Oooh, Look! Another Shiny New Career!

Today, I offer six words to describe myself (my professional career, anyway) on the Criminal Minds blog. Click on over to see!

Not Much of a Sailor

Today, I'm visiting Jenny Milchman's blog, Suspense Your Disbelief, with a Made It Moment. Click over, leave a comment, and join the fun!

This and That

Today, on the Criminal Minds blog, I answer the question:

If I could no longer write mysteries, what would I write instead?

Where have I been?

I haven’t blogged much lately. Where have I been? Well, some pictures and links:

At the rainy and cold Kensington Book Festival, With Con Lehane and Kathryn Johnson:

At the terrific Malice Domestic Convention:

Keeping the panel I moderated in line (photo courtesy of Sasscer Hill)

With fellow MInkers, Cricket McRae, Jessie Chandler, and Beth Groundwater (photo courtesy of Kathleen Ernst)

And the rest of the MInker gang (photo courtesy of Beth Groundwater)

I was also at the Gaithersburg Book Festival, Click HERE to go to a photo on Bethesda Magazine.

I’ve also joined a new group blog, Criminal Minds. Click HERE to join the fun!

(Note: I’ll still be blogging here, but on a less frequent basis. Follow me on Facebook, where I’m much more active!)

Malice Domestic

It’s almost time for the wonderful Malice Domestic Convention! It starts on Friday and runs through Sunday, at the Hyatt in Bethesda, MD. If you are in the area, and you love mysteries, you should plan to attend. You won’t be sorry!

I’ll be around for the duration, attending panels, yakking it up in the lobbies and hospitality center, and hanging out in the bar. I’ll also be at the following events/panels. If you see me, please come up and say hi so I don’t seem like such a lonely loser.

Friday, April 27th, from 10 – 11:30 am, I’ll be participating in Malice-Go-Round.

On Saturday, April 28, 9:40 – 10:30 am, I’ll be on the panel:
Capitol Crimes: All Politics Is Deadly
Audrey Liebross, Moderator
Alan Orloff
Andrea Penrose
Maggie Sefton
B.K. Stevens
Dorothy St. James

and later that day, at 1:30 – 2:20, I’ll be the moderator for the panel:
Three Strikes, You're Dead: Sports-Related Mysteries
Alan Orloff, Moderator
Maggie Barbieri
Laura DiSilverio
Beth Groundwater
Sasscer Hill

BSP, One, Two, Three

If I can’t toot my own horn here on my blog, then where else can I? (besides Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, my website, other people’s blogs, listservs, email loops, bookmarks, conventions, conferences, festivals, streetcorners…)

Anyway…

1) Tomorrow night, I’ll be interviewed on Triangle Variety Radio at 8:00 EDT. You can listen through your computer—just go to the link above, click a button, and make sure your speaker is on! The show is hosted by Elaine Raco Chase, who played an instrumental part in my writing career. You’ll have to tune in to see hear what! I’m just one of seven mystery writers she’ll be talking to from 8 – 11 pm (I’m first, at 8 pm).

2) If you like to read ebooks, then you’ll want to know about this website and newsletter. It’s Super E-Books.com, and it’s all about ebooks! Every month, they put out a newsletter that features FREE ebooks you can download. This month, THE TASTE is being offered FREE! Here’s the link for the newsletter. Visit today—these books are only FREE for a limited time!

 

3) And speaking of THE TASTE, I’d like to thank Betsy Ashton for the nice review on her blog, Write Now, Right Now. Thanks, Betsy—I’m tickled that you compared the book to the work of Thomas Tryon! And I’m pleased to announce that THE TASTE is now available for every ebook format!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It’s that time of year again. Spring, yes, but also the beginning of book convention/conference/festival/loll-apalooza season. (For me, anyway.)

I love book events. Each one seems to have its own, unique vibe. Some are huge, others intimate. Some are craft-oriented, others are geared more to fans. Still others are free-for-alls where just about anything goes.

This year, my book event season began a little early. I had the opportunity to attend the Sleuthfest conference in Orlando at the beginning of March. This one is aimed more toward mystery writers and attendance is limited so it’s a nice, cozy group. I was on a couple panels, met a lot of writers, and re-connected with some writer pals. I also learned a great deal about both craft and business. Plus, early March in Florida beats early March in D.C.

Next Sunday, I’ll be at the Kensington Book Festival, staffing the MWA booth. This is a free-for-all festival. Writers of every ilk will be there: self-pubbed, small-pubbed, trad-pubbed, e-pubbed. All genres. Fiction and non-fiction. Writers and fans. Purveyors of food, makers of music. The whole shebang. It’s a lot of fun and you never know what, or whom, you’ll see there. Last year, there was a guy wearing a bright yellow suit, a Miss Maryland (I think it was Maryland, I didn’t get a close look at her sash), and somebody in a cartoon character outfit high-fiving little kids.

In two weeks, there’s the Malice Domestic convention. This one is fan-based, and I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of my fellow MInkers there. Attendance is capped at about 500, and there are five tracks of panels over the two-and-a-half days. (I’ll be on a panel Saturday morning at 9:40 (with our Maggie Sefton) and I’m moderating refereeing a panel on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 (with our Beth Groundwater).)

Next month, I’ll be appearing at the Gaithersburg Book Festival. This one is modeled after the National Book Festival, held on the National Mall, and it’s all about the readers. There are six or seven large pavilions, and author presentations run all day long. It’s a great atmosphere and I’m proud to say I’ve participated all three years of its existence.

If you’re a reader or a writer, I encourage you to attend a book event. Writers are a friendly bunch (mostly), and they love to interact with other writers and readers (usually). So check out your local listings today to find an event near you!

Did I mention I love book events?

What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at a book event?

(This entry is “simul-posted” on InkSpot.)