If You Like Michael Connelly, Try...

Today's holiday recommendation comes from a long-time friend of mine. George Lichman is the blogger at The Thirty Year Itch, he's a police officer with the Rocky River (Ohio) Police Department, he's Dad to two of the cutest little toe heads you've ever seen (and foster Dad to my dog, Nestle), and he's been my friend since grade school (can you believe he's tolerated me that long?).

He has a book suggestions for those who like Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch. So I'll let George take it from here:

If You Like Michael Connelly, You'll Love Wes Albers
by George Lichman, The Thirty Year Itch

 Michael Connelly is one of my favorite authors. This fall, he released his twenty-fifth book, The Black Box; his eighteenth featuring LADP Detective Harry Bosch, a character who made his first appearance twenty years ago!
     Mr. Connelly is able to tell a great story, that part is clear. But what he also does, particularly with Bosch, as evidenced by his longevity, is create a dynamic character that grows and changes in time, even taking into account aging. Bosch has certainly changed, but Mr. Connelly has kept what readers likely love about Bosch, too. He is stubborn, willing to go against the grain, do the right thing despite what may be in his best interests, the type of Detective who will work his last case just as hard as his first.
      Mr. Connelly's Bosch books are story driven novels, but the character development is very good, and I have yet to tire of Harry Bosch. He's the type of guy I'd like to have a beer with, and the type of homicide dick I would want to be.

     Wes Albers is a new author, his first book, Black & White, published earlier this year (my original review of it can be found here), is told in first person from the point of view of veteran San Diego Patrol Officer John Hatch. Hatch, like Bosch, is married to his job and has a relationship with the City he serves. Hatch works for the right things: doing right by the people he serves and the people he serves with, but not necessarily by the bosses he works for. He is an honest man, both about his job and about himself.
     While Mr. Connelly's books are about the story first, Mr. Albers' Black & White is the opposite. While there is a mystery in Black & White, the real story is about Hatch. He is an incredibly complex character, and especially interesting because of his ability to reflect on his life, career, and relationships. 

     So why, if the writing styles and experiences levels of Mr. Connelly and Mr. Albers are so different, would I pair the two? The short answer is because the two balance each other so well. But I don't often stop at the short answer, so I'll explain further.
     Both are excellent and entertaining writers, creating an experience that allows me to disappear into the world that is their books. That, after all, is the purpose of reading fiction.
     Both bring the setting of their books alive. When I read Mr. Connelly, I feel like I know Los Angelos, like I'm there with Harry Bosch. Mr. Albers was able to do the same thing with San Diego and John Hatch.
     Both balance the story and characters well. Even though I think Mr. Connelly focuses on the story while Mr. Albers focuses on the characters, both authors include both in their books, so readers get the best of each.  
     Mr. Connelly is likely nearing the end of Harry Bosch. The Black Box is, after all, his eighteenth Bosch novel; the character has already retired once and come back to the job, and now is nearing the end of his deferred retirement employment with the LAPD. John Hatch, while not a rookie, is a young policeman by comparison, and Mr. Albers a young author who has years to develop Hatch and his career.

     I hope you decide to give Wes Albers' Black & White a try. I'm confident that, if you enjoy Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch you'll love it.
     Whatever you decide, please consider giving books for the Holidays.

Alafair Burke? - Crime Readers Caught Reading Crime...

...in an indie bookstore.

In April during Edgar's Week there was some SERIOUS crime fiction writing power hanging out at The Mysterious Bookshop. Ruth Jordan, one of the most amazing women I know on this planet, caught some of that writing power reading.

Yes! It's Alafair Burke and Michael Connelly. They are both checking out Michael's latest, THE FIFTH WITNESS.

However, Alafair didn't manage to hang on to that book very long. Look who else is enthralled in a little Mickey Haller, The Duffer!

And speaking of The Duffer, today kicks off Alafair Burke's Duffer Awards. I've been so psyched for these to start and I hope you'll check them out over at her website. Alafair says about these awards:

"Each day we will post a new poll featuring two beloved characters nominated for very, very serious award categories like Most Likely to Win a Hot Dog Eating Contest and Best Shoes. Post a comment beneath your vote, and you'll automatically be entered to win weekly prizes including signed copies of my books and $50 gift certificates to your favorite bookseller."

