INKSPOT NEWS - March 23, 2013

This weekend, a plethora of Midnight Ink authors have descended on Colorado Springs, Colorado, for the Left Coast Crime 2013 conference. Three Midnight Ink books have been nominated for awards at the conference, as shown below:

The Lefty has been awarded for the best humorous mystery novel since 1996, and Midnight Ink author Jess Lourey's December Dread mystery is one of six nominees.

The Rocky, for the best mystery novel set in the Left Coast Crime Geographical Region, was first awarded in 2004 and two Midnight Ink authors have nominated books: Beth Groundwater's Wicked Eddies and Darrell James' Sonora Crossing.

The Bruce Alexander Memorial Award for best historical mystery began in 2004. New Midnight Ink author, Catriona McPherson is nominated for her Minotaur release Dandy Gilver and An Unsuitable Day for a Murder.

Midnight Ink authors are appearing on panels and at other special events throughout the conference. If you are attending, please stop by the following events today and tomorrow:

Saturday 7:30–9:00 AM - Meet the Established Authors Breakfast, Beth Groundwater, G.M. Malliet, Catriona McPherson

Saturday 9:00–9:45 AM - Traditional Mysteries: Murder by the Book, G. M. Malliet

Saturday 9:00–9:45 AM - You Say Teepee, I Say Hogan: Writing Other Cultures, Shannon Baker

Saturday 11:00–11:45 AM - Sex! Now That We Have Your Attention, Do You Write for One Sex, or Both?, Darrell James

Saturday 2:15 - 3:00 PM: The Sporting Side of Murder, Beth Groundwater

Saturday 2:15–3:00 PM: Foreign Affairs: Thrills from Other Countries, G. M. Malliet, Catriona McPherson

Saturday 3:15 - 4:00 PM: Writing the West: The Rocky Nominees, Beth Groundwater, Darrell James

Sunday 9:00–9:45 AM - Breaking and Entering: Tales of the First Sale, Linda Joffee Hull, Catriona McPherson

The Company You Keep

What a great week to be a Midnight Ink writer. Actually, it’s way more than just a week but there has been an avalanche of good news crashing down recently.

Left Coast Crime conference, a gathering to celebrate mysteries that takes place in a different western city each year, announced finalists in their contest. What fun to see Midnight Ink writers on that illustrious list. Darrell James and Beth Groundwater are nominees in The Rocky category, which is a book set in the geographic area covered by Left Coast Crime. Jess Lourey is nominated for an award in the humorous category, The Lefty. And Catriona McPherson has a book in the Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery, for historical novels.

                  .

Can you say, “Wow!”

And then it gets better.

Kathleen Earnst recently won the LOVEY in the historical category at Love Is Murder in Chicago.

And drum roll, please…

G.M. Malliet (three times now) and Catriona McPherson are up for Agatha Awards given by Malice Domestic.

Alan Orloff had an Agatha nomination in 2010. And last year, Darrell James won a Left Coast Crime award, The Eureka, for a first novel.

Now it’s going to get dicey because I’m going to forget a whole ton of other good news. But let me mention that Vicki Doudera got a great review from the world’s snarkiest review site. I know Alice Loweecey and Lois Winston have posted some terrific reviews, as well.

I’m tickled for all the recipients. I imagine their glow and it makes me plum happy for them. I’ve met most of the writers I just mentioned and to a person, they are warm, funny, smart, generous and all around amazing specimens. I can only imagine the others are equally superior humans.

But, as Ayn Rand was ever-so-fond of saying, “There is no altruism.”

While I’m truly happy for these M’Inkers, I’m downright giddy for me.

My father always told me, “You’re known by the company you keep.” Yes, he was a wise man, but I don’t think he made that up.

I would be surprised if I ever win a prestigious award and Kirkus may always hate me. But someone, somewhere, at one time,(Terri) thought I wrote a book good enough to be included on the roster with these stellar writers.

That thought swells my chest more than the Miraculous Uplift bra I got from Victoria’s Secret.

By the time of my next Ink Spot post, my first book in the Nora Abbott Mystery series will have launched. Readers may love it or hate it. But for right now, for this brief moment, I get to revel in the success of my publisher and the fine writers they’ve accumulated and believe I am one of them.  

 

I am just so darned proud of Midnight Ink and all these folks. (And sorta proud of me, too.)

The 10 Things I Learned at Left Coast Crime

A guest post by Jess Lourey

1. It's okay to be a humorous mystery writer. Really, it is. Left Coast Crime is the only conference that celebrates the art of combining murder with mirth. They offer the Lefty Award for best humorous mystery, which I'm proud to say I was nominated for. And lost. I'm considering putting that on future book covers: "Lefty-losing author Jess Lourey…"

2. Self-publishing ebooks can be profitable, and as of right now, Kindle (Amazon) is where most of that money is being made.

3. If you are considering self-publishing, there is an awesome site called CrowdSpring where authors can post a description of their book for thousands of graphic designers to read. The designers, usually a couple dozen per book, will each create a book cover based on the description. If the author sees one she likes, she can buy it, usually for a couple hundred dollars. If she doesn't like any of them, she doesn't pay.

4. Book trailers are a waste of time and money *unless* they help the reader to connect with the writer, either by answering interview questions or talking about places/people/events that inspired the book and maybe filming at associated locations. Laura Lippmann and William Kent Krueger both do this well.

5. Harley Jane Kozak, the conference’s toastmaster, wears size 9 shoes. She also starred in Arachnaphobia! How cool is that?

6. Along that same line, did you know that Parnell Hall, panelist moderator at Left Coast Crime, wrote the screenplay for C.H.U.D.? I cornered him by the ATM and made him admit to it. I think he thought I was making fun of him, but I'm a sucker for campy horror movies. Give me a glimpse of a zipper in the monster's back, and I'm yours for life.

7. It is incorrect to refer to a Scottish accent vs. a British accent, as Scots are also Brits. Thanks for this, Simon Wood. I blame the American education system for my ignorance.

8. Volunteer at any conference you attend. It's the best way to make connections, particularly for us introverts, and you can feel good at the same time.

9. The television and film industries are going the way of the music and book industries in that they are becoming democratized. Some of the best TV shorts and films are coming from independent people with no connections to the industry, no formal training, and little money.

10. Bring your own books to a conference, if you can. The on-site bookstores can only bring in so much, but they're often happy to sell on consignment.

11. I know, I know, the title says ten, but I didn’t really learn this one; I already knew it: Keith Raffel, Vicki Doudera, Shannon Baker, William Kent Krueger, GM Malliet, and Catriona McPherson are all fabulous people to hang out with!

Jess Lourey is the Lefty-losing author of the humorous Murder-by-Month mysteries. November Hunt was released March 2012, and in a starred review, Booklist says of it, "It's not easy to make people laugh while they're on the edge of their seats, but Lourey pulls it off!"