Murder & Mayhem in Muskego - Part 2

Saturday is the main part of the Murder & Mayhem conference. This year's line-up of authors was another doozy so the entire day was filled with crime fiction goodness.

There was some kind of accident or something on the highway, so Judy Bobalik and I had to take the back roads route to the library and I was doing a slight panic on the way because this was the first year my duties were in the morning. Holy cow if I was late I'd have been mortified. But  no sweat, we made it in plenty of time for me to see a little bit of Bryan's first gig as panel moderator!

He led Marcus Sakey, Alex Segura, Sean Doolittle and Kieran Shea in a panel called "Flip the Switch." Bryan's last question to everyone was, "what would your last meal be?"

Pie!

And next came my interview with Gregg Hurwitz. What fun and how animated Gregg is. I've said many times, Gregg is simply a natural-born storyteller. He spoke about the beginning of his interest in writing, his research, his work on scriptwriting and of course his new book TELL NO LIES. By the way, I'm absolutely mortified to realize I never posted my review of the book here. I reviewed it for Shelf but wanted to add to the review...so I promise I will get that for you all. In the mean time, I have video of the interview if you care to watch. This year I managed to stay in the chair and Gregg even got me to blush at one point. It's the full interview, so give yourself some time and I hope you enjoy. Also a special shout out to my wonderful friend Larry who handled the activation of the video camera for this one. Thanks Larry!


Following our interview, Kate Malmon took the moderator's reigns to lead Duane Swierczynski, Howard Chaykin, Dana Cameron, Chris Holm and Harry Hunsicker in the "Riff Raff" panel. It started off in riff raff fashion with a phone interruption for Howard.

Sadly, Chris was not telling his bug story here.

Following lunch the noirish-types took the stage for the "Back in Black" panel led by Tim Hennessey and featuring Frank Wheeler, Megan Abbott, Reed Farrel Coleman, Frank Bill, Jedidiah Ayres, and Hilary Davidson. In the picture you'll notice Reed and Frank Bill in their matching hats. I would love to say those are for my Elyria alma mater, but in fact they were a "hat tip" to Rod Wiethop a prominent member of the crime fiction community who has had a stellar year with his sports teams at Effingham High School (hopefully I spelled that correctly).

Frank looks guilty and Megan looks livid - not sure how I managed the timing on this shot.

The rest of the panel is watching to see if a fight breaks out. Noir panels...whatdaya expect?

The rowdy group was up next. Katrina Holm moderated "Sink the Pink." Julie Hyzy dressed accordingly for this panel. Gregg, the Shakespeare "dilettante" and Dan O'Shea who has Shakespeare as his protagonist made for a interesting couple on this panel. Joelle Charbonneau talked about the differences in writing cozies and writing YA. And Tom Schreck, as usual, was the hit of the panel.

Tom's question was "Things that make you go hmmmm."

Even though the panel was "sink the pink" Julie stayed completely dry.

Gregg appears to be very confused. Could it be because of Dan's jacket?

The highlight of my day, second of course to interviewing Gregg, was watching Michael Koryta and Marcia Clark in conversation. They are funny, intelligent and great writers. The stories they shared were captivating. After almost 6 years now, I still haven't lost my interest and fascination in listening to great authors tell stories.

Who looks scary and prosecutorial? "Me. I do." Marcia intimidated Michael before he first met her.

Two wonderfully talented writers. An exceptional session at M&M.

I have to end with an apology because the final session of the day was William Kent Krueger's interview by Libby Fischer Hellmann. I didn't get any snaps of that session, but Kent started off the discussion with a grand praise of libraries and friends of libraries organizations.  A fitting way to cap the day held in a fantastic library.

I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to regularly attend this fabulous event for the last five years now. It's exceptional. If you have the chance to experience it, I encourage you to DO IT!!

Thanks for sticking through to the end of this post; hope you enjoyed it. Happy Reading friends!

Murder & Mayhem in Muskego 2013 - Part 1

As you know, last weekend was the annual Murder & Mayhem in Muskego conference in Wisconsin. The majority of the fun takes place on Saturday, but Friday night is a meet-and-greet with many of the authors. At the meet-and-greet, one panel is hosted and this year I was asked to moderate that panel.

I had a panel full of fun people and laughs are always welcome at the end of the week. So I decided on a game show format for the Liar, Liar panel. Each of the authors sent me fun tidbits about themselves before hand and I took one of those tidbits as their "truth" then altered the others ones. The volunteers/contestants had to guess which was the truth.