I also just found out that you can get a special ebook of ANGEL'S TIP right now for $1.99. So if you've been on the fence about reading Alafair...first, WHY? second, now you can take advantage of this great offer and not make a great investment. I will warn you that you'll be hooked after you try. For Nook owners, you can click here. For Kindle owners click here. If I find other links I'll share them too. You all know me. I adore Alafair's work and recommend it to so many people. This is a steal; take advantage of it. I have no idea what the time frame on the offer is, though. And then go buy a book from an indie store, please!

Happy Reading!

The Lincoln Lawyer Giveaway!

As promised, I have a great contest to announce today. Many of you probably know...I hope...that THE LINCOLN LAWYER movie will release March 18th. I'm very excited to see this one. I typically cringe at the thought of a book I love going to the big screen because of the damage the screenwriters do to it. But two things make this a different situation for me. First I think this is a great role for Matthew McConaughey. I think back to the roles he really shined in (for me anyway) and those are roles like AMISTAD, A TIME TO KILL and CONTACT. This is a GREAT role for him. I also am thrilled that Michael Connelly thinks a lot of the film. That's reassuring. But, I digress. I promised a contest.

The fine folks at Little Brown have a great prize pack for me to give away. It will include a movie t-shirt, a movie poster and a movie pen. Then five runners up will each receive a poster. Pretty nice deal.

To have your name in the running you need to have a U.S. mailing address (no P.O. Boxes) and fill out the form below. Entries will be accepted through Saturday, March 12th and I'll have random number generator pick some winners on the 13th. GOOD LUCK!

A Trio of Audios

Some audios have been getting away from me and in an effort to acknowledge them, I'm going to do three mini-reviews today.

The first is THE MYSTIC ARTS OF ERASING ALL SIGNS OF DEATH by Charlie Huston. I want to link you back to Craig Johnson's review of this book that he wrote for Detectives Around the World week. My reaction is pretty much "everything Craig said and then some."

FIRST LINE: "I'm not sure where one should expect to find the bereaved daughter of a wealthy Malibu suicide in need of a trauma cleaner long after midnight, but safe to say a trucker motel down the 405 industrial corridor in Carson was not on my list of likely locales."

Huston's tale of a former school teacher recovering from a trauma, taking a job as a crime scene cleaner is unique, funny, moving. I think I experienced every range of emotion possibly while listening to this audiobook. The printed book handles dialogue a little differently, so if you have/had trouble reading this book because of that I'd highly recommend checking out the audiobook. Narrated by Paul Michael Garcia, the genius of Huston's dialogue shines through. And he has some rather challenging areas of dialogue for a narrator since Huston doesn't use much in the way of dialogue tags.

The novel is gritty and Huston isn't afraid to include profanity. So if you're sensitive to that, be forewarned. However, his use of profanity isn't gratuitous. He develops characters and mood and tone. There's a definite reason it's there and it serves its purpose well.

Garcia does an outstanding job as the narrator. He expresses the appropriate level of drama, never going overboard for the given situation. He nails the sarcasm and he's flat when the situation calls for it. The pairing of Garcia with this novel enhanced my experience with the book.

I owe thanks to Michael over at Lazy Thoughts from a Boomer for this audio. It's available from Blackstone Audio (ISBN: 978-1-4332-5753-7) or in print from Ballantine Books: hardcover (ISBN: 978-0-3455-0111-0); trade paper (ISBN: 978-0-3455-0112-7).


Next up I have BLACK ICE by Michael Connelly.

FIRST LINE: "The smoke carried up from the Cahuenga Pass and flattened beneath a layer of cool crossing air."

