth

BOUCHERCON VIII - From Otto Penzler

Chris Steinbrunner, my co-author of the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, asked if I wanted to organize a Bouchercon in New York and I said yes. I figured if we were going to do it, we should it with style so I went to the Waldorf-Astoria and got it arranged. I think the registration fee was $8.00 and people were outraged at the stupendous cost and let us know it.

Since it was in New York, a larger number of authors than usual attended, as it gave them a chance to see their editors and agents. The larger number of authors attracted more fans, too, so we had by far the largest Bouchercon participation in the history of the event, nearly tripling the previous record. There were 335 in attendance.

The highlight of the weekend was the luncheon, at which the Guest of Honor was Stanley Ellin. Chris and I felt a little guilty about making Stan the G of H–not because he didn’t deserve it, which of course he did, but because he was such a close friend to both of us that it smacked of favoritism. We got over it.

Many of his books and stories were filmed and televised on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, most notably his acclaimed masterpiece, “The Specialty of the House.” We decided to honor the story as well as him by giving him a roast. Since this is a scary thing for some people, I asked him in advance if it would be okay to do this. He said it was not a problem–just so long as he had the opportunity to respond. There were a lot of very funny authors and fans who participated in roasting the future Grand Master, but no one matched him for wit and, even though he was a Quaker, the brutality of the humor.

Reminder for panelists

2008-07-06T22:04:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder that we need Bios and photos for the program book from all authors and panelists by July 25th.

Bios to kept under 100 words please and the photos don't need to be huge, theu will be about an inch wide in the book.

Both can be emailed to Jon @ crimespreemag.com

Bouchercon progressing right on schedule

2008-06-13T23:33:00.002-05:00

A message from your co chairs

In 2006 the Wyndham Inner Harbor became the Sheraton City Center. Many of you will remember the brief confusion that caused when making reservations to attend Bouchercon 2008, Charmed to Death. The slight inconvenience to us was minimal. Often when a company changes mastheads, there are ramifications for its employees. I’m happy to report that when our host hotel became the Sheraton I saw very little turnover in staff and what little there was occurred almost entirely in management. For the past two years Judy and I have had an entirely stable relationship with everyone at the Sheraton, from the valets who help us out of our cars to the man who delivers late night beverages to our rooms. The staff of the hotel is amongst the most gracious and conscientious I’ve ever had the privilege to meet. Insuring their guests have everything they need for a comfortable stay is a hotel wide point of pride.

Several month’s ago I was contacted by a woman representing UNITE HERE. Was I aware there was a strike? No. Would I move my convention? Not possible. I explained to the woman on the other end of the phone how Bouchercon worked, what was involved and, the next morning got on the phone with the hotel. I was given a pretty detailed description of what was going on, and for anyone who, like myself still believes in the concept of “ONE BIG UNION”, please feel free to e-mail rflann@att.net if you’d like more information than you’re about to get right here or a copy of the NLRB’s letter of dismissal.

The employees are not on strike. They are working without a current contract. A direct result of the mast head changing.

1. Are employees of the Sheraton paying Union dues? The Sheraton hotel is not deducting dues from paychecks. They do not know if individuals are continuing to pay dues to the union.

2. How many contracts have been offered? The Sheraton hotel has had a comprehensive proposal on the table since July 2006.

3. Has the contract been voted on? The Union has told the Sheraton hotel that the members have voted on the proposal once. However, the Union has not provided any proof that this occurred. The Sheraton hotel has urged the Union to revote the proposal and accept it. The Union can accept this proposal at any time.

4. Has any employee lost their job due to the current situation? No employee has lost their job due to negotiations nor anything related to the negotiations.

5. What’s going on with the NLRB(National Labor Relations Board)? The NLRB recently dismissed the Union claim that the company bargained in bad faith; in effect, the NLRB ruled that the hotel has acted lawfully. The NLRB dismissed the Union’s claim.

With four month’s to go until we all hit the ground we sincerely hope the labor issue can be resolved.

Why am I interrupting your weekend with this news? Our membership and in many instances the people they work for or with are getting e-mails and now phone calls and even home visits. These e-mails and phone calls are not from hotel workers. These e-mails and phone calls are not even from Union Members. You are being contacted by an independent company hired by the union to invade your privacy.

We need to give you a head’s up and ask for your help. If you are contacted and are willing to share the e-mail and or phone conversation with us please either e-mail the above address or bcon2008@comcast.net. DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS POST. This company is very good at finding people; with an e-mail address they will have you.

The Sheraton has been very open with me about this labor dispute. Workers have talked to me. The only point of the triangle shrouding itself in secrecy is the Union, UNITE HERE. When I told them that moving the convention was not an option but I’d like to hear their concerns, I was given no answers simply escalated harassment.

The woman in charge of this campaign is Carrie Sallgren. She can be reached at 410-659-2191. This is her work phone.

UNITE HERE can be found at unitehere.org . Unite Here has a fairly good record as unions go although they have used dirty tactics like this in the past unitehereexposed.com .

Again, your two chairs hope you will share any uncomfortable experiences with us through email. We hope that if you have questions you’ll feel free to e-mail us, contact UNITE HERE, or the Sheraton in Baltimore. Our biggest hope is that all sides are expending as much energy in resolving the contract negotiations as they are on us. With four months to go and after two years, it’s high time this situation was resolved. We are not willing to break the law, dismiss contracts signed in good faith, or jeopardize Bouchercon to do this.

The 2008 Anthony Award Nominations

2008-06-01T00:55:00.000-05:00

Without further Ado.....

The 2008 Anthony Award Committee, led by John Purcell is pleased to present this year’s nominations for works published and done in the year 2007. The Bouchercon Membership of both 2007 and 2008 have determined this year’s nominees. All awards will be voted on and presented at Bouchercon 2008- Charmed to Death. Congratulations to the nominees and thank you to our membership.

The 2008 Anthony Award Nominees

Best Novel:

James Lee Burke-Tin Roof Blowdown- Simon and Schuster

Lee Child – Bad Luck and Trouble Delacorte Press

Robert Crais- The Watchman Simon and Schuster

William Kent Krueger-Thunder Bay Atria

Laura Lippman – What the Dead Know William Morrow

Best First Novel:

Sean Chercover- Big City, Bad Blood William Morrow

Tana French- In the Woods Viking Adult

Lisa Lutz-The Spellman Files Simon and Schuster

Craig MacDonald- Head Games Bleak House Books

Marcus Sakey- The Blade Itself St. Martin Minotaur

Best Paperback Original

Megan Abbott- Queenpin Simon and Schuster

Ken Bruen and Jason Starr – Slide Hard Case Crime

David Corbett- Blood of Paradise Ballantine Books

Robert Fate- Baby Shark’s Beaumont Blues Capital Crime Press

P.J. Parrish- A Thousand Bones Pocket

Short Story

Rhys Bowen- Please Watch Your Step- (The Strand Magazine-Spring 07)

Steve Hockensmith-Dear Dr. Watson- (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

Toni L. P. Kelner - How Stella Got her Grave Back - (Many Bloody Returns edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner) for Ace Hardcover

Laura Lippman- Hardly Knew Her - (Dead Man’s Hand edited by Otto Penzler) for Harcourt

Daniel Woodrell -Uncle – (A Hell of A Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir edited by Megan Abbott) for Busted Flush Press

Critical Work

Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower & Charles Foley Penguin

The Essential Mystery Lists Compiled by Roger Sobin Poisoned Pen Press

The Triumph of the Thriller: How Cops, Crooks and Cannibals Captured Popular Fiction – Patrick Anderson Random House

Deviance in Contemporary Crime Fiction- Christiana Gregoriou Palgrave MacMillan

Special Services

Jon and Ruth Jordan- Crime Spree Magazine

Ali Karim- Shotz Magazine

Maddy Van Hertbruggen- 4MA

Sarah Weinman- Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind

Judy Bobalik- for being one of the best friends and supporters of mystery writers anywhere

Web Site

Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind- Sarah Weinman

Rap sheet/January Magazine –J Kingston Pierce

Murderati – A Writer’s Blog

Stop You’re Killing Me- Stan Ulrich & Lucinda Surber

Crime Fiction Dossier- David Montgomery

Two to go, With Charmed's # 1

2008-05-31T08:33:00.003-05:00

Pretend it's Friday,
Yesterday went by too fast. Judy and I were on the phone Thursday evening and we're both getting pretty psyched here in the midwest. The Convention feels real. Abstract moving into let's get going and do this. Today I'll be updating twice, beginning with Mr. Ted Hertel who was the first person to sign on for Charmed to Death way back when. Member number 1 is part of the home team in my heart and with the rest of the 99 Bouchercon Committee, entirely responsible for my commitment to this con.

From Ted

My Bouchercon memories stretch back to the first Milwaukee con in 1981 when I knew Gary Warren Niebuhr only as some guy who occasionally sold me books out of his house and who thought I might be trying to rip him off when I gave him a check instead of cash. I hadn’t even known there was such a thing as mystery fandom – thought I was the only one crazy enough to collect books and want to meet authors. So picking just one memory out of nearly three decades of fandom might be impossible. But I’ll try.

Should I talk about that ’81 Bouchercon where Mickey Spillane sat in the audience doing the Mystery Science Theater 3000 thing with his movie The Girl Hunters, yelling hilarious comments at the screen the whole time? Or the 1990 London convention where nothing seemed to go right, where we struggled with the worst venue ever, where tours were cancelled without notice or refund, where P.D. James inscribed a book to my wife Maggie as “Neggie”? No, probably that’s not it. Or the ’93 Omaha con where the hotel was under construction and there was so much noise and confusion no one could figure out what was going on. Yes, I think I’ll start there – or at least right after that, since on the way back in the car with Gary, Beth Fedyn, and Bev DeWeese, Gary spent literally hours outlining plans for a convention honoring the Private Eye Writers of America, the convention that would become the first Eyecon, held in Milwaukee in 1995. Gary asked each of us to take a job (I was Local Arrangements Chair). And it was after that very successful effort that Gary and I took the plunge and agreed to put on the second Milwaukee Bouchercon as co-chairs.

We worked for 3 ½ years to coordinate that convention and had a great time doing it. We weren’t sure at first if our friendship would survive the process (I mean, come on, the man wouldn’t even take my checks without running six credit checks on me, along with requiring two forms of identification!), but it did and it’s still going strong (not to mention many other friendships that grew out of the experience). So that’s a great memory.

But beyond that, probably my other favorite memory of the whole experience was working (though Doug Greene, of Crippen & Landru) with Richard Dannay, son of Fred Dannay, one-half of the Ellery Queen writing team, to obtain permission from the Queen trusts to put on a performance of a Queen radio play entitled “The Adventure of the Murdered Moths.” And what a cast we assembled. My wife Maggie played the part of Nikki Porter, Michael Z. Lewin was Inspector Queen, Gary Phillips was Sgt. Velie. Other cast members included S. J. Rozan, Parnell Hall, Ed Goldberg, Les Roberts, Keith Snyder, Sandy Balzo (as The Anacin Girl) and Jerry Healy (as The Announcer). Gary did the sound effects. Max Allan Collins and his wife Barbara were the guest detectives who had to solve the crime (Al did a respectable job with a plausible solution). And I had the opportunity to play the role of my favorite fictional detective, Ellery Queen himself. The event was the best attended of the entire convention. It drew over 450 people – standing room only in one of the very large convention hall rooms. It was a great time with a tremendous cast of characters – and I do mean “characters.”

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Baltimore!

THREE DAYS DOWN

2008-05-30T06:45:00.002-05:00

With three days to go until the big announcement today's memory comes from Sean Chercover, Sean's second book Trigger City will be out in October.
First Bouchercon Memories

Sean Chercover

My first Bouchercon was Toronto ’04. Not only my first Bouchercon, but my first mystery convention . . . and my first fan convention of any kind, for that matter.

I had no idea what I was in for.

It was also a bit of a “coming out” for me. I’d made many online friends on the RAM (rec.arts.mystery) Usenet group. They knew me as a fellow online fan, but most did not know my secret.

See, I’d written a book. Well, a manuscript. But I’d been reluctant to tell anyone until it was done. I set Bouchercon as my deadline for revisions. Now I was done, and ready to look for an agent.

So I came out. Told people about the manuscript (and had some copies to give out to online friends for feedback).

They were all very kind, and none said, “You idiot – what makes you think I would want to lug 356 loose pages in a box, all the way back to . . . California . . . Pennsylvania . . . Wisconsin . . . England.”

No, they were very kind and took the damn pages with them. And they were, without exception, supportive of my crazy idea that I might actually be able to write one of these things.

Meeting these online friends was a fantastic experience. Jon and Ruth immediately took me under their wing and introduced me around. And the RAMmers suddenly had faces to go with their names. Mark Allan Miller and Kat Richardson and John Purcell and Jen and Jeremy and Sandi and Sarah and Patricia and Soren (who is missed, and will be forever) and Mitchy and Rik and Beth and Donna and on and on…

It was quite a party, and online acquaintances quickly became good friends.

And this is where I first learned of the welcoming and supportive nature of mystery authors. It is so often repeated that it sounds trite. But it’s true.

