DARK VOYAGE

My life has been a little crazy lately. There are plenty of wonderful reasons for that, but there are also a few tough ones. In that latter category are issues related to my father-in-law’s health and living arrangements (he collapsed almost two weeks ago and is still in hospital, though he’s doing better now).

If anything, dealing with the tough stuff has made me more grateful than ever for the fabulous people in my life. What would I do without you guys? I’m also particularly thankful for what’s going on with work. A few of the highlights:

Bouchercon in St. Louis: This was, hands down, the best party I’ve been to in my life. I got to see friends (some in person for the first time) and meet so many terrific people. I hung out with people who love crime fiction as much as I do and I stayed up late every night. I was on panels with writers I admire, and through the four days of the convention I had more fangirl moments than I can count. If you’re on Facebook, check out my “Bouchercon 2011 St. Louis” album for evidence of the criminally good time that was had by all! (A huge, heartfelt thank you to Jon and Ruth Jordan, Judy Bobalik, Jennifer Jordan, Jeremy Lynch, Jen Forbus and everyone else who did do much to make this Bouchercon spectacular. You know David Thompson is smiling.)

Award news: The Damage Done won the Crimespree Award for Best First Novel at the Bouchercon opening ceremonies, then went on to win the 2011 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. I can’t even begin to tell you how thrilled — and honored — I am.

Noir at the Bar: I’ve heard plenty about the infamous Noir at the Bar readings over the past few years, and it was a thrill to take part in the “Debauchercon” with Duane Swierczynski, John Rector, Glenn Gray, Matthew McBride, Laura Benedict, Matt Funk, and Jon McGoran. A big thank you to Jedidiah Ayres and Scott Phillips for having me there. My only regret: no one walked out when I read my story “Necessary Evil” from D*CKED.

Upcoming events: QuebeCrime (October 28-30, 2011) and Murder and Mayhem in Muskego (November 11-12, 2011). I can’t wait!

Paperback news: I just finished proofreading the pages a week ago. The Damage Done will be out in mass market paperback on January 3, 2012! (Hey, have you seen the new cover?)

The Next One to Fall: The sequel to The Damage Done comes out in the US and Canada on February 14, 2012. Having its release delayed because of the TDD paperback initially made me antsy, because I can’t wait for the new book to get into people’s hands. But that delay gave me breathing room to write a new book, a novella, and some short fiction. It’s also made planning the release of The Next One to Fall less stressful. I’ve been working on plenty of things behind the scenes — book tour, ARC giveaways, and a contest — so stay tuned for details. All will be revealed soon… well, some things will be revealed, anyway…

New book deal: Here’s the brief write-up from Publishers Marketplace: “Anthony Award winner Hilary Davidson’s untitled third novel featuring travel journalist Lily Moore, who discovers just how far an Acapulco resort will go to cover up a traveler’s disturbing disappearance, to Paul Stevens at Tor/Forge, in a two-book deal, for publication in March 2013, by Judith Weber at Sobel Weber Associates (NA).” Woohoo!