Times flies, doesn't it?
It seems like just yesterday we were in San Francisco, enjoying crisp California wine, loving the beautiful scenery and, oh yeah, immersing ourselves in all that is mysteries at Bouchercon.
A whole year? Doesn't seem possible.
Yet, here we are, just a few weeks away from Bouchercon, one of my favorite mystery fiction conferences. This year Bouchercon will be Sept. 15-18.
For those who don't know, Bouchercon has been taking place annually since 1970.
Borrowing the next three paragraphs from the official Bouchercon web site: "It is open to anyone and is a place for fans, authors and professionals to gather and celebrate their love of the mystery genre. It is named for famed mystery critic Anthony Boucher. During the convention there are panels, discussions, and interviews with authors and people from the mystery community covering all parts of the genre."
Bouchercon is held in a different area each year and 2011 will take us to St. Louis.
The St. Louis locale makes it even sweeter for me since I am from Missouri and graduated with a Bachelor's of Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where, even more important, I met my husband.
Bouchercon guests of honor are Robert Crais, Charlaine Harris, Colin Cotterill and Val McDermid. Lifetime achievement will be given to Sara Paretsky. Toastmaster is Ridley Pearson.
I am especially excited about the fan guests of honor, Kate Stine and Brian Skupin, who are Mystery Scene co-publishers.
The Bouchercon panels have been organized and are on conference's Facebook page. Look under the notes section. They will be posted on the web site later.
Next week, to get you even more in the mood, I'll talk about mysteries based in Missouri.