Conclave Report

I always have such a great time at the Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave, and this year was no exception. Keynote speaker Diane Mott Davidson looks like Kathleen Turner and is as smart, funny, and utterly charming as it is possible to be. And she brought Got-A-Hot-Date Bars—that she made herself before coming, from a recipe from her latest culinary mystery, Sweet Revenge—to hand out at her book signing. (Honestly, these bars are so good, they should be called Better-Than-A-Hot-Date Bars.) I bought Sweet Revenge while I was at the Conclave, and I’m enjoying the story even more now that I can hear Diane’s voice in my head as I read.

Nancy Pickard was as gracious and wonderful as always, and while we were at the Conclave, she found out that she had won the Macavity Award for The Virgin of Small Plains. No book deserves it more. Honestly, if you haven’t read it, treat yourself. It is the best book I’ve read in a long time.

Will Thomas was a terrific toastmaster. I haven’t yet read his historical mysteries about a private detective and his sidekick in Victorian London, but I fully intend to. They sound wonderful.

The law enforcement panel was terrific, as always. There are only a handful of certified forensic anthropologists and forensic psychologists in the country, and we’re fortunate to have one of each teaching at Kansas State University in Manhattan. They, along with a Riley County homicide detective, the retired Riley County district attorney (who sounds just like Jimmy Stewart—I kid you not), and the chief public defender in Wichita, spoke for over two hours on Saturday morning, and were just fascinating. I could’ve listened to them all day.

I missed a few of the Conclave regulars who couldn’t attend this year, such as Susan McBride, Mark Bouton, and Margaret Shauers. And of course, it’s a little like Christmas—I looked forward to it for so long that now that it’s over, I’m feeling a bit of a letdown.

But that won’t last long because this Friday I’ll be motoring down to Wichita for the Kansas Book Festival. I am very lucky to be invited to so many fun book events.

Kansas Book Festival

Next week I’ll be attending the Kansas Book Festival in Wichita. This is the second year for the festival. I went last year, and WOW, it was a wonderful two days of books, music, authors, and storytellers. It was successful beyond even the organizers’ dreams, and the second year promises to be even bigger.

I’ll be speaking on a panel called “LOL: Funny Fiction” with fellow middle-grade writers J.B. Cheaney and Justin Matott. I’ve participated in panels with J.B. Cheaney a couple of times before, and she’s a wonderful writer and speaker. I’m looking forward to meeting Justin.

Here are the details:

LOL: Funny Fiction
9:45 to 10:45 a.m.
Friday
October 5
Tween Time Tent
Koch Arena (at Wichita State University)
21st & Hillside
Wichita, Kansas

After the panel I’ll sign books from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Town Crier Bookstore booth. And after that I’m going to wander around the festival enjoying all the other author panels and talks. I’m bringing my son, who is 13 and is always fun to hang out with (unless he’s doing math homework, in which case he’s no fun at all).

The Spaghetti Method

First drafts are hard. I can very happily revise all day long. But facing that blank page, trying to create something out of nothing, can be sheer agony. Once in awhile I’ll get into a groove and those first draft words will simply flow, but that’s a gift so rare, I don’t even remember the last time it happened.

The reason first drafts are so difficult is that I subconsciously worry that the words I put on that blank page won’t be the right ones, that I’ll choose wrong before I even start. I sit paralyzed, my fingers hovering over the keyboard, trying to work out in my mind which words, in which order, I should use to tell my story—and not being able to commit to any of them. Finally I give up in frustration and go in search of a tasty snack (because, as my friend Suzanne says, I may get writer’s block, but I never get eater’s block).

In order to get anything written, I’ve had to develop the Spaghetti Method. When facing that blank page, I start throwing words at it to see if any of them stick. I have to keep reminding myself that I’m doing this, that whatever I throw on there doesn’t have to stay, that I can always scrape it off later. But the Spaghetti Method helps circumvent the agony of the first draft and gets me more quickly to the part I enjoy: revision.

First drafts still aren’t (usually) easy. And I’m still waiting for the next blissful moment of first-draft flow. But in the meantime, I’m not facing a blank page unarmed.

Partners in Crime

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a member of Sisters in Crime and of the Kansas City chapter, Partners in Crime. The other night at our monthly meeting, I volunteered to put up a website for the chapter. The president said, “Hey, great! We’ve been needing a web maven.” I’m hardly a maven—of anything, much less the Internet—but I figured even I could set up the information on a blog. Blogs are free, which, coincidentally, is exactly how much our chapter can afford.