Joe Konrath took me to a nearby bar and told me everything he’d learned about the ‘finding an agent’ dance. Many authors graciously ignored my fanboy moments and offered encouragement and advice. Lee Child was exceedingly kind. Walter Mosley pretended not to notice me staring at him like a hero-worshiping puppy.

The after-hours bar scene was intense, and little sleep was had that weekend. And I picked up a new addiction. A Bouchercon addiction.

It’s an addiction I never want to kick.

See ya in Baltimore.

Four Days to Go!! And Memories to Grow On

2008-05-28T20:14:00.002-05:00

Let’s Count Down Together

The Anthony Nominations Are Coming!!!

Sunday, June 1st all will be revealed. Check Back Here Daily for doses of memory and appreciation while we all wait.

Today’s Memory is from American GOH Laura Lippman. I have no huge preamble, I’m glad we met and am excited to read everything she writes. She is someone who inspires me on a lot of levels but mainly I’m happy to call her Friend.

I have attended 11.5 Bouchercons to date; I give myself only half-credit for St. Paul, in 1996, because I wasn't a registered attendee, just a pre-published writer lurking on the fringes -- having a drink with my editor, going to a publisher's dinner where I met some kid named Dennis Lehane. I wonder whatever happened to him?

But of all the outstanding memories -- my bridal shower in Madison, winning the Anthony, losing the Anthony (William Kent Krueger is my kryptonite!), taking Chris Mooney as my Bouchercon husband, laughing late into the night with my frequent roommate, Sujata Massey -- my best memories are what I call the Bouchercon breaks. Because Bouchercon, lovely as it is, can be overwhelming. And to truly enjoy it, you need to remember to take a time-out. To drive to Big Sur, as Sue Trowbridge and I did in 1997, when our futures seemed as winding and unknowable as the road before us. Or even a simple lunch, as Keith Snyder and I enjoyed in Denver in 1999, where we ended up talking about theremins; I could carry my end of the conversation only because a theremin features prominently in Marjorie Morningstar. A bike ride in Anchorage. For the past few years, I've also tried to have dinner with writers I usually see only at Bouchercon -- Mark Billingham, John Connolly, my aforementioned Bouchercon husband Chris, Karin Slaughter. A meal, a drink, a walk -- a few minutes away will actually enhance the Bouchercon experience.

With Mark and me as officiants, if you will, -- hey, it's a kind of religious experience -- that might be hard to do this year in Baltimore. So it goes. As those who have heard my spiel on the road know, I firmly believe that book tours are about readers. At Bourchercon, this is even more true, and it's a delicate balance. As much as we solitary writers delight in the company of our peers, the readers take priority. So while I advocate Bouchercon breaks, it would be a shame to attend only to check-out altogether.

Meanwhile, what Bouchercon memories do others wish they had? I'd give anything to have been there when Ruth and Jon met. (Legend has is that Val McDermid and Ian Rankin did witness this.) Or to have been a fly on the wall when James Crumley and Ken Bruen spent an evening talking in Las Vegas. Also, I recall a rumor of John Connolly wearing a cowboy hat. And Alison Gaylin table-dancing. Or was it Megan Abbott? But now I fear that we are in the territory of Bouchercon myths and legends, perhaps a future topic for this blog.

From the Front

2008-05-17T14:01:00.002-05:00

Bouchercon News!!

Hi all. Thanks to all for the number of early registrations. We are well on our way to a great Membership for 2008. People have not only registered early but they’ve booked their hotel rooms as well and as a result the Sheraton City Center is now full. There is space in the Radisson . Remember to mention Bouchercon-Charmed to death for the room rate of 175 a night (single)/195 a night (double). The two hotels are literally side by side and have a 15 yard walkway connecting them which leads right onto the events floor.

The deadline for submitting selections for the Anthony Awards is passed. We have begun to tabulate your nominees and offer thanks to all who participated. It was a gratifying percentage of the membership. For John’s peace of mind I ask everyone to refrain from trying to submit votes. We will announce our nominees on the 1st of June.

We’ve been working on the auction and just this week the remarkable Janet Costello has had to withdraw as our Auction Chair for personal reasons. She will still be attending the big dance and I’m sure we’ll all want to be as generous as the mystery community always is.

Finally, Judy and I have to thank all the organizations and publishers who’ve offered sponsorships, the writers and mystery experts who’ve offered to be on panels and the many individuals who’ve offered ideas, suggestions, their time and their support.

Ruth

What Bouchercon kick started

2008-05-14T21:38:00.003-05:00

I have a lot of Bouchercon memories. A lot of them swirl into a hazy mix of excitement and joy. An over whelming feeling of trying to be everywhere and do everything. And after doing it for years it doesn't go away.
A defining moment for me was obviously meeting Ruth at Bouchercon. It changed my life in a lot of ways and led to other moments.

We started the idea for Crimespree at breakfast in Las Vegas and decided to go for it by the pool later that weekend. I remember celebrating my sister's birthday in Austin, screaming and jumping when Barbara Seranella won an Anthony in Madison, watching newcomer Steven Booth sign books in DC, meeting a very outgoing New Yorker named Reed in Austin and thinking "wow, he's enthusiastic!"(who would later become one of my favorite people), watching Ian Rankin tell Loren Estleman that he's a huge fan, Sara Paretsky wearing a London Bobbie's hat in Toronto...
The list goes on and on. I could literally do this for hours.

Most of my memories are of meeting people for the first time who would go onto become close friends, people from all over the world and all walks of life. Being surrounded for four to five days by more than 1500 people who share a passion for some thing with you is an incredible experience. It's like a drug that always leaves me winded and wanting more.

But my favorite memory after meeting Ruth would have to be Chicago. Barbara Seranella came to the conference, still recovering from treatments. I cried when I saw her I was so happy. The next day she was passing out onions to people and she threw one to me from the escalator. They were wrapped with a note that said
"You can eat the onion, I'm keeping the liver".
I still have the note.

And when ever I think that the magazine may be a little too much for me, when I get tired of doing the day to day things that I don't always want to do, when ever I debate taking the easy way I think of that note and Barbara who said to me in Chicago "Nothing stops me from coming to Bouchercon".

Jon Jordan

Midnight Looms-

2008-04-30T16:57:00.002-05:00

Please join me first in celebrating the best Mystery has to offer. That's right, fresh off of Malice Domestic the mystery community has jumped into Edgar Week. Our own committee's Sarah Weinman will be live blogging from the Edgar Awards tomorrow night. I'm on pins and needles because this year's list is full of people whose work would stand up in any year.

And I don't like to interrupt but it is also the Deadline for Anthony Award Nominations tonight, so please if you haven't voted yet and would like to, do it now. We have ties in several categories. Don't remember where your ballot is? E-mail me and I'll send it to you, now.
Thank You for your time,
Ruth Jordan
co-chair Bouchercon 39 "CharmedtoDeath"

Bouchercon Memories- An ode to 1981

2008-04-14T18:26:00.002-05:00

Today's guest is Max Allan Collins. What can one say of this man that hasn't been said. Having just finished STRIP FOR MURDER I felt this was a great time to put his memory up. You see, he did it to me again. I finished an entirely satisfying mystery and then had to go and google the protagonists in a quest for the parallels between the actual history and the fictional. As a result I now know more about the Joe Palooza strip than I ever intended. My question for Al as he stumbles upon this intro is what happened to the real Moe after he left the strip, I'm not finding anything. Okay so this intro was really an unnecessary tangent.

Collins memory is an example of just what can happen at Bouchercon... How life long friendships are formed and can last beyond the grave. So enjoy and remember you don't want to miss this year's event. See you next time,
Ruth

Max Allan Collins
Here, predictably, is my biggest Bouchercon memory:

In 1981, because of my longtime defense of Mickey Spillane in mystery fandom, I was asked to be the con's liaison between it and Mickey when he was a special guest there, his very first appearance not just at a Bouchercon but at any mystery-fan event. I was very nervous, because Mickey had only answered one of my many, many letters to him, starting back in my junior high days. The one time he responded was when I sent him BAIT MONEY and BLOOD MONEY, in 1973 -- my first two novels (published simultaneously); he dropped me a warm letter welcoming me into the business as a fellow pro.

I'd heard some stories about Mickey being a handful, including turning on an interviewer who asked him something on a touchy subject, and also shooting up first editions sent to him for autographs and sending them back instead pocked with .45 slugs. The night before I barely slept -- if my idol had feet of clay, like the rest of us, I would be crushed.

So I was taken by Con organizers to Mickey's hotel room, where Mickey came out -- looking shorter than I'd expected but broad-shouldered and an intimidating figure -- and the con rep said, "Mickey, this is Max Collins." And Mickey said, "I know Max -- we've been corresponding for years!" To which I said, "That's right, Mickey -- one hundred letters from me, one letter from you." He roared with laughter and our great friendship began.

Free Tee Shirts- Bouchercon Memories

2008-04-09T18:19:00.003-05:00

Tonight's memory comes from author Robert Levinson. Bob is one of those people who makes every room he enters a little more friendly, a lot more interesting. And his memory reiterates that Bouchercon is both circular and of a straight line. He attended his first B-Con two years before I even heard of the event and four before I started pronouncing it Bow-sure-con rather than the boo-che-con I assumed to be correct. My first Bouchercon was in fact the one where Bob felt at home and it took several more years for us to become friends.

You can find more on Bob at his website and be sure to read the new book, IN THE KEY OF DEATH.

MEMORIES OF MY FIRST BOUCHERCON

1991.

Wow!

Ancient history—the year I attended my first Bouchercon, obliging a pal from the Writers Guild of America, Craig Miller, who'd asked me to serve on a panel at this convention for mystery writers and fans in Pasadena, CA. That's it, all I knew, except that Pasadena was an easy freeway drive from the house, I'd be on stage with William Link, another WGA member and one of two convention guests of honor, I'd receive a free t-shirt by way of thanks, and, oh yeah—did I know anybody at a newspaper who might be willing to talk about crime?

I put in a call to Niesen Himmel at the Times, whom I knew from my own newspaper years. Himmel was a reporter's reporter. He'd covered the Black Dahlia day-and-date and ever since insisted the investigation was a cover-up by the police department of the day.
"What the hell's a Bouchercon?" he said. I told him what I knew. It sounded like the free t-shirt appealed to him. Anyway, he was in.

Came the day, my wife Sandra and I walked into the host hotel and confronted hundreds of faces that meant mostly nothing to us, except for Jonathan Kellerman, Lawrence Block and a few other authors we recognized from their book jacket photos. (Understand, I was reading mysteries, trying to get the hang of what they were all about before I tried writing one, but it would be eight years before I managed to get my first novel, "The Elvis and Marilyn Affair," written and published.)

We found Craig and his wife, Ginny, at the registration desk, got a badge and a book bag, checked for promised comp t-shirt, and killed some time over coffee in the author's green room, where we were introduced to the convention's other guest of honor, the remarkably prolific and now sorely-missed Ed Hoch. Was this fate or what? Ed's greatest fans were Sandra and our daughter, Deborah. I rustled up from somewhere copies of his anthology, "Leopold's Way," and a bibliography prepared for Bouchercon .22 and asked Ed to sign them. (He took visible delight at the request, breaking into the broad smile that I'd come to know as something of his trademark.)

Show time.

Our panel played to about fifty people packed into a room designed for two hundred and fifty. The world has little noted or long remembered what was said there that morning. I do recall Himmel and I fielding a few comments, but audience focus was understandably on the iconic Bill Link and the murders he wrote (and produced) for his creations Jessica Fletcher and Columbo, along with other writing that landed him in the TV Hall of Fame.

Afterward, consoling Himmel, whose L t-shirt wasn't going to make it on his XL body, and taking a fast spin around the book room and the lobby, Sandra and I hit the freeway for home. It wouldn't be until Bouchercon '99, "Murder in the Midwest," in Milwaukee, that I attended with a sense of belonging, looking forward to my spot on the "first-time authors" panel, and experiencing everything else a Bouchercon had to offer.

# # # #

"What is it, a website?" Bouchercon Memories

2008-04-07T06:49:00.002-05:00

Today's Memory comes from Rae Helmsworth. Rae is someone who found Bouchercon more recently than many who have posted on the blog so far but has the bug just as badly as anyone who's ever attended. Maybe someday she'll share the secret of how she looks just as refreshed on Sunday as on Thursday.

This year I’ll be attending my fifth Bouchercon, and have the privilege, thanks to the wonderful Jordans and the fabulous Judy Bobalik, of helping a bit. Or at least they’re letting me tell myself I’m helping.

Bouchercon appeared on my horizon in 2003. I had stumbled into Lee Child’s Forum earlier that year, and had found the regulars there to be nice, intelligent, and, well, normal. And then they started talking about this thing called Bouchercon. I had no idea what it was: A website? A book store? A club? I finally figured out that it was a gathering of crime fiction fans, and that it was to be held in Las Vegas that year. It looked to be pretty interesting, but I didn’t have enough nerve to attend. Afterwards though, I started hearing about how much fun it had been,
and decided that, darn it, I was going to Toronto in 2004.

I registered, and immediately started regretting it. What if it wasn’t fun? What if the people weren’t nice? Ack!

Then, a few weeks before I boarded the plane to Toronto, Janine Wilson, an ORC (Original Reacher Creature) and bookseller extraordinaire (Seattle Mystery Bookshop) emailed and asked if I’d like to join some of the Reacher Creatures for dinner one night. I began to think it might all be OK.

