Ahhh, the sometimes boring life of a lawyer!

Sometimes the life of a mystery writer / attorney is not all the excitement one would expect. My first impression of lawyers came from watching Perry Mason with my dad. Watching Perry solve the murder was exciting. But the life of a real life lawyer is often anything but exciting. Much of the work I do now is with the elderly, obtaining guardians and conservators to protect them and their property after they are unable to do so for themselves.

Recently here in Central Iowa a guardianship case made its way into the news which gave a somewhat distorted view of how the legal process works. I was able to write an op-ed piece for the Des Moines Register which put things in perspective. I’ve linked to the article here.

Don’t take this as legal advice, but if you find yourself in a similar situation you might want to take note of the information in the article.

MORE BOOK NEWS

We are within a month of the publication of End of the Line, my second Parker Noble mystery. The scheduled date is June 16 and the book should be at distributors and retailers by the first week in July. Later in July we’ll have a launch party at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines. In the mean time, pre-publication orders are being taken at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and Books a Million. I’ll post the date and time for the launch party when everything is settled. In the mean time, if you can’t make it to Des Moines for the launch, try ordering it form one of the on-line stores I’ve linked above.

Novel competition reminder from MWA

The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) reminder:

The third Annual Minotaur books/MWA first crime novel competition

The winner will be offered a publishing contract with a $10,000 advance.  Manuscripts must be postmarked by November 30, 2010.  For guidelines and to request an entry form click here.

Sisters in Crime DM meetings

In reply to my query about local writers’ groups, I received an e-mail from a writing friend that there is an effort to start a Des Moines Chapter of Sisters in Crime. SIC is a national mystery writers’ organization that promotes women writers, but is also open to men. In fact, a number of well-known male mystery writers are members of SIC.

Anyway, the group meets the third Saturday of each month at Smokey Row Coffee House from 3 to 5 p.m. Smokey Row is located at 1910 Cottage Grove; it is right at the corner of Cottage Grove and Martin Luther King Blvd.

MWA - Harlequin dispute ended

THIS JUST IN from the Mystery Writers of America:

“We are pleased to welcome Harlequin, and all of its imprints, back onto our Approved Publishers list. Harlequin has agreed to abide by all of our existing criteria for inclusion. This means that Harlequin books, including those published within the last year, are eligible for Edgar consideration and their authors for active status MWA membership.”

As you recall, MWA suspended Harlequin from its approved publisher list last December due to the operation of its vanity press subsidiary. Apparently that dispute has been resolved and authors who publish through Harlequin will continue to be eligible for active membership in MWA. As you may recall, the paperback edition of Murder Most Holy was published by a Harlequin imprint, World Wide Mystery. This was in 2008, several years before the dispute erupted. The hard back version was published in 2006 by Five Star, an approved publisher, who is also publishing my latest, End of the Line, due out in June (don’t forget to get your pre-order in to Amazon!).

More chances to get into print with short stories

THE LOVE IS MURDER Mystery Conference has announced a first ever short story writing contest. It is open to authors who have never been published in fiction in any medium, the story must be in the crime, suspense, thriller, or horror genre and the maximum word count is 5,000 words. Deadline is July 16. Further details can be found on the Love Is Murder website under the “Events” tab. Winners will be announced at Love Is Murder (February 4-6, 2011, Rosemont, Ill. ) and will be published in the February issue of CrimeSpree Magazine.

Another first for Love Is Murder is a track on the graphic novel. An expert panel will teach the nuts and bolts of this widely popular genre. So if you’ve ever wondered what it takes to produce such a story, this will be the place to find out.

Love Is Murder, as I’ve said before, is the almost perfect conference for would-be mystery writers. There is ample time to meet with editors and agents and to pitch their work. If there is only one conference that you can attend, this is the one. Hope to see you there!

“Love is Murder” – an old friend is back

LOVE IS MURDER, the Chicago mystery conference, on hiatus for the past year, will be back next February, bigger and better than ever, according to the program organizers.

It is scheduled for February 4-6 at the Intercontinental Chicago O’Hare, 5300 N. River Rd., Rosemont, Illinois, complete with its famous “Pitch-a-Palooza” where writers have the chance to pitch editors and agents. It was at a pitch session like that where I sold my first novel, Murder Most Holy, at Love is Murder a few years ago.

