My First LCC: Barb Schlichting

I’ve attended two conferences, which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and have found everyone friendly and helpful. Hopeful is the main word that I could use to describe the conferences.

I sat with one published author who gave me a whole lot of editing advice, which I put to good use.

She suggested that I read my manuscript out loud, to see how it sounds. I did just that once I returned home.The following conference, I shared with another online friend. This person had beta read for me a few times and was more than willing to help me with my pitch. I had signed up to pitch to an agent, and because of her advice, it went better than expected. This conference also had time set aside to meet in groups with agents to work on our pitches before the assigned time. It was great to meet other struggling writers.

I also sat in on many panels and learned how to give strength to secondary characters or where to look for poisonous plants among the weeds. I also look at crime scenes a lot differently than I ever did. I’m getting good at locating clues in the movies, too. It was also great to meet friends from yahoo lists and other social media. Everyone expressed good wishes with my unpublished series.

I’m looking forward to my first Left Coast Crime Conference. It’ll be great to renew acquaintances, and learn more about the craft of writing.

_________________________
Barb Schlichting lives in Bemidji, MN, in the land of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. She graduated from Bemidji State University with an undergraduate degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in special education. She has two grown boys, a husband, and five grandchildren.

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.

My First LCC: Lynn Raimondo

My first LCC was Calamari Crime 2014 in beautiful Monterey, California. I’d always wanted to attend LCC, but up until then never seemed to find the time. When 2014 rolled around, I was determined to make up for lost opportunity. From afar, LCC seemed like the Baby Bear of crime writing conferences. Not too big, not to small, but just the right mix of programming, people and sightseeing in a destination city.

Is it also okay to admit that I was dying to get someplace warm? Those of you who don’t live on the West Coast may remember the winter of 2014. For Chicagoans it was the year of the polar vortex, one soul-crushing day of sub-zero temperatures after another. And did I mention snow? It started on the day after Halloween and by January my neighborhood could have been a stage set for Ice Station Zebra. The concept of walking around outside in fewer than five layers of wool, fleece and down seemed almost hallucinogenic.

So you can imagine the sensation of well-being that flooded me when I stepped off the plane in San Jose into warm, moist air. And saw trees with leaves. And flowers. I’d dragged my husband and son – neither, in fact, needed a gun to their heads – along on the trip with me and we spent a restorative two days in Big Sur before heading back up the coast to the Portola Hotel and Spa, located in Old Monterey next to Fisherman’s Wharf and the Marina. The setting couldn’t have been more idyllic.

As soon as we arrived, I headed off to rehearse with my panel of fellow lawyers, moderator Daco Auffenorde, Teresa Burrell, Susan Goldstein, and Robert Rotstein. Entitled “The Truth and Nothing But: Law and Murder,” it gave us a lot of latitude in what to talk about, and because we were up against some stiff competition, Daco came up with the brilliant idea of staging a mock trial in which each of us would play our series characters.

To our surprise, quite a few people chose us over Louise Penny, and we had a great time entertaining our audience with pretend courtroom proceedings. Here’s a picture of us in our costumes:

The fun didn’t end with our panel. Over the next two and a half days, I partied with old friends and made dozens of new ones, gathered tips from my fellow authors, made contact with readers and librarians, and generally had a blast. By Sunday, when it was time to head back to my frozen city, I knew LCC was one conference I was never going to miss. Ever. Again.

See you all in Phoenix!

_________________________

Lynn Raimondo is the author of Dante’s Wood, a Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month, Dante’s Poison, and the recently released Dante’s Dilemma, all featuring Mark Angelotti, a blind, psychologically troubled forensic psychiatrist. Before turning to writing, Lynne was a partner at a major Chicago law firm, the general counsel of Arthur Andersen LLP, and the general counsel of the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Gratification Guaranteed, Laughter Optional

by Tammy Kaehler

At midnight December 31, the clocks hit “refresh” and a new year begins. What are your goals for 2016? Better health? Increased wealth? Reading more? Writing more? Giving back? 

How about just plain having more fun?

