It never ceases to amaze me that so many mystery authors seem to be on a level playing field.
Stephen J. Cannell
By that I mean that no matter their level of success, most authors are approachable both to fans, other writers and, yes, even a few critics. Meet one author and he or she is sure to introduce you to another, whose books you’ll also enjoy.
Regardless of whether an author’s novels are always on the best-sellers lists or the writer is just starting out; the mystery genre seems to have some of the nicest people. Oh, sure, there are a few, rare exceptions. (And we all know who they are!)
Of course, I don’t know what the authors say behind our backs, but their attitude usually seems genuine.
It was brought home to me again during a recent interview with producer, screenwriter and author Stephen J. Cannell.
Cannell has been responsible for many of TV’s most iconic series, including The Rockford Files, The A-Team, Baretta, The Commish, 21 Jump Street and Adam-12. His latest novel is The Pallbearers.
I was only supposed to have a half-hour telephone interview with Cannell, due to his busy schedule. We ended up talking for nearly an hour and never once did I get a hint that he needed to go or was tired of the questions.
He was a pleasure to talk with and a fountain of information.
I am sure that Cannell will bring the same nice-guy attitude when he is one of the guests of honors during this year’s Sleuthfest, the annual writers’ conference sponsored by the Florida chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. The fun and games begin Feb. 26-28 at the Deerfield Beach Hilton in Deerfield Beach, Florida. That’s a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, for those of you unfamiliar with South Florida.
As in the past couple of years, Sleuthfest will feature two guests of honor: David Morrell on Friday and Stephen J. Cannell on Saturday. Morrell has written more than 25 thrillers and numerous nonfiction books, starting with his 1972 novel First Blood. Many know the film version – a little flick called Rambo with Sylvester Stallone.
Sleuthfest is one of the best conferences and one of the few devoted to writers instead of fans. If you’re interested in writing, this is the conference to attend.
In addition to Morrell and Cannell, Sleuthfest also brings in many published authors from across the country to discuss writing techniques and agents and editors to discuss publishing.
Mystery authors scheduled to be at Sleuthfest include James W. Hall, Charles Todd, Peter Robinson, Paul Levine, William Dietrich, James Grippando, P.J. Parrish, Barry Eisler, Lisa Black, Elaine Viets, James O. Born, Neil Plakcy, Les Standiford, Christine Kling, Jonothon King, Jeremiah Healy. Samdra Balzo and Joanna Campbell.
And, yes, there are more but I just ran out of space!
Sleuthfest registration, which includes some meals, is $235 for members; $255 for nonmembers. There are still openings, so come on down.
As an incentive, the weather is darned nice!
Contact Linda Hengerer at SleuthFestLinda@gmail.com or verowriter@gmail.com. The Web site is www.sleuthfest.com.
