Welcome back Deadly Ink!

ROSEMARY HARRIS: This summer mystery lovers in the tri-state area welcome the return of the Deadly Ink Mystery Conference. And the guest of honor is none other than our own Hank Phillippi Ryan!

For the three people on the planet who don't know Hank - and just to remind the rest of us of her rather amazing c.v., Hank is the author of the Charlotte McNally mystery series—Prime Time, Face Time, Air Time and Drive Time. She's been nominated for or won just about every major award in the mystery community -  Anthony, Macavity, Agatha, Mary Higgins Clark - and she's just been nominated for a Shamus Award for her most recent novel, The Other Woman (which a little bird tells me is coming out in paperback next week).  

And - oh yeah - she has a full-time job and a wall full of Emmys! With any luck, she'll tell us about her brand new book, The Wrong  Girl. Which - ahem - is available for pre-order on Amazon right now http://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Girl-Hank-Phillippi-Ryan/dp/0765332582

The big fun for me is that I will be Toastmaster - so I'll get to make jokes and heckle while Hank does all the heavy lifting.

This year’s conference kicks off with a full day of Deadly Ink Writer’s Academy classes for aspiring writers, on Friday, Aug. 2. Hank will present Writing Your Mystery—All You Need to Know Before You Start. I will teach Characters and Setting, followed by Jane Cleland with Red Herrings. Classes wind up with The Top 10 Reasons Your Novel is Rejected, by author and agent Lois Winston. Official registration for the conference takes place  Friday night  6-7 p.m., followed by a welcoming program and a Deadly Dessert Party.

Both Saturday and Sunday feature and presentations by 30 authors and other mystery and crime experts including good pals Donald and Renee Bain, authors of - among many books - the Murder She Wrote series.

At lunch on Saturday,  I'll interview (heckle) Hank about her career and other notable authors on hand will briefly discuss their latest books. Saturday night features a Gala Awards Dinner with a keynote address by Hank.  Signings will be held throughout the weekend. Bob Daniher is the Offical Fan Guest of Honor.

When and where? -  August 2-4 at the Hyatt Regency, 2 Albany St., New Brunswick, NJ.  New Brunswick is just a short train ride from Manhattan - good news for those of us who might not want to drive.

More information and a registration form can be found at the web site, www.deadlyink.org.  Hope to see some of you there!

 

 

Ro: Next month I’ll be going to my first Deadly Ink conference, June 27-28 in Parsippany, NJ. This year the guest of honor will be Lincoln Child, award-winning author of Utopia, and Death Match, and co-author with Douglas Preston of Relic, Reliquary, Cabinet of Curiosities, Still Life with Crows and many others.

Toastmaster is the suave, debonair and incredibly funny Jeff Cohen, author of It Happened One Knife, Some Like It Hot Buttered and A Night at the Operation. I’ll be joining panelists Jack Getze, Cheryl Solimini, Robin Hathaway, Ilene Schneider, Dennis Tafoya, Liz Zelvin, Renee Gardner, Elena Santangelo, Maggie Barbieri, Jane Cleland, Sandra Cody, Evelyn David, Rosemary Goodwin, Chris Grabenstein, Ken Isaacson, Jeff Markowitz, and others in Parsippany NJ.

We had a chance to ask Deadly Ink diva Debby Buchanan a few questions about the conference.

JR: Running a mystery event is a ton of work and not for the faint of heart. So why do you do it? And why in New Jersey?

DB: Chris Abbott (my daughter) and I took over Deadly Ink after Pattie Biringer, DI's founder, announced at DI 2005 that she was no longer going to run the conference. We had enjoyed DI so much over the years, we couldn't just let it end, so we bought the name, logo and mailing list from Patti and forged ahead. We've kept it in NJ because there are so many talented authors in the NY/NJ/CT/PA area.

JR: Who is Deadly Ink for?

DB: Mystery writers and fans. There are panels geared to the craft of writing a mystery and panels chosen with fans in mind.

JR: How can a new writer get the most out of Deadly Ink?

DB: Volunteer to be on a panel, attend how-to panels, get to know the other authors. Deadly Ink is a small conference, usually 100 or so attendees. There is plenty of opportunity to network with other writers and fans.

JR: We know you'll be making great memories this June, but what's your favorite memory from Deadly Ink so far?

DB: It's hard to pick just one. In 2006, an extremely talented 12 year old author entered our annual contest. I was amazed at the depth and maturity of his writing. That same year, we presented a Lifetime Achievement Award to Robin Hathaway and I loved how surprised she was. In 2007, I was truly touched by the kindness and support of the authors, after a particularly difficult year for my family. And one more memory from Patti's reign...Chris, my granddaughter Amanda and I attended DI the year Lisa Scottoline was the Guest of Honor. We wore matching Deadly Ink t-shirts and were quite a sight! Lisa Scottoline took the time to write something special to Amanda, who at that time aspired to be the next J. K. Rowling.

RO: I know I’m looking forward to the show – I’ll go anywhere Jeff, Jack and Chris go..those guys are hysterical! For more info, please visit http://www.deadlyink.com/ or email info@deadlyink.com or just ask Debby right here..