I’m planning on being there with End of the Line.

For more information on Love is Murder, click here.

Here's a chance for a book contract

HERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY for an unpublished mystery author looking for a book contract. The mystery conference Killer Nashville is sponsoring the annual Claymore Dagger Award for the best unpublished novel.

The winner gets consideration for publication from longtime New York publisher Avalon Books.   In addition to mysteries, Avalon also publishes romances, historical romances, westerns, and series. Avalon Books is on the Mystery Writers of America approved publisher list.

Last year (2009), Avalon not only requested the winning manuscript, but requested eight (8) of the other runner-ups, as well. That’s nine (9) manuscripts requested! And though there is only one Claymore Dagger Award winner, Avalon may request as many manuscripts as they wish.

The entry deadline is MAY 5, 2010, anyone can enter – you do not have to attend Killer Nashville to enter. For more information on the 2010 Claymore Dagger Award, click here and follow the navigation links at the top under “Awards” once you have entered the new 2010 Killer Nashville site.

The winner will be announced Saturday, August 21, 2010 at the annual Killer Nashville Awards Ceremony. Further questions my be directed to Killer Nashville.

The Claymore Dagger mail in entry form can be found here. Instructions are listed here.

Updated Calendar of Crime from the MWA

Thanks to the Mystery Writers of America comes the updated calendar of mystery conferences:

October 30 – November 1: The Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave: A celebration of “small town” mysteries. Manhattan, Kansas. Guest of honor is Earlene Fowler and J. M. “Mike” Hayes is the toastmaster. For more information the website is here.

November 7: Bodies and Buckeyes, Embassy Suites, Columbus, Ohio. Lee Lofland is the keynoter. Sponsored by the Ohio chapter of Sisters in Crime. For more information the website is here.

November 13-15: New England Crime Bake: 8th Annual Mystery Conference for Writers and Readers. Hilton Boston/Dedham, Dedham, Massachusetts. Guest of honor is Sue Grafton. Sponsored by New England Sisters in Crime and the New England Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. For more information the website is here.

February 26-28, 2010: Sleuthfest, Hilton Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, Florida. Guests of honor: David Morrell and Steven Cannell. Sponsored by the Florida Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. For more information the website is here.

So Long, LIM, until we meet again

THE BOMBSHELL that was dropped at Saturday’s Love Is Murder Banquet by the LIM board was that there will be no conference in 2010, but it will return in 2011.

Love Is Murder is unique among mystery conferences: readers could meet their favorite authors, authors could meet new readers, and writers could meet and pitch publishers and agents. I have been a regular attendee for many years and became one of LIM’s biggest fans when I sold my first mystery, Murder Most Holy, to Five Star through the 2005 conference. Last week’s conference had over 300 attendees.

But the success of LIM was apparently a bit too much for an overworked, understaffed volunteer board. Members wanted to take a year breather to re-tool and come back better than ever. How they can make this outstanding conference better than it currently is, is, to quote our new president, “above my pay grade.” Suffice it to say, LIM was a top-notch product and Luisa Buehler, Hanley Kanar and the rest of the board deserve kudos for all they have done.

This year’s LIM was held at a new location, the Westin Chicago Northshore in Wheeling. A wonderful facility that gave us an added treat: a re-enactor’s convention was being held at the same time. We were able to mingle with Generals Grant, Washington, Custer along with Field Marshall Rommel and scores of soldiers representing armies from ancient Rome to World War II and beyond. Renaissance minstrels, jesters, Red Coats and warriors from Napoleon’s army all mingled with us over drinks Saturday evening. It felt like we were on the back lot of a Hollywood studio where there were several historical epics being filmed!

Anyway, the weekend was great, but we all left with a little sadness knowing that we’ll miss our old friend next year.

Love Is Murder

THE LOVE IS MURDER mystery conference is being held this weekend (February 6-8) at the Westin Chicago in Wheeling, Illinois. If you are within driving distance of Chicago and are writing a mystery – or would like to write one – check the link (picture) and see if you can attend. I’ll meet you in the bar!