My authors on the panel included Dana Cameron, Julie Hyzy, Sean Doolittle, Marcia Clark, and Chris Holm. They were all super fantastic and I can share the entire panel with you since I video taped it. Special thanks go out to my friend George Lichman who ensured the camera kept running during the panel. So when you have some time to kick back and enjoy some laughs, here is the Friday night panel from the 2013 Murder & Mayhem in Muskego, LIAR, LIAR:

Bouchercon Recap - Part 2

The first official day of Bouchercon was Thursday the 19th. Everyone is raring to go. There are panels to watch, authors to see, books to be signed, friends to catch up with....and only a few days to do it all in. So we pack in as much as we can.

The first panel I attended was a panel from the folks at William Morrow who have started an ebook first crime fiction imprint called Witness, thus the panel was called "Can I Get a Witness." The panel was composed of an editor, a publicist, an agent and an author.

Now I know I'll get the "ebooks aren't as good as real books" feedback, but the content of their panel was very good. And their rationale is obviously well thought out, and the business plan seems solid. Genre sales in ebook format are still very much on the rise. And their lower price point offers new and lesser known authors a chance to break through because people are more willing to take a chance on an author at a lower price point. A $25 hardcover is an investment for most folks and they want to feel confident they're going to spend that $25 well.

Some concerns that were addressed: reviewers will review ebooks, the Today Show even featured an ebook recently. From a reviewer perspective the format isn't what keeps people from reviewing, it's whether it has been vetted by a publishing house, an editor, etc. With this imprint, WM isn't going to put out more books than they have the resources to promote. So they are going to be well edited, well promoted, etc. Their ebooks will be available on all platforms, so regardless of the device you wish to use, the ebook will be available. They also have the technology to provide signed ebooks.

eBooks can be produced quickly so WM can put an author's backlist out in a short amount of time, but new books will still go through a thorough editing process, new cover art is created, promotional plans are constructed, so those will go to market slower in order to accommodate all the necessary preparations.

And ultimately the books can go to print depending on demand. And all of the titles will be available for Print on Demand.

So I think this is exciting and I'm looking forward to what Witness will have to offer.

The next part of my day was my own panel. All the panels were assigned Billy Joel song titles to go with their descriptions. This one was "You're Only Human" and our description was "Secret powers and other little-known talents that would make us great Super Heroes...or Villains."

My superb panelists were Catriona McPherson, Zoë Sharp, Daniel Palmer, Brad Parks, Michael Wiley and Tom Schreck. They were all amazing. I can't say enough about their good sportsmanship, their humor, their enthusiasm. It made for such an entertaining panel.

Tom shared how he does not have super powers when it comes to his dogs, that they actually have the power over him. Zoë has developed her self-defense powers because she's the "world's slowest runner."

Brad Parks employs his super apology powers when it comes to making mistakes with his wife and Catriona has incredible driving super powers when it comes to round-abouts.

Michael Wiley separates the day job from his crime fiction writing, but murder is often on the minds of both he and his students. And believe it or not, Daniel Palmer really CAN make up a blues song on the spot about any topic. Here's the evidence. With no forewarning about the topic I was choosing, he sang a blues song about meerkats!

We talked about (and laughed about) everything from bad reviews to super powers listed in the authors' obituaries. Everyone on the panel engaged and shared. As an added bonus, Brad Parks pulled a Clark Kent sans the telephone booth. And I had my pronunciation of Albany corrected.

I could not have asked for better panelists. Everyone gave me content to work with for my preparations and the show came off beautifully. I hope the audience had as much fun as we did...I think they did.

The last panel I attended on Thursday was called "An Innocent Man" and their description was "Making the Law Thrilling." This one was moderated by Ken Isaacson with panelists Laura Caldwell, Marcia Clark, Adam Mitzner and Matthew Quirk.

The first question that was offered to the panel was "do you have to MAKE the law thrilling or is it already so?"

Marcia Clark says she feels that there's an inherent drama in the court room and she offered up jury selection as an example. If you haven't read Marcia's newest book Killer Ambition, she shows just how much that's true. The jury selection is where lawyers win or lose their cases.

Adam Mitzner finds fascination in the defendant. He says that person has either crossed a line...and maybe he/she is just your average, everyday good citizen, but something caused them to cross that line. OR the defendant is innocent and their life is about to be changed forever because people will never be able to look at them the same way, simply because they were accused and their character is being called into question.