THE BLACK ICE  is the second book in the Harry Bosch series. Harry's maverick ways have earned him a position in the very undesirable Hollywood Division. When Robbery-Homicide swoops in and takes a case that should have been his call, Harry wheedles his way into the fold and begins investigating on his own. This, of course, does not sit well with the powers that be, so his supervisor dumps a load of unsolved cases in Harry's lap and instructs him to close as many as possible by year-end, a week away. When one of the unsolved cases begins pointing to the case Harry was boxed out of, he uses it as an excuse to head for Mexico and pursue both cases.

The plot is excellent. I commented to a friend while I was listening to the audio that somehow I keep reading a book either simultaneously or right after that somehow echos what Connelly does in his plot I'm reading at that time. I think it's very much a reflection on how he's influenced the genre. I appreciate the way Bosch grows with each book, the way he's affected by the events he experiences. Bosch is no superman; he has to deal physically and emotionally with his exploits.

While I thoroughly enjoyed this Bosch caper, I didn't thorough enjoy the audiobook. The narrator on this one is Dick Hill who also narrates the Jack Reacher series. The only probably is that he read Harry Bosch exactly the same way he read Jack Reacher. That flat tone and mood work for Reacher; Bosch is a far more dimensional character. While I don't think Bosch shows a lot of varying emotion at this point in the series, I think he feels it, experiences it and that didn't come across at all. I read THE BLACK ECHO, the first Harry Bosch, in print and felt my experience was better that way for this series.

THE BLACK ICE is available on audio from Brilliance (ISBN: 978-1-5933-5259-2), in print from Little Brown (ISBN: 978-0-3161-5382-9).

And finally today I have DOUBLE PLAY by Robert B. Parker.

FIRST LINE: "Joseph Burke got it on Guadalcanal, at Bloody Ridge, five .25 caliber slugs from a Jap light machine gun, stitched across him in a neatly punctuated line."

When Joseph Burke returns home wounded physically from the war, his wife inflicts emotional wounds by having left him for another man. Trying to re-enter his life, he attempts to take up boxing. Not really possessing the skill to box professionally, Burke takes a job as a body guard to protect a rich man's daughter. Burke falls for the daughter but is let go after a show of excessive force against a very powerful family. That is when Burke finds his job with the Brooklyn Dodgers protecting Jackie Robinson from the racial violence and threats during his rookie season.

This was a fun audiobook. Burke and Robinson's dialogue exchanges throughout the book are both dryly humerus and moving. The events had a tendency to jar me, and while I tell myself it is because I'm listening to a story set half a century ago, I'd like to hope they would have affected me the same way then. While it's a fictionalized story, the hate still existed and I think Parker did an outstanding job of bringing that through and contrasting it sharply with the loving relationship these two men developed.

DOUBLE PLAY does not deviate from Parker's style of writing. This has a tendency to affect the audiobook versions, however. His dialogue is sharp and intelligent and riddled with dialogue tags. When we read the printed page, we often just gloss over those. Audiobook narrators, however, do not. And so you're constantly reminded of the "he said," "she said," "Burke said," etc. all over the dialogue.

DOUBLE PLAY is narrated by Robert Forster, who I thought did an outstanding job of bringing to life Joseph Burke. He illustrates Burke's emotional scars and subtly lets his emotions peak through the tough-guy image. The narrator is great for this book, the book isn't so great for the audio.

DOUBLE PLAY is available on audio from Phoenix Audio (ISBN: 978-1-5977-7014-9) and in print from Berkley (ISBN: 978-0-4251-9963-3).


Technorati Tags: Audiobook Thursday, Charlie Huston, Michael Connelly, Robert B. Parker

Caught! - Michael Connelly

I can't believe that Michael Connelly is often without a book in his hands...when he isn't writing that is. He's so well read in the genre. Here he's caught reading one I recently finished, Don Winslow's POWER OF THE DOG.

I had to chuckle when I received this picture because Michael Connelly said at Bouchercon that he's not a big fan of long books since he's a slow reader. Lord can I identify with that. But sometimes those epic novels can just snag you and not let go. POWER OF THE DOG is one such book.

Michael Connelly's most recent publications are THE SCARECROW and NINE DRAGONS. We're looking forward to his release of THE REVERSAL later this year.

