DEBORAH CROMBIE: As of noon today, another Bouchercon will be over. The end of Bouchercon is always a bit like the last day of summer camp. You've had a great time, made lots of memories, but you're sad because you know you won't see many friends for another year. It was especially hard to say goodbye to fellow REDs!!! It was so wonderful to all be together!
I hope everyone who came to Dallas enjoyed the conference as much as I did! Here are just a few of my highlights.
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| Bouchercon logo on the Hyatt fountain |
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| Drop Dead Red |
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| Debs GOH interview with Lucy |
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| Lucy and Hallie vie for flatbread! |
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| Lunch at Bolsa |
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| My publisher's lovely luncheon for me |
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| Anthony winners' covers |
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| Downtown Dallas from North Italia |
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Huge thanks to the organizers for putting on a terrific conference, and to the Hyatt Regency Dallas for their hospitality!
Who's up for next year in Sacramento?!!
So glad you had such a wonderful time. Thanks for sharing it with us . . . .
ReplyDeleteI'd like to think I'd be able to go to Sacramento next year, but vacation time is still tight and I don't know if I can swing it or not.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had such fun this year. Thanks for the pictures.
It was a lot of fun. This was my first Bouchercon, but I hope it's not my last. I loved meeting all the Reds, plus all the Reds Readers who were sweet enough to come up and introduce themselves to me. Thanks for all your kind words, ladies! And thanks, Debs, for generously including me and introducing me around.
ReplyDeleteOne of my Bouchercon war stories will have to be the "Event Parking" lot, down at the bottom of the hill. When the electronic gate worked the way it was supposed to, I would press a button, take a ticket, and the gate would let me in. When I left, I'd feed it my ticket, pay my $9-$13, and go my merry way. But sometimes I'd drive in and find five or six tickets jammed up in the slot, and the gate would refuse to give me a fresh one. So I'd select the ticket with the time stamp closest to the actual time I arrived, and use that to get out again later. The first time, the gate said the ticket had already been used (it hadn't) and fined me $30 for trying to cheat. The second time it took the ticket but only charged me $9, even though I'd been there far longer than 4 hours. It got so silly I found myself plotting with other self-parkers about a) who might be skimming from the defective parking gate, and wind up murdered or b) how the defective parking gate might be blown up to create an inciting incident for a new book. Good times!
Wow, Gigi! I hope you complained to the management. Also - way to start a plot... ;^)
DeleteI missed you Gigi. I have no adventurous parking gates to speak of, hope it lets you one last time.
DeleteSo great finally to meet you
DeleteI had no idea who the management was, Edith, although I saw repair guys there a couple of times. The parking gate may yet figure in a story, and I tried to start a plot around a whole bunch of things while at Bouchercon.
DeleteJust seemed like the thing to do.
Great to see you too, Ann. And "Unknown"? I'm sorry I missed you. I wasn't there all the time every day, but please step out of the shadows and tell me who you are. Or, if you do Facebook and like silly stories about dogs and cats, find me there!
So glad you had a good time, Gigi!!
Deleteso much fun putting faces to names. Gigi (great to finally meet you!) your parking adventures cracked me up. Parking at the Amtrak station near my house is the same way. Except the gate simply refuses to let you out. VERY annoying after a looooong train ride, usually getting in late.
DeleteGreat to meet you, too, Hallie! I think Jay Roberts is right: that parking lot gate could be the start of a horror story.
DeleteThanks for those shots, Debs. Glad it's been a superlative convention. I will be in Sacramento!
ReplyDeleteLike, Gigi, this was my first Bouchercon and I am glad I'm here. I had some goals: not to stare - I think I passed that one, not to spill - so far no spillage to report but I still need to check out, and to not sit in my safe corner - I sat at tables already occupied with permission and didn't sit in the back of room during the panel discussions. I said hello to Reds if I recognized names, though I've missed Gigi and Danielle found me during the opening ceremony. I met Jungle Reds Writers during the signing events after a panel discussion though Julia's meeting was in the elevator. I sort of swooped in on Liz while waiting for "The Goddesses"" talk, sorry Liz. First victim was Debs and last was Hank, after afternoon tea, it's good to start and end with the honorees, don't you think? I have missed Gigi so far but I haven't checked out yet. I will need to seriously think about Sacramento. No airlines reservations for that one. Oh, one more thing - Texas sunrises are pretty, not like what I see in Sonoma County.
ReplyDeleteUh-oh. I think you're doomed to disappointment on my front, Deana. I'm staying home with the puppy dogs today. But I may be back for Sacramento, and if I am, I'll be looking for you, too! Sorry I missed you.
