Don't Forget To...

So you've registered for Left Coast Crime 2016, The Great Cactus Caper. (Right? You have, right? If you're still on the fence, let Toastmaster Catriona McPherson convince you you need to be here.)

But are you planning to make the most out of your trip? Have you signed up for all the available opportunities?? Here's what you shouldn't miss...

Author Workshop: Writing and selling fiction is a business, but most authors don’t approach it that way. Building your brand is key to success. This class will not only help authors understand how branding and relationship building can help make you successful, but it will also explain how to go about it and give you the tools to do so.

Join us Thursday morning for a three-hour, hands-on workshop that will build your marketing and social media skills! Get more information and sign up from our website.

Author-Reader Connections: An incredible opportunity for readers to get to know authors better and talk about writing, reading, and anything else of interest.
Sample Connection: Lunch with Rochelle Staab
During 2016 Left Coast Crime: The Great Cactus Caper, Rochelle Staab will host up to three fans for good food and a lively discussion on writing, research, and favorite mystery books. Rochelle will buy lunch for the attendees, excluding alcohol.

• Authors: to sign up to provide a connection, email your proposal to connections@lcc2016.com
  
• Readers: Check the LCC website frequently (new Connections will be added as we get them) and pick an offering to sign up for!

See the City: Our partner, Affinity Group Tours, has arranged a variety of optional excursions for you to enhance your visit to Left Coast Crime 2016. You must be registered for the conference to join any of the tours; non-registered spouses and family are eligible. Don't miss out on seeing the Desert Botanical Garden, the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine, or Haunted Phoenix! Get more information and sign up on Affinity's site.

We'll see you soon in Phoenix!

From the Shetland Islands to Phoenix, by Ann Cleeves

I’m very much looking forward to visiting Phoenix for Left Coast Crime in February. It’s always brilliant to spend time with other writers and readers and to share our passion for books – whether they’re old favourites or exciting debuts.

I’d like to tell you about a recent crime festival that was a little bit different from how I expect Phoenix to be. Shetland Noir took place in November. We’d borrowed the event from our fellow crime-writers in Iceland – after all Shetland is on the same line of latitude as part of Greenland and Alaska, so we reckoned we were Nordic too. The island group has a population of 23,000 people and, despite the fact that I kill off one or two of them in every Shetland novel, they’re a very pleasant bunch. They were delighted to welcome mystery fans from Iceland, Sweden, Scotland and all over the UK to Lerwick for the weekend. In fact we also had readers from Washington DC and LA! I was there to launch my new Shetland non-fiction book, a photographic tour of these beautiful islands, and of course to catch up with old friends.

 Ann with the Vikings

The weather over the weekend was dreadful – Storm Abigail was blowing 80 mph gusts, delaying the small planes and making boat journeys uncomfortable. But still people came. They were greeted in the library on the Thursday evening with a typical social evening of tea and homebakes. Hosted by local crime-writer and guide Marsali Taylor, the visitors had a chance to meet knitters and spinners, an expert in Shetland ponies and the Up Helly Aa Viking guizers in full costume! (See photo.) Friday was a civic reception with wine and more Shetland food. And we had a surprise guest – Douglas Henshall, who plays Jimmy Perez in the BBC adaptations of the books had braved the gale to present the award to the winner of a short story competition. There were wonderfully satisfying gasps when he walked into the town hall.

Ann on a panel at Shetland Noir

As the wind continued to blow and the rain to fall, the festival continued over the weekend in Mareel, a stunning new arts’ centre right on the water. Everyone had a good time and there was lots of laughter, but there were thought-provoking discussions too about violence, the reality of forensic investigation and pathology, and the reasons for the popularity of contemporary crime fiction. On Sunday the wind dropped and the sun appeared, just in time for the bus tour that gave our guests a chance to see a little more of Shetland mainland.

When we’re at conventions, sometimes we have little chance to think about our impact on the communities that host them. Shetland is trying to encourage cultural tourism – after all the oil that had provided most of its wealth for the last 40 years will soon run out. Shetland Noir brought visitors to the island in the dark stormy days of late autumn; still they loved the place and some have already booked to return. I hope when we visit Phoenix we’ll have a chance to visit our host city and meet some of the local people there. And I hope it’ll be warmer and less windy than a Shetland winter.

Five Questions with Chantelle Aimee Osman

Left Coast Crime 2016, The Great Cactus Caper, is fortunate to honor four wonderful Guests of Honor (officially, three plus a Toastmaster). We thought we'd sit down over virtual cups of tea or coffee and get to know each one a little bit. Our final guest is our Fan Guest of Honor, Chantelle Aimée Osman.

