Left Coast Crime

 Are you going to Left Coast Crime in Albuquerque on April 7-10, 2022?

It’s a conference for mystery writers and readers.

You can help support Great Little Libraries in New Mexico.

 

Background on Great Little Libraries Program. In 2019, the State of New Mexico identified its fifty smallest public libraries in rural areas. These libraries are on pueblos, in unincorporated towns, or in towns with small commercial sectors. Thus, municipal tax support is usually non-existent, and the New Mexico Rural Library Endowment Fund provides a maximum of $2,500 a year to individual libraries. Most of these libraries were created by grass-root efforts of citizens in the community and function with no paid employees.

Community public libraries are a valuable resource in any state. However, they are particularly important in New Mexico because the state ranked 50^th in K-12 education programs in 2018.

Croak and Dagger, the New Mexico chapter of Sisters in Crime, created the Great Little Libraries Adventure to help these fifty smallest public libraries several years ago. We try to supply these libraries with books by our authors and offer to do programs and displays for them to encourage reading and writing. The board for Left Coast Crime agreed to adopt our Croak and Dagger Program in 2021. Thus, all funds raised at the charity auction and all books left over from the Left Coast Crime conference in Albuquerque on April 7-10 will be distributed to New Mexico’s fifty smallest libraries. So, be sure to donate books and bid on items if you attend the conference. For more details on Left Coast Crime see: https://www.leftcoastcrime.org/2022.

Libraries may use the funds for materials, services to support community literacy, or infrastructure challenges that inhibit the library’s literacy mission. Croak & Dagger will request a brief report from each library about how the donation has addressed literacy initiatives in that community.

Learn more about rural towns and pueblos in New Mexico. Although many of the pueblos of New Mexico are famous for their pottery and casinos, agriculture is still a major source of income on the pueblos. If you want to get in the mood for your visit to Left Coast Crime or just want to learn a little about rural life in New Mexico, read a book about the problems in New Mexico agriculture today.

Life is tough on the pueblos of the Southwest. Opportunities and water are always limited. In the thriller, A POUND OF FLESH, SORTA, life gets a lot tougher on the Acoma pueblo when the plague hits the livestock and one man is killed in mysterious accident in a nearby meat packing plant while another disappears. Scientist Sara Almquist thinks she has clues to solve the mysteries if she's not killed first.

Book at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0960028560

J. L. Greger was a faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Life Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for many years and was involved in a number of outreach program in rural areas. She is now an active member of Croak and Dagger, the New Mexico chapter of Sisters in Crime. https://www.jlgreger.com

PSWA CONFERENCE 2021 – PART II

This is a continuation of last week’s blog on the PSWA Conference we attended last month.

SATURDAY, July 24

This was our big day. Following the opening by Scott Decker, Joe Haggarty read Keith Bettinger’s poem, “Judiciary Square.” (These folks are wonderful writers, and some are terrific poets.)

We were on next for our Featured Presentation: “The Perfect Pitch.” Most writers hate reducing their books to the “elevator pitch” length of 25 words or less. This presentation gives guidelines to help authors create them. Then we allow time for the group members to write their own. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

A break, then a panel on “Nonfiction Dos and Don’ts.” The panelists were Rannah Gray, Bruce Adams, Geno Munari, and Mike Brandt. They discussed how to keep your writing fresh and interesting when writing nonfiction.

After the break, we were back on a panel called “Stepping into Publication,” with Jo Wilkins (a publisher), Barbara Hodges, and Marilyn Meredith. We discussed the steps to publication. Larry covered book covers, and Barbara and I discussed editing, formatting, etc. We also discussed what we look for and what makes us cringe.

Another fabulous lunch. (Have I mentioned, they were all terrific?)

After lunch a wonderful Featured Speaker, Terry L. Kerns, described “The Opioid Crisis.” She explained why it is really a drug crisis. Terry was an FBI Field Division Evidence Team Leader and is currently the Opiate Coordinator with the Nevada Attorney General’s office. We learned a great deal during her talk.

Following the first afternoon break, we were again on a panel entitled “We’ve Got You Covered.” We discussed the final steps in preparing a manuscript for publication and cover design. Since covers are Larry’s area of expertise, he offered some good advice. I was also on the panel along with Barbara Hodges, Thonie Hevron, and Dave Knop. (Barbara is also a cover artist.)

More information on the police was presented in the next panel, following another break. This one was called “Fuzz,” and included information about jurisdictions. The experts were Bob Doerr, Scott Decker, Joe Haggerty, and Darlene Record.