Technorati Tags: Caught Reading, Michael Connelly, Don Winslow

The L.A. Times Festival of Books

Alright, my second visit to L.A. for the Festival of Books. It was as wonderful and magical as the first. You've heard about the great Mystery Bookstore party and the fabulous Kingpins panel. This post will be highlights about all the rest of the weekend wonderfulness and will probably be mostly pictures.

From Wednesday's post, you know I was blessed to meet my wonderful friend Elyse, a.k.a. Pop Culture Nerd, for the first time in person.

And was joined by Michael, a.k.a. le0pard13, and Christine. We also had the privilege of meeting Elyse's friend (and now our friend too) Debby as well as Michael's family. This was our "festival crew"

We spent a hefty amount of time hanging out around the Mystery Bookstore booth because they had the BEST signing schedule imaginable:

(Gar Anthony Haywood, Reed Farrel Coleman, Eric Beetner, Duane Swierczynski)

(Robert Gregory Browne, Gregg Hurwitz, Ed Decter)

(Lisa Lutz, Andrew Gross)

And I presented Michael Connelly with a copy of the World's Favorite Detective bracket for Harry Bosch's win. When I found out that he knew about it, I was floating! O.k., yeah, that's totally geeky fan girl. I own up to it 100%!

And of course MBS has the greatest staff, so that adds to the fun! I just love them.

(Linda Brown)

(Bobby McCue)

Spent some quality time talking with Gregg Hurwitz about his upcoming release THEY'RE WATCHING. Plan on hearing plenty about that later here on the blog. Can't wait for the release in July!

Even managed to snag a hug or two from Robert Crais!

Saw my pals Steve Hockensmith and Sophie Littlefield at the Mysterious Galaxy booth while they were signing.

And this time at the festival, I didn't miss seeing fellow blogger and friend, Trish (from Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?). I introduced her to Sophie and then helped her spend money on books! So happy to finally meet Trish in person and I'm already looking forward to the next time we can see each other!

A surprise I wasn't expecting was seeing Tim Hallinan. He stopped up at the festival and introduced me to Gar Anthony Haywood! How cool is that? Tim speaks very highly of Gar's work and since I think highly of Tim's work, I'm looking forward to reading Gar.

Another great surprise was meeting Brett Battles' gorgeous family. Thank you, Brett! Had a blast listening to Reed's stories. I think he's just the cat's pajamas. And that silly Andy Gross. When I went to say good-bye to him, he thought he was going to get off with just a hand shake! What a super guy.

And the highlight that wrapped everything up was having the chance to just hang out and talk with Alafair Burke. Have a mentioned lately how fabulous I think she is? Oh right! Well, one more time won't kill you.

I probably don't need to say it was just a fantastic weekend. As I'm writing this and loading the pictures, I'm smiling all over again. Tucking the memories into my bag of cherished times. I hope that each and every one of you has the chance to experience a weekend like this at some point in your life. This community is full of warm, generous people. So, stop by and introduce yourself. You'll be pleasantly surprised. In the meantime, Happy Reading!

Technorati Tags: LATFoB, Reed Farrel Coleman, Robert Crais, Andrew Gross, Alafair Burke, Sophie Littlefield, Gregg Hurwitz, Michael Connelly

The Festival Kingpins

This year I was a bit remiss on my panel attendance. I got tickets to see three panels, but only ended up attending one. In my defense, I opted not to attend the other two so I could do some blog work. So, you'll all have the chance to benefit from that. The panel I did attend was titled "The Kingpins." This incredible panel consisted of T. Jefferson Parker, Michael Connelly and Robert Crais. Paula Woods moderated.

This Kingpins was entertaining and informative, but if I walked away with anything, it was the sense that all three of these men truly love writing and none of them takes that opportunity for granted. They are thankful for the chance to make their living writing and are appreciative of the people and circumstances that allow them to do what they love.

After Paula introduced each "Kingpin" and shared his impressive resume, she asked them what keeps the writing fresh when they're writing in a series.