Laura Caldwell pointed out that for writing purposes, authors pick out the "sexy" cases. So they do a little filtering of the "unthrilling" to begin with.

And Matthew Quirk said the ambiguities of law and the legal process offer intrigue.

Another fascinating question that came up with this panel was whether being able to watch court cases on TV has made the legal thriller more popular. There are pros and cons. The celebrity affects witnesses. Some people come forward who really know nothing but want the attention, while others who may know something won't come forward because they want to stay far away from the limelight. Judges have also been found to pander to the celebrity.

On the flip side of that, when cameras aren't in the courtroom, the great travesties of justice can be more easily hidden from the public.

Also, it was cautioned that Court TV is a representation of how court really is, Law & Order is not.

The panel as a whole came to the conclusion that while sometimes authors have to fictionalize to maintain pace and keep the reader engaged, it's ultimately the kernels of reality that "make the books sing." Interestingly the question of why these authors don't attempt true crime came up and they were pretty much in agreement that true crime is challenging because you can't veer at all from the facts. So being able to employ that creative license is pretty important to these panelists.

Another great, informative and entertaining panel.

The opening ceremonies took place on Thursday night, but I had an outside commitment and then I had more prep work to do for my Friday panel, so I missed those. So we're off and running...stay tuned for my report on my final panel and the remainder of Bouchercon.

Also I want to give special thanks to my wonderful friend Christine McCann who took the great pictures from our Superhero panel. Isn't she talented?

Killer Ambition - Marcia Clark

First line: "Rocky mountain peaks glowed lonely and austere under the nearly full moon."

Special Trials ADA Rachel Knight is determined to tackle one of the trickiest types of high-profile cases in Killer Ambition, Marcia Clark's third book in the legal thriller series. This time around she has the power of Hollywood working against her.

A super-star movie director's daughter has been kidnapped. The director attempted to pay the ransom before turning to the police for help. But his efforts were too little, too late. The young woman is found stabbed to death and left in the trunk of her kidnapper's car at LAX.

When the suspected kidnapper makes the mistake of using the dead girl's iPad to charge airline tickets in New York City, Rachel and her best friend, Detective Bailey Keller, are set to head to New York and drag him back.  But then the prime suspect shows up dead in Los Angeles and they learn he and the director's daughter were the one's who cooked up the kidnapping scheme. So who's charging tickets in New York? And more importantly, who killed the two victims?

As the case takes curve after curve, Rachel and Bailey lean into the turns, determined to find the killer and see that justice is done. If they have to fight all of Hollywood to accomplish that feat, then bring it on.

This isn't my first time with Marcia Clark's Rachel Knight series, but it is the first time I've experienced it on audio, narrated by January LaVoy. I'm sure that LaVoy is a great performer in all that she does, but she just may have been born for the Rachel Knight role.

Killer Ambition employs all the attributes that hooked me on Rachel Knight from the start: sharp dialogue, strong female characters, dynamic relationships, a swift plot, and a believable presentation of both the law and Los Angeles. Clark indubitably gives LaVoy strong content to work with. LaVoy then reaches deep in the characters and turns them inside out for her audience.

Rachel Knight is an assistant district attorney because of her passion for justice. She is able to empathize with victims, no matter how forgotten they may be. And in Killer Ambition, the whole world seems to forget about the victims. LaVoy puts a powerful sound to that empathy. LaVoy also balances Rachel's insecurities well, so that she comes across as human and fallible yet still incredibly determined, smart as a whip and ready to hold her own with the "big boys." Rachel Knight is a capable, modest woman in the land of self-exaltation.

A new addition to the cast is "baby ADA" Declan Shackner, and he stole the show for me in this novel. Again LaVoy zeroed in on his core and subtly highlighted it every time he appeared on the page. His genuineness and compassion complemented Rachel's. His awkwardness and desire to please are charming, and he quickly worked his way into the good graces of both Rachel and Bailey. However, the uncertainty of his character adds an element of suspense as well. He's the son of a Hollywood mogul. So is he a mole with excellent acting skills or the real deal?

There are plenty of wonderfully idiosyncratic characters peppering this novel: from Dorian the crime scene tech, to Dr. Legs the hacker informant to Terry Fisk the small, yet powerful defense attorney. LaVoy's performance convinces the reader that she enjoyed every last one of them.  Dorian's sarcasm rips and Fisk's need for control stifles, all courtesy of Clark and LaVoy.

