Bouchercon 2015: Day Four and Farewell

And now, just in time for Bouchercon 2016, the conclusion of my Bouchercon 2015 memoir.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 11

Bouchercon Sunday is often a time for nursing hangovers, packing up, checking out, and saying goodbye as people rush for their travel arrangements. Panel attendance is often limited, and subdued. For anyone who either couldn’t stay or couldn’t get up, it was your loss this year.

8:30 True Grit: Narrative Techniques for Gritty, Pithy, and Page-Turning Dialog

This panel might have had an easier time in a more intimate room, but moderator Jack Getze and his four intrepid panelists kept things moving and interactive. Everyone was on his A game, and multiple nuggets were mined.

David Terrenoire: If two people are talking, there are two agendas. Be true to both. David sometimes writes a scene from both points of view. He may only use one, but then he knows he’s been true to both.

Con Lehane: Hemingway said you say more by what you leave out than by what you leave in.

Jack Bludis: George Pelecanos sometimes goes into black bars just to listen. They often think he’s a cop, which is okay with him.

Jack Getze: Read Method Acting for ways to get into characters’ heads. Con Lehane seconded that by recommending Stanislavsky’s books.

10:00 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heroes and Antiheroes

Whether one likes or dislikes them, antiheroes are here to stay. Personally, I like them. It’s hard to create a two-dimensional antihero—not that some don’t manage—and antiheroes can do things and teach lessons that don’t always lend themselves well to heroes.

Stuart Neville had the simplest, most cogent, definition of an antihero I’ve ever heard: An antihero is a bad guy who tries to do good, though your idea of good and his may differ. There may also be an element of redemption.

Adam Sternbergh chimed in with a critical distinction for those who sometimes wonder about the difference between am antihero and a villain: The villain thinks he’s right. The antihero has a conflict.

And so it was time for us to pack up, check out, and say goodbye. On both a personal and professional level, this was my most successful and enjoyable Bouchercon. Special thanks for that double play go to Ed Aymar, as good an author speed dating partner as can he found; Don and Jen Longmuir of Scene of the Crime Books, who are always a pleasure to work with; and Jim Born, who made me feel at home in his panel from the opening introduction.

On the personal level, thanks for a great time to (in alphabetical order): Scott Adlerberg, Annamaria Alfieri, Ed Aymar, Jedidiah Ayres, Eric Beetner, Jack Bludis, Jim Born, Rob Brunet, Austin and Denise Camacho, Colin Campbell, Eric Campbell, the always huggable Joe Clifford, Bill Crider, Mike Dennis, Les Edgerton, Stephanie Gayle, Jack Getze, Rich Goodfellow, Chris Grall, David Housewright, Michelle and Tommy Isler, Dietrich Kalteis, Ali Karim, Larry Kelter, Nik Korpon, Richard Krauss, Terrence and Rita McCauley, John “Hat Trick” McFetridge, Carla Norton, Rick Ollerman, Tim O’Mara, Alan Orloff, Jeff Pierce (though neither of us knew it at the time), Absolutely Kate Pilarcik, Tom Pitts, Thomas Pluck, Bob Randisi, J.R. “Dusty” Rhoades, Charles Salzberg, John Shepphird, Kevin Burton Smith, Jay Stringer, Mary Sutton, David Swinson, Art Taylor, Mark and Mary Fran Troy, Sandra Webster, Holly West, Dave White, and Sam Wiebe. Sincere apologies to anyone I missed here, as well as to those I’d hoped to see and didn’t get to. Next year in New Orleans. We’re already registered and the room booked.

Oh, and fuck Peter Rozovsky.

Bouchercon 2015: Day Three

Still more Bouchercon. I promise to finish my 2015 recap before the 2016 conference.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 10

8:30 Special Event: inside the mind and work of Dashiell Hammett: a conversation with his granddaughter and biographer.

Peter Rozovsky for the win. As fine a Bouchercon event as I have ever attended. As moderator, Peter had all anyone could to want to work with. Julie Rivett is Hammett’s granddaughter, quite likely the only person at the conference who had ever met him. (She was a small child.) Richard Layman as an esteemed Hammett biographer and probably knows as much about Hammett and his work as anyone alive. Fifty minutes that flew by like fifteen. I would gladly have listened to them for an hour and a half. Rivett and Layman have done this gig before, and the three of them had chatted the previous day, though nothing too detailed was agreed upon. It showed, and in the best way. The discussion never lagged, no one fumbled for an answer, but nothing ever seemed to be rehearsed. If you’re thinking of buying any of the conference audio CDs and have any interest in Hammett, this is the recording to get.