And it was. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t just OK, it was great. I met people who have become real friends, and have loved every Bouchercon since.

I have a mental scrapbook full of wonderful B’Con memories; the conversations, the panels, the dinners, the special moments that will stay with me forever: that dinner with the Reacher Creatures in Toronto; sitting with Cornelia Read on the patio of a bar in Chicago; lunch with a gang of people in Madison; seeing Alaska’s governor give a humor-filled welcome speech in Anchorage.

Every Bouchercon is different; each one has its own distinct personality. But every Bouchercon is also the same; hosted by dedicated volunteers; attended by book enthusiasts who are ready to play;
inclusive, exhausting, and exhilarating.

I can’t wait to get to Baltimore.

The case of the lethal librarian-Bouchercon memories

2008-04-05T07:46:00.000-05:00

Today's guest is a good friend and true champion of mystery. Penny Halle is tireless in her quest for a good read and not nearly as chameleon as she thinks she is. She'll be in Baltimore unless that first grandchild comes early, in fact the whole family including son Tim and daughter Christy are going to try and convince the obstetrician that a trip to Baltimore the week before your due date is a good idea....

When Bouchercon came to my hometown, Milwaukee, in 1999, I was determined to attend. I had heard about this great convention and thought this would be as close to Nirvana as I would ever get. Mysteries had always been my literature of choice and the mere thought of being with like minded readers and authors who create these fine stories made me light headed. Although popular belief is I was born short stacked.

By the time the great day arrived, I'd selected 8 books to get signed from my small but growing private library, a sweater for over air-conditioned rooms and a small lunch of cheese, crackers and fruit. I stowed everything in my "Give a Mouse a Cookie" book bag (later to be renamed "killer") and packed every other possible necessity in my purse.

I practiced my chameleon skills, blending in to any background, silently moving from one spot to the next, listening with rapt attention and trying not to stare. I had envisioned the day, authors hovering inches above the floor, gliding in pools of celestial light, the faint echo of heralding trumpets as they moved in and out of rooms, and if not pearls of wisdom at least conversations more interesting than Cataloging 101, or the current condition of a grandchild's diaper rash. And I would be privy to all of this! Little did I know what lay in store for me that fateful week end.

My long suffering husband chauffeured me to the front doors of the magnificent Hilton Hotel (I really am a disaster driving downtown.). I waved good-bye and whirled around only to bump, what an understatement, I crashed, over-stuffed purse and loaded book bag smack into a very large man. I didn't knock him over but I did stagger the poor guy. At the time I didn't know who it was I brought so close to the Grim Reaper, but I soon learned. After that near miss, I carefully made my way to registration only to be given another weapon, a wonderful and fully stuffed book bag/brief case!

I carefully considered the morning line-up and chose the panels I wanted to attend. I found a seat for the first group and unloaded. Pioneers heading west didn't carry as much as
I did that day. I was perusing the room when I noticed the authors for the panel filing in. Horror of horrors, who should be leading the pack but man I nearly turned into road kill.
Frantically, I looked for an exit. How was I supposed to gracefully leave with two fully loaded book bags, an over stuffed purse and to top it all, I was sitting in the middle of the
second row,so much for chameleon techniques. I was trapped! About the same time I came to realize I was doomed, the big man spotted me, pointed and shook his head. All through the introductions he kept eye contact and every so often rubbed the very spot on his chest that I pummeled. I squirmed and turned purple. But that is not the end to this story, I tried once again at the Madison Bouchercon to flatten him. This time I'm blaming the uber- crowd at the Crimespree party. During the course of that first Bouchercon, I rammed several other authors and ended up knocking down and sitting on another. A killer book bag is my story and I'm sticking to it. I never really apologized to my first victim, so, Mr. Gary Phillips, I'm so very sorry. If
you don't remember, that is just fine with me.

That first Bouchercon taught me a lot. There is no angelic light or whispering trumpet music. The authors really do want to talk to people like me (with or without book bags). Readers want to talk about the books they're reading. Everyone is interested and interesting. Stand still for a minute or sit down for a drink and someone will begin a conversation. I'm still a bit of a chameleon, fading away to lurk and listen but now I don't carry a fully loaded book bag.

Penny Halle
Muskego Public Library
Chair Murder and Mayhem In Muskego

Those were some cool f#*@ing Chairs- Bouchercon Memories

2008-04-01T22:51:00.004-05:00

Hello All,
As you know if you’ve been checking in I’ve been slacking on the Bouchercon Memory front. Poor Graham over at Crime Spot. He puts me on his list and I go down to twice a week. The truth is I’ve been busy. But I’m back and motivated. Baltimore is coming fast. For all of our friends and acquaintances who’ve been waiting for an e-mail asking for a memory, please go ahead and just send me one at ruth@crimespreemag.com. A little business first and then on to an appropriate and great memory. You’ll see in just a minute…

About the Anthony Awards… Please if you’ve received a ballot, take a minute and fill it out. If you want to save the price of a stamp e-mail John Purcell. His e-mail is at the top of your ballot and he’ll send you to fill out via computer if you so choose.

Also, for those 100 or so people who e-mailed us last year asking where to submit your book for consideration for the Anthony… I’ve talked about it on this blog, you’ve heard it at and within different venues but the Anthony is, and always was, the People’s Choice Award of the Mystery World. If a person has attended the previous convention or is registered to attend the current convention by the cut off date, they are sent a blank ballot and asked to submit their five favorites in every category. Don’t have five? Send the ones you do… they will count. The Anthony is not a committee award but an award that comes from your community. This is what makes it special… We’ve only got 15 days left people, so if you want to be part of the process, register for Charmed to Death by April 15th. Remember a pool of about 3,000 people who read every day are responsible for these nominations.

And now, on to the show….

Today’s guest is one of mystery’s most generous people. He’d tell you differently. He likes to think he’s a hardboiled guy and pictures of him smiling are rare. Anthony Neil Smith is one of our great souls, a teacher by day, an author hungry to write the best novel out there by night. He is a harsh critic and a great teacher. The web site Plots with Guns produced some of the first stories from authors everyone talks about today. Neil is an amazing editor, giving Plots with Guns a quest for substance that outweighs many “in-print” anthologies. I’m happy to report it’s back. Better yet? The book YELLOW MEDICINE is surreal and excellently executed. If anyone had told me I’d ever read a book about Meth and Terrorism set in the cold Midwest without having to reach far, far into my suspension of disbelief, I’d have given them “the look”. You all know “the look”. Neil embraces “the look”. But in what is both a marriage of and an evolutionary leap from his first two published novels, Neil puts the yellow back into the snow and the medicinal effects back into mystery. Humorous, Frightening and altogether Real, YELLOW MEDICINE stands out. He’s going to hate my fragmented sentences, but one woman’s opinion……

"My first Bouchercon was D.C., 2001. Flew into Reagan National about six weeks after 9/11. And it was touch and-go on if the airport would even be open, but it was--alas with armed National Guard brigades.

What I'll never forget is how, within the first few hours of arriving on Thursday, Victor Gischler and I had settled in at the bar and started gathering people over to have a drink with us. Several PWG writers, plus Vicki Hendricks and my friend Martin Hegwood, which led to Vicki introducing us to Michael Connelly, which eventually led to us meeting Sean Doolittle, coming over to crime from the horror clique right as DIRT had been published. What surprised us was how it all felt so comfortable. Still a little star-struck, but not so much. We were finding our place in the crime fiction community, and having a good time drinking as we did.

I swear I met at least thirty or forty people I'd only known through email before. And it started to show us that, yes, folks were reading the stuff we were writing. Then we got to hobnob with the guys from Uglytown, Jim and Tom treating several of their authors (and me) to dinner at a Korean barbecue joint.

Gischler and I also took a whirlwind tour of the Mall, stumbling across a Smithsonian exhibit of some famous furniture maker. Those were some cool fucking chairs."

Until next time… don’t change that channel….
Ruth & Neil

A Word From Gary-Bouchercon memories

2008-03-27T19:18:00.002-05:00

Today's memory is from the man who gave me my first official Bouchercon memory. Gary Warren Niebuhr at the registration desk in Milwaukee 99. "G*##, Hey you don't mind being from Minnesota, do you?" There was a glitch in the badge printer, and Gary and Ted wanted everything to run smoothly. For the rest of the weekend he'd stop me and ask if I was enjoying myself. I'm going to do my best to emulate him this year as a host. He's written some of the genre's best reference books, he's had perhaps the best PI collection in the country, he works tirelessly in both our community and as a national advocate for adult literacy. And always, there is the spirit of a little kid. Each moment is unique and Gary embraces them all. He has indeed payed it forward.

My ultimate Bouchercon memory did not take place at a Bouchercon. It took place in the West Allis Public Library's Lincoln Branch when Mary Ann Grochowski walked into my place of work and asked if I wanted to help run the a mystery convention in Milwaukee in 1981.

That simple offer from an uber-fan to a neophyte like me is what set me on a course of commitment to the spirit of Bouchercon. All who are attending should remember that for the health of future Bouchercons and mystery fandom in general, reaching out a hand and helping someone into the "inner circle" is crucial. Pay it forward.

As to 1981, it was quite a convention. Can you believe that everyone who attended went to the same program all day long--yes, there was only one track of programming. Our guest of honor was Mickey Spillane, sponsored by Miller Brewery. Because Mickey was still a little controversial at the time, we had a young fan and writer shadow him the whole time to make sure his experience was great. That young man was Max Allan Collins.

One of the goals of Bouchercon way back then was to honor authors who had contributed to the genre but may have slipped from the mystery conscience. So we invite Helen McCloy, a fine writer on her own, but also the widow of Brett Halliday. Also on the docket was William Campbell Gault, a Milwaukee born mystery writer who always claimed he made more money on his children's fiction than his adult crime novels.

After 1981, I got involved with a local mystery book discussion group called The Cloak and Clue Society but it would be six years before I could afford to attend another Bouchercon. Since then, other than a London and Nottingham, I have made it to every Bouchercon. I even had the pleasure, in 1999, to co-host, with Ted Hertel, another Bouchercon in my hometown. My second best Bouchercon memory is receiving the invitation to be the Fan Guest of Honor at the 2004 Bouchercon in Toronto, something I consider the feather in my cap of two and one-half decades of fan activity.

So, maybe you could invite someone to attend the Bouchercon in Baltimore? Or, when you are there, maybe you could take some time to talk to someone new, someone lost, someone not in the "inner circle." They might be a person who someday will host a Bouchercon in a city somewhere where you will have a great time.

Welcome to Wednesday- Bouchercon Memories

2008-03-26T13:28:00.003-05:00

Louise Penny is one of those special souls who when you meet them you feel as if you've known her forever. Her memory rather surprised me.... Really? I only met you in Madison? Of course we had the Ayo connection beforehand. Coming off of an extremely "Charmed" Year, Ms. Penny's newest book, THE CRUELEST MONTH has just been released in the U.S. For More on her work and life you can visit her at www.louisepenny.com

My very first Bouchercon was in Madison, Wisconsin, and I was overwhelmed. Scared, intimidated, shy, my first book STILL LIFE only just out so I really felt like an imposter. It was, actually, our first mystery convention ever. My husband Michael and I bumbled around, smiling but feeling out-of-place. But suddenly that changed, and what made the difference was finding Julia Spencer-Fleming. I was on the prowl for her, to thank her for her kindness in blurbing STILL LIFE and promoting it. Extremely generous. Well, not only did I find her and her husband Ross, but they invited Michael and me out for dinner with Pat and Mary Lou, from The Raven Bookstore in Lawrence, Kansas. Suddenly we went from feeling very out of place to feeling very at home. An extraordinary transition, made possible through kindness. And the remarkable Julia Spencer-Fleming. It's the sort of generous act I hope never to forget, and will guide my own actions at all other conventions. To reach out to newcomers.

Bouchercon Memories. California Here We Come

2008-03-22T09:19:00.004-05:00

Oline H. Cogdill is the mystery fiction columnist for the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Her reviews also are picked up by about 250 newspapers around the world. Her blog is at www.Sun-Sentinel.com/offthepage. That's Oline's bio. Short and Succient. It should be mentioned here that Oline is a reviewers' reviewer. Her insight into the books we read is amazing and her standards are high. And her love for crime fiction? Endless... Enjoy the weekend and I'll be back on Monday. Ruth

My first Bouchercon was the 1997 Monterrey conference chaired by the charming and gracious Toby and Bill Gottfried. I will never forget that lovely couple’s kindness to me and their ability to be the epitome of grace under pressure.

I had just been reviewing for about three or four years at that time and, frankly, didn’t really know Bouchercon was until an author explained it to me. (Keep in mind, this was a long time ago; I had just discovered the wonderful DorothyL!)

My husband and I had just been married a year and decided to go. We both love California, especially the Monterrey area. Fortunately, he’s as big a mystery fan as I am. We first spent a lovely week first in San Jose where we saw a couple of plays (we are also theater people), then Monterrey, Carmel, the Hearst castle and wondering just what was the Bouchercon going to be.