The novel starts off with the typical crime investigation, evidence collection and testing, etc. But the bulk of the plot takes place in the courtroom, which doesn't seem to be that common in legal thrillers anymore (or maybe I'm just reading the wrong books). However, Clark's depiction of the courtroom is authentic without being dull. And granted, a high-profile Hollywood case is not your run-of-the-mill scenario. However, Clark makes the legal process thrilling, without throwing in a dramatic Perry Mason courtroom confession. The complexity behind choosing a jury, the weird way chance could be the deciding factor in a trial, how certain tactics and people can affect jurors. The dissection was as fascinating as the multi-layered plot.

Killer Ambition is a captivating novel; the audiobook is an auditory fireworks display. It erupts with the colorful characters and explosive story. It leaves the audience oohing and aahing. It's memorable even after it's over. And be careful. It's also hot, hot, hot!

Killer Ambition is available as an unabridged audio (ISBN: 978-1619696341) on 13 CDs from Hachette Audio and in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0316220941) from Mulholland Books.

Crime Critters Caught Reading Crime - Mindy

I don't actually need extra reasons to adore Marcia Clark, but her love of animals is just another plus in her column. She's smart, funny, writes a hellava legal thriller, AND happened to be last year's sexiest female crime writer here on the blog. But she's also Mindy's momma!

Mindy, like her momma, is smart...and she's rather sexy, too, dontcha think? Since Marcia is gearing up for the release of her new Rachel Knight novel, Killer Ambition, Mindy is staying busy on her own. Check out who we caught her reading! She says the book of A Kiss Before Dying is definitely better than either movie and if she met Bud, she'd probably bite his leg. ;-) Right now, Mindy's dreaming up a story where Rachel meets Bud; boy is he in trou...oh wait! That's Marcia's  Rachel story, "Trouble in Paradise," a little teaser before the novel comes out.

Many thanks to both Marcia and Mindy...absolutely wonderful gals, both of them!

And today's pet tip. Provide your pet with an enriched environment. Pets need mental stimulation, which may mean daily walks for your pooch, and scratching posts, window perches, and toys for your cat. It means play time with you, which not only keeps your pet's muscles toned and boredom at bay, it also strengthens your bond with your four-footed companions. And maybe they'd even like you to read them a story before bed! We've already seen this month that our critters love their books!

Have a great day and happy reading!

Crime Fiction's Sexiest FEMALE Authors of 2012!

I know you've been anxiously awaiting this year's sexiest ladies of crime fiction. I think I have a good bunch to share with you.

Like with the men, I would like to pay homage to last year's ladies as they certainly have not lost their sexy either. I hope you enjoy the gals joining them in 2012.

SEXIEST AUTHOR FROM ACROSS THE POND

Look, Meg dressed for the sexiest award!

Meg Gardiner is an American of course, but she calls England home these days. So we can include her in this category. She's smart...a three-time Jeopardy champ even. She's witty, kind, generous and of course very talented. If you aren't following Meg on Twitter, you absolutely should be. You'll see all of these qualities reflected in her posts.

For me, I look forward to Bouchercon because I am able to see Meg in person then. No matter how you interact with her, it's impossible not to adore her and she that definitely qualifies her for sexy!

Meg is the author of the Jo Beckett series and the Evan Delaney series. And 2012 brought her first standalone novel, RANSOM RIVER.

SEXIEST AUTHOR WHO HAS ALSO WRITTEN A SCREENPLAY

Proof positive that Lisa belongs on this list...doesn't get any sexier than wombats!

Lisa Lutz does indeed have a screenplay to her name, but has sworn that she will not write another. I guess only time will tell that for sure, but personally, I'm just enjoying her books. The author of five Spellman novels and a novel she co-wrote with David Hayward, HEADS YOU LOSE, rumor has it she's now working on a children's book.

Lisa gets credit for introducing me to my favorite curse word(s): "sentence enhancer" and that alone should get her on this list, right? But actually she's hysterically funny and a blast to know. Lisa received the lion's share of personality and it shows in everything she does. Absolutely sexy!

SEXIEST AUTHOR WHO ISN'T AFRAID TO GET HER HANDS DIRTY

Rosemary and Max enjoying a book.

A master gardener, Rosemary Harris not only gets her hands dirty in her own garden, but she writes the Dirty Business Mystery Series, featuring Paula Holliday.

