“Stop that, Janet! What will people think?” As a child, I heard those words often. I didn’t always pay attention. Now I seem to have nearly lost the knack of hearing them in my mind’s ear.
This is probably good. Imagine if someone overheard me saying, “I have just returned from malice and am going to bloody words.”
Imagine the swath that my travelling companions (mystery authors Linda Wiken/Erika Chase, R.J. Harlick, and Vicki Delany) and I cut through New York and Pennsylvania with our cheerfully morbid discussions in restaurants on our way to and from the Malice Domestic conference www.malicedomestic.org and the Festival of Mystery http://www.mysterylovers.com/books/events/20110502Festival.
Imagine the conversations that go on among writers and readers at these events…
And then there was the Incident of the Coffee. Actually, there were several Incidents of the Coffee. My favourite morning beverage seemed to have a curse placed on it. Or maybe the curse was placed on my clothing. The worst incident involved a doughnut, a car, some coffee, and my pants. If you wish to replicate the Incident, try this:
1. Accept half a Krispy Kreme chocolate doughnut from the driver.
2. Hold cup of warm (fortunately, not hot) coffee between knees while tearing off piece of doughnut.
3. Pass remainder of doughnut to other occupant of the back seat
5. Notice that the coffee has tipped and is pouring into your lap.
What will people think? Well, we know exactly what they would have thought if my pants hadn’t dried before the next time I had to clamber out of the car.
If you missed Malice and the Festival of Mystery, don’t despair. The fun is not over for the season. We still have Bloody Words http://www.bloodywords.com . Not attending the conference might not be a crime, exactly, but just think what you might miss . . .
Janet Bolin’s first novel, DIRE THREADS, was nominated for an Agatha for Best First Novel and is shortlisted for the first ever Bloody Words Light Mystery Award (aka the Bony Blithe.) Her second mystery, THREADED FOR TROUBLE, comes out June 5. You’ll be able to pick up an early, signed copy at Bloody Words. The third mystery in her Threadville Mystery series will be published in June, 2013.
Visit Janet at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Janet-Bolin/26732519115 facebook and twitter.
Wish I was there, Janet!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you'll come along next year--or to Bloody Words this year--if I promise to drink my coffee from vintage mugs?
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