Following another afternoon break, we heard about “Writing Action Scenes” from Bill Rapp, Dave Freedland, Jim Gugili, and Rich Wickliffe.

Afterward, there was an open discussion on how the past year has affected our writing.

Once again, we took advantage of the opportunity to have a light dinner with Marilyn and Lisa. The café has been redecorated since we were last there, and I really loved the chandeliers made of brass instruments. They were fabulous!

Knowing we would be leaving the next day, we went to the valet stand and asked to have Elsa (the Tesla) charged up for our departure.

SUNDAY, July 25

Before we left our room, we packed our luggage. We checked out and then took the luggage to the bell captain to hold for us during the day.

The first panel in the morning was called “Animals, Aliens, and Other Things that Go Bump in the Night.” This was a lot of fun because the discussion included ghosts. Since one of my books, Ghost Writer, contains a ghost, I was most interested.

Bob Haig Sr., Barbara Hodges, Dave Knop, and Marilyn Meredith discussed the advantages as well as the potential pitfalls and limitations of including these elements.

Following the morning break, we heard a panel on “Building and Maintaining Suspense in Your Fiction.” Barbara Hodges, Thonie Hevron, Bob Doerr, and Kelli Peacock provided some good advice.

After the final break, I was on one more panel called “Polishing Your Manuscript.” The others were Jo Wilkins, Frank Hickey, and George Cramer. We discussed what to look for after you think your manuscript is ready for publication.

We picked up our remaining books to take home. (Yes, we sold a few.)

The last event was the Awards Luncheon. Once again, good food, great company, and a nice awards program.

We said goodbye to everyone and started on our way home with the car fully charged. We enjoyed the weekend, but we were looking forward to being back home again.

PSWA CONFERENCE 2021 – PART I

 We attended the PSWA Conference in Las Vegas last month. Last year’s was cancelled, so we especially looked forward to this one.

It was our longest trip in our Tesla, and she performed wonderfully. (See previous blog: TRAVELS WITH ELSA.)

We drove up on Wednesday, even though the conference itself didn’t officially start until Friday. We like having a day to relax before the hustle and bustle of the conference. It gave us a chance to catch up with a few people.

As we were checking in, we spotted Marilyn Meredith, one of those we most wanted to see.

We went to our room and settled in. Just as is often the case, our room was near the end of a long hallway. My response was, “Well at least we’ll get some exercise.” Unfortunately, not long before, Larry injured his leg standup paddle boarding, so he was walking with a cane. Everywhere in the hotel was at a distance, so I had to slow down to stay at his pace. (Not the usual circumstance!)

We had eaten in Primm in the late afternoon before we arrived in Las Vegas, so neither of us was very hungry. I always try to travel with some protein bars. This time, we also brought along a couple of protein drinks. Instead of dinner, we split a protein bar, and it was fine.

THURSDAY, July 22

Although Friday was the first official day of the conference, they offered a Writers’ Workshop on Thursday. Marilyn spoke, along with Kelli Peacock and Michael Black. The workshop included questions and discussion. Very worthwhile.

We went to Fuddruckers in the hotel and ate lunch. Larry ordered a mushroom burger, and I had a turkey one. They were very good and satisfying.

Although there was a reception scheduled for six, we were ready for dinner earlier. We knew the reception would probably have appetizers, but I suspected I would be unable to eat some of them. Besides, I had noted a salad on the menu at lunch, and it sounded really good. (It was.) Larry also ordered one and a vanilla shake.

Registration began at 3:00, so we picked up our materials and went back to our room and got our things sorted for the remainder of the conference until the reception began.

Of course, Larry grazed his way through the reception! We had a chance to meet some folks we didn’t already know, and it was a good way to start the weekend.

FRIDAY, July 23

We went to the conference area and dropped off our books for sale.

At 9:00, the conference proper began with introductions and a welcome message from President John Schembra. We observed a moment of silence in remembrance of the PSWA members who had passed away during the previous year. Member Joe Haggerty read his moving poem, “Why Wasn’t I There?”

A special presentation was made to Marilyn Meredith for her longtime support for the organization.

The first speaker of the day was Michael Brandt speaking on “The Art of the interview.” He made a distinction between interrogation and interviewing. He gave good advice for writers on how to describe the process.