It was going to be wonderful. I learned I was in a place I pretty much always wanted to be, surrounded by as many mystery authors, booksellers, etc., learning more about the genre, who the up-and-coming authors would be, why the ones who’ve been around for years were still turning out novels that we continue to love. I think that was one of the largest Bouchercons and I think (the Gottfrieds know better than I) that it may have topped 2,300? I remember the book room was so big that my husband and I lost each other for a couple of hours.

I also remember being thrilled to be asked to be on a panel that was moderated by Janet Rudolph. I actually couldn’t believe anyone knew who I was; I also remember having several panic attacks before because (a) it was my first panel; (b) I figured everyone else on the panel knew more than I and (c) why would anyone care what I had to say. I still thank Janet for allowing me to be on that panel.

My husband had been talking to Laura Lippman in the hall and, since they were both journalists talking about the state of newspapers, he mentioned that his wife was on the reviewers’ panel and she actually said, “Is your wife Oline Cogdill?” Like I said, I didn’t think anyone knew my name.

But what I most remember, and have taken bits from each Bouchercon since, is meeting the authors and hearing how they view their work. I still have the tapes from that conference and sometimes re-play them for some insight.

I remember meeting Harlan Coben for the first time. During our conversation a reader came over to congratulate him and instead of talking about the Shamus he had just won for Fade Away, he started talking about his new baby and how thrilled he and his wife were. I thought this guy was pretty cool. Harlan, of course, has gone on to write more novels, win more awards and, most importantly, have more children.

This was the Bouchercon where I met Val McDermid, Nevada Barr, Ian Rankin; had a long conversation with Julie Smith in the hall; talked to Sara Paretsky in the book room; told Charlaine Harris how much I enjoyed her Shakespeare series and she said that her local paper ran my review with the headline “Book readable.”? We still wish we’d taken up Michael Connelly’s offer to sit with him during the awards dinner where he won best novel for The Poet.

I’ve been to each Bouchercon since, except for Alaska and that was because we’d taken a family cruise there the year before, and plan to go to often in the future. My husband often still comes with me or, if it is in the Midwest, my best friend often comes. A few years ago, we started bringing my brother-in-law, Peter, who is high-functioning autistic and a huge fan of the genre. No matter how authors may feel about me (!), everyone is gracious to Peter and I thank them for that.

Each Bouchercon has reinforced my appreciation of the genre. While meeting an author will not influence whether I like the novel or not, it does let me peek behind the curtain. (And, please, don’t offer to buy me a drink or lunch; I’ll drink and eat with you, but I have to pay my own way.)

My reviews are pretty widely published now and the Sun-Sentinel’s Books Editor and I have a books blog ourselves at www-sun-sentinel.com/offthepage. But what hasn’t changed is my appreciation of Bouchercon. Baltimore, for Bill, Peter and myself, here we come.

a one day delay in posting memories

2008-03-21T14:58:00.002-05:00

Ruth made a joke about Milwaukee and snow and I think someone heard her.
Her flight back from Baltimore was diverted because the airport here in Milwaukee was shut down due to snow. So while I waited at the airport watching the landing time change a few times then disappear she was circling the city and finally landed in Chicago at Midway. Three hours later they promised a bus would be coming to take her to Milwaukee.

We'll see.....

Meanwhile after one day of wonderful spring our world here in Milwaukee is once again buried under piles of white wet snow as the skies continue to dump more and more....

Jon

Ruth from Baltimore- Bouchercon 2008

2008-03-20T09:14:00.006-05:00

Memories will return tomorrow.

Well that's it. This is the first trip to Baltimore where it's been a little chilly (high 50s) and a lot rainy. It's also the first time I've been to town when Laura Lippman was away. Coincidence?

You know what? I'm still having a great time. Cabs are inexpensive and available even in the rain and the hospitality of all in this city amazes me. After reading yesterday's news I know Laura's having a pretty good time of it too.

So plans are forwarding for the big weekend in October. I received a head's up just this morning on two attractions I'd like to share. First, the Annual Fells Point Fun Festival will be held the weekend before Bouchercon this year. I know some of you are heading in on Sunday the 5th. By all means join Baltimore in one of its annual traditions. Do you want to celebrate The Wire while you're here? Beyond anything the programmers may have up their sleeves (and we know Jon and Judy have looong sleeves) Baltimore itself is celebrating Television's best show. The Baltimore Museum of Industry has an exhibit of artifacts from the show on display with plans to keep it until the end of the year.

This has been a great trip. I've seen friends and family and fallen a little more deeply in love with this city... So today we're off to scout again and tonight I'm meeting with potential volunteers. Tomorrow is an early start and home to Milwaukee. And Snow. Perhaps I'll pass Laura in the air.

And I have a question for all who are reading this blog..... a poll if you will. Do you want a seperate author's page? We'll tally responses until the end of the month.

Thursday's Memory from Bertil Falk

2008-03-19T17:30:00.001-05:00

The weekend before I left for Alaska this year we had a mini World Mystery event at our home. Bertil Falk, a Swedish author came for a visit. It was a great weekend. Bertil is joining everyone in Baltimore this year and I asked him for his Bouchercon Memory. Here he tells it like it is about someone who will be sadly missed at this year’s Bouchercon. Ed Hoch remains a giant and yes we know he’s still on the list of attendees. After all he’ll be there this year and forever

Ed Hoch and Bouchercon
Over the years I have been attending three big mystery conventions. One in Sweden, when Stockholm was swamped with American mystery writers. I think it was in 1980. The other two were Bouchercons, the first took place in Philadelphia in a past century, the other one in Milwaukee a couple of years ago. One thing these three conventions had in common for me was that I met Pat and Ed Hoch at all three occasions. I had known them since the beginning of the 1970's when Hans Stefan Santesson, who once upon a time was the editor of The Saint Mystery Magazine, introduced me to them. I had no idea then what a prolific and great short story writer Ed was. The fact is that it was not until the death of Hans Stefan that I began reading the Simon Ark-stories. Hooked on them I went on reading Nick Velvet-stories, Rand-stories and stories with all the other great characters Ed Hoch dreamed up. I translated a couple of them into Swedish and they were many years later published. In Philadelphia I interviewed him on camera and he told me that he always had been interested in problem solving and got his incredibly good ideas from various sources. Once he asked me what the Swedish word SLUT meant. I told him that if he saw an Ingmar Bergman movie, the word SLUT would most probably be at the end of the story. SLUT in Swedish is the same thing as THE END in English language movies. Based on the different meanings in English and Swedish, Ed created a story. I saw on the Bouchercon home page that Pat and Ed Hoch would be in Baltimore this year. I had looked forward to see them and was as so many other of his admirers shocked at the message about his unexpected demise. In my opinion, Edward D. Hoch is one of the great mystery writers, on the same level as Carr and Chesterton. And that opinion is for sure shared by many people.

Tuesday with Attitude- Bouchercon Memories

2008-03-18T17:08:00.003-05:00

Ah the Irish in me continues to rejoice. And no, I do not have a green tongue today. While the scent of boiled cabbage continues to linger in American homes everywhere and the Irish themselves wonder why we celebrate the holiday with a boiled dinner, I am enjoying a book. Written by today’s guest.

It’s very cool when authors turn you on to other writers. I “found” this guy through John Connolly, and loved his first book. This “newbie” continues to deliver work that surprises, energizes and says something unique in our genre. His first two books have been hailed by the American Crime Fiction community. The winner of 2007’s Shamus award for best First Novel, Declan Hughes’ third novel in the Ed Loy series, THE PRICE OF BLOOD is out today. It is a great read. So go ahead and get your Irish on. And you can visit

Declan’s Blog

- Ruth

At Madison, I remember a lot of singing - Laura Lippman's bachelorette party, where we sang show tunes, much to John Connolly's dismay, and the last night in a dive bar called, perhaps to avoid confusion, The Pub, where
John, Laura, David Corbett, Cornelia Read, Dan Fesperman, Michael Robotham and I took turns to get beaten at pool by Mark Billingham and Jon Wood, and between times sang along to the Stones and Steve Earle on the jukebox. Was there drink taken? Quite possibly. I remember feeling a little trepidatious in a first-day-at-university way on the Thursday, and I remember how quickly this was dispelled, largely by the good agencies of the Jordan clan, who are like some informal Bouchercon Diplomatic Service: Jon presented me with a badge he had made from the cover of my first novel, Ruth steered me through the rigours of my first panel and Jen went from handshake to piss take in record time .

I remember sharing the flight from Minneapolis to Anchorage with the indomitable Ruth Dudley Edwards, so in fairness it's a miracle I can remember anything else at all. But thre were award ceremonies and a lot of parties and I got slung out of a Karoke bar for swaying, which ranks fairly low on the bad-behaviour scale in Dublin, but different strokes and so on. Most of all, I remember going into the hotel bar on the first night in Anchorage and being greeted warmly by a dozen people I hadn't even met a year before, but who now felt like old friends. And that's a very good memory indeed.

Happy St. Pat's- A Bouchercon memory

2008-03-17T09:10:00.003-05:00

A yes, 'tis the day when America celebrates little green men and throws food coloring in their Miller High Life. We're a little spazzy here in the USA. I have fond memories of a recent St.Patty's day shared with today's guest. Ken Bruen is the author of the Brandt and Jack Taylor series. His latest book stateside is CROSS. So get your green on, everyone and I'll be back.....
Ruth

..............................My first B'con was in Las Vegas, I wasn't a registered attendee and only went literally 24 hours before
I flew from Galway to Dublin to London to LA to Las Vegas with an English Publisher, we had 19 hours together! He wrote a long account of it for the UK posh papers and mentioned everyone save me...........Jesus, how much had I bored the poor bollix?
The previous time I'd been in Vegas was 20 years before to get married and no, not by elvis
We had no money so it was just us and a female minister who looked uncannily like shirley bassey.............should have known that was an omen right there
2nd day in, I'm standing at the bar, with CJ Box..........I knew not one single American mystery writer before going and I hear my Name called, turn around and it's Jim Crumley, we grabbed an alcove and spoke for 4 hours staight, I was uber fan..........still am
And.............walking down a corridor, having won 250 bucks on blackjack, I met a lady who asked
are you K.B?
It was Donna Moore and the beginning of one of the best friendships of my life
I saw Janet Evanovich coming out of the swimming pool and wanted to go dry her
Meeting Jen Jordan who was promoting Ugly Town and didn't realise I'd met one third of the family who would grace my life in every way there is

Sunday Serenade- Bouchercon Memories

2008-03-16T10:01:00.004-05:00

The Mystery Community- By now everyone who visits this blog knows I'm a fan. I was introduced to the community via the internet. Bouchercon was my first Convention. But the people who kept me coming back were undoubtablly the Wisconsin Contingent. In our state we have a group of people so special and encouraging once they pull you in you will never get out. Beth Fedyn is one of those people and today she's sharing her memory with us. See you tomorrow,
Ruth

I was the Auction Chair for the 1999 Milwaukee Bouchercon. Maggie Mason,San Diego book dealer, one of the Fan Guests of Honor that year, and a good friend, helped me to get a script as an auction item from Bill Fitzhugh, a relative unknown in the mystery community at the time. His second book -and my personal favorite - Organ Grinders had come out the year before so we also asked him for a character donation for the auction. Bill was reluctant because he didn't think anyone would bid. Of course Maggie and I
assured him that there would be lots of interest.

And there was. Not only did the script bring in a pretty penny but the character item auction evolved into a ferocious bidding war between two fans. As the bids went higher and higher, Ted Hertel (Bouchercon co-chair) leaned over and whispered to me, "Who IS this guy?" When the bids got up over $600., Gary Warren Niebuhr (Bouchercon co-chair and auctioneer) remarked that Bill Fitzhugh was standing in the back of the hall. He was indeed and very graciously offered TWO character donations to accommodate
the battling bidders. This resulted in over $1200. for our charity and Bill(and Sandy) Herron and Frances Neagley found immortality in his next book Fender Benders.

Maggie and I have attended many more Bouchercons and Bill Fitzhugh has gone on to write more wonderful books - most recently The Adventures of Slim & Howdy by Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn with Bill Fitzhugh, which comes out in May 2008.

Friday's Final- A bouchercon Memory

2008-03-14T07:16:00.002-05:00

Today's visitor is Natasha Cooper. When I read the following memory I was amazed. Why? Well it seems like this wonderful woman has always been a part of my Bouchercon experience. Time is optional it seems when it comes to the big show. I'm really happy I'll be seeing her this year.
Her next novel, A POISONED MIND will be published in the summer. American Guest of Honor Laura Lippman says of the book,'Simply gorgeous - a smart, complex, grown-up entertainment that rewards the reader on every page. Intricate in plotting, deft in characterization, it is one of the best legal thrillers I have ever read.' You can find Natasha
www.natashacooper.co.uk

Natasha Cooper:
My first Bouchercon was Denver. The matchless Barbara Peters had told me that, as chair of the British Crime Writers' Association, I really had to go to Bouchercon. Full of trepidation, sure that in the thousands there I would sit on the sidelines like a stranger at a party, I booked, arrived, registered and shiveringly entered the fray.The first thing that happened was that a fan peered at my name tag and almost shrieked: 'Natasha Cooper! That's great!' She proceeded to tell me which of my novels she'd most liked and why. We were soon joined by other readers and writers and I felt instantly at home.Later, I discovered my signing table was next to Lee Child's and trepidation started all over again. But again I was in for a lovely
surprise: a long, long line of people with books they wanted signed.I felt welcomed, warmed, and wanted. Fabulous! I can't wait for Baltimore, a city I've never yet visited. See you there, I hope.

