Busy, busy, busy. That seems to be all I feel these days.
Last week I attended Left Coast Crime. It was fantastic. We had a quite a crowd of Midnight Ink authors there. While MI didn’t win any awards, two Midnight Ink authors did. Catriona McPherson won the Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award for A Deadly Measure of Brimstone published by St. Martin’s Press. Gigi Pandian won the Rose Award (best mystery set in the Left Coast Crime region) for Pirate Vishnu published by Henery Press. Congrats ladies!!
Sadly, yesterday I learned of an inappropriate comment by the toastmaster during the banquet. I didn’t hear it personally as it was rather loud in the banquet hall. There was a live auction and the item up for auction was a character name in a forthcoming book by Guest of Honor Chelsea Cain. When the auction ended at a total of $800 (which the proceeds go to charity) the toastmaster Gar Anthony Haywood said, "She'll take off her dress and give you her hotel room key." Please check out Sarah Weinman’s blog here.
That is simply unacceptable. I haven’t yet seen an apology which shocks me as well. Maybe it’s out there and I just haven’t found it. It is necessary, both to Chelsea and to every person in that room. There is no room for sexism, racism, or any other –ism in our community. This is why all conventions need a diversity statement and a code of conduct. Mistakes do happen. I know that. But I think we need to learn from this and do better in the future.
After making it home on Sunday, on Monday I found myself with a bunch of work to do. I had five launch meetings between Tuesday and Wednesday. I have talked about it before, for us the launch meeting is where we determine the title and the cover direction. We talk about the brand we are trying to create and what we want the cover to evoke. It’s a very important meeting. And I had to prep for all five books. Wowzer. Somehow I got it done and they all went very well.
Which leads me to today – Thursday. What has me so busy today? First it was creating accounts for my three boys who are doing Jump Rope for Heart. They collect the donations today and then do the jump roping next week in gym class. (if you would like to make a donation, the links are on my facebook page.) And… IT’S MARCH MADNESS, BABY! I downloaded the March Madness app and I have been mostly listening, but sometimes watching on my phone. I can’t wait to watch the Wisconsin game tomorrow night. I live in Minnesota, but was born and raised in Wisconsin and I will forever cheer for my Packers and Badgers. So go Bucky! I am hoping for a final four appearance and a national championship!
What is on the agenda for tomorrow? Working on my Spring/Summer and Fall 2016 catalogs. That means contracting a few books for my authors who write series and acquiring some new books. You know, the fun part of my job!
Have a great weekend!
Recent Comments