South Carolina Book Festival 2015

In the Lerner and Lowe musical Camelot, Guenevere and the ensemble sing about “The Lusty Month of May.”

Julie Andrews in Camelot

In my book, May has become “the literary month” with Malice Domestic at the beginning, the South Carolina Book Festival in the middle, and Charleston, S.C.’s Spoleto Festival at the end.

John Betancourt, PGB, and Carla Coupe

Much has already been written about this year’s Malice including the WWK report (expertly compiled by Gloria Alden), but I would be remiss not to mention one additional Malice moment that had special significance for me. Wildside Press debuted the third Guppy anthology with twenty-two stories, including mine. I happened to be the only Fish or Cut Bait author at Malice. Publishers John Betancourt and Carla Coupe treated me royally, posing with me for a picture in the dealers’ room. Lovely Dorothy Cannell, author of the Thin Woman series, saw us and asked about the volume. She requested that a copy be held for her until she could return from her panel. She promised to read it and then donate it to her library, to introduce the anthology’s authors to more readers. What an absolutely thrilling moment!

This past Friday at the South Carolina Book Festival, I conducted a dialogue workshop, based on the principles I’d learned in preparing to teach a Guppy online course and make a presentation to my local SinC Palmetto Chapter. The class was enthusiastic and we had a great exchange of ideas. I also attended my friend James O. Born’s class on the Basics of Writing a Novel.

Saturday at the Festival was a whirlwind. I started the day moderating back-to-back programs.

 

Jamie Mason, Jenny Milchman, PGB, Lori Rader-Day, James O. Born

The KILLER THRILLERS featured James O. Born (who has recently co-authored Border War with Lou Dobbs and was debuting a new series with Scent of Murder, which provides a realistic view of police K-9s), Jamie Mason (whose first novel Three Graves Full has been called “ripping good” and whose second, Monday’s Lie, is characterized as delivering more of the “Hitchcockian menace”), Jenny Milchman (who won the prestigious Mary Higgins Clark award for her first novel Cover of Snow) and Lori Rader-Day (whose first novel, The Black Hour, has been nominated for an Anthony award).

 

Reba White Williams, Sandra Brannan, PGB, C.J. Lyons, and Amanda Kyle Williams

The CRIME AND PUZZLEMENT panel had Sandra Brannan (whose brilliant Liv Bergen mystery thrillers have been described by Library Journal as “good and scary”), C.J. Lyons (the NY Times and USA Today best-selling author of 29 novels, including one co-authored with Erin Brokovich), Amanda Kyle Williams (whose Keye Street has been called “the best fictional female PI since Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone”), and Reba White Williams (whose protagonist in Bloody Royal Prints finds that a fellowship at the Art Museum of Great Britain leads to royal intrigue when a friend is accused of murder).

What an incredible privilege it was to listen to these giant talents discuss their work and creative drive.

Jenny Milchman, Sasscer Hill, and Suze Maze

Cathy Pickens, Raegan Teller, and C. Hope Clark

Midday on Saturday, the new Palmetto Chapter of SinC gathered at a restaurant across from the convention center and had a leisurely meet-and-greet with the authors from the two panels. Jenny Milchman was kind enough to let us give away an ARC of her latest novel, which went to Maxine Henry, writer and librarian, who was celebrating her first submitted short story. Also attending the chapter meeting was former SinC National President Cathy Pickens.

Palmetto Chapter Meet-and-Greet the Authors Lunch

Cathy Pickens' 9 to 99 Panel

On Sunday, Cathy Pickens moderated two fascinating panels, one with authors Jaye Robin Brown, Catherine McKenzie, and husband and wife writing team John Parke Davis and Carrie Ryan whose work would satisfy readers from 9 to 99, and the other featuring humorous Southern writers Olivia deBelle Byrd, Jeremy Hawkins, and Harrison Scott Key.

Each year, I’m tremendously grateful for the opportunity to meet new authors and become reacquainted with writer friends. What conferences and festivals have you attended? In which month(s) do they occur?