See you on the weekend,
Ruth

We Interrupt this Blog

2008-03-13T06:05:00.004-05:00

Hi all,

Ruth here, from the trenches. Actually from the comfy office chair but trenches sounds better doesn't it. Today I'm going to take a moment to share the career of one of our attendees.

Wyma Rogers is passionate about books and she's shared her passion with the entire community of Newport News. To Read her story click on her picture. Her heart will always be in the mystery section.
See you tomorrow,
Ruth

Wednesday's Words- A Bouchercon Memory

2008-03-12T07:32:00.004-05:00

Laurie King is the author of eighteen novels which have won or been nominated for most of the world's mystery prizes, her own blog can be found at Laurie King's blog

BoucherCon Memories

My first two BoucherCons were English, which is a little odd because I don’t live in England and BoucherCon only met there twice (London in 1990 and Nottingham in 1995.) And yes, I know it looks like I was jumping on any excuse to go to England, but honest, it just happened. Honest.

My first BoucherCon experience was at King’s College London, a cold and confusing building where you had to go down a flight of stairs and around half a mile of frigid corridor to get a cup of weak coffee in the linoleum-and-formica dining hall. These posh English colleges.

I knew no one, recognized few of the names on the name badges, had no idea how to answer the standard question, which was not “Where are you from?” but “Are you a writer or a reader?” Well, both, I guess: If I wrote but hadn’t been published yet, did that mean I wasn’t a writer?

Two high points for me were hearing Robert Barnard (I’m pretty sure that’s who it was) referring to “ABC: Agatha Bloody Christie,” and not being lynched by the audience. Wow, I thought, I didn’t know you could do that, be rude about Dame Agatha—and on her home turf, yet.

The other great moment was when P. D. James, the guest of honor, was being interviewed and time came for questions from the audience. Up shoots this figure that I had seen (really, you couldn’t miss her) stalking the halls in a full-length houndstooth check cape and deerstalker cap, and begins to rummage in her enormous soft handbag (at which point the entire audience goes very still, and even Phyllis James, seated on the stage in her flowered dress with her own stiff-sided handbag tucked in the chair beneath her, seems to raise one eyebrow, just a shade.) At last, the woman triumphantly yanks out an object that makes everyone draw a breath of relief, because it isn’t hard and shiny. She works what appears to be a sock with a nose over her right hand, holds said hand up towards James (a hundred feet away and with the lights in her eyes,) and announces, “Sherlock Hound wants to know—”

I swear to God this woman was not from my home town of Santa Cruz, although she would have fit in as a nice counterpoint with our pink-umbrella man. Apparently she was a regular at BoucherCon, which she made her annual holiday. I’m not sure if this explains why I didn’t return for a while, or why I knew BoucherCon was just the place for me. Maybe a little of both.

And P.D. James? She became my hero that day, by being so utterly unflappable, even when asked a question by a sock puppet. I regret to say the Hound lady no longer comes to BoucherCon, or at least, if she does she’s changed her style considerably. I have yet to be asked a question by a hand-puppet hound.

End

Where have all the sock puppets gone? Have a groovy Wednesday. Ruth

Tuesday's Tale- A Bouchercon Memory

2008-03-11T07:11:00.003-05:00

Carolyn Hart is known in the mystery community for both her grace and her wicked sense of humor. Gearing up for the release of DEATH WALKED IN: A DEATH ON DEMAND MYSTERY March 25th, today she's sharing a Bouchercon memory with us.

My greatest memories of Bouchercon are the London Bouchercon in 1990 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Agatha Christie. Nancy Pickard and I were roommates on the QEII as part of a traveling mystery skit en route to BCon and we had such fun. At the Anthony Awards presentation (as I recall it wasn't part of a dinner, rather an afternoon event in an auditorium, but I may misremember), Honeymoon with Murder won the Anthony for Best Paperback Original. Three previous year Something Wicked won the Anthony for Best Paperback Original. To win two years in a row seemed absolutely golden. I was thrilled both times and hugely grateful. I felt I'd received the best recommendations in the world to mystery readers. I am still hugely grateful.

See you tomorrow,
Ruth

Bouchercon Memories -The Monday Edition

2008-03-10T07:51:00.003-05:00

Today is the first day post "The Wire". I'm feeling especially close to Baltimore today and wanted to share the memories of someone from there. So today's memory comes from Dave Magayna. Dave is one of mystery's biggest fans and a hell of a reviewer too. Enjoy and we'll see everyone tomorrow- Ruth

In 1997, Cindy Tambourine (then my fiance, now my wife and always a source of inspiration and fascination)and I were vacationing on the Left Coast. We started in Napa Valley, stayed a few days in San Francisco,and then headed down to Monterey for Bouchercon.

After checking into our room at the conference hotel,we went in search of friendly faces. We found Chris Aldrich and Lynn Kazcmarek in a bustling room with long tables covered with books and people engaged in a chaotic maelstrom of activity. Once I introducedCindy, we were encouraged by Chris and Lynn to pitch in and help stuff book bags. We worked side-by-sidewith the other mystery-crazed volunteers until the stacks of books had become stuffed book bags and wewere exhausted. It was a great introduction to Bouchercon and the community of mystery readers/volunteers that make it great year after year.

Then we went and grabbed a few beers, another great Bouchercon tradition.

Sunday's Serenade- A Bouchercon Memory

2008-03-09T07:34:00.003-05:00

People often ask me, Why Bouchercon? I've tried for a cohesive answer over the years and sometimes "because it's the best!" just doesn't work. When Ali Karem, reviewer and contributor to Shots and January Magazine turned in the following memory of his Vegas Experience I realized that Bouchercon truly is amazing. Five years later and his enthusiasm is still as energizing as it was that long weekend.

My Bouchercon Memory from 2003 by Ali Karim

In 2003 I turned 40 and was considering what to do in order to celebrate this event. I had been thinking about attending a US convention for a while; but with a wife and three kids I considered it unfair to leave them for two weeks as well as the cost implications, leave from work etc. I considered that perhaps for my 40th I could swing it.

I hadn’t been back to the US since the 1980’s when I studied in the Mid-West so I really wanted to attend for old times’ sake. My wife was not interested as the long 11 hour flight put her off as she is a nervous flyer. Then my school friend and Shots webmaster ‘Grog’ who was also a big mystery reader told me “Hey, it’s being held in Las Vegas, we gotta go Man!” So it was settled and after some persuasion and bribery, my wife finally agreed I could go [even though she was concerned that I would be chaperoned by wild-man Grog]. So the first task was Grog and I started to save our money into a Vegas fund, well a Beer fund.

We combined the Bouchercon 2003 experience with a vacation taking in the sights of the American South West as well as exploring California’s Death Valley – taking a lot of photographs – click here to see Ali and Grog’s Adventures.

Grog and I had such a great time with so many the highlights that it’s hard to name them all – but the most crucial was meeting so many people we’d only corresponded with via the Internet. There was a little worry for me as crime-writer Mark Billingham warned me that when I finally met Jon Jordan in the flesh, there could be a problem. In physics terms, [the scientist in] Billingham considered it to be analogous to Matter and Anti-Matter coming into contact. He was right, as meeting Jon was like meeting a long lost brother – we both drank coffee like it was medication, smoked like it was oxygen and talked books, comics, films like our lives depended on them. Meeting the people from the mystery newsgroup RAM was unreal – as I was finally face-to-face with people who I communicated with such as Judi, Karen Slaughter, John Purcell, Annie Chernow, Patricia and her late husband Soren, Woodstock, Mark Miller, Fran Read, Vicki Ball, Beth and her Husband. It was particularly emotional meeting Beth as we both had damp eyes when we hugged. Damn, there goes my hard-boiled reputation! The same was true when it was time to leave as Ruth and Jennifer Jordan gave Grog and I about 6 cases of beer as a farewell present, as they hadn’t got through them – and hugging everyone goodbye was very sad, but we made so many friends.

Particular highlights – Drinking with Ken Bruen and facing the consequences, getting my copy of Jon Jordan’s ‘Interrogations’ signed and hear him whisper to me about an idea that became Crimespree Magazine, meeting David Morrell and introducing him to Gayle Lynds and Lee Child and seeing ITW form the following year, meeting Max A Collins and Robert Randisi at the Shamus Awards, Pissed at The Peppermill, meeting the Deadly Pleasures Gang, the January Magazine Reviewers, Interviewing Lee Child, seeing Ian Rankin with the Jordan Gang, moderating a panel after two days of sleep deprivation, talking to James Crumley, fear at the top of the Stratosphere Tower, supporting the Orion Writers at the Top if the Riv – Man! I could go on, and on as everyone was there!

But instead, why not read my report on what I got up to there at Bouchercon 34 in 2003 and make your own plans for Bouchercon 2008.

And finally that Last Night Photo before we all went our separate ways was strange, as I was so happy to meet everyone, but so sad to say farewell until next time - Now I gotta figure a plan to sweet-talk my wife and kids as to why I need to get to Baltimore for my 45th Birthday – I can’t believe it’s been five years since Las Vegas.

Ali Karim
Writer for www.shotsmag.co.uk and www.therapsheetblogspot.com
Reviewer and Writer for www.crimespreemag.com , www.deadlypleasures.com, www.mysteryreaders.org and
www.bookswwwnbytes.com
Interviewer and Blogger for http://www.januarymagazine.com/

Whose got the Biggest Balls of Them All- B-con Memories

2008-03-07T07:07:00.005-06:00

One of Bouchercon's greatest tradition's, The Annual Pick-up Basketball Game is a testament to the playfulness and competitiveness of our community. Started and organized by S.J. Rozan it gives everyone a timeout from the rigors of Conventioning. Friday at 2:00 in Baltimore. But let's have others share.

Jeff Tindall declares, "I always like playing in the B'con basketball game. Old people and small people, bold people and tall people. It's an eclectic mix, there's lots of laughing and not too much in the way of sore muscles afterwards because nobody (except Reed) tries that hard. Plus, it provides one with a somewhat legitimate excuse to go slam some beers."

And from author Michael Kortya

The memory of my first Bouchercon that probably makes the best story isn't exactly one that boosts my ego, but what the hell. I'd arrived in Vegas for Bouchercon about two months after learning Tonight I Said
Goodbye would be published, and about a month after turning 21. It was a pretty good stretch. So I'm standing in the hotel outside of the main conference area, taking it all in, feeling big time, Michael Koryta the crime writer. The basketball game group is getting ready to depart (at this point I'd already taken a cab to a mall to buy shoes, shorts, T-shirts...we Hoosiers do not miss basketball opportunities) and it becomes clear that some kids are wanting to go along with the group. These kids are, I believe, about 12. That might be optimistic. They could have been 10. And as I'm standing there watching them, a woman turns to me, smiles, and says, "It's nice to see so many young people at a Bouchercon." This is my first said con, of course, but I nod enthusiastically and say that it sure is nice to see them. And then she hits me with the stiletto follow-up: "Are you here with your parents?" Ah, yes. Michael Koryta the crime writer, indeed. There were so many good moments from that conference -- basketball with Steve Hamilton and SJ Rozan and Co., Heineken with George Pelecanos, (and, yes, I was still young enough that the beer itself was exciting, let alone George as a drinking companion) meeting David Hale Smith, who became my agent, meeting so many great writers and great people...but good moments never tell quite as good stories as embarrassing ones, do they?.

Poor Michael, he'll always look about twelve to the rest of us, but his writing is timeless. He is indeed Michael Kortya "the crime writer".
See you all Saturday

Terrific Thursday- B-Con Memories

2008-03-06T08:04:00.004-06:00

Today featuring our Lifetime Achievement Honorees.
Barbara Peters $ Robert Rosenwald are an amazing team when it comes to Poisoned Pen Press but when I received their memories and they converged, I had an ahhhhh moment for this truly dynamic and Mysterious Couple.

Robert Rosenwald:
At the first several Bouchercons I attended (we're talking 1990 or so, just after The Poisoned Pen had opened and before either of us was broadly known in the mystery community) I changed my name badge from "Robert Rosenwald" to "Mr. Barbara Peters" because I knew that some people might be looking for Barbara and I was a complete unknown. I got into an elevator one day and these two sweet, little ladies got in and looked at my name badge and just were so excited and one of them bubbled over and with wide eyes said "Are you really?" Their level of enthusiasm was so high that it became almost instantly clear that they thought I was married to Barbara Mertz/Elizabeth Peters.

