PLA Diary

by Shari Randall

The common pronunciation of the Public Library Association’s acronym is P-L-A, very close to the word “play.” I attended the PLA Conference in Nashville last week and if you like books, libraries, and authors, the conference is a playground of ideas.

Sisters in Crime Cari Dubiel, VM Burns, and me

The speakers - Tracy Abrams, Samantha Bee, Soledad O’Brien, Haben Girma, Erik Larson, Dr. Bettina Love, Ann Patchett -- were inspiring, informative, and intriguing. The field trips (tours of the Nashville Public Library, Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium), scores of panels, and book buzz presentations served up ideas as enticing and filling as the brisket at Martin’s BBQ. Panels ranged from serious subjects like serving patrons with dementia, information literacy, and the dark web, to making recycled book flowers and how to have a library cat.

Then there were the unofficial events…bull riding at Old Smoky, art crawls, hockey meet ups. Some in the Nashville media were taken aback by the fun loving nature of the conference attendees, but anyone who knows librarians wasn’t surprised. Librarians are a fun-loving bunch.

Free ARCS and author signings were everywhere. The eight thousand five hundred librarians were enticed into the Exhibit Hall by giveaways of tote bags printed with “Audio books are not cheating” and “My weekend is all booked,” free espresso, Plinko for prizes, and milk and cookies.

Ravenclaws rule!

Book stacks everywhere

Alana White with librarians from Kenya

One exhibit featured a program that makes it look like you’ve stepped into the world of Harry Potter. Depending on one’s Hogwarts “house,” a visitor to the booth can step into a simulation of a scene from the HP universe. Through computer magic, Ravenclaws like me were able to visit the Hogwarts library.

Because PLA was in Nashville, country music filled the air and country stars – or their lookalikes -- were everywhere. Conferencegoers could have their pics taken with “Dolly” and “Johnny.” The Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Old Opry, and Music Row were all steps away.

I organized the Sisters in Crime booth and was pleased to meet so many volunteers from not only the local Tennessee chapters but also authors who traveled from around the country to help spread the word about SINC. The best part was all the ideas exchanged and connections made. 

The day after I returned home I heard the awful news about the Nashville tornadoes. From what I saw of the people of Nashville, I know they’ll pull together to make whole the city they love. I was proud to know that PLA was one of the first organizations to reach out to the city to offer help. If you’d like to help, here’s a link: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/how-to-help-victims-of-the-middle-tennessee-tornado

What’s your favorite conference? Why do you love it?

Conferences. Too Many? Too Few?

by Kaye George

I’m going to more conferences this year than I usually do. That’s because I have a new release in a new series coming out this year, in March. That’s what I tell myself.

Will going to more conferences help me sell more books? Will it help me get more name recognition? More readers?

As many writers have pointed out in the past, you never know what works and what doesn’t. There’s no way to quantify it. What I know, is that if I do nothing, no publicity at all, no conferences, no blogs, no guest blogs, my sales dwindle drastically. When I do everything, my books sell. If I only knew which things to do and which things I could let go! I doubt that will ever happen.

So this year, in addition to Malice Domestic, which I nearly always attend, I’m going to Left Coast Crime in San Diego (my third one), and to Killer Nashville (I think it’s my third one there, too.)

I’m doing as much as I can at each conference. The only one all set up so far is LCC and I was fortunate to be given two panels. I was also fortunate enough to have Maya Corrigan pair up with me for what they call an author-reader connection. This is new to me, but it’s going to be great fun, I predict. We’ll meet at a Greek restaurant and give out books and buy baklava for our guests. That ought to create fans, don’t you think? If it doesn’t, what will?

I’m not looking forward to spending all this money on the conferences, but I will try to forget all about that while I’m doing them. Hope to see a lot of you there!

Bouchercon Recap

by Kaye George

I went to my first ever Bouchercon this month, and a couple of days of last month (10/30-11/3). It wasn’t a month long, but kind of seemed like it!

WEDNESDAY

I flew there on Wednesday and checked into my hotel, the Hyatt Regency Reunion Tower. Although I lived in Dallas for nearly 20 years and have been to Reunion Tower at least once, I don’t remember the hotel and the entire city looked unfamiliar. They’ve built—and are building—so many new skyscrapers since I left well over 15 years ago.

I’ll admit the conference was bewildering to me. I never did find a good map and used this one from the huge tome I got when I checked in Wednesday. There was no map in the schedule I carried around. It felt like I walked a thousand miles!

THURSDAY

I had breakfast Thursday morning with a good friend from Dallas, Sarah Weiss.

My panel, on self-publishing, was that morning at 9:30, but I don’t have any pictures of it.

 I do have pix of two other panels I attended that day, both short story panels. I didn’t sell any books at the conference since I couldn’t get them into the bookstore until after my panel and my signing, due to miscommunication between the hotel and the conference, I was told. That was quite disappointing.

Becki Willis, Sandy Steen, Mary Sojak, Mad Hildebrandt, Angela Zeman, Bess Carnan, Rhonda Gilliland, Paul Benson

 

Barb Goffman, R.T. Lawton, Mysti Berry, James Lincoln Warren, Michael Bracken, John Floyd

There was a Guppy gathering later in the day (I neglected to get photos) and Denise Tiller and I ended up at the bar together.

FRIDAY

Friday started with the Sisters in Crime breakfast. There were some pictures there—this one of Ramona’s Facebook Sprint group, but I didn’t make the Guppy picture, unfortunately.

Annette Dashofy, Me, Liz Milliron, Cheryl Hollon, Dru Ann Love, Millie Naylor Hast (her picture)

I attended the awarding of the Bill Crider Awards, since I was a judge for those. It was great to see Joseph S. Walker win the award, since he also had an excellent story in my own anthology in 2017.