That isn't the only way Rosemary gets her hands dirty, though. An avid supporter of Habitat for Humanity, Ro has participated in 6 Habitat builds around the world AND she and her husband have worked very hard on their Chalula Library Project, building a community library in Tanzania. Generosity like that is way beyond sexy!

I also have to add to her list of sexy qualities that she's an animal person. And you all know how I feel about THAT!

SEXIEST AUTHOR WHO WROTE UNDER A PEN NAME

Dead or alive, Julie is one sexy dame!

Julie Goodson-Lawes, a.k.a. Juliet Blackwell, a.k.a. Hailey Lind, is one of those people who my good friend Pop Culture Nerd would say needs to be pushed down the stairs. Not because she's mean or nasty but because we envy her. And don't worry, we wouldn't really push her down the stairs because while I am envious of her youthful beauty, her wide range of talents, her intelligence, her sharp wit, her friendly nature...I also adore her as a person. She's never stingy with a smile, a hug or a kind word. You can't help but consider that sexy!


As Juliet Blackwell, Julie writes the Haunted Home Renovation series and the Witchcraft Mystery series. As Hailey Lind, Julie wrote with her sister and together they created the Art Lovers Mystery series.

SEXIEST AUTHOR WHOSE HEART BELONGS IN TWO COUNTRIES

A sexy woman in the sexy city of Paris!

 Cara Black, like her protagonist Aimée Leduc, is an American who loves France. When I contacted her to ask her if I could include her in my selection this year, she informed me that she was in France writing her next book. And by golly, who is she running into over there...none other than Craig Johnson from our sexy male authors list!

The French love her, too. I have to say congratulations because this summer Cara received the Medaille de la ville de Paris.

Cara is one of the most appreciative people I think I've ever had the chance to meet. If you observe Cara when she's at a signing and people are waiting in line, she just gushes over each person and makes them each feel as though they are the reason for her success. And granted they do buy her books, which helps her success, but she makes sure they know she genuinely appreciates their support and interest. That is sexy; I mean, have you ever encountered that author who seems like they couldn't care less about the people waiting in line to have a book signed? And then you witness Cara and she just glows with happiness. It's a sight to behold.

Cara is truly a gem and I'm honored to include her on the list this year!


Aaaaaaaaanddddddd.....

THE SEXIEST FEMALE AUTHOR OF 2012

Kindess is sexy!

Marcia Clark! I would truly like to gush on and on about this woman. I'm fortunate in that I get to interact with her through my work with xuni.com. She's been very generous and has participated in some blog events. AND I finally got to meet her in person this year at Bouchercon. Through all these forms of contact Marcia has simply been a joy to know.

Marcia is incredibly funny. Her sense of humor is priceless. She's very smart, and she's also incredibly kind. I can only speak for myself on this front, but I'm envious of her sense of style. She has a gift...o.k. she has many gifts, but she has that one, too.

Let's add to the list of sexiness, Marcia is also an animal person. I wrote about her social media documentation of the hummingbird born in a nest outside her house, and she's a dog owner. I love that she adopted her dogs. And when you listen to her talk about them, you know what a special person she is.

Oh, my goodness, I almost forget to mention that I love her books, too!  Her female prosecutor, Rachel Knight, is a welcome addition to the crime fiction genre.

Hopefully Marcia isn't going to kill me for snagging this picture off Facebook, but hello, what says sexy better than big lips and the bookworm?

Big lips are this year's sexy!

My many, many thanks to the sexiest female authors this year. They are such great sports and super fantastic people...in addition to being great writers in this genre. I hope that you will check out their work if you haven't already.

And, as I've mentioned before, sexy is subjective, so feel free to let us know in the comments who would be on your list this year! Happy Reading!

Five on Friday - Marcia Clark

It's Friday and I hope you have power restored if you lost power this week. I know there are  some unfortunate souls who are still dealing with the aftermath of the storm. Our thoughts and prayers are with you!

If you are able to help out with donations, you can do so through iTunes, via your cell phone by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a $10 contribution for every message sent, visiting www.redcross.org or calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. Also, don't forget about giving blood. The hurricane has caused the cancellation of many blood drives, so the need for blood donations is great right now as well.

For those who are able to visit the blog today, thank you for taking time. I have a very special treat for you. Before I get to that, I want to congratulate David A. and Karen B. who were the winners of the Invisible Murder audiobooks. I have contacted them and will be taking all the steps to make sure they get their prizes! The winner of the To Kill A Mockingbird book and movie tickets was Vivian T (aka The Book Diva), so congrats to all the winners! You'll definitely want to check back after my trip to Muskego...I have a feeling there will be more prizes to give away then as well.