Barbara Peters:
I still remember the 1988 Bouchercon in San Diego because, thinking of opening The Poisoned Pen, I took My Mother, the serious critic along. It was a great size for intimacy, about 600, and a number of icons like Jonathan Gash and Elizabeth Peters attended. In fact, a lunch was set up for Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels/Barbara Mertz, the latter her real name), which MM and I attended.
The subject of a mystery bookstore for Scottsdale arose, and Ms Peters, drawing deeply on her cigarette and looking wise, counseled me to abandon so hopeless a project and look for other work…..
She often mentions to me that the lunch convinced her that her powers as a seer were limited.
In either 1990 or 1991, at the Seattle Bouchercon of that year, we stood side by side in the bar. A fan rushed up to me and began to gush about how much she loved my terrific books about Egypt. Knowing them all nearly by heart, I jumped right in and engaged her in dialogue while The Author quietly steamed alongside me. Finally, the pressure built and she blew, stepping forward to shake her fan’s hand and saying, “Hello, I’m Barbara Peters and I own a great mystery bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona.”
The poor fan never did understand why the two Barbaras fell into fits of laughter as soon as she turned away.

Tomorrow the Hoopsters Chime in,
Ruth

The Hump Day Edition- B-Con Memories

2008-03-05T10:06:00.003-06:00

Today's memory comes from the "Grandfather of Tartan Noir". Ian Rankin is the acclaimed writer of the John Rebus series. The last book in that series, EXIT MUSIC, will be released Stateside in the fall of 2008. As everyone knows Sir Ian figures like Mt Rushmore in Ruth and Jon's B-Con memories but here he kindly shares a few of his own.

"I'll never forget my first Bouchercon. It was Toronto in 1992. I'd won that year's Chandler-Fulbright Fellowship, which allowed me to travel in North America for six months. I came to Toronto with my wife and our 9-month old son Jack. They stayed in the hotel room while I took my first tentative steps into B'con-mania. Walking into the bar, a woman walked over to me. 'You look lost,' she said. 'Let me introduce you to a few people.' She was the kind and wonderful K K Beck, and the people she introduced me to included Mary Higgins Clark - not a bad start! Later on, I took Jack with me to the dealer room, and let him crawl on the floor while I made some purchases. A woman asked if she could pick him up. We got talking and her husband turned out to be Otto Penzler. She introduced me to him and we eventually did a six-book deal for US rights. All in all, not a bad weekend..."

Tune in tomorrow,
Ruth
(Photo curtosy of Mary Reagan) Ian getting a hug from Val after winning the Edgar Award for best novel... A Very Good Birthday

Two for Tuesday

2008-03-04T07:19:00.002-06:00

I missed posting yesterrday so I have two memories for everyone today.

Up first our ToastMaster. Mark Billingham is an international best selling author.

“In the bit of my brain which I hope will be the last to go, there are no shortage of great Bouchercon memories: Laura Lippman’s bachelorette party; meeting Jim Crumley; the bowling alley in Chicago; seeing John Connolly on a horse...and I know that Baltimore will be responsible for plenty more. THIS was at the Toronto Bouchercon which I thoroughly enjoyed. Actually...I’ve thoroughly enjoyed pretty much all of them, thinking about it.

I was having breakfast one morning with Simon Kernick and Chris Mooney, and Simon was telling us about this horrible nightmare he’d had the night before. He’d dreamt that someone called him at home and told him people were on their way to kill him. He told us how vivid it was, the terrible feeling of dread and horror that went with knowing someone was coming to your house to kill you. Chris and I looked at one another and told him that it would be a great start to a book. Simon looked shifty suddenly. “It was MY dream,” he said. Chris and I spent the rest of the day winding him up, kidding him that each of us was planning to use the dream in a book. Of course, we didn’t and Simon did and it turned out to be the opening of “Relentless” which was picked up by the Richard & Judy Book Club (the UK equivalent of Oprah’s Book Club) and sold a phenomenal number of copies. I STILL think Kernick owes Mooney and I some money...”

Today we also have a memory from Libby Hellmann. Libby has a new book out from Bleakhouse this month.

My most vivid memories -- both the highs and the lows -- are of my first Bouchercon -- 1999 in Milwaukee.
I was unpublished, but had “won” a short story contest that Ted and Gary and the rest of the gang sponsored. As the winner, I was invited to go to a pre-Bcon boat ride on Lake Michigan Wednesday night. That was the year Max Allan Collins was the GOH, and I was thrilled to rub elbows with him, his wife Barbara, and people like Jerry Healy…. Gary Niehbur… Cap’n Bob…. even Ted Hertel… What a rush for a wannabee!! To tell the truth I was feeling pretty smug that night.
I should have known it wouldn’t last.
The next day I had a turkey sandwich in the hotel. By that night I had food poisoning. I managed to eke out the night, but by noon the following day, I was scared, dehydrated, and feeling pretty shitty. My friend Mary Harris took me to the ER where they gave me an IV and told me to wait. Imagine my surprise three hours later when Jerry Healy and SJ Rozan showed up in my cubicle, wanting to know how I was doing. I couldn’t believe it -- they’d come to the hospital just for me? Then I found out that Al Abramson had broken his ankle during the basketball game and was in an adjoining cubicle. When they came for him, someone told them another mystery “person” was there, and they stopped in to see how I was doing.
As it turned out, both SJ and Jerry were incredibly concerned and sympathetic, and I felt very much a part of this wonderful and strange community. I still do… but I hope no one else has to spend 8 hours in the ER to find that out.

See you tomorrow,
Ruth

Bouchercon Memories- The Weekend Edition

2008-03-01T09:41:00.002-06:00

Today's memory is from Charles Ardai. Author, Editor,Publisher.... Charles is a true Renaissance Man.

"Back in 1994 -- can it be 14 years ago already? -- I found myself nominated for the Shamus Award for one of my short stories, and since the Shamuses were due to be given out at the Bouchercon in Seattle, I found myself registering for Bouchercon and flying to Seattle. Three firsts for me: first Shamus nomination, first trip to Seattle, first Bouchercon. I'd been to science fiction conventions before but never to a mystery convention, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Would there be people dressed up in costume wandering the aisles of a mammoth dealer's room? Answer: no. Ordinary people, dressed in normal clothes, and a pretty modest dealer's room. But what treasures that room contained! Books I'd heard about but never seen (remember, this was before the Internet boomed and made finding any out-of-print title you might want trivially easy), strange and wonderful oddities like the Phillip Marlowe board game, and people -- booksellers, fellow readers, fellow writers -- who turned out to be smart and funny and gracious and a pleasure to talk to, some of whom became and remain among my closest friends. I remember the Shamus banquet, where I lost the award to Lawrence Block (he deserved it; and if you've got to lose, at least you should lose to the best). And I remember the poker game afterwards, where authors I'd read and admired since I'd been a pup -- Block, Westlake, Grafton? these are three I think participated -- donned green eyeshades, rolled up their sleeves, and threw down antes and pasteboards and quips with equal vigor. Did this poker game really happen? Or is my memory playing tricks on me? Could anyone really -- literally -- have worn a green eyeshade, like some sort of extra from 'The Sting'? I don't know; 14 years is a long time. But I *remember* the green eyeshade, and I remember the poker (I also remember being too nervous to ask for a seat at the table, not because I was afraid of the stakes or of losing, just because I was in awe of the greats of the field who were playing there). And I remember the Bouchercon. I've been to others since, but as they say, you never forget your first."

Bouchercon Memories-

2008-02-29T06:48:00.002-06:00

Today featuring Cornelia Read

Cornelia Read is the author of Two Novels. Her Debut Novel FIELD OF DARKNESS was nominated for every major mystery award and her second, THE CRAZY SCHOOL is a must read.

My very first Bouchercon was Toronto. I had an agent, but I hadn't been published yet, so it seemed like a lot of money to be spending, especially since my husband was a bit snarky about watching the kids for five days in California, so I booked myself a private room in the local youth hostel about nine blocks away from the convention center.
The place was actually terrific: mil-spec coinop computers in the lobby, and each and every wall throughout painted a different dayglo color. My room was tiny, with a bathroom down the hall, but it was comfortable and clean and about a tenth of the price of the main hotel rooms.
I remember being absolutely terrified, walking over to the main event that first morning. Would I know anyone? Would anyone talk to me? Would I barf in public? But the very first person I saw was Elaine Flinn, whom I'd known back in Carmel when I was a kid, and she immediately took me under her wing and introduced me to all the cool smoker chicks.
Then we went inside and took that escalator down into the main hallway of the convention, and all I could see was a see of thousands upon thousands of people--the number inflated by terror the same way the cafeteria is on your very first day of high school.
The only person I recognized in the crowd was Lee Child, whom I'd met the previous summer at the Book Passage Mystery Conference the summer before--mostly because he was the tallest person in the room.
He was surrounded by so many people, though, that by the time I was halfway down the escalator, I figured I'd wait to say hello until later in the conference. He saw me when I got to the bottom, however, and waved me over to introduce me to everyone.
After that I figured that between Lee and Elaine, even if I was struck dead by lightning indoors before I sat in on my first panel, it had been worth the trip, so I relaxed and had an amazing time for the next four days--despite the trolley-car turnaround directly below my hostel-bedroom window (thank GOD for earplugs).
There was of course the moment at which the zipper of my Salvation-Army orange leather pants imploded, halfway through the banquet, but that is no doubt a story best kept for another time.

The Anthony Awards.....

2008-02-27T23:02:00.003-06:00

As a true testament to “fandom” the first wave of Anthony Ballots are in the mail. It is a testament that John Purcell, the 2008 Anthony Chair and “Old Beeg” are getting these out to you. Up until a month ago we all believed we’d be doing this with a great friend who’d done it before. Sadly, Soren won’t be joining us. He did however give John the knowledge he had to have before he left us. True fandom. So, if you saw your name on the list of registrants before or on Feb 20th start thinking of what books and stories captured your heart in 2007. We will be sending ballots out from here on in small batches, all will be numbered and if you have any questions at all, you may contact John at his e-mail which is on the ballots.

This year the Awards are: Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Paperback Original, Best Short Story, Best Critical Work-Non Fiction, Special Service Award and Best Mystery Web Site/Blog. The final category was a no-brainer to the committee. For fifteen years we’ve kept up with our community on-line and the people who bring this information to us deserve to and should be recognized by the mystery community.

Today also marks the beginning of a segment we're calling Bouchecon Memories. I'll post a memory a day for the forseeable future and I invite all to contribute their own.

We're going to start with Reed Farrel Coleman (His new book, EMPTY EVER AFTER is coming out from Bleak House Books in March). The following is an article Reed wrote for Crimespree long time gone (shout out to P.B.), our first issue. He asked me to include the following forward.

Bouchercon Austin seems like several lifetimes ago, but it was one of the
greatest experiences I've had. It is no exaggeration to say that it changed
my career and my life, both for the better. I made friends during those few
days that have mentored me, nurtured me, and been there for me ever since.
During my time at Bcon Austin I was taken into the mystery community with
open arms and complete acceptance. It was that generosity of spirit which
set me on the course to pay back that loving debt through service in MWA.
Bouchercon is a perfect storm of friends and fans, of readers and writers,
of drinks and dreams. Baltimore, here I come.

Very Pro Bouchercon
By Reed Farrel Coleman

In spite of what you might have heard, there are certain comforts to middle age. Just surviving till forty imbues you with a sort of weary serenity. You’ve been around the block and don’t sweat the small things quite so much. You’ve survived acne, probably marriage, maybe kids and jobs you’ve hated. You realize that neither the loss of love nor your hair is apt to be fatal. The kind of panic you felt everyday in high school is now a distant, almost fond, memory. Yeah, well, then you can imagine my surprise at the utter panic I suffered as I sat in the lobby of a hotel on the outskirts of Austin, Texas.

It was October 2002 and I had just checked in for Bouchercon 33. I was forty-six years old at the time and sick with fear. All I could think about was how to get out of there and how to explain my premature departure to the publicity department at Plume. It was the head of publicity there who had suggested, demanded actually, that I attend Bouchercon in the first place. Although it would be several months until my first Plume product, the paperback of Walking the Perfect Square, was due out, he said I needed to show my face, get to know the fans and booksellers, other writers.

Fans! Who was he kidding? I didn’t have fans. During the first ten years of my illustrious career, I received a whopping five fan letters(not all positive, by the way). That’s one every two years for those of you math challenged folks out there like me. Even beyond my skepticism about fans was my fear of dealing with the booksellers. My early novels were published by a small press. That meant very little money and less publicity. No publicity meant I was forced to walk into stores, mostly mega-stores, and beg to have them carry my books and/or to have me in for signings. Though I had some great experiences, I had several that were rather demeaning.

The thing I was most panicked about, however, was the prospect of dealing with other mystery writers. I didn’t know any, not really. I had once shared dinner with a group of people on Long Island that included John Westerman and K.J.A. Wishnia, but that was the sum total of my experience with fellow mystery writers. Forget that I didn’t know any of them. None of them were going to know me or about me, my work, my. . . I envisioned spending the next three days explaining myself, justifying my presence, trying to get out of Dodge without embarrassing myself too badly.

I didn’t run. I wanted to, but I didn’t. I was from Brooklyn, after all. I worked the cargo area of Kennedy Airport for four years. I drove a forty thousand pound Mack Truck. I wrote hard boiled detective novels. I spent an hour in that lobby pumping myself up. Four o’clock arrived. Time for my panel. Oh God!