Aside from a wealth of texture and a far better feel for Hammett as both a writer and a person, I had two major takeaways. I was unaware of Nathan Ward’s The Lost Detective, which focuses on the direct relationship of Hammett’s life as a detective to his career as a writer. Just as exciting was the news that all of the Continental Op stories will be released in a single volume sometime in 2016.

10:00 Keeping it Moving: Maintaining Pace in the Narrative

This was one of those panels that are educational as much for validation as for learning anything new. It was good to hear from successful authors that the things I use to keep my stories moving are, by and large, what they do.

Two examples: S.J. Rozan highly recommended Richard Price’s Coppers, which I had added to the reading list not two weeks earlier.

A quote from Michael Connelly (not on the panel; my apologies to whoever provided it, as it ties in perfectly with what I’m trying to do with my PI character): A good mystery doesn’t just show how the detective works on the case, but how the case works on the detective.

11:30 Lunch

Knowing we couldn’t swing a dead cat and not hit an excellent restaurant, The Beloved Spouse and I couldn’t resist going back to Clyde Cooper’s for fried chicken again, knowing they’d be closed by suppertime. I showed my willingness to experiment by getting dark meat this time.

1:00 The Mechanics of Writing Violent Fiction

The Penns River series is introducing some female cops, so getting a chance to hear Zoe Sharp and others on a panel about writing violence was not to be missed. I felt good that I’d already figured out some of what the panel had to say, though there were several things that had not occurred to me. To wit:

Zoe Sharp: The objective in a street fight is to finish as quickly as possible and protect your hands as much as possible. Your hands are vulnerable and you need them to drive, shoot, and just about everything else.

Jamie Freveletti: The safest thing to do is run. Remember, an untrained person is likely to lose the fight before they can figure out how to use the available weapons.

Taylor Stevens: Use as few words as possible so the reader can create their own movie.

John Billheimer: If you need to crash a small plane, aim between two trees. That slows you down and will leave the fuel behind when the wings come off. (Not that I can imagine ever needing to use that, but it was cool to hear him tell the story.)

2:30 Over the Border: The Canadian Crime and Mystery World

This panel marked the completion of the John McFetridge Hat Trick, as he participated as a volunteer, a moderator, and, finally, as a panelist, all in the same Bouchercon. Specific to this panel, John noted his topics are becoming darker as he does more period research. Not because he’s more interested in the darkness. He’s more interested in the reality.

The fact that Canadian crime fiction is such a relatively recent phenomenon is not for lack of crime or corruption in Canada until recently. Montreal whorehouses used to have two doors, one of which opened onto nothing but a brick wall. That’s the one the police boarded up when they had to make a raid because they were compelled to “do something.” Oh, Canada.

4:00 The Facets of “Character” That Remain in a Reader’s Psyche

An excellent panel with potential to have been extraordinary, with one tweak. The moderator was Alifair Burke, a former prosecutor. The panelists included Allison Leotta (another prosecutor), David Swinson (a cop), David Putnam (another cop), and Heather Graham (written more books than most people have read). The exchanges were informative and entertaining and everyone more than justified their place and made their character chops evident, but I couldn’t help but shake the idea that if Heather had been moderator there would have been a panel with two cops and two prosecutors, perfect for talking about how those two branches of law enforcement actually work together. Maybe next year.

Speaking of how law enforcement actually works (as opposed to how we see it on television), David Swinson pointed out cops are always looking for something they have in common with a suspect so they’ll have something to talk about with him. Getting them talking—about anything—is the key.

Dinner

Eight of us convened at the Mecca Restaurant for a last shot at a genuine Southern-cooked meal and were not disappointed. Even better than the food was the company: The Beloved Spouse, Peter Rozovsky, Jacques Filippi, Rich Goodfellow, J.D. Rhoades, Terrence McCauley and his lovely wife Rita. (Don’t be fooled by Terrence’s looks. He’s not an asshole. And that officially retires that gag.) Food and company of such high caliber even The Beloved Spouse was enticed back to the Marriott bar for a while. Unfortunately, I hit the wall at midnight, almost literally in the middle of a sentence with John Shepphird. I had to excuse myself and wandered back through the Marriott lobby, past scads off people I knew and wished I had more time to spend with, but completely worn out. I was asleep before the pillow was warm.

Next time, Sunday and parting thoughts.