Robert Crais led off with his response. He loves his characters and he loves spending time with them. They aren't always easy to be with, but that's exactly where he wants to be. He also said that he never has enough time to write all the stories he'd like to. When he mentioned that he'd like to revisit Max Holman, he was greeted with cheers. We'd all like to see Max return. For now, though, the next novel will be a Joe Pike novel followed by the next Elvis
Cole-centered novel.

Michael Connelly says the writing stays fresh for him because he simply treasures the opportunities. He finds it exhilarating to tap into a character that he wants to come back to time and again.

And Jeff Parker admits to feeling like a guest in his stories. He wants to find out what happens next and, like his readers, he's simply along for the ride.

Next Paula wanted to know how the writers felt their series protagonists had grown, changed, evolved...in her words, "moved through the stations of manhood."

Michael Connelly explained that NINE DRAGONS was set into motion when LOST LIGHT  was written. Harry Bosch was always the man who couldn't be "gotten to." That was his "hero strength" so to speak. But with the discovery of his daughter, Bosch gained a weakness and he could be "gotten to." NINE DRAGONS is the point where they "get" Harry. But ultimately it's Michael's hope that Harry always continues to evolve.

When the question was turned over to RC, he informed everyone that he was still trying to figure out what "the stations of manhood" were. And while he was trying to figure things out he thought he'd mention that "doesn't the title of this panel, The Kingpins, sound pretentious?" He said he heard "Kingpins" and thought of a bowling alley; the pins were lined up at the front of the room. When the conversation turned to the balls, however, Michael Connelly interjected and informed Crais that he was "clearly, still in the first station of manhood."

When the class clown got back on track, he explained that he never wanted to have the "character check list." He approaches every character, no matter how small the role, as a character who could be the main protagonist in his/her own book. 

Jeff Parker feels that Charlie Hood is actually his first "series" character. He doesn't view Mercy Rayborn as a series character. She was intended to have an arc of three books and that's where she stopped. Charlie, however, has now been in four books and Jeff feels that he still has more to explore with Charlie. He also likes that Charlie is young and that gives Jeff time with Charlie as well.

Next Paula turned to the idea of values. She wanted to know if the authors felt that there were values that propelled their protagonists.

Jeff feels that values are what a hero is about. And he also feels that his hero, Charlie Hood, is not the most interesting character in his books because of those values.

Michael says that values are why they write a series. In some of the books, Bosch falls short of the ideals. But Harry has always been pushing the edges. As a young character he had a mission. And Bosch started out as a character who was influenced by Connelly's own experiences. But as he progressed through the years, he was more his own character and less a reflection of Connelly.

When Paula asked him if he plans ahead as he writes, Michael explained that he's not good at "strategery" (yes, MC was making up words during this panel). He will go back to previous books and see if there are ideas he can bring forward but he doesn't write with the idea that five books later the concept will re-emerge.

And RC said that in essence they are all writing "heroic fiction." He looked at his Joe Pike character. He explained that Joe doesn't give a second thought to "black-letter law." He simply knows what justice is. And while it many not be mainstream, it is a form of values.

That brought up for Jeff the idea of "what happens when the hero's best isn't good enough?" He said he'll be exploring that question with Charlie Hood in the next novel.

Then came the big question. "Have e-books changed reading and writing?"

Robert Crais was very adamant that a story is a story. The mode you use to get that story doesn't change what the story is.

But then the idea of the "extas" was thrown into the mix. The trailers and other informational videos that are being created for books.  And Jeff said that yes, those may change reading like the computer changed writing (over the typewriter). But still the story is the story.

Michael Connelly said the real question is how those "extras" will hurt the reading experience. When we read a traditional book we don't have pictures or sounds to help us see/hear what the writer is developing. We have to be active readers and involve ourselves in the reading process. We use our creative minds to see and hear things in our brains as we read. But as the demand for "content" in the electronic readers increases, will the reader be less interactive with the story because they are having to work less at understanding it?

This idea of content and movies and trailers led to some discussion on branding a series. And Michael said the only thing he can do is keep his head down and write the best he can write. This is a motto you'll often hear from him. He lives by this belief. The branding really falls on the shoulders of the others once the book is written. And I'll just interject a little of my own commentary here because I really respect this work ethic. As a reader, I can tell when things are forced into a book to "sell the book." Those are nine times out of ten the elements that end up dragging the book down.

