Bouchercon and Beyond -- New Orleans to Cape Cod

Zoë Sharp

On the road -- the road from North Truro to Provincetown, Cape Cod, in fact.

As I write this blog, I am still on the road after Bouchercon in New Orleans. My mind is a jumble of impressions, both good and bad. Mainly good, it has to be said. Here are a few of them I'd like to share with you.

The French market in New Orleans, a short streetcar ride from the convention hotel and well worth the experience, despite the humidity and the heat.

New Orleans street, down near the French market. Why can't a terrace of houses in the UK look this cool?

The downside of New Orleans was the homeless population, who at times seemed to outnumber the tourists.

The upside was coming across characters like this one, although I'm pretty sure the cat had use of its legs ...

I always look sideways when I'm walking down any street, because you never know what treasures are lurking in side alleys, like this, not far from Bourbon St.

Buggy rides were available, drawn by some of the most patient-looking mules I've ever seen. This one was a beauty.

Not sure where this is, but it's lovely. Pic courtesy of Cara Black

Part of the joy of events like Bouchercon is running into blogmates, past and present, such as Cara Black and Yrsa Sigurdottir. Pic courtesy of Cara Black

Yrsa's fabulous convention shoes. Pic courtesy of Cara Black

I was lucky enough to be on two great panels. One on vigilantes, with (l to r) Joseph Finder, Stuart Neville, moderator John Gilstrap, Reavis Z Wortham, and ZS. Pic courtesy of M'Lou Greene

I was moderator for the violence panel, (l to r) myself, E.A. Aymar, Melinda Leigh, Thomas Pluck, S.G. Redling, and Taylor Stevens. Strangely, nobody took me up on my suggestion to turn it into a practical ... Pic courtesy of Jodi Dabson Bollendorf

Signed with the other contributors to the CRIME + MUSIC anthology, including editor Jim Fusilli (front row, second from left) Pic courtesy of Three Rooms Press

Was over the moon to learn that last year's Bouchercon anthology, MURDER UNDER THE OAKS, won the Anthony Award. Was honoured to have my Charlie Fox short story 'Kill Me Again Slowly' included. Pic courtesy of editor Art Taylor

Lovely to catch up with friends from the UK (l to r) me, Kirstie Long, Caroline Raeburn, John Lawton at the Soho Press party. Pic courtesy of Cara Black

The sun finally set on New Orleans and it was time to move on to Texas! But before we left NOLA had one last bolt to fire at us ...

... in the form of a rip-off cab driver. As state law decrees dire things if you do anything nasty to  cab drivers in real life, I may have to take my revenge strictly in print!

It's been a good few years since I was last at Murder By The Book in Houston, TX, so it was wonderful to be back.

The Wild Detectives in Dallas was a very cool place to talk and sign with fellow Brit author John Lawton. A lot of fun.

Downside of this part of the trip? The US SIM card I bought in NOLA gave me a day's working time and allowed one solitary phone call before dying. H2o Wireless customer service was dismal. (Artistic rendering of what I felt like doing to my phone after spending some time trying to get the problem sorted out.)

Heading north-east. Changing planes at La Guardia on the way to Boston had the upside of a fabulous view of Manhattan island as we came in to land.

After 20 hours travelling, we finally arrived on the evening fast-cat ferry in Provincetown, Cape Cod just as the sun was going down. Is it just me, or does the Pilgrim's Tower look strangely Florentine ...?

Great poster produced by Tricia Ford at North Truro Library for the talk there by John Lawton and myself. I definitely need to get a blow-up done of this one!

Run aground. Little boat embedded in trees just outside Truro, Cape Cod.

Beautiful doorway in Provincetown, Cape Cod.

Provincetown Public Library was worth a visit just for the architecture, never mind the books.

The locals were friendly.

last word ...

I'm a Wanderer

Jeff—Saturday

I started out here.

Mykonos

And last week ended up here.

New Orleans

Today I’m here.

New Jersey

Tomorrow (at 2pm) I’ll be at the place in the title of the book in you know whose hand.  Well, actually another Sparta, the one in New Jersey at its library.

But no matter where I am, I’m always blessed to have my trusty photo bomber near by.

Cafe du Monde

Who attracts other wonderful folks.

Stan, Photo Bomber, Mette and Me.

And we eat in wonderful places.

Galatoire's with the Georges

Though at times itinerants do creep around.

Peter Rozovsky

But so do famous authors

RL Stine with Connie Perry

And their spouses…again attracted by my photo bomber.

Jane Stine and Photo Bomber

And in case you haven’t guessed by now, all this is called “filler,” to cover up that I’ve been so wrapped up with these folks…

The Bouchercon National Board

that I’ve neglected my duties to you, our MIE family. Please forgive me. If not, I’ll have to offer EvKa a guest slot the next time things jam up, and we all know what that means…New Orleans will be a site of virtue by comparison.