After a break, we were treated to a panel discussion called “Keeping Things Real,” featuring Dave Freeland, John Schembra, Darlene Record, and Al van de Steege. They discussed how to avoid writing scenes that don’t ring true while maintaining excitement.

Following another break was a panel called “Research; The Art of Mining Yourself and Your Experience for Writing Fiction.” Jim Guiligi, Thonie Hevron, Frank Hickey, and Bill Rapp discussed bringing our own experience and doing research to make our writing authoritative.

Lunch was delicious—as it was every day of the conference.

The afternoon began with Featured Speaker Rannah Gray. She told us about her true crime book, Familiar Evil, and turning it into a documentary. It was a compelling story—so much so I downloaded the Kindle version and read it the next week. It is fascinating!

The book has been turned into a documentary called The Lies That Bind. It is on YouTube.

Following a break, we enjoyed another panel, “Steps in Conducting an Investigation,” with Mike Brandt, Dave Cropp, Scott, Decker, and Bob Doerr. They described how actual investigations differ from TV depictions.

After another break, we heard a panel discussion of “Fiction Typecasting—Writing Novels, Short Stories, Flash Fiction, and Poetry,” with Joe Haggerty, Dave Cropp, Barbara Lloyd, and Darlene Record.

Yet another break, and then anther panel on “Dealing with Censorship,” with Barbara Hodges, Thonie Hevron, John Schembra, and George Cramer. Their agreed they all self-censored their work.

At the end of that session, we did some book signing.

We were free for dinner, so we met Marilyn Meredith and her daughter, Lisa at the Café in the hotel. After our fabulous lunch, none of us was interested in anything much for dinner. We enjoyed our time together. Seeing Marilyn was one of the main reasons we attended the conference, so this was a precious chance to be with her. We had also gotten to know Lisa on previous occasions, so we consider her a friend as well.

We returned to our room, prepared for the next day, watched some TV, and got some sleep.

Next: The rest of the conference.

TRAVELS WITH ELSA (QUEEN ELSA OF DANA POINT)

 At the end of June, we took our first trip in Elsa to San Luis Obispo for the funeral Mass for Larry’s cousin’s wife. It was the first time we had gone anywhere at any distance since the beginning of the pandemic.

We charged her up the day before and stopped at the outlets in Oxnard at lunchtime. Elsa charged while we ate. Then back on the road to the Apple Farm in San Luis Obispo.

My brother- and sister-in-love had arrived the day before, so they were already in their hotel.

We haven’t been to the Apple Farm for quite a few years. Originally, it was decorated with Laura Ashley floral fabrics and charming country prints. It was one of our favorite hotels. In the interim, it has been redecorated. The beautiful floral carpets have been replaced with wood plank flooring. Makes a lot of sense for upkeep, but it isn’t as warm and cozy as it used to be.

The restaurant, another of our favorites, had been closed for many months, and was just reopening with a very limited menu for breakfast and lunch.

We met Casey and Lucy, who suggested going to Pismo Beach for dinner. They knew about a terrific restaurant, and we had a delicious meal with them. We really enjoyed spending time together as we hadn’t seen each other much during the previous year, so we treasured this time.

After breakfast at the hotel restaurant the next morning, we attended the funeral Mass for Larry’s cousin’s wife, Claudia, at the mission church. We were so glad we had decided to go. His cousin, Jim, told us we were the only relatives from his side of the family, and he appreciated the support.

We enjoyed meeting his kids and grandkids. What lovely people they all are.

I especially enjoyed the priest. He made the entire service about Claudia. He clearly knew her well. He used a lot of humor to paint a picture of what a special woman she was. Nurse, friend, neighbor, wife, mother, grandmother—in each role, she gave of herself with love.

Afterward, we went to their house for a great reception. We had more time to spend with Jim and his kids, a thoroughly delightful day.

Casey and Lucy left for home in the afternoon, and we went back to the hotel. In the evening, we drove to the Madonna Inn, where they have a charging station. Elsa charged while we ate dessert.

The next morning, we left early and stopped in Solvang. We had intended to eat breakfast, but the town was very busy, and the restaurants were packed. We found a bakery, bought pastries and coffee, and ate outside. Some of the stores were still closed, and we decided to leave for home.

We stopped at the Marriott Hotel to top off Elsa’s charge. Then back on the road home.