So what's coming up for each of these authors? Michael Connelly has a Harry Bosch/Mickey Haller novel, THE REVERSAL due out later this year. Jeff Parker's next Charlie Hood novel is in the bag and that's BORDER LORDS. Robert Crais is still working on THE SENTRY which is due out in early 2011.

The floor was then turned over to the audience. And our very own Michael took the mike to ask a question on behalf on of Naomi Johnson. She wanted to know if when RC finally kills off Lucy, would he name the killer after her? To which RC replied, "because of Naomi, Lucy will be back in a big way after THE SENTRY." He wanted us to make sure we told Naomi that it was all her fault that Lucy would be back.

The authors were all asked about their writing process. RC is a major planner. He has note cards plastered all over his office outlining character development and plot development. MC, however, is re-writer. He doesn't do a lot of outlining or pre-planning. Instead he has to re-write as the story evolves. Jeff said he outlined extensively for SILENT JOE because it was required by his publisher, but he doesn't do much of that anymore. According to him it's because he doesn't have "the brain power."

A topic I love hearing about is audio books. I've heard both RC and MC talk about their audio books. Neither of them listen to their books on audio because they have pre-set ideas of what their characters sound like. It isn't what ends up being created on audio. What I did learn in this panel, though, was that all three authors are given say in who their readers are. All three leave the decisions up to their audio book publishers, however.

RC did mention that for the first time he narrated his own unabridged book with THE FIRST RULE. He said he listens to this book all the time! At first he wasn't sure how he felt about his own reading, but after about the 18th time listening to it, it's growing on him.

Everyone chuckled when Michael asked him why he chose to read his own book, but Michael was asking in all seriousness. And RC explained that his two favorite parts of book events are the Q&A session and when he reads from his books. So, when the opportunity presented itself for him to narrate, he chose to do so.

This panel was wonderful: entertaining, informative, fun. I hope that I've given you at least a fraction of that experience in this post. All three of these authors are tremendous and fascinating. If you have the chance to see any of them, snatch it up.

My only regret was that across the campus the thriller panel was going on at the same time. It was the only other panel I REALLY wanted to see; if only I'd had a clone. I wouldn't have traded seeing the Kingpins, but I sure would have liked to have been able to do both.

Tomorrow I'll wrap up my L.A. Times Festival of Books posts. I hope you'll stop back to join me. Happy Reading!

Technorati Tags: LATFoB, Robert Crais, Michael Connelly, T. Jefferson Parker

Bouchercon Diary - Day Two

Alrighty, let's return to the Bouchercon recap! Friday, Day 1 (for me), was outstanding. How did Saturday have a chance? mmm....

I got up a little on the early side, took care of the bothersome necessities (shower, dressing, etc). Then I wandered out to find some tea and the first panel I was going to attend. I went to the Kindle presentation, more out of curiosity than anything else - I'm not actually interested in getting a Kindle. Kindle/Amazon won't attend our organization's conference so I was interested to see what they would have to say. It was evident pretty early on that the content was directed at authors and publishers, so I quietly bowed out before the session was over. This little disappearing act enabled me to get in line 1st for Lee Child signing table. I wanted to have him sign his memoir scrapbook page. Honestly, had I not been in a position to do this, I probably wouldn't have gotten it signed simply because his lines were always so long and that turns impersonal. To me that's not fun. It's just a matter of how fast can we move people through this line, kind of thing. But, I did get in line first, and I snapped this picture - not so great, but it was all I got.



Then I got back into line, this time to see David Morrell and have him sign HIS memoir page.