Bourbon Street

Bye for now.

—Jeff

Thank You, Bouchercon, and Hello Book Tour

Jeff—Saturday

In an homage of sorts to Murder is Everywhere coming into being at a Bouchercon World Mystery Convention some half-dozen years back, during Bouchercon week (this year held in New Orleans) we get to put up our favorite posts from the past. It also allows us to spend more productive time at the convention hotel’s bar.

As it just so happens, ten days ago was the release date for my new Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis book, Santorini Caesars, and tomorrow marks the end of my second—and I promised Barbara my final—term as Chair of the National Board of Bouchercon.

So, instead of repeating a past post, I thought I’d instead take this opportunity to reflect on the past by thanking those I’ve served with on the Bouchercon National Board for their support and friendship in making my two years as National Chair a truly remarkable experience.

Yes, that's Zoë in the front row once again laughing at me.

To all these wonderful, all volunteer Bouchercon Board mates of mine, a sincere thank you from the very bottom of my deep, dark, murder-loving heart:

Al Abramson

JD Allen

Mike Bursaw

Stacey Cochran

Oline Cogdill

Janet Costello

Michele Drier

Heather Graham

Kim Hammond

Rae James

Jon Jordan

Ruth Jordan

Ali Karim

Don Longmuir

Dave Magayna

Erin Mitchell

Margory Mogg

Helen Nelson

Connie Perry

Carol Puckett

John Purcell

B.G. Ritts

Janet Rudolph

Stan Ulrich

Ingrid Willis   

And a heartfelt special shout out of thanks to our MIE blog mate Susan Spann for the extraordinarily generous donation of her time and prodigious legal talent in service to Bouchercon’s Board and General Membership.  

As for the plug for my new book, here’s the plotline of Santorini Caesars in a nutshell:

When a young demonstrator is publicly assassinated in the heart of protest-charged Athens, the motive is murky and the array of suspects immense.  Kaldis’ investigation leads him and his team to beautiful Santorini, and a hush-hush gathering of the Caesars, a cadre of Greece’s top military leaders seeking to form their own response to the crises facing their country. Is it a coup d’état or something else?  The answer is by no means clear, but the case resonates with political dimensions, and as international intrigues evolve, the threat of another—far more dramatic—assassination looms ever more real.

And here are a few blurbs from reviews picked at random (as if even I believe that):

“As always, Siger provides readers with an action-packed plot, well-developed characters with lots of attitude, breathtaking Greek scenery, and a perceptive take on the current political and economic problems affecting Greece. International-crime fans need to be reading this consistently strong series.” —Booklist

“While British and Scandinavian authors tend to dominate the conversation about European crime writing, there are some very fine authors operating in other continental locales… Greece is packed with tourist hotspots. Thanks to Wall Street lawyer turned crime scribe Jeffrey Siger, it's also home to a superb modern-day mystery series… starring Chief Inspector Kaldis and his likable team of Greek cops.” — Craig Sisterson

“Riveting story… bridging the social climate in Greece into the narrative…boasts great dialogue, a likable cast, good camaraderie and an intriguing plot that was masterly accomplished.” —Dru’s Book Musings

“Siger the Soothsayer has the uncanny knack of foreseeing chaos in the beautiful country that is Greece and then writing about it in such a way that readers see and hear and taste and feel that turmoil… and if you're wondering, the Greeks themselves love his books... I never miss one of Jeffrey Siger's books. Never!”—Kittling Books

“Jeffrey Siger's books may be set in Greece, but they deal with the world's problems as well...It's a message to the world.” —Lesa Holstine

“[W]ill keep readers on the edge of their seats, while chuckling at the antics of Kaldis's temperamental secretary. Part of a series not to be missed.”—Shelf Awareness

“Put this one at the top of your reading list… As the plot unfolded, I could imagine it actually happening…(and hope it’s not). You won’t be able to put it down. Jeffrey Siger does not disappoint. I don’t know how he does it; each book is better than the last.” —WindyCity Greek

Now, on to my post-Bouchercon tour schedule through the end of 2016. The 2017 tour dates and other additions will be posted as scheduled on my website under EVENTS 

Sunday, September 25, 2016 @ 2:00 PM

Sparta Public Library

22 Woodport Road

Sparta NJ 07871

Monday, October 10, 2016 @ 7:00 PM

(with Michael Kahn and Reavis Wortham)

A Celebration of Poisoned Pen Press

St. Louis County Library—Auditorium

1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd,

St. Louis, MO 63131

Saturday, October 15, 2016 @ 2:00 PM

(with Mark Pryor)

POISONED PEN BOOKSTORE

4014 N. Goldwater Blvd., Suite 101

Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Sunday, October 16, 2016 @ 2:00 PM:

