A Reason for Blogging

Magna Cum Murder

I just returned from a really great conference, Magna Cum Murder sponsored by Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. First off, kudos to Kathryn Kennison, one of the loveliest ladies I’ve met and a wonderful organizer. Also kudos to Jim Huang, owner of The Mystery Company in Carmel, Indiana and program organizer. I am confident that next year’s Bouchercon is in good hands with Jim at the helm.

What makes the conference special? As an author, you have to earn your right to present on a panel. And that’s a good thing. As a fan spending your hard-earned dollars on a conference, it’s nice to know that you’ll hear something insightful rather than a bunch of people selling something. Funny thing was, some of the authors present were published by small presses like me and the programs they presented were entertaining and informative. These are the same people that Mystery Writers of America are seeking to keep out of their organization. A similar rule was presented to the Bouchercon Steering Group and defeated.

This conference was totally different from Bouchercon. While at Bouchercon, I felt an uneasy “I don’t belong here” feeling, I never felt that at Magna. The authors were great and the fans... well, fantastic. It was nice to be able to connect with readers and writers at such a casual atmosphere and talk shop. In fact, there was a four hour rotating roundtable of shop talk.

Now to go on to the panels I was assigned to. I actually kicked the conference off on the debut authors panel. Now, officially, there were two debut authors. Both of us from St. Louis. However, Joanna Campbell Slan couldn’t make it on time, so I had an hour to fill. Not only that, but the original idea was for Joanna and I to interview each other. Without her, suddenly I was interviewing myself. Thank God for the kindness that is the mystery community.

At the registration desk, a mere twenty minutes before my panel, the guest of honor, a wonderful author by the name of Louise Penny introduced herself to me. I mentioned that I was in a bit of a quandary and she offered to introduce and interview me without even a hesitation. I gave her the questions and my bio ten minutes before show time and Louise interviewed me like she had known me her whole life. I was at ease and she actually made me look good, which is no easy task.

After my panel a wonderful group of ladies asked if I’d sit and chat with them. They even bought me a drink, which was a totally unexpected treat (Thanks Pat). We had a marvelous chat.

The highlight of the weekend was the panel I shared with the fabulous Barb D’Amato and Austin Camacho. We coached a group of people through the plotting of a flash fiction mystery. We managed to get all of 157 words on paper, but what a blast. Austin was fantastic at keeping the group on track and we both noticed that the sweet-looking Barb D’Amato is very capable of some rather dark and disturbing ideas.

I’m not sure if the class learned a lot, except that mystery writing is harder than they expected, but it was a blast for the panel and I believe everybody had a good time.

Lastly I led a discussion on Hollywood Endings - Do we need them? I think I picked the right movie/book as an example. I brought up No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.

The days were long, but totally satisfying. The company was excellent and shop talk comforting. I’d like to shout out to a reader I met from Haslett, Michigan. I didn’t get her last name, but Colleen, I hope you enjoy the book.