Bouchercon is always a blast and this year was no exception - reconnecting with old freinds and new ones, and hearing intelligent and thoughtful people discuss our favorite genre. My husband and I brought along our friend Aline and we also got out into St. Louis - ate some wonderful food, went to the Arch, and made it to the museum (where there was a stunningly moving 9/11 memorial). But of course most of what we were there for were panels, and I'm handing it over to writers far more talented than I to give you a slice of Bouchercon.
I moderated a panel on Thursday, the first official conference day, and I was nervous about it - my panel consisted of Deborah Crombie, Erin Hart, Jan Burke and Hank Phillippi Ryan, an unlikely combo but a thoughtful and dynamic one. The panel was over before I knew it (it never hurts to over-prpare!) and we were all stuck on the question, "Do women write differently from men?" I say yes but it was a pretty lively discussion. Two of my favorite quotes from the panel:
"It's really easy to get people to shoot each other, it's really hard to make them kiss." - Erin Hart
"If I can get you to stop doing housework and stay up all night reading, I've done my job." - Jan Burke
In the case of Jan Burke, mission accomplished! It was a real pleasure to meet one of the great women writers of our genre, and a complete delight to meet Hank Ryan who is funny, smart and entertaining.
From other panels - this one on the "Nature of Evil" with Reed Farrell Coleman, John Connelly, Laura Lippman, Thomas Cook, Peter James and Daniel Woodrell. This panel was almost overpopulated - I could have listened to each author seperately for an hour. Daniel Woodrell, should the name not ring a bell, is the author of Winter's Bone, and boy is he impressive. Sadly much of what he writes about - meth dealing in Appalachia - is knowledge he gained from looking out his front window.
"(Evil is) small levels of willful ignorance." - John Connelly
"I often get evil confused with plain old mean." - Daniel Woodrell
"To be a sociopath is the best qualification to get to the top, and the worst qualification once you're there." - Peter James
"I don't want to read a book where 20 prostitutes are killed so the detective can go home and hug his daughter." - Laura Lippman
"I think sometimes they are just words on a page but they are real to the reader." - Reed Farrell Coleman
"It (evil) is mundane, it's just right outside the window." - Daniel Woodrell
From "No Way to Treat a Body" with Michael Black, Neal Baer, Kathryn Casey, Connie Dial, Matt Hilton, and Morley Swingle.
We went because we are huge fans of Kathryn Casey's true crime writing (though she now writes fiction), but I was star struck by Neal Baer, who wrote much of ER and LAW & ORDER: SVU. He says he is responsible for 500 hours of TV - I may have seen all of them!
Kathryn Casey, on why it's nice to write fiction instead of true crime: "I don't have to worry about the bad guys getting out of prison and showing up at my front door which is a nice thing."
"In the US it's stop or I'll shoot, in the UK it's stop or I'll shout stop again." - Matt Hilton, former British Bobby
"Small things can escalate into huge problems if left unchecked." - Matt Hilton
From "Passengers" which was basically all the guests of honor - Charlaine Harris, Colin Cotterill, Val McDermid and Robert Crais.
"I see the world as a big cartoon." - Colin Cotterill
Robert Crais, on why he reads his manuscripts out loud: "The eye is very forgiving but if you then read aloud your tongue is unforgiving, and so is your ear."
"I always start with something that breaks my heart." - Robert Crais, on how a book begins for him.
"Storytelling is something I really enjoy a lot, maybe because I have a really boring life." - Charlaine Harris
"The characters have taken over my series." -Colin Cotterill
"I have a feeling if the characters took over my books all they'd be doing would be going to the pub." - Val McDermid
"She couldn't be stupid because I don't write stupid women." - Charlaine Harris, on Sookie S.
"Writers are at their heart vampires, we suck the life out of everyone we know." - Val McDermid
My favorite panel may have been "Trouble", moderated by Hank Ryan (who did a great job), with Steve Hamilton, Harlan Coben, Ridley Pearson, Joseph Finder and Jeff Abbott.
Tapes in the car during first book tour taken by Harlan Coben and Jeff Abbott: The Lion King & Blue Oyster Cult
"Would you kill someone? No. Would you kill someone to save your child? Yes." - Harlan Coben
"Everyone tells you to do research, I'm here to give you the other side of that, write the damn book." - Harlan Coben
"All we really mean when we say research is tax-deductible travel." - Ridley Pearson
"If you chase the reader's heart, the dollars will eventually come anyway." - Harlan Coben
What they read as kids:
Ridley Pearson: Kipling & Poe
Jeff Abbott: Hardy Boys
Steve Hamilton: Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie
From the interview with Robert Crais (he is a very pithy and funny speaker, unsurprisingly):
"I took a left turn toward hell because I developed this obsession with writing."
Desert Island book: The Old Man and the Sea (I'd take L.A. Requiem before Old Man and the Sea, personally)
"I'm a 15 year overnight success - it was a long night."
On being told that Lee Child claims Jack Reacher could beat up Joe Pike, after a long moment's thought: "Jack Reacher is Joe Pike's bitch."
Quality he most likes in a woman: Strength
Quality he most likes in a man: "Deference to my superiority."
We both enjoyed meeting Kathryn Casey, reconnecting with Jim Huang, Steve Hamilton, Kent Krueger and Sharon Fiffer, and in general just getting away for a few days. See you in Cleveland in 2012!
