Left Coast Crime - Day Three

Thursday was a busy day but another fun one.  The skies were robin's egg blue and the temperature climbed to mid-70s by afternoon. Glenda and I took a walk along the boardwalk after breakfast and made it as far as Cannery Row.

I took in a panel in the morning on book marketing. The publicist who was on the panel gave the most interesting information although the authors also talked about their techniques for getting a wider audience. I didn't stray far for lunch since my panel with Louise Penny (International guest of Honour), Ann Cleeves and Deborah Crombie was at 2:30. Our panel name was "Bobbies vs. Mounties" and an ex-California cop turned author named Kathy Bennett moderated. Great fun. The ballroom was packed, Louise being a huge draw. You'll be glad to know that we held up the Canadian side brilliantly.

(l-r) Ann Cleeves, Deborah Crombie, Louise Penny, me and Kathy Bennett. As you can see, we were having no fun at all.

I also ran into Sue Grafton (A is for Alibi . . .) outside the hall and we spent a few minutes trying to turn off the ringer on her iPhone. Since I have a Blackberry, I was no help at all. We ran into each other at the bar later as the event hosted a cocktail hour. I really think you should think about coming to one of these conferences:-)

Sue Grafton

Today, I'm taking in a couple of panels and then lunch with Jan. I'm on my second panel at four o'clock with Linda Wiken discussing Canadian mysteries. I'll let you know how that goes tomorrow.