Dispatches from Bouchercon: Wrap up #Bcon2013

Chris Grabenstein, Donna Andrews and Al Abramson the Bouchercon Live Auction

Kim Hammond sums up her trip with Tracey Loh to Bouchercon 2013, the world's largest mystery convention. You can read about her other Bouchercon 2013 adventures as well. 

I was excited to get home to my family as I was packing on Sunday morning to go home from Bouchercon, but a little sad too. The next Bouchercon isn't until November 13-16, 2014 and I won't see some of my friends again until then, except on Facebook or if they have a book signing in the Cleveland area in the next year.

I went down to the hotel lobby to wait for my airport shuttle and of course ran into some people. Hank Phillippi Ryan was on her way home to Boston so after a hug she was off.

The Jungle Red panel

Jeffrey Sieger needed multiple hugs before heading to the airport to return to Mykonos, Greece, where he now resides. We'll be working together for the next few years on the board of National Bouchercon and I look forward to it.

Tess Gerritsen signing books

I thanked Judy B. for a fabulous job putting together the 2013 panels because I know how many hundreds of hours of volunteer time goes into each Bouchercon (and also some blood, sweat and tears), as these conferences are entirely run by volunteers. Judy was sitting with Joseph Finder and I confessed that I thought he had the sexiest voice of any author I know. I think he blushed. 

The highlight of my departure was riding to the airport in the same shuttle with Lee Goldberg as my trip ended exactly how it began. He entertained us all on the trip with stories of fan mail nightmares.

Jeffrey Deaver at Bouchercon 2013

I have many fond memories as I say goodbye to the 2013 conference. I saw many old friends, made some new ones, and I think I got Tracey Loh hooked on Bouchercon. Let's see if she comes to Long Beach. With Jeffrey Deaver, J.A. Jance

and Edward Marsdon as Guests of Honor and Simon Wood as Toastmaster, how can she say no? 

Dispatches from Bouchercon: Day Three #Bcon2013

Laurie R. King signs 2013 Anthony Award winner Dana Cameron's copy

Kim Hammond & Tracey Loh report from Albany, New York from the world's largest mystery fan convention, Bouchercon. This is the third report from this year's convention.  

Today was all about book signings. I'm serious. We got to see so many favorites: Harlan Coben (OK, that was yesterday, Sue Grafton (she signed books for more than an hour), Laurie R. King, Lawrence Block and Tess Gerritsen (love Rizzoli and Isles).

Harlan Coben 

Tess Gerritsen

Sue Grafton

Sue Grafton's very long signing line

Mr. Lawrence Block

We also went to a great panel this morning on Young Adult Mysteries, called Root Beer Rag featuring Joelle Charbonneau, Charles Benoit, Cara Brookins, Harlan Coben, Chris Grabenstein, Beth Kanell and Lea Wait. 

Harlan Coben - Harlan is new to writing young adult mysteries. He said he writes like he does for adults but his protagonist is a teenager. Why did he turn to YA with Myron Bolitar's nephew Mickey? He was writing a Myron book and discovered he had a nephew. He also always wanted to write Myron when he was in high school. This was a compromise. 

Chris Grabenstein - He a wrote book aimed for adults and then someone said that they would make good kid's books. He writes middle grade, and says he never mentally matured past age 12 (Ha!). Chris' editor said in children's books you can only kill off someone who really deserves to die. His goal is to get kids to read. His proudest moment is when a kid tells him I read your book in 2 days or my mom took my flashlight away while I was reading your book.

Lea Wait - She says it's hard to define YA, middle grade 7-12 but then you have to consider the reading level of the kids. Middle grade there's a prohibition on bad language and sex can't be overt. Librarians and teachers have to defend buying certain books so they look at that kind of stuff.

Beth Kannel - She told us that a kid is an unreliable narrator. The protagonist is less experienced. This opens new possibilities for a plot. 

Cara Brookins - She pointed out that kids are naturally more curious and experimental. This make them good protagonists.

Charles Benoit - Young adult as a category didn't exist when he was growing up. He writes dark noir with typically sad endings. He wanted to write a book that covered adult topics but with a kid protagonist.

Sex in YA books? Some of the authors do up to a certain point. Little or no swearing. Possible drugs to teach a lesson. 