Me and Joseph Walker above. The short story awards people below, Paula Benson, an important man whose name I forgot, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Gigi Pandian (speaking), and Kevin Tipple

Alan Orloff took the Derringer for Best Short Story. Here he is, on the right, with Brian Silverman, nominee for Best Novelette, and another writer whose name I can’t remember.

Derringer finalists

Derringer winners

Sandra Murphy and Nancy West joined me at the bar that night.

Cheryl Hollon and I went to the Denim Party, which included some BBQ, but very little line dancing and the bar closed very early. It included a surprise live auction, but no one knew what the items were so the bidding wasn’t brisk.

SATURDAY

I took shots of the daytime view from my room and the two panels I attended, Deep in the Heart of Texas at 11:00, and Anthony nominees at 4:00. 

Deep in the Heart of Texas: Scott Montgomery, Daniel J. Hale, Harry Hunsicker, Nancy G. West, William Dylan Powell, Teresa Trent 

Anthony Best Short Stories nominees: (M) Angela Crider Neary, Barb Goffman, S. A. Cosby (winner), Art Taylor, Holly West

Anthony Winners are here.

I attended the Diamond Party Saturday night and it turned out to be a dinner, much to our surprise.

I know I’m in a picture with members of this blog, but haven’t gotten a copy of it. Don’t remember when that was taken.

SUNDAY

I headed out and drove to Austin to spend the rest of that week at my son’s house. Got home on the 8^th, exhausted!

There were some great highlights! One was signing my story in COOKED TO DEATH for Rhonda Gilliland, hanging around with all the other people mentioned above, and just being with so many writers. The Kensington signing was fun, too, even though I don’t have a book out with them yet. Can’t wait until that event at Malice. Needless to say, I had a wonderful time at Bouchercon, but was confused for most of it!

Here’s one final comment on the drama of the whole thing. On the way there, a guy had a heart attack on our plane! On the way back, my luggage didn’t get home with me. I got it the next day, but was panicking!

To Confer or Not to Confer

by Kaye George

That is the question for so many writers. Especially those who have never attended a writers’ conference. They’re big, they’re complicated, and—worst of all—they are expensive. I’ll address only mystery cons here, because they are mostly what I have experience with.

  

The reasons to skip them and stay home are compelling for people who love to sit alone in a room and write for an unseen audience. Many of us are introverts who would rather listen in on conversations than participate in them. Hardly any of us make much money, so it’s hard to justify the expense if there are no benefits you can think of.

There are reasons to go, too, and I’m in the pro-conference camp.

First of all, know that there are two types of writerly gatherings: conferences and conventions. Or, in other words, fan conferences and writer conferences. At the former, many mystery fans show up and buy books. They are thrilled to meet the authors and get signatures in those books. They love to attend your panel discussions and see what you look like, how you sound.

My short story panel at Malice 2019

The writers’ conferences are aimed AT the writer. They include instructional and informative panels, useful stuff for us. They often offer a meeting with an agent or editor in some sort of pitch session.

The former are the big ones: Malice Domestic, Bouchercon, etc. The latter are smaller and often regional.

When I attended my first Malice Domestic, I was unpublished. I went to see what it was about, and to dream of being on one of those panels and sitting at one of those signing tables. I volunteered, so I would have something to do besides wandering aimlessly. That’s all it took for me, one time. I was hooked.

Where else can you enter the bar and sit with a complete stranger who is wearing the same conference badge that you’re wearing, and immediately strike up a conversation? Where else can you be sitting alone in the bar and have a complete stranger wearing that badge come sit with you? These are places where kindred souls can meet and discuss things we have to whisper about in polite company: advantages and disadvantages of various weapons and poisons, body decomposition, the particulars of dark personalities, ways to structure our crimes and our detection. We can also gripe about publishers and others involved in getting our books into print or hindering that process. The list goes on and on.

A bunch at the bar, Killer Nashville, 2014

I hope all writers know that you can deduct the cost of these, whether or not you’re published. If you are diligently working toward that goal and have records (time sheets, rejections), there is no IRS limitation on how many years it takes you to start earning money.

Some years my earnings cover my costs. Some years they don’t. But there’s nothing I’d rather do than write mysteries and hang around with others who write them.

With a Little Help from My Friends

More help than I even planned, for this—my first blog here!

Here’s what I planned to say…

There’s no other kind of writer I’d rather be than a mystery writer. Yeah, journalism would be sexy and exciting, getting sent to areas of conflict, doing undercover work, revealing corruption. Oh, you say you don’t start out that way? It’s mall openings and Elk meetings for quite a few years?

Romance writing sounds intriguing. Think of the research, right? Then there’s literary writing. Those are the books that make it to the top of the best-seller lists.

But mystery writing is the best. You know why? Because of mystery writers. They are the best. Even people who are not mystery writers notice it. We don’t backstab. We support each other. We’re genuinely happy when a colleague breaks into print, gets a fantastic review, wins an award.

Our conferences are the best. Many of us write in solitary seclusion much of the time, isolated from one another—our fellow humans and even our fellow mystery writers. But a conference is chance to get together with our own kind. We’re delighted to tour a forensic anthropology lab. 

We love talking about poisons and weapons. We even overcome our fear of public speaking to be on panels before incredibly friendly, supportive, and interested audiences.

Take for instance, this blog. Here we are, a bunch of mystery writers supporting each other.

Here’s the unplanned part:

My fellow blog mates support even me, who is late posting on my very first day!

I am so grateful to have been asked to participate here. This is an awesome bunch!

Thanks!! (And feel free to edit out the exclamation points, if needed.)