Wow. This conference is nonstop amazement. Yesterday was a 17 hour day for me. I have pages and pages of notes and maybe when the fun ends, I'll do a more thorough description of it all. In the meantime, enjoy what I can share.

As you can see by the pattern of the last few days, the programming is one full of diverse literary events. The panels, one of the highlights, are incredibly interesting and quite hard to pick from. Today's first was one we thought would be perfect for Karen and me since we met in Italy- Arrivederci Roma: Historical Mysteries. Mary Lawrence moderarted a group of writers: Ana Brazil, Michael J. Cooper, Janet Dawson, and Melissa Lenhardt. While they were interesting, Italia wasn't mentioned once!
Next stop (I mean how could we miss this?) was Suspicious Minds: The Liars Panel. Oh my gosh... this was hysterical! Kelli Stanley, the moderator once said of herself that she was born with a fedora on her head. She was the perfect gal for the job. Oh what a great group of authors: Christa Faust (a professional dominatrix), Lee Goldberg, Howard Michael Gould, and William Kent Krueger. Each panel member was given a prompt and we, the audience, were suppose to determine if the answer was true or not. An example was  "I was almost arrested when..." and "Where was an unexpected location in which you had sex?" Needless-to-say, there was some blushing happening. HYSTERICAL.
We picked this particular panel, The Wonder of You: Taking Emotional Risks in Writing, due to its moderator, Naomi Hirahara, an author of honor along with William Kent Krueger (hence you seeing him so often). We were introduced to some pretty incredible novelists: Dianne Emley, Timothy Hallinan, Jamie Mason, and Josh Stallings. Each shared something they were terrified of due to the fact that emotions come from taking risks. Jamie made a memorable comment, "People wonder if we're really that dark because they don't come to these conferences and see how silly we are." Silly. Talented. Fun.
The one that has been high on our list of 'musts' was the after nap panel. Burning Love: The Sex Panel. Holly West wrangled some pretty feisty characters: Linda Joffe Hull, Cara Black, Bill Fitzhugh, and Catriona McPherson. I have to elaborate on Catriona- a conference favorite. This hysterical Scot, is probably one of the naturally funniest people I've met, in a really long time. Anytime she was around, there would be guffaws. Holly West felt that she was qualified to lead this panel as she shares her name with a porn star. To begin the event, each panelist had to read one of the 'winners' from the Bad Sex in Fiction contest. Wild, laugh-out-loud stuff.
Did I mention the attendees are a dedicated bunch?
Our day would not be complete without a visit with our new author/friend, Dänna Wilberg.

Oh man, all the authors are incredible. One of the books I had to take home with me was Scot Free. "[McPherson's] character-driven romp is sparked by the larger-than-life, quirky residents of the Last Ditch Motel, putting this laugh-out-loud whodunit on a par with the early Janet Evanovich."—Library Journal "McPherson, a master of creepy psychological mysteries, shows an utterly different side of herself in this zany series kickoff."—Kirkus Reviews
Hemmingway would have been proud of this panel, The Not So Secret Life of Authors: Bar Stories. Simon Wood helmed this boozy bunch: Christa Faust, Bill Fitzhugh, Linda Joffe Hull, and the riotous Catriona McPherson who told us stories that should only be shared over strong drinks.

Also, last night, while delighting in Mark Twain's talk, we met a gal named Kathryn who needed volunteers for helping at the Lefty Awards Banquet. Both Karen and I jumped in. What a great opportunity to meet even more interesting characters and help out a bit, too.
We pre-partied with L.C. Hayden. You just never know who you will meet in the hall.
The "Lefty" Awards Banquet was a gathering of wonderful people in a delicious culmination of four days of riotous fun and delights.
I love Todd Borg!
Our table mate was Aaron Elkins, who wrote a series of novels featuring a forensic anthropologist (Aaron's job as well).
I love Mark Twain, too.
Author Gigi Pandian was our hostess with the mostest!
It was a night of new friends, old friends, literary giants and a whole lot of unforgettable memories made while savoring my first ever Left Coast Crime Conference. Until next time...