Last Saturday and Monday nights, my mother and I spent time in, first, a massive tent in the parking lots of the Rose Bowl, and second, in a humongous warehouse near Pasadena. Along with hundreds of other volunteers, we were there to decorate “Find Your Adventure” themed floats for the 127^th Rose Parade on New Year’s Day.

We were a couple days too early for the blooming float elements, so we instead worked with dried flowers and leaves. First we picked black flecks out of a sea of coconut, then we sorted eucalyptus leaves by size and applied glue to the backs (see photo). Then we were finally allowed to apply material to a float—or a piece of one. (Our work was the sliverleaf you can see along the sides and tail of our fish in the second photo.) While I expected flowers everywhere, what overwhelmed us was glue. Oceans of glue to apply the leaves, the coconut (when you see white, that’s what it is), the dried strawflower (all the gold), and the chopped-up statice (the purple). Oceans of it, making your fingers stick to everything and each other.

In spite of the glue—or maybe because of it—we had such a blast it’s a wonder the float builders didn’t charge us to help, and the time we donated was paid back with a lifetime of happy memories. We’ll never look at the Rose Parade in the same way again.

Funny thing about volunteering—I find the more I do it, the happier I get. A study by the London School of Economics agrees: helping others kindles happiness. Aside from the big smile volunteering smears on your face, other benefits include a sense of purpose and accomplishment, self-confidence boosts, fond memories, and new friends.

Want in on the joy? It’s too late to glue leaves on the Rose Parade floats this year (but let me know if you want info for next year), but you can still help another wonderful, annual effort. At the heart of Left Coast Crime Phoenix is a generous team of volunteers who, among other things, monitor the panels or book signings, stuff registration packets and book bags, hand out badges, or staff the hospitality suite. You’ll know them by their positive attitudes and happy faces—and you can be part of the team! Take a feel-good leap into the New Year and join the LCC Phoenix volunteer team. Contact our coordinator at volunteer@LCC2016.com.

May 2016 be your best year yet. See you in Phoenix in February!
____________________
Tammy Kaehler is the award-winning author of the Kate Reilly Racing Mystery series.

My First LCC by Terry Ambrose

I’m an LCC virgin…please be gentle with me. Well, maybe not. I mean, I have no idea what to expect at my first Left Coast Crime. Sure—big names, small names, panels and discussions—both formal and not. But, what’s it really going to be about? What am I hoping to get out of the experience?

Personally, I’m looking for an opportunity to meet people in person…and no, “meet people” not a euphemism for party, party, party. That ship sailed…at least, I think it did. I may have missed the going away bash or maybe the ship simply sank on its way out of the harbor. After all, it was the 60s and 70s. Who knows?

These days, I’m more interested putting faces with names. Of course, I’m not always good at remembering those names. True confession here—I even have trouble with names at my local Starbucks and I see those people all the time!One of the things I do is to interview a lot of authors. To be really accurate, I email-interview a lot of authors. I have a few basic questions I like to use as the foundation and am always amazed at the responses. Who will boil their answers down to the raw details? Who’s going to embellish with their life experiences? Those interviews have helped me to become acquainted with people in the business, but there’s nothing like having a chance to meet and talk in person. That’s one of the things I want to get out of my first LCC—a chance to get to know some of those people better.

The business of writing can be a very solitary job, yet many of the authors I know are extroverts. I often wonder how they’re so outgoing with such an introspective job. Me, I love writing because it lets me explore options in my head. Then, along comes the extrovert stuck inside, who tells me to “get out there.” As a result, I alternate between the two styles—innie one minute and outie the next. Sheesh, if only I could predict who will take charge when. In any case, I’ll be doing my best to put my “innie” personality away for the weekend.

I hope to meet you at LCC, but remember, this is my first time. I may not know all the right moves, but I do want to have fun.
_________________________
Terry Ambrose started out skip tracing and collecting money from deadbeats and quickly learned that liars come from all walks of life. He never actually stole a car, but sometimes hired big guys with tow trucks and a penchant for working in the dark to “help” when negotiations failed. An award-winning author, Terry’s novels receive consistent praise from readers for their complex characters and plots. Kirkus Reviews said Terry’s writing has "...the kind of snark that will remind readers of Elmore Leonard.”

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.

_______________________________________________

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.

_______________________________________________

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.