Two years of anticipation and it’s over in a flash!
Pam and I registered back in 2015 and were confident we’d be published authors by the
time the conference rolled around. We were excited to be attending a book
conference of this calibre and weren’t disappointed. We also determined that we'd have the first draft of the sequel to "The Silk Shroud" done before Bouchercon and that's also been accomplished.
About 700 authors and nearly twice as many readers, aspiring, and
nearly-published writers were in attendance. The Sheraton Hotel on Queen St in
Toronto provided comfortable accommodations and all the space required to
showcase so many participants. We won’t mention the day we had two fire alarms,
shhhh!
The view from our 34th floor room provided a vista of
downtown Toronto, and beyond, that I haven’t seen in a while.
Authors and books and panels, oh my!
The bookseller’s room held thousands of books for sale. What a great opportunity to pick up books and then have them signed by the author!
As debut authors Pam and I were invited to participate in
the Debut Author’s Breakfast held Friday morning, along with about three dozen
new authors. It was a fun event as we each had a turn to sell our work within
just a minute or two. This is when having a writing partner is invaluable for
moral support!
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| Pam, Liz, Lynn McPherson, Jennifer Soosar |
We connected with two other Black Opal Books authors – Lynn McPherson
and Jennifer Soosar – who have their debut works published this year as well.
We also took turns promoting Crime Writers of Canada on
Saturday, when CWC hosted the hospitality suite. A terrific opportunity to meet
fans and other writers.
As well the conference provided the opportunity to reconnect
with friends we haven’t seen for a while.
Panels were interesting, informative and fun, but my
favourite was the intimate chat between Louise Penny, Rhys Bowen and Deborah
Crombie. The ballroom may have been standing room only, but yet the three
authors obviously share a friendship and ease with each other which made the
attendees feel as if we had joined them for a personal visit.
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| Rhys Bowen, Louise Penny, Deborah Crombie |
Standing room only to listen to the three ladies, but Gloria Ferris and Kay Kendall managed to find two of the best seats in the house!
I was so pleased to be able to hear from the likes of Peter
Robinson, Ann Cleeves, and Kathy Reichs to name a few. And so many wonderful,
and successful, Canadian authors. If I start naming, I’m afraid I will leave
some out! Among them Linwood Barclay, Vicki Delaney, Melodie Campbell and so
many more!
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| Pam with Linwood Barclay |
Our Genre5 group have come away with memories, tips and
advice. For a while, Genre5 turned into the Magnificent7, when we hooked up
with good friends Kay Kendall and Lorie Lee Steiner. I never managed to get a photo with all of us. Lorie is missing from this one.
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| Donna Houghton, Gloria Ferris, Kay Kendall, Pam, Liz, Donna Warner |
I came home tired, but energized, with a new focus on
writing. But my writing partner, Pam, left the conference and then headed to Edinburgh,
Scotland! I hope she was able to catch some sleep on the flight. She’ll be out
of the country until early November, and I have to return to the corporate work
world tomorrow.
But on Thursday Oct 19, I’ll be joining Donna Warner, Gloria Ferris, Alison Bruce and
Cheryl Cowtan for our workshop “Conjuring Up a Work of Fiction” at the Elora
Public Library. Sure to be another good time!
Kudos and much appreciation to Bouchercon Co-Chairs Helen
Nelson and Janet Costello. You and your team provided a memorable event.
And now I think I have a book or two to read.
Cheers!
Liz
