Funny Friday

 

- originally published September 3, 2024

Bouchercon 2024 - Day 2 - Thursday, August 29

 I know, I know.

I posted on August 30 that I'd continue my Bouchercon recap the next day, and here it is more than a week later.

In my defense, we rose before dawn on August 31 to catch a 6 a.m. flight home.  Which meant that although we arrived home by 9:30, we  spent a good deal of the remainder of the morning catching up on sleep.

And then I woke up the next day coughing and sneezing.  I'm still coughing a bit, but feeling much more energetic.

So... Thursday at Bouchercon, there were few panels that caught my interest, except for the guest of honor interview:  Andrew Child (aka Andrew Grant) interviewed historical author g.o.h. Kelli Stanley.  

The subject matter ranged from Kelli's childhood in Northern California to her interest in history and classics, which eventually led to Kelli writing two  historical fiction series.  

Kelli is also an activist, and created Nasty Woman Press, which in 2020 published the Anthony Award-winning anthology Shattering Glass.

Kelli was  the brains behind the Free Books event scheduled for the next evening, which both Andrew and I were participating in (to be covered in another post).

That interview was really the only event I attended that day.  I did scour the book room, but mostly I hid in the hotel room and tried to get over the jet lag.

More to come...

Bouchercon 2024 - Murder and Mayhem in Music City

Perhaps I should start at the very beginning.

I've been hesitant to join large gatherings (like conventions) since the pandemic, and hadn't intended to attend this year's Bouchercon. 

But, my friend (and avid supporter), author Kelli Stanley (who is one of the guests of honor this year), contacted me about a Special Event she was planning for Friday night, and hoped I would participate.  I waffled for a few days, but deep down, I knew I'd agree.

I soon learned that the Event Kelli was planning would turn out to be called Free Books.  I plan to blog about the actual event in more detail after it happens, but to learn more about it right now, please click on the link above.

Day 1 - Wednesday, August 28

I didn't expect to be on any other panels at all, but at the last minute, was added to two panels, both on the same afternoon.

The first one was called Please Pass the Biscuits, and focused on cozy mysteries, and I was the moderator. 

The four panelists were cozy mystery authors (L-R) Kelly Oliver, Carol Finizza, Peggy Doviak, and Linda Griffiths-Gish.  We had a lot of fun discussing the authors who inspired them, and their reasons for writing cozy mysteries.

The second one  was called Silence in the Library, and was moderated by Heather Graham.  I knew going into it that being a panelist is a lot more difficult for me than being a moderator.  I think I rambled and babbled more than I needed to, but comments were very kind.  The other, more articulate panelists were all authors, and shared their favorite library stories.  

(L-R) Marcy McCreary, Kelli Stanley, me, Heather Graham, Tierney James.

That was one of the last panels of the day, and I slipped out as quickly as I could, because my husband had scored tickets to a club in downtown Nashville, to hear a Canadian singer named Alli Walker.

More to come tomorrow!

Books that made us: my guest post on Substack

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2024 Favorites (so far)

Since we're now officially halfway through the year, I'm sharing my favorites of the books I've read so far. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

(Books are listed alphabetically by author.  Most of them are e-books from the library, Kindle Unlimited.)

The Body in the Bookstore (A Secret Bookcase Mystery #1) by Ellie Alexander. Storm Publishing, 19 June, 2024. (Kindle Unlimited)

The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown.  Harper Collins, 13 February 2024.

Death Through a Dark Green Glass (A Writer's Apprentice Mystery) by Julia Buckley.  Merrill Books, 20 April 2024).

The Fellowship of Puzzle-makers by Samuel  Burr.  Doubleday Books, 9 April 2024.

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde #2) by Heather Fawcett.  Del Rey Books, 16 January 2024.

The Night in Question (An Agathas Mystery #2) by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson.  Ember, 21 May 2024.  

Stay Dead by April Henry.  Christy Ottaviano Books, 28 May 2024.

The Lost Book of Bonn by Brianna Labuskes.  William Morrow, 19 March 2024.

Recipe for a Charmed Life by Rachel Linden.  Berkley Books, 9 January 2024.  

The Last Hope (Maggie Hope #11) by Susan Elia MacNeal.  Bantam Publishing, 21 May 2024. 

Fatal First Edition (Library Lovers' Mystery #14) by Jenn McKinlay. Berkley Books, 13 February 2024.

Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller.  William Morrow, 18 June, 2024.

Holmes, Marple, and Poe by James Patterson.  Little, Brown Books, 8 January 2024.

Mind Games by Nora Roberts.  St. Martin's Press, 21 May 2024.

Funny Friday - In honor of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

 

Teen Tuesday

Stay Dead by April Henry (Christy Ottaviano Books, 28 May 2024).

Sixteen-year-old Milan Mayhew has just been kicked out of another private school. 

The headmistress is understanding:  Milan’s had a tough year.  Her father Jack, a U.S. senator, was killed in a car accident. Milan, in the car with him, survived, but blames herself for distracting him by being a brat.  Her mother ran for his seat and won, then sent Milan off to boarding school.

This one is the third in six months.  Despite being understanding of the teen’s emotional state, she takes Milan to the small local airport where she’ll be picked up by her mom’s plane, on the way back to her home in Portland.

But somewhere over the Cascade Mountains, the plane blows up.  When Milan wakes up, she’s trapped in her seat, but manages to free herself.  Everyone else appears to have been killed, but she finds her mom, Heather, a short distance from the wreckage. 

Knowing she’s going to die, Heather explains to Milan that her father’s death wasn’t an accident, and neither was the plane crash.  Jack was killed because of evidence he found against a fracking company, and when Heather won his seat, they targeted her, too.

Milan’s assignment is to go home, find the flash drive containing the evidence, and deliver it to Jack’s mentor. 

Of course, it’s a big task for a teenage girl, but Milan is determined that the people who killed her parents will pay. 

An avid hiker, Milan is proficient in wilderness survival skills, all of which she is forced to use as she struggles against nature (and a human who has realized that Milan survived the crash) to reach civilization and find the evidence.

Stay Dead, like all of April Henry’s novels, is well-researched.  Henry is also a proficient storyteller, and like most of her novels, is difficult to put down once begun.

April Henry is the New York Times-bestselling author of 29 mysteries and thrillers for teens and adults. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her family. Her 2023 novel Girl Forgotten won the Edgar Award for Young Adult Novel.

Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me with the egalley to review.