Bouchercon 2015: Day Two

Continuing on with my key Bouchercon experiences…

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9

8:30 Matching Antagonist to Protagonist in Crime Fiction

Rhys Bowen had the best takeaway line from this panel: “A noble person may be called upon to do ignoble things.” Not that nothing else noteworthy was said. It was 8:30 in the morning after the first full-blown bar night at Bouchercon. Lots of good things got said. It’s my notes that aren’t worthy.

10:00 Real Police: Tactics and Guns

I wasn’t sure about this panel until after my own, where Jim was so entertaining as the moderator I figured this had to be a good time. Even though I can ask anything I want of  several friends who are or were cops, it also occurred to me that Jim would present things I wouldn’t likely think of to ask. I was not disappointed on either count. A few key tips all crime writers—and some civilians—would do well to remember:

A person who drinks Gatorade in the morning is an experienced drinker.

More cops are off duty from back injuries caused by service belts than from criminal assaults.

Cops may carry their weapons in various places, but each cop always keeps his in the same place.

The most effective use of a shotgun is pumping the slide. Everyone knows what that sound is.

When a cop says to drop the gun, he means to drop it before he can pull the trigger. Do not lay it on the ground. Drop it whenever you are.

If a subject draws a gun, step to the side.

Two cops at a door, the partner stands 4 – 5 feet to the side, even if that means he can’t see. If the cop at the door feels uneasy, he’ll move his arm to brush against the gun. This reassures him and tells his partner something is up. If the cop at the door places his hand on his gun, the partner draws.

Time and distance are your friends.

Subjects will often think you’re behind cover when you’re only concealed. Jim told a story of a cop who held a newspaper in front of his face and the guy didn’t shoot.

Best use of a baton is to hit the subject between the knee and the ass. The shock wave may put him down for you. To get him to drop something, hit him just below the elbow and the hand will open.

Bullets may hit the target but he’ll show no immediate signs. This is why cops keep shooting. They either think they missed, or saw no effect.

There was more—a lot more—but get your own ass out of bed once in a while to get the good stuff. What am I, your research assistant? (Speaking of research, Jim served as Elmore Leonard’s weapons expert for 20 years.)

1:00 Bloody Foreigners

Another good panel, but everyone talked funny so I didn’t get notes that were as good as I’d have liked. The one that stuck in my mind came from moderator John McFetridge, who had a friend who said he’d never go to a movie that advertised as having something for everyone. Said he figured he’d have to sit through 80 minutes for everyone else to see the ten minutes for him.

2:30 Bangs and Booms

What red-blooded American boy can resist listening to John Gilstrap talk about blowing shit up? Funny and entertaining as always, John also had some sobering laws of physics we would all do well to remember, such as:

The overpressure from an explosion can be as dangerous as the shrapnel. Five psi can knock down a concrete block building, then the rarefaction wave tears things up.

Dynamite has been changed so it doesn’t sweat anymore. The sweat was nitroglycerine leaching out from the binders. It would crystallize and become extremely unstable. (Western writers are still okay using that old trick, but it won’t fly in a contemporary story.)

Threaded containers are a risk for unintended detonation. (Which can definitely come in handy when a plot twist is needed. No pun intended.)

4:00 Beyond The Wire, Bosch, and True Detective: TV Crime Evolves

Good, but could have been better. Lee Goldberg knows his stuff, but this could have been a better panel had he been a panelist and not the moderator, as he probably talked as much as all the panelists combined. Not that he wasn’t interesting and entertaining, but Megan Abbott, Christa Faust, Allison Gaylin, and Tim O’Mara ain’t chopped liver, either.

Best lines:

Megan Abbott: Noir is characters forced to act on their compulsions.

Network execs are looking for stories that have never been told before that they can tell as they have always been told.

Christa Faust on whether TV or books inspire violence: If you don’t like what you see in the mirror, don’t blame the mirror.

Lee Goldberg: A Netflix study showed viewers will give a show three episodes before deciding whether they like it or not.

Tim O’Mara had the Line of the Conference. When Lee mentioned “first-rate novelists” on the panel and stopped after Megan and Allison, Tim, seated next to Allison, said, “Lee, I’m sitting right here.” Broke up the whole room.

7:00 Private Eye Writers of America Banquet / Shamus Awards

As always, the PWA banquet was great fun. It’s a close-knit yet loose confederation of like-minded writers who get together to tell stories and celebrate what is, when done right, the highest form of crime fiction. (Think about it: When discussing the greatest crime fiction writers, whose names come up most often? Hammett, Chandler, Ross Macdonald, John D. MacDonald, Mickey Spillane, Robert B. Parker, Robert Crais, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos. What do they all have in common? They’re best known—or were first known—for writing PI fiction. Face it, Travis McGee was a PI.)