CLUES UNLIMITED

3154 East Fort Lowell Road

Tucson, AZ 85716

Tuesday, October 18, 2016  @ 7:00 PM:

TATTERED COVER

2526 East Colfax Avenue

Denver, CO 80206

Thursday, October 20, 2016 @ 7:00 PM:

MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP

58 Warren Street

New York, NY 10007

Friday, November 11, 2016 @ 7:00 PM:

MYSTERY LOVERS BOOKSHOP

514 Allegheny River Boulevard

Pittsburgh, PA 15139

Thursday-Sunday, November 17-20, 2016

ICELAND NOIR

The Nordic House

Reykjavik, Iceland

That should be more than enough BSP for 2016.  Except of course for touting SUNSHINE NOIR (edited by MIE’s own Annamaria Alfieri and Michael Stanley)—now available in paperback—a not to be missed anthology that has Nordic Noir types shuddering in their frozen tundra boots.

See you in 2017 with Kaldis #9!

—Jeff

Great Expectations: preparing to travel in the States

Zoë Sharp

I was intending to blog about today’s momentous date – September 11^th – today, but Jeff Siger’s ‘Fifteen Years Later’ blog from yesterday has said it all in a far more moving and arresting way than I could. I can clearly recall watching events unfold on the TV news and thinking that things would never be quite the same again. He, on the other hand, was there.

So instead I’m going to look forward – for the next couple of weeks, at least.

Next week I’ll be on my way back to New Orleans for Bouchercon, and I can’t wait to see the place again. I went there last when I was researching DIE EASY: Charlie Fox book ten, which, as the title might suggest, has the Big Easy as its setting. Back then, I was lucky enough to spend some time with fellow mystery author Toni McGee Causey and her husband, Carl. Louisiana natives, they were brilliant guides, showing me the hidden parts of the city that proved invaluable when it came to background for that book, including the incredible giant scrapyard, Southern Recycling, where old school buses and the engine blocks from container ships go to die.

After Bouchercon I’m picking up a car and going on a road trip. Fellow Brit thriller author, John Lawton and I have just brought out our first joint project, called AN ITALIAN JOB, and teaming up to do some bookstore and library events together seemed a good way to celebrate.

I know at first glance we seem an unlikely combination for such a collaborative effort. Lawton’s books are meticulously researched historical espionage tales. I write contemporary crime thrillers. Our writing styles are very different. But that, in part, was the challenge of it – working on producing a story written by both of us, without people being able to see the joins.

And I confess it was fun to finish a scene and hand it over to Lawton, only for the story to come back heading in a direction I never would have thought of. It not only made me up my game and kept me constantly on my toes, but also filled me with even more respect for my collaborative colleagues at Murder is Everywhere, Michael and Stan.

The first stop for Lawton and myself is Houston, Texas, and Murder By The Book. The last time I was there it was summer. I had lunch at a restaurant just down the street from the bookstore and decided, perhaps foolishly, to walk from one to the other. It was hot, even by Texas standards, and the thing I remember most is how my shadow was little more than a shrunken puddle around my feet.

From there we go to Book People in Austin, who have organized a Noir @ The Bar at Threadgill’s South, which is a theme restaurant with the theme of Austin, apparently. I’ve never been to Austin, so I can’t wait to go there.

From Austin it’s up to Dallas, once famous as the home of the Ewing family. Indeed, I remember back when I was photographing for motoring magazines, borrowing an F150 Lightning pick-up truck from Ford’s Press Office. Where else could I take it other than to Southfork Ranch?

At that point we leave Texas and fly up to New England, or more precisely, to Cape Cod. I’ve never been to the Cape, and for someone who loves being near the sea, I confess I’m truly looking forward to experiencing what Provincetown has to offer.

The architecture alone makes it a must-see, and the Public Library building itself looks wonderful. I understand you can rent a bicycle to explore further. Sounds like a great way to see t   he place at a slower rate than normal. Expect photos next time. Of course, we’ll also be calling in at the Provincetown Bookshop, and at Truro Library while we’re there.

And the day I get back, September 30^th, I’m at The Bakewell Bookshop in the Derbyshire Peak District, with fellow crime author Sarah Ward. It would seem that there is, indeed, no rest for the wicked.

So, this trip will include quite a few visits to places I’ve been before, and yet others to places I’ve heard about but never been. I have an image of Cape Cod in my head, and am curious to know if the reality lives up to it. After all, as writers, we can’t always use locations we’ve personally experienced. Sometimes we really do just have to make it up as we go along, looking at images on the internet and particularly reading weather reports, which can be a real eye-opener.

What are the places for you that were exactly as you imagined them, and what has taken you completely by surprise?

This week’s Word of the Week is logomachy, meaning an argument about words. It comes from the Greek logos, meaning word or speech, and machesthai, meaning to fight.