She is very comfortable to ride in, and Larry took advantage of the cruise control.

~~~

A couple of weeks later, we headed to Las Vegas for the PSWA (Public Safety Writers Association) Conference. We were supposed to have gone last year, but it was cancelled.

We felt as though we were getting the hang of traveling with Elsa. We charged her at home before we left. Then, we stopped in Barstow in time for lunch. We recharged. Elsa did, too.

On toward Las Vegas, we stopped in Primm for a cold drink and a rest stop. We topped off Elsa, even though she didn't really need it.

The conference was held at the Orleans Hotel. We enjoy this one because we get to see some friends we don’t ever get to see elsewhere. We were the keynote speakers on Saturday morning, and we each took part in several panels. As always, we learned a great deal and came home with a few new books.

The night before we left, we contacted the hotel and requested they charge Elsa for our departure the next morning. They have a charging station right at the hotel. (We expect many hotels will be installing them.)

We made a stop in Yermo (near the Calico ghost town). We plugged in Elsa while we took a break.

Once again, Larry used the cruise control. He hardly had to touch the accelerator and never used the brake at all—even in stop-and-go traffic. His “driving” was mostly steering just to keep her in the lane. Elsa did the rest.

We aren’t able to listen to our iPod through the car’s speakers, but Larry hooked up a smaller speaker, so we listened to our favorite sounds during the trip. Most relaxing.

Even though Elsa has a 326-mile range, Larry follows the owners’ manual and only charges to 280 miles. (It is easier on the battery.) This proved to be no problem at all—especially since our old Fiero only had a 200-mile range. Charging stations are cropping up everywhere.

Elsa performed well, and we really enjoyed her. We look forward to more travels in the future.

California Crime Writers Conference – Part 2

 Today, I am writing about the second day of the California Crime Writers Conference 2019.

Day two of the conference was jam packed with lots of learning opportunities. Larry and I chose different workshops for the first period.

I went to the presentation on Your Author Website. I was pleased to see that we were doing everything the presenter recommended, thanks to our fabulous webmaster, our son, Toshi. Several years ago, he offered to redesign it. Actually, he begged to do it. I must admit my former quick-and-dirty one was terribly old-fashioned looking. The new one is beautiful, and we love it. He promised he’d keep it updated, and he has. I can’t ever thank him enough!

Larry attended the presentation on Creating Audiobooks. Since we have most of ours on audio, he wanted to know what we should think about. He discovered ACX/Amazon dominate the field. It takes about six hours for each hour of completed narration. You can either pay up-front or share royalties. (We always do the latter.) However, if you are a major author with lots of sales, paying up-front makes sense. (The cost is $200-$400 and can go up to $1000, based on the length of the book and the reputation of the narrator.)

We both attended the panel on Cozies on the Edge: Meeting and Subverting Reader Expectations. This one was fun because each of the panelists writes books which differ from traditional cozies. Yet they meet some of the criteria: the incident (murder, etc.) happens offstage and they usually feature an amateur detective. Several friends were on this panel, so I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The next one was on A Winning Team: Author, Agent, and Editor. Since we don’t have an agent, and I do my own editing (not just for our books, but for others), it was interesting. The takeaway for me was getting an agent mostly depends on luck and timing. In the age of self-publishing, it is no longer necessary to have an agent unless you are aiming for a New York publisher, and those are fewer and fewer all the time.

The keynote speaker at lunch was Catroina McPherson. She spoke about writing with passion. I totally agree with her. Authors should never write anything unless they are emotionally committed. She is a witty and totally enjoyable speaker.

After lunch, we attended a panel on Marketing Without a Budget. This one was especially interesting since we are both cheap. We have done many of the things suggested. (A few actually sounded pretty expensive.)

The last panel of the day was How to Build a Long Career. My takeaway was: keep writing. I’ll never begin to catch up with A.J. Lewellyn with over 300 titles! But we now have twenty published between us. Neither of us writes quickly. We do research. And we both “craft” our writing, analyzing each word choice and sentence. This takes time, and it’s time we are willing to spend to produce books we can be proud of.

Tess Gerritsen gave the final presentation: How to Find Your What If. She talked about where she gets her ideas. Some come from current events. She keeps newspaper clippings she finds interesting. Later on, something else may happen, and she realizes the two things can be woven into a cohesive story. She has also written books based on her dreams. She is a terrific speaker as well as a wonderful author.

The last event was interviews of Tess and Catroina by the organizers of the conference. It was nice to learn a bit more about them and their backgrounds.

We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and plan to attend the next one in two years. This is one we highly recommend for mystery writers.