DeleteGigi, I'm so mad that we didn't get a picture of our group at dinner last night! That was so much fun!
DeleteWe were having too much fun to step back and take a picture! It was a great evening, and the cocktail hour before the Anthony's was fun, too!
DeleteIt’s my first Bouchercon and has been a good one. I met and/or said hello to all Reds save Julia. She has been elusive. I’ve met a few of the Reds readers and it is so nice to put a face to a name. I’ve got some “new” authors to read and all’s right with the world. Later this morning Frank and I will hit the road and take the back way to Houston. Whatever that is.
ReplyDeleteIt was delightful to meet you, Pat!
DeleteGreat to meet you and Frank
DeleteSo fabulous to see you, Pat! safe travels!
DeleteGeat to meet you, Deena, and Pat! It occurred to me too late that I should have gotten photos with all our Reds readers here!
DeleteSo wonderful to see you all!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed attending Bouchercon vicariously through your wonderful posts. I would love to actually attend one of these years!
ReplyDeleteCelia, we promise you won't regret it!
DeleteI'm glad to see that everyone that went seemed to have a good time. Gigi's parking gate adventures had me wondering if this was the start of a Stephen King techno horror story or something.
ReplyDeleteIt is unlikely that I'll be attending a Bouchercon anytime soon so the various posts from the event have been the vicarious living I've been doing this weekend.
I did have some related REDS book time this weekend. My local library had their last used book sale of the year and I picked up paperback editions of Rhys Bowen's first two Evan Evans series. And just this morning I was doing some cleaning and sorting (and deciding what to eventually donate to the library) of my mom's books and that left me with a new shelf to dedicate to a sole author and that shelf now belongs to Hank! (A picture will soon be up on my Facebook page for those of you who are friends on there...pardon the crappy photo though.)
Next up for book related vicarious living is this coming weekend's New England Crimebake which I've decided to make an attempt to attend NEXT year.
Other book events in close proximity to my Massachusetts location are the New England Mobile Book Fair's 8th Annual Mystery Gala on December 5th and the Rhode Island Author's Expo on December 7th.
How will I find the time (and money)?
I wish I had gotten a picture from my panel with Rhys and Caroline Todd. If any of you attended and got a good pic let me know!
ReplyDeleteI attended but was to far back. I thought I saw Jenn taking a picture.
DeleteI’ve got one. Will email it to you
DeleteAnd I wish I had a picture of me interviewing Elizabeth George... she was amazing, as she always is. And a shout out to Ann Mason there in the front row for the panel I moderated... THANK YOU ANN!
ReplyDeleteVery good interview indeed.
DeleteI loved seeing all the photos from Dallas, but oh my - how I missed being there!!! Probably, my next mystery con will be LCC in Albuquerque
ReplyDeleteOoh. I LOVE Albuquerque. Going to that one - is it 2020 or 2021?
DeleteOh Kaye!! Missed seeing you too ...
DeleteAnd I’ll be in Sacramento in 2020!!! I’ll be interviewing guest of honor Scott Turow and getting to see some of my pals/writers in Sacramento
ReplyDeleteSacramento is close enough for me to drive to. This convention sounds like fun. I’m so glad this one was such a success.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this Bouchercon very much. I met all the Reds. I met some of the commenters like Ann, Pat D, Deanna, Liz. I saw Gigi at the Red's panel but didn't have the chance to say Hi.. I also met readers as Paula, Cassie, Kathleen, Ann and others that I don't remember the name, sorry.
ReplyDeleteThe best of all is being able to sit at any table and share our love for books, so cool !
Glad you all had fun. Unless B'con ever returns to Seattle, Sacramento is probably as close as it will get. My wife and I are thinking about it, but it's a two long days drive, so not sure.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Thank you so much for sharing your photos and stories from Bouchercon in Dallas. I am saving my pennies so that I can go to Sacramento next year! My first Bouchercon was in Toronto in 2017. This will be my second Bouchercon.
ReplyDeleteAnd it will be wonderful to see many of you again. I remember meeting Jenn, Lucy and Hallie for the first time at Bouchercon in Toronto. I met Rhys years ago at a local book event. I met Hank at my first Malice several years ago. Perhaps someday I will meet Julia.
Diana
I don't travel much anymore so appreciated the pictures and commentary. It really sounds as if everyone had fun!
ReplyDeleteAnd I met Deborah at my first Bouchercon in Toronto.
ReplyDeleteDiana