Speaking of Muskego, if you can make it, there's still time. Next weekend! We'd hate to have a wonderful time without you! You know I'll be reporting afterward, but it's never as fun as being there in person.

Meanwhile, Lesa is back from her travels and she has a historicals giveaway going on this week. So if you are a fan of historical mysteries, you'll want to check out her contest this week.

Goodreads has the first round of their 2012 Choice Awards up now. You can check out the Mystery & Thriller category here.

And that's about it for my weekly updates, let's move on to the fun stuff. I mentioned in my Bouchercon recaps how one of the highlights of my conference this year was being able to spend time with Marcia Clark. She's just such a great person. She's funny and smart and incredibly talented. She's also kind and down to earth. I love it when the writers I enjoy are genuinely good people.

She's also generous! She's graciously agreed to hang out and do a Five on Friday this week, so it is my great pleasure to introduce the author of the Rachel Knight legal thriller series, Ms. Marcia Clark!

Marcia posing over the "victim" at a "crime scene" at the Writer's Police Academy

1. The most bizarre question I was every asked in an interview was: (actually, the funniest one too) was I ever asked to appear on Dancing with the Stars and would I do it? At the time, Nancy Grace had just had her “wardrobe malfunction.” My answer: I’d only do it if I could wear a turtle neck.

2. When I was a kid, my favorite thing to get in my trick-or-treat bag was: Snickers bars! Especially the full size. Wow, that was good livin’


3. My five favorite movies of all time are: “My Cousin Vinnie” (especially Joe Pesci’s “opening statement”: “Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, good morning. Everything the prosecutor just said is bullshit.” The judge: “The jury will disregard everything defense counsel said after “good morning.”” I’ve always wanted to give that opening statement. “Chinatown,” “L.A. Confidential,” “Sophie’s Choice” and the largely unheralded, “Dead Girl” – a phenomenally well written, directed and acted film starring the now-deceased Brittany Murphy.

4. The one food I absolutely will not eat is: beets. Just can’t handle ‘em, though all my friends think I’m nuts.

5. If I could swap lives with anyone in the world for 24 hours, I would choose: my dog. Seriously, she’s the most doted upon, spoiled creature I know. Friends have said if there’s such a thing as reincarnation they want to come back as her.

Marcia informed me that she spoke at the Writers Police Academy -- where her picture was taken -- and she highly recommends it for everyone! Personally, I am always recommending folks follow Marcia on social media. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter and she is SO much fun! Thanks to Marcia for sharing a little fun with us here today. And if she's picked for Dancing with the Stars, I'm absolutely going to watch that season!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone. Happy Reading!

Bouchercon Part 1 & A Facebook Giveaway

Well, I may get the record for latest Bouchercon post, but here it is finally. Prepare for photos and fun!

Bouchercon was, of course, in my back yard this year. And as always I had a fantastic time meeting up with friends from all over the country who all share a love of crime fiction.

My good friend and fellow blogger, Lesa Holstine, flew in Wednesday and I picked her up from the airport. Do you think I thought to get a picture of us together? Jen, fail #1. But we were roommates for this - her first - Bouchercon. I'm so thrilled I could share her first Bouchercon with her.

Thursday kicked off the official festivities. I only attended one panel, and that was the "What an author will do for a story" panel with Sean Chercover, A.C. (Andre) Frieden, Jamie Freveletti, and Sam Reaves. The panel was moderated by PR rep extraordinaire Dana Kaye. These authors have traveled all over the world in search of their stories.

Jamie Freveletti and Andre Frieden

Sean Chercover says his lack of focus ignited his travel and various forms of employment and that ultimately resulted in his stories. His big piece of advice for sparking ideas, though, was to indulge in a "shath." For those who are not familiar with a "shath" it is when you sit in the bath tub and run the shower over you...thus, a "shath."

Sean "argh, matey" Chercover and Sam Reaves

While Sam Reaves has a strong background in languages, which was helpful with interviews abroad, he says, you can't write a travel log. The research is interesting, but that alone doesn't make for a great crime novel.