California Crime Writers Conference

We spent the past two days at the California Crime Writers Conference.

This one is held every two years, and we always enjoy it. We have attended several in the past. Why do we attend? Because we always learn something, and we get to see old friends we don’t see anywhere else.

For each Panel/Workshop session, several options are offered. It’s a regular smorgasbord of choices.

Since we write historical fiction, we chose “Bringing the Past to Life” for the first one. All of the panelists write in different eras, so the discussion was most interesting. Someone suggested looking for old maps as a resource. We’d never really thought about it, although we saw some doing the research for The Memory Keeper, and the book itself contains one. 

We already knew a couple of the panelists, but we met Rosemary Lord. She writes about the history of Hollywood, and did some voice-overs for one of my favorite movies, The Holiday. We’re now Facebook friends.

The next panel I attended was called “Killer Dialogue.” Anne Cleeland moderated a great group of authors. I so enjoyed some of their suggestions of how to make dialogue authentic and interesting, including using humor.

At lunch, Tess Gerritsen delivered the keynote speech on writing with emotion. We had heard her in 2005 at the Maui Writers Conference and enjoyed her both then and now. She talked about finding the thing you felt compelled to write about, but making sure you included the character(s) emotions. Since I have a short attention span, I keep finding different things I want to write, and some of the others move to the back burner. I know I do my best writing when I am fully engaged in the subject. And when Larry and I write together, I'm the one who writes most of the emotional scenes.

The panel on “Hallmark Mysteries” was fascinating. They had a producer, writer, and show runner for the channel. No surprises here. Their stories are formulaic (a single woman amateur sleuth—played by an actress too old for the part). How do you get your story made into a Hallmark movie? It’s really all a matter of luck and who you know. Sorry about that. However, they also pointed out that with so many places now producing content (Hulu, Amazon, Lifetime, Netflix, etc) the chances of your book or series being selected are much better than they were in the past.

On Saturday afternoon, they lined up quite a few “experts.” We then played a form of “speed dating.” The attendees sat at tables, and the “experts” moved from table to table. We each got to hear three different people, and their assignments were random. The first at our table was Scott Williams, the executive producer for writing on NCIS. He shared some terrific stories.

Next, we got to chat with Valerie Woods, who is a writer on the Queen Sugar series. She was fascinating. She is clearly someone who loves writing.

Last, was Cindi Parent CFO of Tule Publishing, a relative newcomer to the world of publishing.

The last event of the day was another keynote from Catroina McPherson. She was a delight. Born in Scotland, she has a terrific sense of humor. She titled her talk “Deep in a Bowl of Porridge.” She spoke about clues and how and when to insert them.

And this was only on Saturday!

My next blog will be on Sunday of the conference.

Why Conferences?

We just returned from a weekend at the California Crime Writers Conference. As always, we had a great time, saw old friends, made new ones, and learned a great deal.

Why do we attend conferences?

Shortly after our first book, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park, was published, I suggested we attend the Maui Writers’ Conference (now defunct). We had already planned a trip to Hawaii for the same time, and one of my favorite authors, Gail Tsukiyama, was a presenter. Larry said he’d rather surf. That is, until he found out one of his favorites, Terry Brooks, was a speaker. Plus, he realized the cost of the conference was tax-deductible.

He finally agreed to go, but said he’d drop me off in the morning, go surfing, and pick me up in the afternoon, except for the time Terry was scheduled. I agreed.

Once we arrived and he saw all the topics available, he decided maybe he’d go to one or two sessions. Fortunately, we had several more days in Hawaii following the conference, because he never went surfing.

We heard some terrific speakers, learned a great deal, which we still use, met wonderful folks, with whom we’re still in touch, and had a blast.

One person we met became the inspiration for our protagonist, Agapè Jones, in our cozy mysteries, Murder…They Wrote and Murder in Paradise.

We enjoyed spending time with others who understood when we complained, “My characters won’t leave me alone.” They nodded sagely. They related in a way non-writers never could.

Our first book was a finalist for the EPPIE award, so we decided to attend the EPIC conference (EPICon) the following year.

This conference was smaller than Maui, but enjoyable, and some of the attendees have become dear friends. We attended this one for many years.

I met one of my writing partners at the first EPICon. Together with three other friends, we wrote the six Aspen Grove sweet romance anthologies: Snowflake Secrets, Seasons of Love, An Aspen Grove Christmas, The Art of Love, Directions of Love, which won the EPIC eBook Award, and our latest, …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe. This partner also introduced us to her publisher, with whom we had a long and valued relationship. This company published the romances as well as our mysteries.

