Malice Domestic 2017 was even more fun than usual this year. I congratulate all the Agatha winners, nominees, and honorees. Most memorable to me are some of the fun facts I learned from the panels.
Did you know …
That K.M. Rockwood draws on her prison background for many of her short stories, having supervised an inmate work crew in a medium security state prison. As she is the maternal sort, she was often given the inmates who most needed a mom.
Murder Shorts: Mystery Stories panel. Bottom: Leone Cipronin, Teresa Inge, K.M. Rockwood; top: Alan Orloff, Maggie King. Mo Walsh was camera shy.
Portland, Oregon is a mecca for plump drag queens. Author Angela M. Sanders shared this tidbit that she learned while researching her Joanna Hayworth Vintage Clothing Mysteries. Portly in Portland? Surely someone is using this title to good effect.
Camille Minichino is a prolific author (Malice attracts many prolific authors) who writes under a number of pseudonyms. And she follows the sage advice, “write what you know”—for her Sister Francesca Mysteries she draws on her seventeen year stint as a nun.
Having a father in law enforcement exposed Heather Weidner to dinner table discussions about grisly murders. She was shocked when she learned that most families avoid such topics at mealtime—or at any other time!
Mary Feliz features the looming issue of undocumented immigrants in her upcoming Dead Storage, #3 in her Maggie McDonald Silicon Valley series.
Dru Ann Love received the Raven Award at the 2017 Edgar Awards. She positively beamed as she posed for photos.
Sheila Connelly is likely the most prolific of the many prolific authors at Malice (how do these folks break away from their computers long enough to attend conferences?). Her oeuvre—love that word!—is beyond impressive. She now lives part-time in County Cork to turn out her series of the same name.
My panel, Murder Shorts: Mystery Stories, featured three of the 17 authors who contributed to 50 Shades of Cabernet: Teresa Inge, Alan Orloff, and myself. The aforementioned K.M. Rockwood and Mo Walsh joined us. Leone Cipronin moderated (see our group photo above).
Moderators Joanna Campbell Slan and Rick Ollerman are really, really funny. Do I sound like Donald Trump with the really, really?
Put April 27 – April 29 on your calendars. David Suchet, the ultimate Poirot, is the 2018 Amelia Award recipient!
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Wasn’t Malice great? I always enjoy this conference. Best thing is getting together with the writers I’ve met over the years and now count as friends. It was terrific seeing you there, Maggie. I learn something new with each conference. This year’s conference was especially noteworthy–getting to talk to Caroline Todd (part of the mother/son team that writes as Charles Todd) and getting a few hints as to what’s coming up in their series.
Thanks for commenting, Grace. Lucky you, getting to talk to Caroline Todd. I so admire their work.
Thank you
It was great to finally get to meet you, Maggie! Hopefully, it’s just the beginning of lots more.
Angela, I hope it is! Take care.
I hope I’m able to attend next year. Sounds like you had a great time–I’m so glad! I wish I had been able to hear your panel. I think I would have loved it.
Thanks, Amy. It was a good panel. I hope we see you next year, but at least we’ll see you in Suffolk.
Another great blog from the queen of bloggers.
🙂