Four out of five authors on this panel write from a boy's point of view, Why? They've found a girl will read a book from a girl or boy's point of view, but a young boy typically won't read a book from a girl's point of view. 

It was a great and fun panel.


The Anthony Award Winners were announce tonight, congratulations to all the winner and nominees: 

BEST NOVEL
The Beautiful Mystery – Louise Penny 

BEST FIRST NOVEL
The Expats – Chris Pavone 

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
Big Maria – Johnny Shaw 

BEST SHORT STORY
“Mischief in Mesopotamia” – Dana Cameron

BEST CRITICAL NONFICTION WORK
Books to Die For: The World’s Greatest Mystery Writers on the World’s Greatest Mystery Novels 

Dispatches from Bouchercon: Day Two #Bcon2013

Monette Michaels, Heather Graham, Melinda Leigh and Tina Whittle sign at Mystery Mike's 

Kim Hammond & Tracey Loh report from Albany, New York where the world's largest mystery fan convention, Bouchercon, is taking place. This is the second report from this year's convention (the first is here).  

One of our favorite panels today was called, Stop in Nevada: If the IRS asks, it's research: places we've visited, people we've met and boneheaded things we've tried in the name of a story. You can see the panelists names in the photo above. Here are some of the highlights:

• Dana Cameron got to spend three months in London at the London Museum doing research. Then she told a story that happened while she was attending Bouchercon in Anchorage. She wanted to fly into the Alaskan bush but you could only go in a very small plane. It has a reputation of being one for the 10 most dangerous air trips in Alaska. While on the flight, the door of the plane flew open on its own and the pilot told her to just hang on with her legs and pull it shut - btw there were no safety belts. When they finally landed it was on a very short landing strip at the top of a mountain.

• Sean Chercover worked as a real Private Investigator for six months to research one of his books. He even got the license to be one in Illinois. Has met a lot of people in law enforcement by calling them up and asking questions and the next thing he knows he's out buying drinks and getting all kinds of stories. He has also met with a group of mercenaries just back from Iraq.

• Alafair Burke uses her marriage for book research. Her first Ellie Hatcher book featured a killer finding victims on online dating service, exactly how Alafair met her husband on an online date service. Hmmm, experience with serial killers?

• Lou Berney writes off beat crime with humor. In one book he had drug cartels using powered hand gliders to bring drugs over border. He was in Hawaii with his wife and he would take an hour class on a power hand glider and he thought it would be good for research. It's like a go cart with a big wing and a lawn mower engine on the back. He did it anyway. Gets in a flight suit and helmet. It was the most scared he's ever been. They were way up in the air and then the instructor says "uh-oh." Hmmm. 

• Chris Holm - His books are supernatural in origin and while they aren't horror, they have horror elements. So while he's writing a horror scene he tries to scare himself.  He has a horrible scene where the main character wakes up and is covered in bugs. He had an incident as a child with bugs that terrified him.

The Jungle Red gang

Another favorite panel was the Jungle Reds. It was hilarious and interactive. I don't know how to describe it so you'll just have to make a note to attend their panel at the next conference.

Happy Jungle Reds crowd

In other sightings out and about at Bouchercon, we ran into Harlan Coben (that's Tracey with him).

And Brad Parks, our new favorite Superman (That's Kim with Brad):

In other news, at today's meeting the bids for Bouchercon 2016 in New Orleans and Bouchercon 2018 in St. Petersburg, FL were approved. Congratulations! 

Here's the fabulous Laura Lippman signing autographs:

And Tracey with Daniel Palmer:

Don't forget to "like" the Mystery Playground page on Facebook. 

Dispatches from Bouchercon: Day One #Bcon2013

Kim Hammond reports from Albany, New York where the world's largest mystery fan convention, Bouchercon, is taking place. This is her first report from this year's convention. 

I arrived in Albany on Wednesday night and who was on the shuttle from the airport with me? None other than Lee Goldberg.  I recently met Lee with Janet Evanovich when they were on book tour for their joint book, The Heist. 

