Mystery Monday: Crimebake!

As I write this, I’m sitting in my Dedham, Massachusetts hotel room having just finished my second full (read jam-packed) day at the annual Sisters in Crime/Mystery Writers of America Crimebake writing conference. This year is my eighth time to attend the conference. If possible, it gets better every year. Why? Because I get to hang out with other writers who are as passionate about their scribblings as I am. Most of these folks I only see once a year, but we reconnected like long-lost friends each time.

Just before coming into my room tonight, I stood in line to get Hank Phillippi Ryan to autograph her  most recent book for me. Maybe you don’t know Hank, but she is an award winning TV journalist AND an award winning novelist. Yet she greeted me with “Linda, great to see you again. How are things going with you?” When I informed her I had a manuscript under consideration, she said “How exciting, let me know what I can do for you.” Really? But I know she meant every word.

At the next table a woman was getting a book signed by James Hankins. He asked her if she was a published writer, and she said, “Not yet.” His response? “Don’t worry. You will be, just keep at it.”

As always, I have learned tips and techniques to improve my writing, including what not to do. But just as exciting was seeing the members of the writing community encourage and support their own, even those without their name on a dust jacket.