We also met the publishers for whom I have edited and formatted as well as several of my freelance editing clients.

For quite a few years, we presented classes and workshops at EPICon. Those became the foundation for speaking engagements. We now speak for many groups and organizations.

Through a friend we met at EPICon, we learned about the Public Safety Writers Association.

We have attended their conference, too. This one is for first-responders and those who write about them. We have gained a great deal of technical information at this conference, and again, met some fabulous people.

In 2014, we attended the Left Coast Crime Conference in Monterey, CA, where we saw the publisher of Ghost Writer, and met and renewed friendships with several authors. We also visited a friend in the area since we were already there.

In March of this year, we attended Left Coast Crime again, this time in Honolulu. We felt as though we had come full circle. Our first conference was in Hawaii, and we had returned.

So, why do we attend conferences?

• ·         We have opportunities to network with other writers and industry professionals. We only see some of these folks in person at conferences, and it’s nice to reconnect with old friends.
• ·         We meet new people who will most likely become friends. We have much to share.
• ·         We may find new opportunities, like the person who invited us to be her guest on her podcast.

• ·      We learn the latest information on the publishing industry. Today it changes almost daily, and it’s important to stay current.

• ·         We attend workshops and panel discussions where we learn a great deal. This year, Hallie Ephron gave a dynamite class on how to evaluate the relationships between characters. I know I will use it from now on. Larry attended a terrific session on processing a crime scene. The information will certainly make its way into our books.

• ·         Larry won one of the drawings. Heck, this is another bonus.

• ·         We return home inspired and ready to get back to writing again.

Why Attend Writing Conferences

We just returned from a weekend at the California Crime Writers Conference. As always, we had a great time, saw old friends, met new ones, and learned a great deal.

We’ve attended conferences since shortly after our first book was published, and we’ve been asked why. Here’s my answer.

I suggested we attend the Maui Writers’ Conference a few months after we published our first book, 31 Months in Japan: The Building of a Theme Park. We had already planned a trip to the island for the same time, and one of my favorite authors, Gail Tsukiyama, was a presenter. Larry said he’d rather surf. That is, until he found out one of his favorites, Terry Brooks, was a speaker. Oh, and he realized the cost of the conference was tax-deductible.

He finally agreed to go, but said he’d drop me off in the morning, go surfing, and pick me up in the afternoon, except for the time Terry was scheduled. I agreed.

Once we arrived and he saw all the topics available, he decided maybe he’d go to one or two. It was a good thing we had another few days in Hawaii following the conference, because he never went surfing. Alas, the conference is no more, but we still have the memories.

We heard some awesome people speak, learned a great deal, which we’re still using, met some wonderful folks with whom we’re still in touch, and had a blast.

One person we met became the inspiration for our protagonist, Agapè Jones, in our cozy mysteries, Murder…They Wrote and Murder in Paradise.

We enjoyed spending time with others who understand when you complain, “My characters just won’t do what I want them to do.” They nod sagely, because they’ve been there, too.

Our first book was named a finalist for the EPPIE award, so we decided to attend the EPIC conference (EPICon) the following year.

This conference was smaller than Maui, but some of the attendees have become dear friends.

I met one of my writing partners at the first one. Together with three other friends, we’ve written the six Aspen Grove sweet romance anthologies: Snowflake Secrets, Seasons of Love, An Aspen Grove Christmas, The Art of Love, Directions of Love, which won the EPIC eBook Award, and our latest, …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe, soon to be available as an audiobook. She also introduced us to the independent publisher, who published our romances as well as our mysteries.

We also met the publishers for whom I have edited and formatted as well as several of my freelance clients.

For quite a few years, we presented classes and workshops at EPICon. Those became the foundation for speaking engagements, which we’ve been doing a lot more of recently.

Last year, we attended the Left Coast Crime Conference in Monterey, CA, where we got together with one of my publishers and several of her authors for dinner. We’d met her through a previous conference.

While in Monterey, we spent an evening with a friend who lives there, attended some great presentations, and participated as presenters on panels, made new friends and learned more about our craft. We also got to hear Elizabeth George and Sue Grafton again. We’d met both of them at previous conferences.

Why do we attend conferences? We have opportunities to network with other writers and industry professionals. We learn a lot. We keep current on the state of the publishing industry. We return home inspired and ready to get back to writing again.