Sam Reaves and Jamie Freveletti

My other adventures Thursday included interviewing Sophie Littlefield and Juliet Blackwell, which hopefully you watched on Thursday. I also picked up xuni.com's fearless leader, Maddee James from the airport, attended the St. Martin's cocktail reception - and was able to chat with Steve Ulfelder, who is absolutely wonderful - and had dinner with Brad Parks. I decided to forego the opening ceremonies at the Rock Hall. As I mentioned, this is my backyard, the Rock Hall wasn't a big sell for me.

Friday kicked off with the Mary Higgins Clark breakfast. It was geared toward librarians, but some reviewers and bloggers were invited as well. Mary Higgins Clark is a charming, humorous, vivacious lady. Whether you're a fan of her work or not, she was a super fun guest of honor for this breakfast.

Mary Higgins Clark

Criminal Element's fearless leader, Clare Toohey and Tracy Kiely

Following the breakfast was my first panel as moderator. It was the "Old Friends/New Friends" panel with Parnell Hall, Mary Jane Maffini, Jeff Cohen/E.J. Copperman, and Libby Fischer Hellmann. We had a full house and I thank everyone who came out. Several people stopped by to say "hi" and I want you to know that meant the world to me. So thank you!

We had a great conversation about series characters. I was fascinated by Jeff and Libby's differing views on writing characters of the opposite sex. Jeff has taken his experience with the women in his "real" life and build on those to create his female protagonist, while Libby learned early she thinks too much like a female to write a male protagonist.

Mary Jane Maffini is absolutely delightful and shared experiences with us about making friends as a librarian and bookseller as well as writing with one of her best friends, her daughter. Parnell Hall talked mostly about how his books don't sell, but he would be willing to play the role of the Puzzle Lady in a movie if the offer ever presented itself.

The panel I attended after mine was called "Eve of Destruction." The panelists were all interesting, spirited and fun, however, the moderator spoke for the first 22 minutes of the panel and pitched her sister's memoir coming out later. Epic Fail!

Sophie Littlefield and Tracy Kiely

When the panelists were given the floor, a discussion ensued about female characters. Sophie Littlefield pointed out that we're more accepting of relateable characters now - characters with foibles; characters who aren't perfect. And Rochelle Staab pointed out that she feels there's an expected vulnerability for female characters that doesn't exist for males.

Tracy Kiely and Rochelle Staab

This was my first experience hearing Deborah Coonts on a panel and now I'm determined to read one of her books! She had me laughing when she told a story about her male fans writing her to ask for less feminine book covers. They have to take the covers off the books so people don't make fun of them reading! Gotta love it!

Sorry, I wasn't able to get a great pic of Deborah Coonts because of the champagne bottle. Bummer!

Whew! Friday was my busy panel day. A lot of great people to see and listen to. The next panel was the Ex Libris panel (a.k.a. the xuni.com panel). I wasn't able to do any tweeting from this panel because it was a dead zone for my cell phone, which was a real bummer because it was such a fun panel: Jan Burke, Marcia Clark, Jim Conway and Carter Wilson and moderated by Maddee James. They are a blast, let me tell you. They were creating fake first sentences for books - both their own and others. The one thing we all definitely took away from this panel: they like to drink. I think every book covered included a first line about some alcoholic drink!

Jan Burke and Marcia Clark...Jan looks like she's up to something!

Two of the nicest people you could meet: Marcia Clark and Jim Conway

Marica, Jim and Carter....looks like that line was especially funny!

Debut author Carter Wilson

The other thing that was abundantly clear was that they are all extremely talented writers.

All the panelists hard at work on their first lines!

Not done with Friday yet! Are you still hanging with me?

I attended the "Morally Challenged Characters" panel next. This panel included Lou Berney, Elizabeth Hand, Seth Harwood, and Chris Holm. It was moderated by Ali Karim. Again, it's fascinating for me to hear about how writers approach their stories.

Ali Karim, Lou Berney, Elizabeth Hand and a sliver of Seth Harwood

Lou indicated that he prefers to have a jumble of characters without any set designated roles for them. However, he also pointed out that if you have an unlikeable protagonist, you need to make sure the antagonists are sufficiently unlikeable to still make the protag look better.

Elizabeth likes to push her character to the border of where she'll go and what she'll do. While Chris Holm likes to discover the line his character won't cross and then put him in a situation that gives him no choice but to have to cross it.

Sorry about the lack of photos on this panel. The room was HORRIBLE for taking pictures. There were big pillars directly in front of where I was sitting. I moved to take this photo, but had to go over to the right side to be able to get anything at all...Jen fail #2.

