DARK VOYAGE

It’s the end of August, and Bouchercon is just around the corner. For me, the conference is always a reunion with my tribe. This year’s con is going to be a little hectic, because I don’t land until Thursday afternoon and I leave Sunday morning. That said, I’ve got a lot packed into the time I’m there:

Thursday, September 6, 8:30pm: Noir at the Bar: Bouchercon Edition! This is going to be a highlight of the entire conference. Take a look at the poster above, designed by Alex Segura, who’s co-hosting with Eric Beetner. That’s one helluva lineup. We’ll be at the Vinoy bar, which better be stadium-sized.

Friday, September 7, 10:15-10:30am and 11am-11:30am: Thomas & Mercer hospitality suite. Stop by to say hi, grab treats, and pick up some swag. (The odd timing is thanks to another commitment I have, so I’ll be popping in and out of the suite.)

Friday, September 7, 12pm-12:45pm: “A Nooner — The Sex Panel.” Christa Faust, Heather Graham, Greg Herren, Catriona McPherson, and I talk sex with moderator Helen Smith. If we don’t make you blush, nothing will.

Friday, September 7, 1pm-1:45pm: “Anthony Nominated Short Stories.” Yes, immediately after the Sex Panel, I’m on another panel, this time with my fellow nominees for Best Short Story: Susanna Calkins, Barb Goffman, Debra Goldstein, and Art Taylor (Art’s wife, Tara Laskowski, will moderate).

Saturday, September 8, 7pm: Anthony Awards. I’m up for Best Short Story for “My Side of the Matter” from the KILLING MALMON anthology. Read it for free!

I am incredibly sad that I’m going to miss the signing event for FLORIDA HAPPENS, the Bouchercon Anthology. It’s on Thursday starting at 1pm, and my plane lands about half an hour later. Bad timing on my part! Anyone who does want me to sign the book, please stop by one of my other events. I’d love to see you!

When I wrote “My Side of the Matter” for the KILLING MALMON anthology, I never dreamed it would end up as a finalist for an Anthony Award. It was an unusually tricky story to bring to life, for reasons that I talk about in the interviews below. I’m so grateful to Paula Benson and Debra H. Goldstein for taking this year’s Best Short Story finalists on a mini blog tour. Check out these pieces:

The Stiletto Gang: “Meet the 2018 Anthony Short Story Author Nominees!”

Writers Who Kill: “An Interview With the 2018 Anthony Nominated Short Story Authors”

Debra H. Goldstein: “2018 Anthony Awards — Short Stories”

Also you can read all of the finalists’ stories online. Here’s a direct link to “My Side of the Matter,” courtesy of Down & Out Books:

Read “My Side of the Matter” for free

At Bouchercon, the Best Short Story nominees have a panel together on Friday, September 7th, at 1pm. I’ll be posting my complete (crazy) conference schedule in the next couple of days. Hope to see you in St. Pete’s!

The first review is in for Florida Happens, the 2018 Bouchercon anthology, and it is fantastic! Here’s what Publishers Weekly had to say:

Florida Happens: Tales of Mystery, Mayhem, and Suspense from the Sunshine State Edited by Greg Herren. Three Rooms, $15.99 trade paper (284p) ISBN 978-1-941110-74-4

Big-name Florida crime authors such as Carl Hiassen, Randy Wayne White, and James W. Hall may be absent from this anthology of mostly current stories—a rather insipid Bernie Rhodenbarr story excerpted from a 1979 Lawrence Block novel and a strong 1956 story, “Hangover” by John D. MacDonald, being the exceptions—but Herren (Blood on the Bayou) still mines a lot of gold. In Hilary Davidson’s “Mr. Bones,” a pet owner finds poetic justice when her cat disappears. An ex-con tries to help a fellow resident of the Palm Heights Senior Assisted Living Center in Angel Luis Colón’s moving “Muscle Memory.” Eleanor Cawood Jones pulls a neat twist in “All Accounted for at the Hooray for Hollywood Hotel.” Debra Lattanzi Shutika’s “Frozen Iguana,” about a pair of amateur sleuths, offers an offbeat slice of Florida life. In Reed Farrel Coleman’s “The Ending,” old lovers part in surprising fashion, while Brendan DuBois’s heroine suffers an inconvenient flat tire in “Breakdown.” These 21 tales are testimony to the wealth of notable crime fiction rooted in the Sunshine State.(Sept.)

In case you’re not yet sold on this excellent collection, keep in mind that a portion of the proceeds from the anthology will go to support Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a program that provides free books to children from birth to school age regardless of family income. Ready to pre-order? Click here.