My first panel of the day was called When in Rome: Murder is Everywhere. All of the panels here at Bouchercon 2013 are named after Billy Joel songs. Anyway, the panel featured writers who write about locations outside the US and are all on the Murder is Everywhere blog. Panelists included Annamaria Alfieri, Lisa Brackman, Jeffrey Siger, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, and Michael Stanley. There were about 100 people in attendance. Highlights included:

• Cara Black described Paris in the old days and told stories about interviewing the art cops in Paris. She said they only recover 10% of stolen objects in a year. That seems really low and sad.
• Jeff Siger talked about living on Mykonos.
• Yrsa Sigurdardottir talked about living in Iceland and it's history. Then she  gave away a trip to Iceland for the new Iceland Noir conference in Reykjavik. I love Iceland in November, but darn it, I didn't win. 

The second panel I attended was You're Only Human: Secret powers & other little-known talents that would make us great Super Heroes...or Villains. Panelists included Jen Forbus, Catriona McPherson, Daniel Palmer, Brad Parks, Tom Schreck, Zoe Sharpe and Michael Wiley. The highlight of this panel was when Brad Parks turned from Clark Kent into Superman. 

Here's Brad in Clark Kent mode:

Here's the whole panel with Brad in Superman mode:

The Macavity and Barry Awards were announced at the opening ceremonies last night. The Derringers were already announced but winners received their awards last night. 

Congratulations to all of the winners and the nominees.

2013 Macavity Award Winners:

Short story - Barb Goffman

Historical- Charles Todd - AN UNMARKED GRAVE

Best Non-Fiction - BOOKS TO DIE FOR 

Best First Mystery- DON'T EVER GET OLD by Daniel Friedman

Best Mystery Novel - THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY by Louise Penny

2013 Barry Award Winners: 

Don Sandstrum Award for Lifetime Achievement in Fandom - Ali Karim

Best Paperback Original- MR. CHURCHILL'S SECRETARY by Susan Elliott McNeil

Best Thriller- THE FALLEN ANGEL by Daniel Silva 

Best First Mystery Novel - A KILLING ON THE HILLS by Julia Keller

Best Novel - THE BLACK HOUSE by Peter May

I'll be reporting from Bouchercon all weekend so come on back. Don't forget to "like" the Mystery Playground page on Facebook. 

A view of the Bouchercon 2013 book room before the rush

There are day passes available for the Albany show if you are nearby and curious, it would be a great day spent for any mystery fan. 

If you are more of a planner you can learn all about next year's convention, being held in Long Beach, California, November 13-16, 2014. You have more than enough time to plan.  

Agatha Christie Week: Books from Around the World

It's Agatha Christie week (September 15th - 22nd) so for the next few days we will focus on her work, life and legacy. Today we have a guest post from Kim Hammond. 

Agatha Christie, My Favorite Writer of All Time

Known as the Queen of Crime, Christie was born in Torquay, England in 1890 and her birthplace holds an annual festival each year. This event is on my bucket list and my sister and I talk about going each year.

I have been reading Dame Agatha since I was a teenager since my mom always had some of her books in the house. She’s one of the few authors, if not the only one, that I will re-read. This is a high compliment considering my to-be-read  (TBR) pile.

Agatha Christie was truly an amazing woman for her time, living in an era where men ruled the world and woman didn’t write about murder and mayhem. During the 85 years she wrote more than 80 books, many of them bestsellers. She is know as the best-selling fiction author of all time and her books have been translated into more than 45 languages. 

It was this last tidbit of trivia regarding the 45 different languages that gave me the idea of collecting her books in foreign languages. I always buy two books and give one to my sister, Kerry, who is also a big fan. Now we both scour for book stores on our travels and it’s not always easy. Sometimes I’ll stumble upon a tiny store and purchase the only two books it has on the shelf. We really can’t look for specific titles because many times we’re very limited in choices. 

The first in my collection was a paperback that my husband found at a flea market in Paris when he was there for business. That gave me the bug and I was hooked. I’ve found books in Greece, Turkey, Italy, Amsterdam, China, Japan, and my most recent was one my sister brought back for me from Iceland. 

I have friends on the lookout for me too. I don’t think I will ever go to all of the countries Agatha Christie is published in, so I realize I need help. My friend is leaving this week for India for a month and she asked if I wanted her to bring anything back for me. Without hesitation I said “Two Agatha Christie books please.”