So that was my crazy Friday line-up of panels. I'll save my final two days for tomorrow's post because I want to make you aware of a giveaway I'm doing on the Facebook page if you haven't seen it already. I do giveaways over here regularly and have some new ones coming up, but this is a FB page exclusive this time.

I took a Jen's Book Thoughts tote bag to Bouchercon and collected signatures from many authors. The bag has signatures on both sides. Some of the authors who signed it include: Lee Child, John Connolly, Karin Slaughter, Kelli Stanley, Alafair Burke, Marcia Clark, Michael Koryta, Steve Ulfelder, Brad Parks, Sean Chercover...whew, you get the idea. I'll include a card for the lucky follower with the names of everyone who signed the bag. To be in the drawing for the bag, you just need to be following the Jen's Book Thoughts page by Sunday, October 21st. I'll do a drawing and pick a name to win the bag and goodies from Bouchercon.

Just as I do periodic giveaways here on the blog, I'm going to start doing periodic giveaways over on the Facebook page as well. This is just the kick off.

GUILT BY ASSOCIATION - Marcia Clark

First line: "He snapped his cell phone shut and slid it into the pocket of his skin-tight jeans."

Rachel Knight is a Los Angeles DA facing the death of her colleague Jake. His death appears to be a murder-suicide but Rachel isn't buying that. However, the powers that be have specifically instructed her to stay away from the case. Instead, she's been handed a political hot potato of a rape case that Jake was working on before his untimely demise.

As most any intelligent being will attest to, one does not tell a strong-willed woman to "stay away" from anything. Teaming up with her detective pal, Bailey, Rachel walks headlong into a storm of deception and danger. In her own words, Rachel admits:

"There's no such thing as a case without surprises, but they're generally little minnow-size twists that only involve side issues. What we had here was a game-changing sperm whale."

As I read GUILT BY ASSOCIATION, I was regularly confronted, "Hey is that - " "Yes it is."

"Jen, is that - " "YES! It is."

"Jen, the author, is that - " "YES. IT. IS!"

It got to the point where I wouldn't even look up when people started talking to me while I was reading. Or I'd walk in the office lunch room and just say, "yes it is" before anyone could ask. So let's get the 100-pound gorilla outta the room right now. Yes, GUILT BY ASSOCIATION is the debut novel of Marcia Clark, the lead prosecutor from the O.J. Simpson trial. Great, that's out of the way.

Now let's talk about the great legal thriller she wrote.

The plot of GUILT BY ASSOCIATION is the summation of several sub-plots that weave themselves all around a central point, which is the protagonist Rachel. Clark does an impressive job of keeping the reader on his/her toes with the plot often taking unexpected turns. But the other technique she uses to make the story strong is characterization.

Clark's created characters the reader can empathize with and connect with. They are complex characters who offer up challenges. For example, one of my favorite characters is a rape suspect and gang leader, Luis Revelo. He has aspirations of attending business school and is working diligently on his elocution, but often lapses into street slang when he's frustrated. Does Luis wear a white hat and ride around rescuing people? No. He's a criminal, but Clark depicts all the elements of Luis, not just his criminal element.

The characters tie back to the plot because the reader cares about the players in the game, so he/she intends to stay to the end to see the outcome. There may even be some cheering or booing because the emotional connection is present.

While I read this book in print, I think as an avid audiobook listener, I've become more acutely aware of dialogue and its quality level. GUILT BY ASSOCIATION has some of the most fun dialogue I have read in awhile. Clark's wit comes through in the conversations between Rachel and her good friends Bailey and Toni, as well as Rachel's conversations with Graden Hales, a police lieutenant and Luis.

The great dialogue also helps to develop the great relationships Clark illustrates throughout the book. And not just the relationships between Rachel and her friends, but also relationships like Susan, the rape victim, with her parents or the relationships between Luis and his gang members. Los Angeles is an array of people and surroundings and Clark brings it all to life, not just a select snapshot.

Reading GUILT BY ASSOCIATION I learned two things. First, people still look at your book jackets when you read in public. And second, Marcia Clark is one fine crime fiction writer. I'm looking forward to more contributions from her.

GUILT BY ASSOCIATION (ISBN: 978-0-316-12951-0) is available tomorrow as not only Marcia Clark's debut, but also the debut of Mulholland Books. Congrats to the entire team. GUILT BY ASSOCIATION is also available from Hachette Audio on audiobook (ISBN: 978-1-609-41978-3).