Live from Phoenix!

Hello from Left Coast Crime in hot and sunny Phoenix! This is the last full day at the conference before the dream ends and we return to the frozen/slushy/freezing-rainy North. I spent the morning with fellow Canadian crime writers Barbara Fradkin, Alex Brett and R.J. Harlick at the botanical gardens, looking at cacti and desert vegetation - trying to soak up enough rays to last through the last gasp of our Canadian winter. 

This has been a great conference - met some new authors and readers and friends from previous conferences. A group of us cabbed over to Scottsdale on Wednesday when we arrived for dinner on a patio and then an international author event at Poisoned Pen bookstore with owners Barbara Peters and David Hunenburg, who made us feel very welcome. They have a gorgeous store chock full of crime novels if you are ever in the neighbourhood. 

Yesterday, International guest of Honour Ann Cleeves joined some of us Canadians for lunch, again on an outdoor patio, and we had a lovely chat about her work and the book conferences in Britain. Ann writes two series that have both been filmed for television for the BBC and I highly recommend you check out her books if you haven't already. I am particularly a fan of the Jimmy Perez series set in the Shetland Islands, but the Vera Stanhope series is a favourite of many. you really need to sample both to decide!

in the evening, Crime Writers of Canada hosted a 'meet the Canucks' cocktail hour, complete with poutine appetizers, and we met a lot of readers and got to help spread the word about the fabulous crime fiction coming out of our country. We met a lot of friendly, enthusiastic American readers and called the event a resounding success. 

This evening is the banquet.  Alex Brett and I forgot to sign up for a table at registration as some authors choose to host a table and you have to get your name on the list. As luck would have it two people had just cancelled and they were to sit with Greg Hurwitz who is the American guest of honour. His latest book is being made into a movie with Bradley Cooper so we should have a very entertaining evening ahead.

I have lots of photos to share next week, but they need to be uploaded to my computer when I get home. Time to buy one of those fancy iPhones:-) Tomorrow is my panel before the dash to the airport. Still lots of fun ahead...