Telling stories
I spent Sunday at Word Vancouver, a free literary festival held at the Vancouver Public Library’s central branch. Crime Writers of Canada members staffed an information table and participated in a panel on mysteries set in BC.
Here I am at the table with fellow @crimewriterscan members Iona Whishaw, Debra Purdy Kong, and Trine Bronken.
I’ll be at the WORD Vancouver festival (@WORD_Vancouver) on Sunday as part of the Crime Writers of Canada (@crimewriterscan) presence. If you’re in Vancouver, stop by to visit us, listen to the panel of local mystery writers at 4 pm, or bid on our package of books in the Silent Auction. Here’s the info: https://issuu.com/wordvancouver/docs/word_vancouver_program_2017
#mystery #crimefiction
I’m getting ready for When Words Collide in Calgary next week. @WWC_Calgary
Here’s a list of the sessions I’ll be involved in:
Friday, August 11, 7 pm Keep Your Pantsers on as the Plotters Thicken
Saturday, August 12, 12 pm The Mystery of Mysteries
Saturday, August 12, 3 pm Absolute Mystery Basics
Sunday, August 13, 2 pm Elements of Suspense
Sunday, August 13, 4 pm Women of Mystery
I’m looking forward to it. The conference is sold out but I’m told they are keeping a waiting list. And the Merchants Room is open to the public, as are the autograph sessions on Saturday 8 pm in the Parkland Room at the Delta Calgary South. If you’re in Calgary on Saturday, August 12, stop by. I would love to see you.
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.
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.
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
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.
