Still Kicking in Cleveland

Once in every person's life, you should take a stroll through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We hiked it over there last night for a cocktail party, which was a zoo of people. After a glass of complimentary wine (it liked what I was wearing), and some mingling, Linda Wiken, Anthony Bidulka and I headed into the exhibit area. So cool to see Michael Jackson's clothes from the Thriller video, the sparkly dresses from the Supremes, handwritten lyrics from different artists, Elvis Presley's Chrysler, and my favourite, Janis Joplin's sports car with its vibrantly painted pictures. We stood for a while and watched clips from American Bandstand - needless to say, rock music is playing in every room with videos of the artists. I could have spent an entire day wandering around reliving the seventies.

We took the shuttle back to the hotel and found our way to the bar for some late supper and wine. I woke up in good time today to make it to Mary Jane Maffini's nine o'clock panel, then took a little break before mine at 11:30. Oddly enough, Linda Wiken and I were on the same panel speaking about crime in small U.S. towns - odd because we are both Canadians. We had a decent crowd, which was something of a relief because we were up against all the big name authors like Michael Connelly. Anyhow, it went well since we had an experienced moderator Sandra Parshall. Linda and I got a lot of air time as one person dropped off the panel early on and another had the flu and couldn't make it last minute. A new author named Dana King rounded out our group.

After that, we signed a few books before heading over for a free lunch at another hotel, courtesy of the public library - cake so filled with gooey chocolate, it gives one a buzz. I feel like jogging around the downtown, but luckily, the rain started so I'm just typing really really fast.

After lunch, I sat in on a bit of a Michael Connelly interview before slipping out to catch the last half of a panel with Elizabeth George and Val McDermid. I bought a George book in the bookroom so that I could get it signed, but after half an hour in the slowest moving line imaginable, I gave up. I headed up to my room and discovered the book was already signed anyhow.

So, now a little rest before meeting R.J. Harlick for supper (I have to start skipping the desserts) and then it's Meet the Canucks hour. I imagine we'll find our way to the bar afterwards.

I'm beginning to see why people keep coming back to these conferences :-)