Bouchercon 2013: Stalking My Favorite Authors

Kim Hammond's book shelf of signed novels

Our guest post today is from Kim Hammond about her thoughts as she packs for Bouchercon, the world's largest mystery convention. The year guests of honor include Tess Gerritsen, Sue Grafton and Anne Perry.  The festivities are in Albany, NY. 

That’s right, I am heading to the Empire State for the 2013 Bouchercon, New York State of Crime. I have been looking forward to this for a year now. One of the main reasons is that I was involved with the planning/running of the 2012 event in Cleveland, which means I didn’t get to sit in on any panels to hear my favorite authors. This year I am merely a fan and that’s enough for me.

The first author I am excited about meeting is Tess Gerritsen.

I love Rizzoli and Isles, both the books and the television series, and because Tess is the American Guest of Honor, there will be plenty of time to hear her speak. I am looking forward to getting a book signed to add to my mounting collection of autographed books.

Toastmaster Steven Hamilton has had me as a fan for years. His Alex McKnight series is a favorite for a lot of people. His description of Michigan’s UP (Upper Peninsula) makes me cold just reading about it. 

I  had the opportunity to meet Harlan Coben  at the Bouchercon in Indianapolis and I am looking forward to seeing him again. My friend Deb loves his books and thinks he's is very funny in person. 

I am also excited to see some author friends. Award winning author Hank Phillippi Ryan, who is the President of National Sisters in Crime (SinC) will be there just a week after the launch of her new book, The Wrong Girl. In her spare time Hank is an investigative reporter in Boston and she has some of the best stake-out stories I’ve ever heard (and believe it or not, I have heard many).

Daniel Palmer is an author that you should keep your eye on. He has published three stand-alone thrillers and each book keeps getting better. I am impatiently awaiting his fourth to be out in 2014. He’s charismatic and funny so don’t be shy about going up and saying hello. You may get to hear a story about famous dad/author Michael Palmer, or if we’re lucky, he belt out a tune of his harmonica.

Newly published cozy author Shelley Costa just started a fabulous series involving an Italian family owned restaurant outside of Philadelphia. Her first book, released in June, is called You Cannoli Die Once. She is witty and charming and it comes through in her book.

Watch for me reporting live from Bouchercon starting Thursday, September 17^th here on the blog and on Mystery Playground’s Facebook page. I’ll try and make it feel like you’re right there with me.

Book Review: Murder, Plain and Simple

Kim Hammond reviews the new Isabella Alan book, 

Murder, Plain and Simple 

Murder, Plain and Simple by Isabella Alan is the debut cozy mystery of the Amish Quilt Shop series, set in Ohio and featuring shop owner Angie Braddock (available September 3, 2013).

Angela “Angie” Braddock’s Aunt Eleanor fell in love with an Amish man, and when they married, she converted to the Amish lifestyle. Angie used to visit them during her summer breaks and loved spending time with her aunt and uncle, but as she got older, the visits were less frequent and finally stopped altogether.

When Aunt Eleanor passed away, Angie is stunned to find out the quilt shop has been left to her. What's she going to do with a quilt shop in Amish country, Ohio when she's a busy, working woman in Dallas, Texas? Everyone assumed Angie would sell the shop, but when her fiancé Ryan suddenly calls off the wedding right before the invitations were to go out, she surprises everyone, quits her job, and moves to Ohio to run the quilt shop.

Angie returns to the town she fondly remembers from her childhood and rents a house near downtown Rolling Brook for herself and Oliver, her black and white French bulldog. Most folks are kind and welcome her to the neighborhood. She’s instant friends with Rachel, whose family owns the bakery across the street, and Rachel is happy to feed Angie’s penchant for baked goods. However, some of the Amish are a bit upset that an Englischer owns a store in the Amish community.

[Revisiting one's childhood is never simple...]

Baldacci's The Hit and Lemonade Punch

Today Kim Hammond continues our series on summer reads with drinks with David Baldacci's The Hit and Lemonade Punch. 

Those who thought The Innocent was a great stand alone will be pleased to see Will Robie return in The Hit. Robie is tasked to eliminate one of his own, a rogue assassin named Jessica Reel. He and Reel worked together before and Robie knows she’s as good as he is, but he finds it hard to believe she’s gone to the other side. Why would she? 

