Another
Bouchercon has come and gone leaving in its wake a lot of wonderful memories.
And a lot of exhausted mystery writers—including several of my fellow Writers
Who Kill!—and readers.
As is often the
case, travel provided the biggest adventure. I try my best to plan ahead for a
smooth trip. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans. My travel
buddy, Liz Milliron, was supposed to avoid some of the airport traffic by
coming to my house, leaving her car in my garage, and driving with me to the
valet parking lot. Since I live on the opposite side of Pittsburgh
International from the city, I have NO traffic to deal with. The problem is Liz
still had to get through the city to get to my house, and we hadn’t planned for
the traffic jam created by an accident on the Parkway. Instead of taking no
more than an hour to get to my house, it took Liz over two.
Thankfully, we made
it to the airport with no other issues, made our flight and expected no
additional speedbumps on our way to Dallas.
Then we landed in
Houston. As soon as our phones came out of airplane mode, the notification hit.
Our 45-minute layover was now an hour and 45 minutes. Our rushed “we’ll grab a
sandwich” turned into a leisurely lunch.
And then a
leisurely snack. Chocolate-covered potato chips make a pretty good salve for
calming travel frustrations.
The departure
changes bounced back and forth more than a pinball until we finally boarded our
flight two hours late.
By the time we
checked in, we were too exhausted to go out for dinner or to meet friends in
the lobby.
At least our hotel room was gorgeous and room service didn’t take
too long.
Wednesday, Liz
joined Dru Ann Love on a bus tour of the city while I went for a very chilly
walk with my Pittsburgh sister in crime, Susan Thibadeau. It was too darned
cold to wander as far or as long as we’d have liked, but we enjoyed seeing a
few sights.
Bouchercon kicked
off on Thursday with Susan’s panel and a rousing game of Who Wants to be a
Mysteryaire with the gang from Jungle Red Writers. Lots of fun and laughs.
(FWIW, I suck at game shows. Just sayin’.)
Later, in the
lobby, I ran into a fan of my Zoe Chambers series, Cheryl Aker, who generously
gifted me with a pair of wooden squirrels she’d made herself!
(If you’re
asking, “Squirrels?” it’s a “thing” over on my Zoe Chambers Mysteries &Friends group on Facebook.) Sweetest moment of the entire convention for me!
Friday, I cheered
on my former Pittsburgh mister in crime J.J. Hensley on his panel (come back,
J.J.! I know Georgia is warmer, but we miss you!).
I also attended the first of
the Poison Lady’s presentations. I always leave her workshops feeling…unnerved…but
fascinated.
Saturday, I
bravely attended the Poison Lady’s second presentation. The Q & A was as
frightening as the workshop, with attendees eagerly asking about ways to slip
toxic substances to people I can only hope were fictional victims in their
books!
Lisa Unger
interviewed Guest of Honor Hank Phillippi Ryan in one of my favorite events of
the convention. I’ve known Hank for years and have heard her speak many many
many times and STILL managed to learn a few fascinating tidbits about her.
That evening, I
got to spend time with two of my favorite people, my former editor Rachel
Jackson and my former (and current freelance) editor, Erin George. It was
wonderful catching up with them in person!
Sunday morning,
after rising early to pack and check out, I had my panel about the careers of
fictional sleuths. Our crowd was small to start, although it grew considerably
as bleary-eyed attendees, clutching coffee, wandered in.
Next, Liz took part in
a very funny panel about small towns, big crime.
As soon as she finished her
book signing, we grabbed a Lyft to the airport…where we had another delay.
Thankfully only one hour this time.
I’m glad I went.
It was wonderful seeing old friends and making new ones. We shared a lot of
laughs and a few drinks—both alcoholic and caffeinated.
Who else was
there? Leave a comment and share your favorite memory!