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LCC: What do you especially like about Left Coast Crime?
Chantelle: Other than the fact that every location almost guarantees attendees a sunny vacation? Probably that it’s attended by authors, publishers, agents and readers and yet manages to be the most intimate of the mystery conferences. Also, the volunteers are amazing.

How do you feel about being a Guest of Honor?
Honored. Stunned. Still 99% certain that the e-mail was addressed to the wrong person.

What are you looking forward to at LCC Phoenix?
Having rose petals strewn in front of me wherever I go; riding the Phoenix light rail, or, as I will call it “Chantelle's Mystery Train.”

What should fans, readers, fellow writers know about you?
I’m an editor, so you don’t want to ask me about punctuation unless you have the rest of the day free. (My favorite punctuation mark is the em dash, by the way.) Also, I tend to be highly inaccurate when throwing lawn darts.

What would you say to new attendees to LCC?
Bring comfortable shoes, get a lot of sleep before you get here, and don’t be afraid to join conversations. Welcome to the family!

Five Questions with Gregg Hurwitz

Left Coast Crime 2016, The Great Cactus Caper, is fortunate to honor four wonderful Guests of Honor (officially, three plus a Toastmaster). We thought we'd sit down over virtual cups of tea or coffee and get to know each one a little bit. Our third guest is our American Guest of Honor, Gregg Hurwitz.

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LCC: What do you especially like about Left Coast Crime?
Gregg: I love that LCC has all the punch of a big convention while feeling much more... intimate. Some of my most memorable conversations—with readers and authors alike—happen in between panels, in the book room, at the bar. My favorite memory was when I interviewed Lee Child in 2010 and threw him some pretty funny curveballs, which he swatted back with his usual wit and aplomb.

Plus I like that all the gigs take place on this half of the country.


 
How do you feel about being a Guest of Honor?
​Delighted! It's pretty special to be recognized in this way by a crew of hardcore, no-messin'-around crime fiction lovers. You guys are my people.

What are you looking forward to at LCC Phoenix?
Talking books with readers. I love hearing about what new stuff you guys are passionate about, which new authors you're falling in love with. I enjoy seeing friends I haven't caught up with in a while. And of course meeting writers I admire and readers I appreciate. ​

What should fans, readers, fellow writers know about you?
Love bourbon. Hate sock puppets. Bad sense of direction (see ya in Tucson!). ​Two opposable thumbs. Oh—and there's nothing I'd rather be doing in the world than writing books.

What would you say to new attendees to LCC?
Welcome! We're a nice group and most of us don't bite. Please don't be shy—go up and talk to your favorite writers. Ask questions. If you're an aspiring writer, get advice. Buy lots of books, especially those of writers just starting out. There's an amazing list of novelists on the docket this year. 

A Tale of the Season

by Rochelle Staab, LCC2016 Member at Large

‘Twas a month of holidays, and inside my house,

My new mystery struggled with each move of my mouse.

Characters argued on the Word doc with glares,

In hopes that a third act soon would be there.

A killer was loose, the victim was dead,

But visions of a Lefty fled from my head.

The first act was brilliant, the second was crap,

What I needed was a respite from my creative gap.

The front of my mind was filled with such blather,

I sprang from my desk to shake off the chatter.

Away to the kitchen I flew in a flash,

Tore open a beer, and felt like trash.

The foam on the rim of my just-poured brew,

Brought visions of bar chats with the old writing crew.

And what to my sadly blocked mind should appear?

A banquet hall podium, and a room filled with cheer!

Toastmaster Catriona, so lively and genius,

I knew in a minute it was Left Coast Crime Phoenix!

With rapid determination, my goal so plain,

I flew back to the computer and registered my name!

New panels! Fun receptions! The free books are swell!

See Hurwitz and Cleeves! Chat up Catriona and Chantelle!

An escape from cold weather at the bar in the Hyatt!

I’ll dash off to Phoenix! Left Coast Crime is a riot!

In February my smile will be wide as a bow,

In the Arizona climate instead of the snow.

I’ll be with friends in the lobby, acting my jolly old self.

I laughed when I thought of it, in spite of myself!

In a wink of the eye, plot lines filled my head,

I wrote late into the night with nothing to dread.

With the promise of a break, my block was cleared.

Relieved, in a twinkling, my third act appeared.

As I rewrote Act Two, and worked to The End,

I couldn’t believe the novel I had penned.

My eyes had a twinkle! My attitude zesty!

I finished a story worthy of a Lefty!

I spoke not a word, glued to my work.

I finished the editing, then turned with a jerk.

Santa winked with a smile at my brilliant new prose,

With a reassuring nod, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like a targeted missile.

But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight:

“And that, my friend, is why this season every writer should gift himself with a registration to 2016 Left Coast Crime in Phoenix. February? Arizona? No brainer.”