Today I’m guest blogging on Anne Louise Bannon’s site, talking what co-operative housing is and how it figures in Murder is Uncooperative. There are housing co-ops around the world.
Thanks to Chapters/Indigo
A huge thank you to the lovely folks at the Indigo store @chaptersindigo at Broadway and Granville in Vancouver, who are doing a stellar job of displaying and promoting my Vancouver-based book, and keep ordering more as it sells. I’ll have to stop by and sign more copies.
I’m thrilled to say that Murder is Uncooperative is now available in Chapters Indigo stores across the country! Thanks to all of you who have bought my #coophousing book. It makes my author’s heart glow.
Who knew?
When I go to a conference, there are the panels and workshops I have a role in, and the panels I think will give me useful information about writing or the publishing business. Then there are the sessions I just think sound interesting. I inevitably find myself in one of those, only to find the presenter unlocking a wealth of detail on a subject I know nothing about.And I need to know more.
That was the case when I sat myself down at Left Coast Crime in a panel called Hawaii Crime Series: Policing in Hawaii from Kamehameha I to today. Retired police officer Eddie Croom, who recounted fascinating tales of law enforcement from the days of Hawaiian royalty to the present. He was passionate about the creation of the Honolulu Police Department’s museum, which apparently received generous donations when it was set up, even some from criminals!
He also brought to life Chang Apana, a famed Chinese-Hawaiian detective who served in Honolulu from 1898 to 1932, and who once arrested 40 gamblers on his own, armed only with a bullwhip.
Chang Apana was reportedly the model for Charlie Chan, the detective in the series by Earl Derr Biggers, the subject of another panel at Left Coast Crime. So now I have more books on my to-read list, and another museum I hope to visit on a future trip. A fine conference outcome. #mystery
Thrills and chills at Left Coast Crime
I’m not a morning person, so the idea of joining a group of other new authors at 7:30 am to talk about our debut novels to a room full of people was a bit daunting. But the audience was kind, I met some very nice people, and I survived.
My morning panel was equally terrifying to start with but we had a fun discussion and, again, I met a great group of people.
The panel was followed by a book-signing session and, what seems amazing to a newly-published author, people had actually bought my book and wanted me to sign it! (I wanted to post that last phrase in caps.)
I relaxed by listening to Catriona MacPherson interview Laurie R. King, and now I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the conference, now that the terrifying bits are done.
First day at Left Coast Crime
Honolulu, Hawaii – what could be better after the horrible winter we have had? Well, how about sharing it with a group of crime writers and a book store filled with tempting crime fiction of all descriptions? If only my suitcase was bigger.
I was excited to see copies of my own book, Murder is Uncooperative, in the conference book store run by Barnes and Noble.
My morning started out with an exciting round of author speed dating. Pairs of authors rotated among 20 tables, pitching our books to readers at each table. I was lucky to be paired with Elena Hartwell (@Elena_Hartwell). We got to hear each other’s pitch many times over, so good thing we got along. I will definitely read her book.
And I met the organizers of Left Coast Crime 2019, which will take place in my hometown of Vancouver.
The afternoon ended with Cocktails with Crime Writers of Canada, a large, noisy mingling of writers and readers.
It’ll be a crime if you’re not there
If you love mysteries and other crime fiction, there are two upcoming conventions taking place in Canada. Check them out. #mysteryconvention
Bouchercon 2017 is scheduled for October 12 – 15 in Toronto. This is a huge conference – there are already 1,200 people registered – and it attracts the big name authors you’ll find at the top of bestseller lists. (At my very first Bouchercon, I met Lee Child in the elevator!) This year’s guests of honour include Louise Penny, Megan Abbott, and Christopher Brookmyre. @Bouchercon
Left Coast Crime’s Vancouver conference isn’t until 2019 but planning is already underway. You can register soon at a much lower rate and get involved as a volunteer. Maureen Jennings will be the Canadian guest of honour and Cathy Ace has been chosen as toastmaster.
Both of these are fan conferences, where readers have a chance to meet their favourite authors, discover new ones, and come home with a pile of books!
Housing co-ops and the civil rights movement
I’ve seen what a difference an affordable home can make in people’s lives. But I had no idea about the role co‑op housing played in the civil rights movement in North America. #housing #BlackHistoryMonth
Thanks to CHF Canada for sharing this information for Black History month and to David J. Thompson and the National Association of Housing Co-ops for documenting these important stories (follow the links below to link to newsletters containing the full versions.)
In Murder is Uncooperative, all Rebecca wants is a safe, affordable home. Many people struggle to find affordable housing. For some, available options were even fewer because of their colour. Co-operatives provided a solution.
- In 1958, famed entertainer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte and his young family found it difficult to find an apartmentin New York City and he ended up sending his (white) publicist to the rental broker to collect a lease agreement for an apartment. A year later, Belafonte led a consortium that bought the apartment building and then offered co‑op shares to the tenants, creating a desegregated housing co‑op.
- Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Supreme Court Justice and the lawyer who won the historic “Brown vs The Board of Education” case that opened the doors to desegregation, was exposed to co‑ops early in his career. In 1958, Marshall and his family moved out of the Edgecombe Apartments (which would later become co‑op apartments) and into the Morningside Heights Housing Co‑op in the upper east side of Manhattan. His focus in co‑operative organizing was to develop interracial co‑operatives, and he fought for a fair regulatory environment, taking the Federal Housing Authority to task for their discriminatory ‘redlining’ practices.
- Bayard Rustin’s co-op apartmentin New York City, in the South Penn Housing Co‑operative, became the initial hub for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom – the 1963 protest featuring by the Rev. Martin L King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
