Au Revoir

Wendall ~ TBD

I have been immeasurably lucky to have been part of Murder is Everywhere for the last two and a half years.

 

It’s hard to imagine a group more supportive and kind than my compatriots here – all writers I admire for their imagination, range of knowledge and expertise, curiosity, conviction, and humor.

 

Most of us at Bouchercon 2023 in San Diego.

 

Through their blogs and their books, I’ve traveled from South Africa to Italy, from Greece to Scotland, from India to Singapore, seen art and architecture from all over the world, learned so much about international history and politics, and gathered new insights into ways the creative process can work.

 

Jeff, Sujata, Annamaria, and me at LCC in Tucson.

I’ve also had the privilege of sharing comments with many of you who’ve been kind enough to read my pieces.

 

So, it is with a heavy heart that I have to step away from the blog, at least for a while.

 

As I go, I’ll leave you with a few thoughts.

 

First, libraries and librarians are the bedrock of our culture and our profession.  They are responsible for my lifetime love of both reading and research. From my first “reading challenge” in second grade, which included Harriet the Spy, The Phantom Tollbooth, and The Yearling,  to the hours and hours I spent over the years in research libraries, like the Graduate Library at UNC, the (late) Colindale Newspaper Library, and my forever favorite, the Humanities Reading Room in the British Library.

 

One of my early faves.

I love the British Library so much that I set a hunk of Fogged Off there and included a totally fictional, and hysterical, research librarian. 

 

Approaching the BL.

 

And inside the Reading Room.

We must do everything we can to protect and support them.

 

Second, even though many of us sell the majority of our books on Amazon, it’s up to us and all our readers to make sure the independent bookstore continues as a source of stories and community. I’m pretty sure that almost every crime writer in Southern California has been helped by Anne Saller at Book Carnival and Debbie Mitsch at Mystery Ink and I owe an eternal debt to Pete Mock and Keebe Fitch at McIntyre’s in Pittsboro, North Carolina, for amazing support of my Cyd Redondo series. 

 

Anne Saller catches an action shot! Me, Jennifer Chow, Naomi Hirahara, and Ellen Byron had a blast in 2021.

 

What would we do without Book Carnival???

 

Pete Mock, Tim Maleeny, and me at McIntyre's in my hometown.

Me getting ready to write in the window of the wonderful Book Soup on the Sunset Strip.

Face in a Book is beloved by my Northern California friends, and there are so many of these amazing spaces still going. So, wherever you are, if you have a favorite, put it in the comments. Of course support your favorite authors and friends, but I for one am making a commitment to go to at least one reading/signing this fall for a writer I’m unfamiliar with.

 

Third, don’t let the bastards get you down/take no prisoners!

 

I will always be grateful for those of you who read widely, who want to travel to other times and places, and who are kind enough to read our books. 

 

Have a great time, all of you who are going to Bouchercon. I won't be there, but I do have a new story, "Actor Sex," in the anthology Hollywood Kills, which will have a signing there with many of the other wonderful writers. 

 

All of my short stories are set in 90s LA (hence the chiffon gloves). In this one, a cynical casting assistant chases down a "headshot" killer.

 

You can still find me on my website at https://wendallthomas.com at my author page on FB: https://www.facebook.com/CydRedondoMysteries/ and on my Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/ewendallthomas/

 

Fondest to you all, near and far,

 

 Goodbye, farewell. . .

 

 

~ Wendall

 

 

Winging it at Bouchercon

Sujata Massey

Bouchercon in Florida! Here's a glimpse of how I spent the convention. Like the birdie, I was a bit on the outside, commuting through the tropical St. Petersburg landscape from my hotel three-quarters of a mile away.

British writers are rumored to like Florida, and there were dozens of those geckos flitting through the bars. I'd been looking forward to meeting my literary twin, Abir Mukherjee, who writes mysteries set in 1920s Calcutta. Abir and Gigi Pandian and I put together our books in a basket for the auction that was bought by Delia!

Cara Black is near the left on a panel with Mark Billingham, William Kent Krueger, Sara Paretsy and Tasha Alexander. Cara talked about how she takes French policewomen out to dinner and runs potential crime plots by them. I got together with Cara, Stan, and Caro one humid evening in the Vinoy garden to prove Murder Goes Everywhere Warm.

Sometimes great friendships are made at conventions. California-based writer Diana Chambers and I met at Left Coast Crime in Honolulu a few years ago and always make it a point to get together.

I got a kick out of being placed on a panel with another writer with the same surname. That's Gale Massey of Florida, on my left, who has a well-reviewed debut novel. I am convinced she and my husband, who is also a Southern Massey, must share some DNA.

The best conventions are the ones where you get outside. In the distance, you can see the pink turret attached to Bouchercon's historic hotel, the Vinoy. The area around the hotel was perfect for strolling to restaurants, galleries, parks, and ogling yachts in the harbor.

I am a house junkie, so I loved my strolls from hotel on 4th Ave North to the Vinoy on the downtown waterfront. There were enough preserved historic buildings to make me smile. This proud house seems to be a mashup of Mediterranean and Neo-classical.

Pretty early 20th century clapboard cottages are painted in sherbet colors.

Gorgeous old palms and other tropical trees provide welcome shade in the sunny afternoons.

My hotel, The Hollander, is a lively, renovated hotel that retains its early 20th-century character. It has a nice coffee shop and restaurant, a pool for partiers and small but well-equipped rooms. The price was very reasonable, so I recommend it!

Often during the convention, I felt like this gecko racing along the edge of the sidewalk. So much to do, and not enough time to bask in the Florida sun. Next time I'm in St. Petersburg, I will actually get into the pool.