From The Booking Desk:

My Bouchercon Schedule proves that my personality is pretty evenly split between being a plotter and pantser: I have a rigid outline with plenty of room for spontaneity.

In just two weeks, I’ll be leaving for Raleigh, North Carolina for the World Mystery Convention. Hope to see some of you there!

WEDNESDAY

We’ll arrive in Raleigh sometime in the early afternoon and will check into the hotel. This will be followed by scope out the venue, registering, and hopefully running into many of my friends.

Let the hug-fest begin!

Wednesday night, we have signed up for the Moonlight Cemetery Tour. After all, it’s Bouchercon and sleep is for the weak.

THURSDAY

Thursday morning will find me breaking fast with a group of friends in what is becoming a tradition. We will all likely mosey over to the Author Speed Dating event at 8am. It’s a great way to learn about the newest releases and you can see many authors in a short amount of time.

This will be followed by my first time-keeping volunteer assignment. I’ll be at New Faces – Best First Novel Nominees. This is literally one award category where every book nominated this year deserves to win. I have no idea who will take this prize, but I know this panel will be a highlight of the weekend. So much talent, all on one panel and moderated by a legend. (featuring: Kristi Belcamino, M.P. Cooley, Julia Dahl, Allen Eskens, and Lori Rader-Day. Moderated by Margaret Maron.)

Next on my agenda is the 1pm Fan Guest of Honor panel “STOP! Tell us your favorite crime, mystery & thriller.” Panels like this always lead to a ton of new books being added to the TBR pile, but it’s always worth it hearing what others are reading and enjoying. (featuring: George Easter, J. Kingston Pierce, and Janet Randolph. Moderated by Lucinda Surber and Stan Ulrich.)

This is why you will find me at the 2:30pm Me Against the TBR pile: How do we decide what to read next? Panel. Once again, I’ll be time-keeping this session and look forward to an interesting discussion. (featuring: Matt Iden, Dana Kaye, Robert Kroese and Clair Lamb. Moderated by Erin Mitchell.)

This is followed by Oline Cogdil moderating the American Guest of Honor Spotlight. Oline knows how dig deep in her interviews, so this should be a revelatory experience. Hearing both Kathy Reichs and Tom Franklin together will make for some memorable moments, I’m sure.

Wrapping up the night is the Opening Ceremonies. I’ll be helping out with the post-ceremony festivities – note the amount of volunteering that happened on this first day of the conference. (Trust me folks, it’s fun)

This will no doubt be followed by a wonderful dinner with my peeps. Then, you will probably find us in the bar wrapping up the first official day of Bouchercon 2015.

FRIDAY

Friday starts slow with my first panel at 10am. Write What You Know, the Day Job or Not? (featuring: Susanna Calkins, Joe Clifford, Hank Phillippi Ryan, and Nancy G. West. Moderated by Deborah Lacy.)

This brings us to the Bouchercon General Members Meeting. If you are attending the conference, you are a general member. If you have thoughts on the running of the convention – either positive or negative – this is the place to let your voice be heard. If you don’t attend, don’t bitch on social media about things – that’s just counter-productive and doesn’t help anyone. Be the change you want to see.

Next, I’ll be in the driver’s seat; At 4pm, I’ll be moderating a panel on The ‘Literary’ vs ‘Pulp’ traditions of crime fiction. This will be a discussion of genre and is sure to be an enlightening debate with some well respected panelists. Please join us. (featuring: Sheila Connolly, Chris Knopf, Katy Munger, and Elaine Viets. Moderated by Kristopher Zgorski.)

SATURDAY

Saturday starts early and with many a traffic jam. I hope to attend at least part of the Meet the New Authors (and publishers) Breakfast (running from 7-9am). But I also want to be at Visceral Entertainment: Where do you draw the line? at 8:30am (featuring: Lee Goldberg, J.D. Rhoades, Karin Slaughter, and Lisa Unger. Moderated by Twist Phelan.) AND You’re Not From These Parts, Are You, Pal? at 8:30am. (featuring: Libby Hellmann, Ausma Zehanat Kahn, Alex Marwood, and Ovidia Yu. Moderated by Michael Stanley.) I see that I’ll need to Orphan Black myself to make this happen.

At 10am I’ll be at Human Nature: Our fascination with law breakers & law enforcers in fiction. This panel features not just legends: Lawrence Block and Sara Paretsky, but future legends: Hank Phillippi Ryan, Michael Koryta, and David Housewright.

After lunch at 1pm, I’ll attend Psychopaths, Serial Killers, Sociopaths & Human Monsters within Literature because how can you resist that topic? And it’s also filled with some great writers. (featuring: Reed Ferrel Coleman, Steve Hamilton, Jennifer Hillier, and Michael Robotham. Moderated by Debbi Mack.)

My final panel of the day will be the 4pm The Journalist, the Writer & the Darkside of Human Nature. Do you see a theme in my reading interests? Not to worry, this is how I work out my frustrations. (featuring: Mark Edwards, Larry Light, Alex Marwood, and Stuart Neville. Moderated by Craig Robertson.)

SUNDAY

I’ll end my panel-going for Boucercon 2015 on Sunday at 10am with the Room For All: The Diversity of Crime, Mystery & Thrillers. I am time-keeping this panel as well, so that will also end my volunteering positions for this year. (featuring: Joel Gomez-Dossi, Larry D. Sweazy, Brian Thiem, and Wendy Tyson. Moderated by Andy Straka.)

I’m exhausted already and all of this doesn’t include the last minute panels, get-togethers, and bar-hopping which will no doubt also arise as the weekend progresses.

See you in North Carolina folks!