But the panel was great. Don Bruns, David and Jan Grape, the writers with whom I shared the dais, couldn’t have been more friendly and accepting. The room was packed and the audience was attentive. They asked insightful questions, some actually directed at me. There were even people in the audience who’d read my books! Some had brought the books with them for me to sign.
In the signing room, I noticed another writer autographing a book entitled, Red Hook. I asked him if the title referred to Red Hook, Brooklyn. He said it did and I explained that I too was from Brooklyn and that my novels took place there. That author was Gabriel Cohen, of course. We exchanged books, and agreed to meet the following day. On Friday, Gabriel took me from panel to panel, introducing me to writers he knew. Encouraged by Gabriel, I introduced myself to a few booksellers. Though many didn’t have my last book, they all knew who I was and all seemed anxious for the arrival of my next work.

Later that day, I played in the annual basketball game. Here I was on the court with Edgar, Shamus, Anthony and Hammett winners. There were fans, booksellers, and reviewers. No one asked for my credentials. All anyone cared about was my jump shot. So here I was in some schoolyard in Austin, Texas playing b-ball with S.J Rozan, Steve Hamilton, Lise McClendon, Katy Munger, Gabriel Cohen. . . On the ride back to the hotel, all Steve Hamilton was interested in was where in Michigan my wife was from and if I played golf.

I was suddenly a part of things not apart from things. Steve Hamilton introduced me to George Pelacanos. George remembered me from his panel earlier in the day and complimented me on asking him a good question. Katy Munger and Lise McClendon adopted me as Gabriel had and took me to several parties, introduced me to their friends, made me feel comfortable.

On Saturday, Gabriel and I made it a point to attend a panel about how to deal with the subject of 9/11. In less than thirty-six hours, I had been transformed. No longer did I want to run from things, but to them. I was a New York writer just like S.J. or Gabriel or Lawrence Block. It no longer seemed to matter who my publisher was or had been or might someday be. It was about the writing and the writers, regardless of status.

The point of all this is not to see how many names I can drop. On the contrary, I didn’t know who most of these people were when we met. All I knew about them and all they knew about me was that we were writers. We all faced the same hurdles, experienced the same joys, insecurities, struggles. We drank together, exchanged stories about agents and editors, about signings, rejections and triumphs.

No one, as far as I could tell, was interested in a pissing contest. We were all in it alone, but we were alone together. For the first time since I started writing in high school, I was made to feel part of a community. In Las Vegas, I tried to return the kindness that the folks I’ve mentioned extended to me. As I discovered, my initial experience in Austin is not terribly uncommon.

Beyond gaining a sense of community, there are several less lofty reasons why attending Bouchercon is a worthwhile venture for writers and for their publishers. In these days of shrinking publicity budgets and author-financed book tours, I would argue that the thousand dollar expenditure per author would be the best investment a publisher could make in their
product.

Blurbs, for instance, are a very thorny issue. While many writers would argue that they have limited value, marketing people will tell you they are crucial, especially in piquing the interest of booksellers. Well, three out of the four blurbs that will appear on the dust jacket of my next Moe Prager Mystery, Redemption Street (Viking, March 2004), were supplied by authors I met at Bouchercon Austin. Don’t misunderstand, these blurbs were not given out of a sense of charity or friendship or duty. Some of my Austin acquaintances were polite and forthright in declining my request. That’s the point. Because I had attended Bouchercon and met a broad range of authors over a short period of time, I was afforded the luxury of being able to absorb a few rejections. At least I knew people to ask. I am confident that I would not have been nearly as successful in obtaining these blurbs without Bouchercon.

Although I didn’t spend nearly enough time with the booksellers in Austin, I corrected that mistake in Las Vegas. Though the mystery genre is far from a cottage industry, you cannot underestimate the value of hand-selling books. The bottom line is, people who know an author personally are more apt to hand sell his or her books than those of a stranger. And when it comes time to tour your book, booksellers who know you are more willing to have you in.

Ah, touring your book! Given the harsh reality that almost all book tours are now author-financed, the free flow of information between authors about touring is essential. Bouchercon is the perfect venue for establishing connections between authors and the sharing of data about bookstores, fans, cities, etc. I am in the process of booking a tour for Redemption Street. At Bouchercon Las Vegas I had the good fortune of meeting Jim Fusilli. Jim, as it happened, was in the midst of a self-booked tour for his latest novel, Tribeca Blues. When we got back to New York, Jim generously shared the details of his tour. He gave me a list of stores, contact names, suggestions on places to stay, where to eat. . . This information has helped streamline the usually cumbersome tour booking process.

Bouchercon is an important event to attend for the reasons I’ve stated and for many which I had neither the time nor space to discuss. It’s wonderful for a writer’s self-confidence and, perhaps, more importantly, to deconstruct the walls of self-inflicted and unavoidable isolation. Yet, as important as Bouchercon may be for a writer’s head, it may, in fact be, more beneficial to his or her finances.

Places to Go and People to Meet

2008-02-24T12:58:00.005-06:00

Hi everyone,
Are you one of the 600 people already registered to join us in Baltimore for Bouchercon 2008-Charmed to Death? Are you on the fence? Still wondering should I?
Well of course you should. But if you need a little convincing still remember we have been given special room rates in two of Baltimore's most Charming hotels, The Sheraton City Center and right next store the Radisson Lord Baltimore. The convention itself looks to be a funfilled and informative four days. The regisration list is being updated at least weekly at this point so for a look at who your fellow attendees are please go to the website, Charmed to Death.
The Star? Baltimore herself.For dining experiences, outside events, help planning your trip and even special deals visit baltimore.org .
Here in the trenches we're in full on planning mode. All those registered will be receiving mail from us in the next few weeks and the events Calendar is starting to fill up. As a head's up please know that the Anthony Awards will be presented during a Sunday Brunch this year so if you'd like to attend make sure you don't schedule a plane/bus or automobile before 4:00 p.m. Sunday Oct. 12th. Also panels will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. on the morning of the 9th.

What have I seen of Baltimore that I don't want anyone to miss? Fell's Point is still my favorite. Perhaps I love it because it's like pounding the beat with Pembleton and Bayliss. Certainly, the many shops, restaurants and bars contribute. The Gelato here is as good as anywhere in the world. And it's right next to Mystery Loves Company, Baltimore's very own independent mystery book store.

Another suggestion? The Babe Ruth Museum . For baseball fans' this museum is a must stop on any trip and don't forget Camden Yards a short walk from our hotel.

I invite everyone who has a favorite Baltimore stop to share here. Especially if it's off the beaten path.
Ruth

A Blog on A Winter's Day

2008-01-30T23:24:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone,
A moment if you will.
First, Ed Hoch, a man synonymous with both the American Short Story and Bouchercon. When I received his reservation for CHARMED TO DEATH it was a happy day in my house. A man who had shown me the Bouchercon experience was planning to attend. When I was introduced to Mr. Hoch I was amazed both by his generosity and my ignorance of a genre I cared enough about to immerse myself in for four days with no safety net. A prolific and honored writer of whom I knew nothing.
Of course I'd read Ed Hoch ,and with relish. But I didn’t realize just what he'd accomplished the first time he shook my hand and thanked me for being a mystery fan. Ed Hoch was a part of Bouchercon I was looking forward to and is now gone. Bouchercon shines a bit dimmer for me, Judy and Jon with the death of Soren Pedersen. Soren was dragged (gleefully) into mystery by our good friend Patricia. He opened up worlds for all around him, touching us all with a heart and a spirit that always said both "look around you" and "why do you feel that way". Soren contributed to this community in an understated and awe inspiring way. An organizer of Bouchercon Toronto and of CHARMED , Soren may not be someone everyone in the community knew but he will always personify what everyone should be. It's that heart thing, with joy wrapped up in it. He encouraged everyone to reach for the stars and if we only got as far as the neon lights at times, he found something wondrous in that accomplishment too. A fan of genre writers and fans alike, he was to
all who knew him a friend.

The Other Side of Life….

On the Business side of Charmed to Death, it would be a good idea to make your hotel reservations now if you are registered. Space at the host hotel is rapidly filling. Also, reservations are being entered as they come in, we are about 2 weeks behind your e-mails and paper due to travel on the part of, yes, moi. But I'll be at home base throughout most of February so if you are planning on attending and can, register now at the rate of $175 U.S. per person. Judy and I would love to have the largest base for the Anthony Award nominations ever.

People often complain that the nominations don't come soon enough. Then again they also complain that membership isn't allowed enough of a chance to participate. So here's our promise to all the wonderful people who participated in the Anchorage Bouchercon last year or who are registered for 2008 -CHARMED TO DEATH. By May 15th your nominations will be tallied, and a definitive list will be presented by July 15th.
I'd like everyone to look at the existing standing rules at Bouchercon Standing Rules

Let's create as much excitement for the Anthonys as we can. We are THE ONLY AWARD THAT COMES FROM AND OF THE FANS in all of mystery. This base includes all who are in our community, fans first then readers, writers, publishers, editors, book-sellers, reviewers, and librarians. This is the one we get together on. Let's make this year count. Boucher wanted it, Ed Hoch embraced the concept and Soren worked to make it happen.

Alaska Rocks

2007-10-07T12:13:00.000-05:00

For all of the mystery fans who were unable to attend Alaska's Bouchercon, may I say you missed something very special. It was an intimate Bouchercon in a spectacular setting. Even those who only had time for the con managed to get out and see nature like it isn't available in the lower 48.

Highlights for those of us who made it included the trip to Portage and the nature conservatory, the 26 glacier tour, the Mount McKinley Air Tour, Earthquake Park, and a fabulous bike ride found by Jonathan King which many took advantage of. Donna Moore rode an ATV. Many of us found unique experiences within a visage that cannot be described. I geeked out over the rock formations alone, never mind the giggles when I saw my first Beluga Whale.The authors who got to experience the bush were all excited by their experiences.

The convention itself was informative and efficiently run. Three tracks of panels that had everything a fan of the genre could want. I heard compliment after compliment. The general sessions were all Alaskan driven; with a welcome from the Governor and an Alaskan Blessing the opening ceremonies gave us all a jump start on three days of mystery immersion put together by women who love the genre completely.

The fact that this convention was smaller allowed me to spend time with folks I usually just get to wave at. So many highlights.....
Dinners at Sacks and the Marx provided dining experiences comparable to anywhere in the world. I got to Humpy's with Vicki and Brian, and spent a little bit of time with Greg Rucka f2f. I have to stop here because as ever, the brain regenerates various memories to get me through until next year's con.

I had a conversation at Bouchercon with next year's American Guest of Honor Laura Lippman while in Alaska. She said, "When you first asked me to be GOH it seemed so far away." It isn't any longer. It's our turn to put on the show. It is our desire to put on an event as well run as this year's. To fold Baltimore's rich history and the past and future of Bouchercon into the entity we call Charmed to Death. So thankyou Alaska Sisters in Crime. We have fabulous memories to get us through to October 13th, 2008.

And now our year begins in earnest...

Baltimore's Inner Harbor - The converted Power Plant

Bouchercon Does it Again

2007-07-29T16:02:00.000-05:00

It's a Baltimore kind of day here in Milwaukee. Cal is getting inducted this week. Jon and I have just rewatched Homicide in its entirety. Hairspray is doing well at the movies. I'm in the middle of the 18 day work week from hell and feeling a bit crabby. But oh, I can smell Anchorage in the air. And I love being a fan of the mystery world.

So Alaska came out with the nominations for Bearly Alive. What a great list. I was so excited to see a cast of books that were all top notch. I hope the Baltimore list will be just as impressive.

And I was reminded again that Bouchercon does indeed belong to the fans. I say this because those members who sent in their nominations came up with some lists containing anomalies to the "formula" not found in any other award list.

An all female list? Holy Cow, Veronica. But great books, each and every one. Reflective of all that is right on any fan's nightstand. Strong and long lived series (Spencer-Fleming, Lippman)that continue to pay off book to book. Authors who continue to allow their protags to grow and learn new truths. A newer series from an established writer that proves there is a new way to write this genre (Mina). A Stand-Alone from one of the genre's great that uses passion for a cause (missing children) to tell a horrifying story of one family. A book filled with facts and fiction that is astounding(Burke). And of course one of '06s biggest lovestory's. I'm talking about Nancy Pickard's opus. When a great writer throws it out there like this everyone is a winner.

Could an organization get away with not nominating at least one person of each gender? It hasn't worked out well for those who have, backlash is a horrible thing. But the bouchercon nods are, because of their very concept, pure.

Big Press, small press and yup, one book that could be defined as self published. And you know what? All of the books on these lists are highly readable. That's how they made the list. A Bouchercon member read the book, remembered it and when it was time to submit their individual lists to the Anthony committee they wrote it down. The award committee tallied up the nods and the list was born.

My own reading has, because of time commitments, trailed of. The 300 + books I read two years ago is down to about 200. Certain favorite writers are sitting on a very special TBR pile. To be savored after Judy and I see the tax man for the last time post 2008. And my own list would have been a bit different than the one from Alaska. But you know what? It couldn't have been better. There is not a group I'm prouder to be a member of, because together we come up with anomalies and truths you couldn't anywhere else.

It is why Bouchercon and the Anthony are special and will remain so.

