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.”

My LCC: Clark Lohr

Random Recall: Left Coast Crime 2013, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Yeah, well, the bread of my memories is spread with schmaltz when it comes to LCC 2013 in Colorado Springs. That’s the way it is, so make your judgments. It was a good time.

The snow came down a day or two into the conference. Why? It was March, and we were above 6,000 feet, tucked up on the foothills of the Rockies not far from Pikes Peak.

Things you learn about people: I stood in that snowstorm on an outside deck at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort and Naomi Hirahara took my picture. The railing behind me formed the horizon line for the image and Naomi got it dead straight, which told me she was a trained photographer. Indeed, Naomi has photographed and written for newspapers.

I remember Lou Diamond Phillips flying in to join Craig Johnson at the awards dinner, getting his flight delayed, and referring to himself as “Chief Standby Bear.” That, and Phillips being photographed by the standing bear sculpture in the lobby of the resort.

I remember Parnell Hall as the Puzzle Lady at the Concealed Weapons Fashion Show—on the cat walk, armed, in drag, and in your face—sporting not the planet’s best legs, by any means, and by intention. Curt Wendelboe quietly telling me a great story about fatal traffic accidents and sacred tobacco. Twist Phelan doing a fabulous, thorough interview with Laura Lippmann. And my favorite panel title of the conference: “Lawyers, Guns, and Money”— starring, in my opinion, Teresa Burrell.

I rode up Pikes Peak on the cog railway with G. M. Malliet, her partner, Bob, and Ragnar Jonasson, from Reykjavik, who is now an even better known novelist, and who translated fourteen of Agatha Christie’s novels into Icelandic.

Finally: Taking a picture of Janet Rudolph (she just won the 2016 Ellery Queen Award—ssscore!) on a sunny day with her hair blowing in the Colorado mountain wind. She told me her mother was always after her to get a haircut.

_________________________
Clark Lohr grew up on a remote farm and ranch in Montana. Most of his friends were old men who told good stories. Although Clark has been thrown off of horses and thrown out of bars, most of his life has been urban and mundane. He is a Vietnam vet and a member of Veterans for Peace. Clark lives in Tucson, Arizona. He is the author of two border noir novels: Devil’s Kitchen and The Devil on Eighty-five. He is coauthor of Mirandized Nation: The inside story of Ernesto Miranda and the Phoenix Police Department.

Pre-LCC Author Workshop: Learn to Build Your Brand

It's the common writer's conundrum: writing is a solitary endeavor, marketing and selling your work is not. Chances are, like many authors, you're better at one than the other. Maybe you've got the writing part down. You've even gotten comfortable talking about yourself. But the idea of reaching out to people unsolicited...of pitching yourself...of selling...might just scare the pants off of you.

Never fear! Left Coast Crime 2016 has teed up a marketing and communications expert to help us all. Whether you're a marketing expert or a newbie, Deborah Lacy can help improve your branding and social media efforts. Join us Thursday morning, February 25, just before LCC swings into action, to learn the ropes...

Brand-Building for Authors

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.

In this hands-on three-hour workshop you will:

• Define or refine your audiences and the goals of your marketing presence.
• Survey the major vehicles for marketing exposure, focusing on Facebook, Twitter, websites, GoodReads and Amazon reviews and blogging.
• Develop a content map that will help you build and expand your author brand.
• Learn about the range of content development options available, including video and photos, ads, audience-building, etc.
• Understand how to use tools to manage your social media effectively.

All participants will receive a pre-workshop letter of concepts to consider prior to the event. You will also leave with templates to build your own marketing plan.

Requirements: 

• A laptop is recommended, so you can begin to develop your plan during the class and try some of the software tools.
• TweetDeck pre-downloaded (if you already use Hootsuite, you can work with that instead).
• Willingness to work in the class and learn new things.

The class will take place Thursday, February 25, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and class size will be limited to ensure your questions can be answered. The fee is $75. Sign up today!

About the instructor:

Deborah Lacy has more than 30 years of communications experience working for corporations and non-profits, including IBM, Intuit, Google, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and HP. She’s taught social media at Foothill Community College.