By the time I had gotten both of those taken care of, the next round of panels had already gotten under way, so I decided to forgo a panel and wander around. That's when I found this handsome fella hangin' out:


And then I sat for a bit and chatted with this other handsome guy, Duffy Dombrowski's alter ego:


I did by the way get my requisite hugs from both of these fine gentlemen! ;)

Finally, I hooked up with a third handsome guy for lunch! Michael Lister - who in all my giddiness I neglected to grab a picture with - met me for lunch and we enjoyed a very nice conversation. I had the chance to congratulate him on Michael Connelly giving him a shout out about his new book in Connelly's interview from the day before. Michael Connelly and I share an appreciation of Michael Lister's DOUBLE EXPOSURE. And let me tell you how flattered I was that he made time to get together with me when he was flying out that afternoon after his panel. Super, super nice guy. If you ever have the chance to meet him, by all means, snatch it up!

After lunch I sprinted back to my room and reorganized my books in my bag and headed off to what turned out to be the absolute BEST panel I attended at Bouchercon. This panel was titled "IMBA and the Dilys Winn Award." Between the facts that the panel was opposite a panel with Harlan Coben, in a large room and I arrived early, I got a front row seat for William Kent Krueger, Louise Penny and Sean Chercover, moderated by Robin Agnew (from Aunt Agatha's in Ann Arbor). The chemistry of the folks on this panel worked amazingly. All three authors were laid back, candid, funny. They talked about starting out in the publishing business and funding their own book tours. They talked about both good and bad experiences at independent book stores - or in Louise's case, at a library. If you can see in these pictures, at one point Louise was embarrassed by something she said so she swapped name tents with Sean. I heard a lot of people talking about the panel with Harlan Coben that the fact that it was a good one, but honestly, I wouldn't have traded being in this session for anything! Well, maybe that's exaggerating a little - maybe there are a FEW things, but I definitely wouldn't have swapped it for any other session!








Afterwards I toddled over to have Sean sign my books - I'd managed to corner Louise before lunch that day. So Sean signed my books (on one he wrote "P.S. - see ya online" too cool!! O.k., geeky fangirl moment, give me a break!) and then I still had some time; I looked around and found LIBBY FISCHER HELLMANN!! Yay! I was looking so forward to meeting her. I only had to wait for one other person to finish up and I walked up to her table and said, "Libby, I'm Jen, can I come around and hug you?" So, I got to share a big hug with Libby and a little bit of chit chat. I truly admire her and it was a wonderful experience to get to meet her. But again, no picture. I WILL get one soon, though. More on that later. The other person I got to meet at this time, who I was very much looking forward to was Rebecca Cantrell. She's another of the Criminal Minds bloggers. Oh! She is just amazingly wonderful. Just like with Sophie, I felt as though I had known her my whole entire life.


Then the big moment was upon me...my Hot Ticket session! With Michael Connelly! I truly admire him. He doesn't strike me as the kind of person for whom the spotlight comes easy, and that makes me admire him even more. Being in the spotlight constantly all weekend long has to be exhausting when it doesn't feel natural. But anyway, he was wonderful in our session, and answered everyone's questions. The MWA Midwest chapter that organized this did a very nice job and they made sure that everyone had a chance to ask questions and no one person dominated. This is where we found out the little tidbit about Robert Crais. Michael was explaining that both he and Crais had secretly stopped reading each other's work so that the same kinds of things didn't end up creeping into the other's books since they are both set in L.A. But, they concocted the idea to have each other's character cameo in the opposite's book. Each author would send the paragraph that the other's character was in to the other author for final approval. RC had Harry Bosch out behind the police station smoking...four books after Harry QUIT smoking! Michael sent Robert an email that said "BUSTED!" I just love that story. He talked about his feelings toward BLOODWORK, the movie, and the fact that he wouldn't be able to pick a Hollywood name to play Bosch because there isn't an actor that fits his image of Bosch that he's created in his mind throughout the years. I then asked him about audiobooks and if he's unable to hear them because they don't sound like what he believes Bosch should sound like. He said yes, that was exactly the case, but that he did listen to an abridged version of one of his books that Burt Reynolds did because someone told him to do that if he wanted a laugh. He said he didn't find what Burt Reynolds did at all funny!



