Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Top 10 Things I Learned at Bouchercon 2010

Your first Bouchercon always holds a very special place in your heart and your memories. So Indy will always be special for me in that respect. However, San Francisco will always be special for me as well. It was nothing short of spectacular and yes, partly because I am still so very much the fan girl. Bouchercon for me is equivalent to turning a movie junkie loose on the red carpet before the Oscars. These are all my movie stars and I'm permitted to run loose among them - and no one arrests me for it! ;-) For me Bouchercon San Francisco was five days of walking on air.

Last year I talked about the 10 things I learned in Indy. So, I'll continue the tradition and share the top 10 things I learned this year in San Francisco. And then throughout the week I'll share my highlights from those five days, including my panel! So, here we go:

10.Judy Bobalik is the BEST roommate. And NO! You cannot steal her. She's MY roomie!

9. Growing up, I always wanted a brother - I have two younger sisters. Now I've got one through my Crimespree family, and I simply couldn't have imagined one more terrific than Jeremy Lynch. He and I shared the experience of being first-time moderators this year. Spending time with Jeremy, his wife Jill and his mother Sharon was definitely one of the great highlights of this trip!
8. There was NO WHERE I would have preferred to be Friday night than in China Town watching Gar Anthony Haywood announce Brad Parks as the winner of the Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel. While circumstances prevented him from being in attendance, the PWA also awarded Robert Crais the Lifetime Achievement Award. I think that makes 2010 a year to remember for the Shamus!

7. Mark Billingham and Daniel Woodrell absolutely ROCK! 'Nough said.


6. Reed Farrel Coleman and his wife once had a fight over whether Steve Hamilton was ugly or not. He's NOT by the way! He IS funny, smart and talented. Loved having the chance to meet him in person.

5. Books and sports can bring perfect strangers together. I experienced both this weekend.

4. Christa Faust is stunningly gorgeous, classy, witty and smart as a whip - even first thing Sunday morning! And you simply can't hate her for it because she's genuinely nice, gracious and generous as well. But don't repeat this because we don't want to damage her reputation!

3. When given the chance, don't ever pass up the opportunity to see Val McDermid.

2. Meeting virtual friends in real life is as much a part of the amazing experience as meeting the authors.

1. And yes, #1 is the same as last year's #1, but you can't be reminded of this too often: I LOVE being a part of the Crimespree family!

17 comments:

bermudaonion October 19, 2010 at 5:32 PM  

I'm so glad you had a blast! I agree that meeting virtual friends is awesome!

Pop Culture Nerd October 19, 2010 at 5:39 PM  

I only had a day and a half at the 'con but spent the whole time spazzing out as well, meeting one fabulous person after the next. Case in point: Lauren. Love that photo of you two! After I got home, I realized I didn't take ONE picture. Boucherconfail!

Looking forward to hearing about your other highlights, Jen.

schreck October 19, 2010 at 6:02 PM  

Man...I was almost over not being there, too...

I consider myself in the Crimespree family as well and never ever take it for granted.

Coolest. People. Ever.

Robin M October 19, 2010 at 7:02 PM  

Glad you had a fantastic time. I spent most of the time wondering around with head in clouds seeing so many neat authors. Totally missed you even though we both attended Mullholland Panel. I don't think I saw the same people twice so much going on.

Naomi Johnson October 19, 2010 at 10:03 PM  

So glad you had a great time. I can hardly wait for next September.

kathy d. October 20, 2010 at 2:51 AM  

So glad you had a great time. It does sound fantastic.

Can't wait for more highlights and reports.

Ryzmomplus2 October 20, 2010 at 7:52 AM  

awe Jen I love hearing your reviews and now you need to let me know which books and in what order I need to begin reading?

Ryzmomplus2 October 20, 2010 at 7:53 AM  
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alafair Burke October 20, 2010 at 8:51 AM  

So glad to have time to spend with you at Boucheron, Jen!

Jenn's Bookshelves October 20, 2010 at 10:32 AM  

Aww! I'm so glad you had a wonderful time! I'm excited to start planning for next year! I'm so excited I'll be able to attend!

Christine October 20, 2010 at 10:56 AM  

San Francisco was my Indy. Fantastic city! Fantastic people! Fantastic time!

And I have you to thank for introducing me to this wonderful event and community of people, Jen!

Love ya, my friend! Until the next time we get to see each other in person, consider this a big cyber-hug! ;-)

MysterLynch October 20, 2010 at 2:18 PM  

You are so sweet. We have known each other for a while, but this was the first time we really spent time together. And that time certainly was a highlight for me.

You are a doll! I look forward to seeing you in Milwaukee!

One other note: Pop Culture Nerd: Great site. Another reason for me to cherish Jen as I would not have known about it without her.

Pop Culture Nerd October 20, 2010 at 7:05 PM  

Jeremy,

It was very nice meeting you! Thanks so much for saying that about my site. I think we all owe Jen for expanding our world.

S. Krishna October 20, 2010 at 7:26 PM  

It seems like you had an amazing time!! Thanks for sharing!

Jen Forbus October 20, 2010 at 8:37 PM  

You all are amazing and the precise reason I love maintaining this blog. Everyone should consider St. Louis. I'd love to see each and every one of you.

le0pard13 October 21, 2010 at 10:24 PM  

Sounds like a fantastic time was had by all, Jen. I'm with Naomi on this.

Mark Billingham October 22, 2010 at 12:32 PM  

Great to meet you, Jen and I SO need to get you my six words. Haven't forgotten...

Mark x

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