Hotel Matters

2007-05-26T12:18:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

Ruth Jordan here. I'm posting both late (concerns have been voiced)and prematurely since I have not sent this message to Judy for vetting (and believe me Judy and I are in this together), nor am I prepared to give you links yet. I blogged some time ago that our host hotel had changed mastheads. What was the Wyndham Inner Harbor is now The Sheraton City Center. Please note the name as there is also a Sheraton Inner Harbor (not our hotel) in Baltimore. The Sheraton CityCenter has become a Starwood hotel and undergone a makeover since my first visit. Last week Judy and I flew to Baltimore and met with the New Sheraton. We had concerns.

I'll apologize to everyone for not having Beth update the Charmed to Death Web site. As I type on, I know you'll all understand the why and agree that despite the inconvenience(the apology part) it makes good sense as there will be permanent information available shortly.

When the Wyndham became a Starwood Hotel the easy reservation system we had set up was fubbared. The reason? Starwood's policy is not to allow reservations until 15 months out. This has everything to do with individual conventions need for space and hard as it may seem to believe now will be to our advantage come the week of October 9th, 2008 when Charmed and Sheraton Center City will be one and the same.

It was wonderful of the hotel (under the Wyndham hotel masthead) to allow for reservations so early. And I'll reiterate an earlier comment I made elsewhere. The Staff (many of whom have gone through the change with us) were not intentionally misleading either us or any of their other existing accounts.

So the following may eliviate most of your concerns and should provide answers to the most significant of your questions. I appreciate the early interest all around and guarentee that, with Judy, I will try to make this a Bouchercon to remember on every level. I am available at the e-mail address ruth@crimespreemag.com at any time and almost always answer e-mail within 48 hours. Any concerns about any part of Charmed may be directed to my e-mail.

First,

all people who made reservations at the Wyndham Inner Harbor when reservations were open.
1.) Your reservations are safe.
2.) Those who made reservations for Tuesday the 7th, Wed the 8th, or Sunday the 12th and failed to get convention rates with the Wyndham, your rates will be adjusted to the convention rate when the room blocks are increased.
3.) The rates are indeed 175 for a single, 195 for a double and 215 for three in a room.
(you will need to be registered with the convention itself by the time the convention begins for adjustments, as that isthe list that will be used)

Second,

For those who want to register promptly.

When reservations reopen in July you will be able to register with the hotel itself, at the 800 number and online. We will have the hotel page of Charmed up and running as soon as reservations can be taken.

Third,

the room rate a few lucky individuals were able to get in the past few weeks were an anomilly. This rate is no longer available to anyone, nor will it be taken away from the individuals who were fortunate enough to secure those rates. It was a glitch in the Starwood system that has been corrected. Of lesser concern to the fortunate (but of great concern to Judy and myself) our room blocks will be ammended to include those who lucked out and are registered for the Con itself.

Did I mention the big thankyou for all the early interest, as well as a heartfelt sharing of excitement and an empathy for your individual frustrations. I know that as exciting as Alaska will be it is not logistically possible for many to attend. I certainly realize that this has many looking forward to Bouchercon 2008 and wanting to finalize plans earlier than most years.

So, the website will be updated as soon as everything is back in play.

If you are indeed planning your trip itinerary I'll give you some early updates to keep under consideration:

Early registration will be available Wed the 8th.
The 2008 Bouchercon will begin at 8:30 a.m on Thursday Oct. 9th with a full block of panels.
There will be an opening ceremony on Thursday at Sundown.
We are scheduling events both early (until seven) and late (beginning at nine) on Friday the 10th.
Saturday evening is "free".
The convention will conclude with an Anthony Award Brunch on Sunday.

Thank you again, everyone for this groundswell of support.
Ruth

CHARMED TO DEATH CHARITIES ANNOUNCED

2007-04-09T19:57:00.000-05:00

We are pleased to announce that the proceeds from the Charmed to Death-Bouchercon 2008 will go to the Enoch Pratt Free Library and Viva House.

The Enoch Pratt Free Library is one of the oldest free public libraries in the United States. Established in 1882 (first opened to the public in 1886) after a grant from philanthropist Enoch Pratt, the library now includes 23 branches in and around Baltimore, plus the Central Library. The Central Library was designated the "State Library Resource Center for the State of Maryland" by the Maryland General Assmbly in 1971.

Viva House is a Catholic Worker House of Hospitality and Resistance in the tradition of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. The house opened in 1968 and attempts to "do the works of mercy" and "resist the works of war".

They serve a late afternoon meal 2 days each week and operate a food pantry for their neighbors in South West Baltimore. An average of 240 people are served at each meal and they try to provide at least 125 families with a 3 day supply of food each month.

Judy Bobalik

We're back !

2007-04-04T15:36:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone,

after a too long hiatus, the Charmed to Death Blog is back.

First I’d like to offer some congrats to our guests of honor/honour.

Laura Lippman has made the New York Times Bestseller list. Rising from number eleven to ten WHAT THE DEAD KNOW is allowing all of the U.S. reading public to read a voice the Mystery Community has known was special for a long time. We’ll gladly share.

John Harvey has been awarded the Diamond Dagger, Britain’s highest criminal award. Celebrate. Rejoice. As the list of D. D. recipients shows, cream does rise to the top. Nobody deserves a place on this list more than Harvey, one of mystery’s rarest gems.

And now on to business. For those of you unaware. Our host hotel the Wyndham recently raised a new banner and is now the Sheraton Baltimore Inner City Hotel.

Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel

With a multi-million dollar face lift, this hotel promises to be better than when we first imagined holding mystery’s biggest convention there.

For those of you who are trying to make reservations for the hotel know that the numbers on the web site are not correct and will be updated shortly. Also, though the hotel itself has tried they will be unable to take additional reservations until later this year. We will let you know when. For those of you who have already placed reservations they are set, they are recorded and they will remain intact. The good news is that at the time of shut down we were already well on our way to filling our block.

Judy and I must thank this entire community for its support. You’re making our job easy.

If anyone has any concerns about reservations or the hotel our sales representative at the Sheraton is Angie Martin. Angie will answer any individual inquiries. Angie and the entire staff of the Sheraton are looking forward to doing their part to make this an unforgettable Bouchercon.

Angie’s contact info (which she suggested be put on the blog, bless her for the above and beyond commitment) is:

Angie Martin | Director of Sales - Sheraton Baltimore City Center
101 W. Fayette Street I Baltimore I Maryland I 21201
telephone 410.385.6550 | facsimile 410.727.6223
sheraton.com/baltimorecitycenter.

Next week a look at our selected charities from Judy Bobalik.

update: Sept 18 2006

2006-09-18T09:37:00.000-05:00

Hello again from the homeland. Well, I’ve a few news notes on Charmed to Death. First we are getting the committees in order.

Our Anthony Award committee is set. We’ve asked and been able to appoint Patricia and Soren Pederson (who’ve done it before) and John Purcell (who agreed to do anything). We all agree that balloting will end at 12:00 noon the Saturday of our convention.

There will be news soon on the panel committee and our designated charities.

Mike Bursaw is our Dealer Room Chair. Mike runs Mystery Mike’s in Indianapolis and has been in the dealer room for the last several years. We will have an info page for potential dealers up shortly after the Madison Convention has ended.

Chairing a Con is a tricky thing. As we all get ready to descend upon Madison we must begin to look forward to and support Alaska in 2007. I know I’m looking forward to seeing Anchorage and am sure that Dee Ford and Dana Stabenow will make sure we all have a damned fine time. As the co-chair of 2008 I want all the folks who’ve made Bouchercon a part of their lives to have Moose and bush pilots on their minds for the next 13 months. At the same time I want people to know that Baltimore is well in hand. I hope you do and I hope this blog is helpful.

Ruth Jordan

News From the Front

2006-09-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

Charmed to Death is excited to announce an addition to our Guests of Honor list. For the 2008 convention we are bringing back the “Distinguished Contribution to the Genre” Guest of Honor. Last used in Philly in 1998 this honorific is meant to be a bow for a body of work both significant and individual.

Mystery fans everywhere will have no trouble matching the above criteria with our guest. In 2008 it will have been 51 years since the first story released under his own name was published. In that time he has created four of mystery’s most famous recurring characters; Matt Scudder, Bernie Rhodenbarr, Evan Tanner and Keller. Within these series as well as without he has created an awe inspiring cannon of work. You know what Bern? He did change our life. An inspiration to writers and readers everywhere, we welcome Lawrence Block, a man synonymous with mystery to Charmed to Death.

Mr. Block will be joining Laura Lippman, John Harvey, Barbara Peters, Robert Rosenwald, Mark Billingham and Thalia Proctor as a guest of honor. We hope you’ll join them all in Baltimore.

Ruth

B-COn 2006 Coming up Fast

2006-08-07T18:40:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone. Hey, Bouchercon 2006 is less than sixty days out! I for one am ready. I’ll be missing folks who aren’t going to make it and celebrating a some who will be there for the first time.
Madison.

Food

Thought I’d share some low-down on this year’s convention site. First there’s plenty of inexpensive and great dining. Sushi just across the alley from the Concourse. Nepali And Greek Restaurants just around the corner on State Street. It’s a college town and you’ll find plenty of Pasta up and down State Street. Subs too. Pizza? I did say it’s a college town. Madison also has some four and five star restaurants. Ask your concierge for recommendations. It’s Wisconsin so there will be at least on opportunity for ice cream on every block. My suggestion is that you take a little bit of a longer walk down to the end of State Street and visit Bascomb Hall at the University of Wisconsin if you want a real ice cream treat and a slice of this college town. Another not to miss University site is the Union Terrace. If the weather cooperates you could do a lot worse than sitting outside overlooking the lake and drinking really CHEAP beer and listening to live music. Coffee is the life blood of college students and in even greater abundance than ice cream.
The Sunday Brunch at the hotel is amazing. One of those bang up Hotel jobbies with the carving board, omelet station, Belgian waffles and 20 yards of desserts(hint use the large plate for desserts and the small plate for entrees).

Shopping

Everything is here in abundance and CHEAP.
Shoes, clothes, music, liquor. I filled three shopping bags with work clothes in July and spent 100 bucks.You can go designer or bohemian, inexpensive or not. Hunting for the bargains is the best part.

Hooch

And it’s a college town so you can get a drink with friends all along the way. in a bar, at a liquor store Alcoholic or not? Well it’s your Bouchercon!!
Some administrative stuff. Thanks to all who’ve signed up to come to Charmed to Death. Pay Pal is a wonderful thing. Please, if you use the PayPal option, don’t forget to send a registration form too. We’d like your info.

Many of you have attempted to register for the hotel and been told that they couldn’t find us listed. I’ve been assured by the Wyndham that there are no more problems but if you do have any, email me through the website. It’s uncommon for a hotel to start booking this far out and they ran into some software problems. Remember to ask for Registration and mention Bouchercon!

On The Road to Bouchercon:

2006-07-30T12:51:00.000-05:00

(Ruth and Lauren Henderson with the sisters Jordan, Jennifer and Dianne. Girls Night Out)

Hello everyone. Well today at least I’m caught up on life…. except for the phone call I owe my brother.

It’s an exciting week for B-Con Baltimore.

The website is up. You can find it at Baltimore Bouchercon Website and here Register Here. I have to thank Cincinnati Media for web design and Jim Barker for the logo. This week I’ve been busy. Wearing many hats. Truth is I’m just one person though and mystery is the biggest part of my life. From October 9^th to October 12^th of 2008 I have but one goal. To celebrate the Mystery community in it’s entirety, our guests of honor specifically and the city of Baltimore in particular.

I’m going to begin to utilize this blog on a weekly basis to talk about 2008. And this first entry is going to be about me. I am not an egoist. B-Con is not about committee chairs. It is about the mystery community. However, there are many in the mystery community who have no idea who I am and may be curious. And so I give to you a bio.

I am a fan. A pure as Ivory Soap fan of the mystery genre. I love the books. I love the authors. I love the crazy fools who are independent book store owners and the people in big chain stores who champion the mystery author. I love the librarians who find the books first, mostly. I love the internet mystery community in all it’s many boards and blogs. Started there in fact. With Kathy Fountaneau, my first “mystery” friend. “Copykat” is still important to me but the list has grown over the last ten years.

At it’s core is “Team Jordan”. There’s myself and Jon and Jennifer. I met Jon at B-Con in 1999. I married him in 2000 just as people were sitting down to the Anthony Awards in Denver. And we thought of our friends who were there while celebrating our own beginning with friends and family on a snowy day in Wisconsin. Every day begins and ends for me with Jon Jordan and I consider myself one of the luckiest spouses alive. I have a husband who is passionate about mystery. Honest about his enthusiasm in a way unlike anyone else I know. And in the last six years he’s challenged me to go “all in”. Jennifer doesn’t remember meeting me. It was the bar. It was B-con. It’s understandable. But we’re compatriots now in our love for this genre and we’re sisters, which in fact, is much more important to me.

I’ve reviewed books for a variety of internet sites, briefly put out a monthly e-newsletter called Prime Crime, and then came Crimespree. A germ of an idea that started with Team Jordan, the extended version. Vegas B-Con, breakfast; Ali Karim, Sarah Weinman, Jeremy Lynch. In the last three years the mystery community has embraced Crimespree. Our extended family has grown. The number of people who’ve volunteered time, access, product, pictures and words makes my head spin. And still in the end it’s all about the books.

So I’m “all in”. Hosting B-Con in Baltimore in 2008. Did I mention I live in Milwaukee? I think maybe I’m insane.