What endeared me the most to Michael Connelly in this session, was when he said, "I know this is going to sound like I have an ego, and I do have an ego. I know I'm a good writer; I know I'm a talented writer. But there are a lot of good writers, talented writers in this business. I also had a lot of luck, more than any one person should probably be allowed to have." What he viewed as being entirely arrogant, I saw as incredible modesty. This man has made an amazing impact on the crime fiction genre; he has given back so much to the mystery community; and I was extremely humbled to be able to attend this session. It was wonderful. He still intimidates the hell out of me, though!

Afterwards Michael graciously signed our books (and my memoir page), I was able to chat a few minutes with Shannon Byrne, Michael's publicists and a great friend to Jen's Book Thoughts, and then I darted over to the book room to have Reed Farrel Coleman sign my books. He had a panel while I was in with Michael Connelly, so I wanted to make sure I grabbed him. On one book, Reed signed "To sixy Jen." Hehehe! He's so creative!


Alright! Now it was time for the Anthony Awards. I found Jon and Ruth Jordan and David Thompson and asked to follow along because once again, I didn't know where I was going. And we headed on over to the Hilbert Circle Theater. Very beautiful theater but none of my pictures came out thanks to the lighting. I'm sure that you heard about the Anthony Award winners already, so I'll just say that it was special for me to be able to congratulate Sean Chercover, Jon & Ruth Jordan and Chris Grabenstein in person. I was extremely happy for them all. I was also especially happy for Rosemary Harris who was nominated in the category of Best First Novel. S.J. Rozan was a magnificent toast master. What a witty character she is. And Michael Connelly was all class when he awarded S. J. Rozan her award for toast master. She was technically supposed to award it to herself, but he took it upon himself to bestow the award appropriately. Good guy!

After the awards there was a bit of a reception in the lobby. I finally caught up with Robin Burcell. I was so thrilled to have a chance to see her and talk with her and grab this picture:


I also snagged Hank Philippi Ryan so she could sign her scrapbook page. She cried. I didn't want her to cry, but I was also flattered that my project created that much emotion for her. What a lovely, lovely person she is. S.J. Rozan signed her memoir, as did Marcus Sakey and Jason Pinter. I met Megan Abbott in person.

Finally as I wrapped up my time at the theater, I met up with Robin Agnew and my friend Patti O'Brien and we went to dinner at a very nice brewery. Great dinner, great conversation. And the night still wasn't over!

After heading back to the hotel, I made my way to the Artsgarden for the charity auction. The auctioneers were Donna Andrews and Chris Grabenstein - thus, why I said Chris could make his living this way if he ever left writing. The items in this auction were way beyond my means, but it was fun to watch. A character name in an upcoming Sue Grafton went for a couple thousand dollars. Yikes! But, it was all for charity and that is wonderful.




I headed back to the Hyatt hotel bar after that, where I met up with Sophie Littlefield again. She and some others were headed over to Lee Child's Reacher Creature party and they invited me to tag along. So, off I went!

It was rather insane at the Slippery Noodle. The place was wall-to-wall people, so between the live music and all the people, you couldn't hear a thing unless you were right up against the person talking, and preferably with them talking directly into your ear! Plus, if you wanted to move anywhere, you pretty much had to shove your way through. I did get to see Reed Farrel Coleman dancing:


And snapped this picture of Brett Battles and Sophie:


But, I told Sophie I thought I would go; that wasn't really my speed. But, she and Brett left with me and we went to a gen-u-ine Hoosier bar, as Sophie called it! We had a great time there. Fun conversation, cool bartender, people watching. Juliet Blackwell joined us after awhile. Sophie really liked the deer heads mounted on the wall, and we all especially liked the poinsettia decorations which we decided had probably been up since LAST Christmas. But that's o.k., it was still great!

And finally, about 11, we headed back to the Hyatt bar where we met up with Rebecca Cantrell, Kelli Stanley, and I also got to snag Jason Pinter for a picture. I have to watch the scrapbook around him, though! ;) Jason's fun. I enjoy talking to him.


And that's where I called it a night, but lord, what a night it all turned out to be! Another awesome day at Bouchercon! Tomorrow I'll wrap up with the last day of Bouchercon and the scrapbook pictures. I hope you'll check back. Until then, happy reading!