He can’t argue that she killed her handler in cold blood and others are being systematically killed under very difficult circumstances that only a pro could pull off. There are two sides to every story, but Robie isn’t being paid to think on his own. When he gets into a shootout and is clearly outgunned, his life is saved by an unknown gunman that he believes is Reel. Why would she save the man she knows is out to kill her? Robie now wants to find out the truth, but is he willing to betray his country to do so?

I have been a fan of Baldacci’s for many years. I love his Camel Club series and also his King and Maxwell series (as well as the new TV show). Even though Robie kills for a living, you find yourself rooting for him. He has his own set of morals and ideas of right and wrong that I can live with. After two Robie books I hope this means we’ll be seeing more of him.

The perfect beverage to drink while reading The Hit is Lemonade Punch. 

Lemonade Punch

½ cup  lemonade flavor drink mix- I love Crystal Light so I use that

1 can  (48 oz.) pineapple juice, chilled

2 cans diet 7-up), chilled

2 cups  cold water

6 lemon slices

6  maraschino cherries- I like to live dangerously, so I use the entire jar

Mix all ingredients together in a pitcher and serve right away. Hint: I add the cherry juice in too.

Speakeasy Miami: The Broken Shaker

As part of our continuing series on modern speakeasies, Kim Hammond & Rebecca Lugones visit the Broken Shaker in Miami. 

Even on vacation I recognize my duty to seek out and visit speakeasies. This time I was visiting my friend Rebecca in Miami Beach and we decided to let the husbands watch the kids and off we went to find The Broken Shaker.

We had GPS, so one would think our destination would be a breeze. Not so much. We drove around the same three blocks for twenty minutes trying to find this place. We pulled over, pulled out the iPad mini and went to the website again. It said the bar was in the lobby of the Indian Creek Hotel. We found the hotel and this is what we saw.

Not a very inviting picture, right? So now we’re thinking it’s closed and we needed to find a Plan B. But wait; there was a review on Yelp posted the evening before. Okay, now it was becoming a moral imperative to find this place. We vowed once more around the block and eureka, we found it.

It’s actually tucked away in the back of a hostel called the Freehand. Who would have thought? Our friendly waitress explained it was a pop-up bar (I’d been to pop-up stores, but never knew there were pop-up bars) the year before and then became permanent. The majority of the bar was outside. Hailing from Ohio I found this unique and enjoyable. However, people could freely smoke outside so we chose to sit in the small bar area that can really only accommodate about ten people.

The bar area bathed in mismatched candlelight and dim chandeliers reflected from the dark and rich colored wood. Although the decor was circa 1930s-1940s the stereo emitted tunes from the 60’s . Everything was quaint and comfortable.

The menu had some light fare and some yummy looking drinks. We were first brought water in small mason jars containing fresh cucumber and it was surprisingly refreshing.

Drinks: 

My drink was the Hemingway Daiquiri. It contained maraschino liqueur, shaken with fresh lime, grapefruit juice and Don Q rum. Rebecca went a little more crazy with a B!$CH Don’t Kill My Vibe. It had lemongrass and Thai Basel from the garden, pineapple juice, Aperol mixed with Wodka vodka. The Broken Shaker has won a James Beard Award for their handcrafted cocktails. 

Outside was a garden area with little cozy clusters of seating. Lounge chairs, couches, even hammocks adorned the treed area and towards the back was a ping pong table and the swimming pool for the hostel. Twinkling lights were strung throughout trees which created a fairy-like ambiance.

Location and Hours:

The Broken Shaker is open daily from 6pm - 2am, but opening early on weekends at 2pm. The address is 2727 Indian Creek Drive, Miami Beach, Florida. You can reach them at 305-531-2727. No password is required. 

What are Speakeasies?

Speakeasies were secret bars that sprang up when alcohol was outlawed in the United States in 1919.

Most speakeasies were housed in unmarked locations, many required a password to get in and some may have moved from place to place to stay ahead of the law. Many think the name came from patrons being told to "speakeasy" or to lower their voices so no one suspected they were serving alcohol. Today, there are many modern speakeasy bars that retain some of these traditions. They usually feature fresh ingredients in their food and drink, in discreet locations that lack signage. Some model the decor after the periods and some require passwords. 

You can read about Mystery Playground's other speakeasy adventures here.