I think it turned out pretty well: PartnersInCrimeKC. If you live in the Kansas City area and are interested in mysteries, you can find information there on our activities and members and can download past issues of our newsletter. And then you could join us at our meetings. We get together on the second Wednesday of each month, and we always have great speakers.

Washburn-Auburn Book Fair Update

The Washburn-Auburn schools have invited me to participate in their book fair this year, and I’ve just confirmed some of the details:

Auburn-Washburn Book Fair
Saturday
December 1, 2007
Barnes and Noble
6130 SW 17th Street
Topeka, Kansas
785.273.9600

The book fair runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. I’ll be there starting at 10 a.m. and will stay as long as they need (or want!) me. I’m excited. I love book fairs. And book fairs in December are especially wonderful because they’re a great opportunity to do a little holiday shopping.

Once

I saw the most wonderful movie this afternoon—“Once,” an Irish film about a Dublin musician and a Czech girl who meet and change each others’ lives. It’s a sweet, lovely story that doesn’t feel at all staged. It’s more like we’re eavesdropping on these people’s lives. It’s not a movie for children. Not that there’s anything objectionable about it, save for a bit of language here and there. I just don’t think there’s enough action to keep kids involved.

But, oh, adults, treat yourselves to this. The music is incredible. I left the theatre and headed straight for the music store to buy the soundtrack. The songs are infectious and haunting, and now that I’m home and have been doing a bit of online research, I see why. Glen Hansard, who plays the Dublin musician, is apparently a huge star in Ireland, the lead singer and guitarist of the Irish band The Frames. I’m glad I finally know this. I’ve really been missing out on something terrific.

Go, Mrs. Holloway!

My son is in eighth grade, and Tuesday we went to Back-to-School Night. His language arts teacher handed out notes with a web address on it—for her teacher blog. She keeps a blog so she can list assignments, supplies they need, what they’re working on in class, and anything else students and parents need to know. What a great use for a blog!

More GMMC

I just got a (very) tentative schedule of events for the Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave, and I’m going to be on a panel with Diane Mott Davidson. How cool is that? The panel is “From Cooking to Basketry to Basketball: Weaving Passions into Plots.” So far the three panelists are Diane, who writes culinary mysteries, of course (the menu at the conference banquet will be based on recipes from her books—yum), Beth Groundwater, who writes mysteries about a woman who owns a gift basket business (and who is a lovely person—I met her at the first GMMC), and me (Airball, of course, is about basketball). This should be great fun.

GMMC

It’s no secret I love mysteries. And I’ve talked about the Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave before, but I wanted to mention it again because this year’s Conclave is coming up in about a month and a half. I am so looking forward to it.

This is a great mystery convention. It’s such a warm, friendly weekend, the perfect place to start if you’ve never been to a mystery convention and are a little nervous about attending. This year’s Guest of Honor is Diane Mott Davidson. Her books prove something I’ve long contended, that setting is one of the most important ingredients (for me, at least) in a mystery series. I love vicariously tootling about fictional Aspen Meadow, Colorado (based on the real Evergreen, Colorado, a picturesque town in the Rockies east of Denver) with main character Goldy Bear Schultz in her catering van as she stumbles over dead bodies. I love sitting in Goldy’s kitchen, sipping espresso as she whips up something sinfully chocolate while contemplating murder suspects.

This will be the fourth year for the Conclave, and my fourth year to attend. We always have a lots Kansans in attendance, of course, but conference-goers come from all over, even as far away as Hawaii. There’s always a big contingent of mystery lovers from Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. So if you live anywhere close and you love mysteries, this would be a wonderful way to spend a weekend. It will take place September 28–30, 2007.

Not to Beat the Topic of Nancy to Death, But. . .

. . . I’ve recently discovered the joys of eBay. And yes, it’s a dangerous place. I’ve been bidding on old Nancy Drew books and, to my surprise, I’ve actually won a few. No small feat since I really have no idea what I’m doing.

As the packages have arrived, I’ve realized that the passion I’ve had for those books since I was nine years old is still there, undiluted. I can’t even describe how much I loved Nancy, how I devoured each book straight through, without coming up for air or food or potty breaks. How, when I finished, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next one.

The passion has been latent for a few years, but now, as I hold these books and feel the weight of them and look at the pictures (I love the blue multi-illustration endpapers—why can’t my books have glorious endpapers? Oh, yeah. They’re expensive to produce.), that feeling is still there. That pure love of a character and a story—or a series of stories. I’m sure it’s the same feeling young readers of Harry Potter have.

And I want to inspire that kind of love in readers. I don’t know what the magic is. The right combination of character, setting, and situation. Plus page-turning action. But I want to find it.

Okay. So I guess I know what my life’s goal is.