Many thanks to Bob Randisi and David Housewright for a great evening, and hearty congratulations to all the Shamus winners and nominees. I’ll leave this edition of my Bouchercon memories with the best comeback, from Sam Wiebe, author of the Shamus-nominated Last of the Independents. When last year’s winner of the best Indie PI story—the award for which I was nominated, but lost—stood to announce this year’s winner, I whispered to Sam, “I hear she slept with everyone on the panel to win the award.” (No I didn’t, and I’m sure she didn’t, but this is the kind of things bitter losers say after too many sweet teas.)

Sam looked at me and said, straight-faced, “Didn’t you?”

This is why I hang around PI writers.

Next time: Saturday.

Bouchercon 2015: Day One

(Editor’s note: There are no photographs of the dignitaries mentioned in this and subsequent Bouchercon-related posts. Between Witness Protection and wanted posters, many of those described are leery of any attempt to distribute their likeness.)

The Raleigh Bouchercon is over. For me, it was the best of the half dozen I’ve attended. I know more people now, so the ice breaking issues that made my first couple awkward are past. I also bring The Beloved Spouse with me, and she’ll talk to an aardvark. A lot went on those four days, and I could only be one place at a time, so let’s get to my personal highlights.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8

Here’s how author speed dating works: authors are paired up and spend six minutes at each of 15 tables over the course of an hour and a half, talking to anywhere from one to six people at each table. (The numbers were lower than expected due to bad weather south of Raleigh, and, just possibly, people realizing it was eight o’clock in the goddamn morning.) Given the rate things moved, it was more like an author drive-by. Speed dating implies two-way communication. A drive-by is more unidirectional.

They paired me with Ed Aymar, which was good. (For me, at least.) I know and like Ed, so I was comfortable. He’s also drop-dead funny. He handed out goody bags to our readers that contained sunglasses (so you can look cool while you read his book), temporary tattoos (so you can look tough while you read his book), a mask (so you can do some of the crimes described in his book), and a paddle ball (so you can take a break). Also included, a pen that lit up and flashed, which he guaranteed to produce seizures inside of 30 seconds.

Was it worth it? It was fun, though exhausting. I did sell one book for sure because of it. On the other hand, a woman who was in my last group asked me for directions 15 minutes later and had no idea who I was. Probably too much drinking from the fire hose for everyone.

11:30 True Criminals / True Detectives

One researcher claims women read true crime to put themselves in the victim’s place in the hope of recognizing things to be aware of. Some apparently use things learned there to get out of bad situations.

Carla Norton gives rides to hitchhikers, along with copies of her book The Perfect Victim as a caution.

If a person “confesses” to a clergyman in a non-confessional setting—say a place where they could be overheard—that if not a privileged conversation.

1:00 Just the Facts: The Police Procedural

My favorite panel of the weekend, though my impartiality is questionable because I was on it. Jim Born did a great job of keeping things entertaining and moving, while panelists Colin Campbell, Stephanie Gayle, and Larry Kelter did yeomen’s work in carrying me. I’d learned to seek out Colin’s panels because he’s always fun, so it was a treat to get to sit next to him. Jim Born was a revelation. Funny, and someone it’s about impossible to feel uneasy around. (Unless maybe you’re a crook.) That’s not to take anything away from Stephanie and Larry, who were more than up to the challenge.

I was brought back to earth in the signing room, where alphabetical order put me next to Michael Koryta. I signed one book while he signed at least 50. The Beloved Spouse worked hard to photograph me from the opposite side of Michael’s line, so it looks like those people were there to see me. The she crossed over when things calmed down and took a few shots to make it appear I’m sitting there chatting with my close personal friend Michael Koryta. The good news from that arrangement was getting to talk with him a bit, and finding out he’s writing PI stories again.

2:30 Beyond Hammett, Chandler, Macdonald, and Spillane

This was a Peter Rozovsky panel. He’s the best moderator there is, so the organizers gave him a sow’s ear of a panel from which to make a silk purse: Jordan Foster, Laura Lippmann, Kevin Burton Smith, and Sarah Weinman. (Imagine what he could do with a worthy panel.) Each discussed a favorite author the general public may not be aware of.

Laura Lippmann’s description of Dare Me may have summed up why I am the only person who read the book and didn’t like it: these are things girls do that boys have no concept of. She also described Chandler as a “mean boy,” for how he talked behind people’s backs, and was overly critical of his closest competitors. (Much as I love Chandler’s writing, the more I learn about him as a person, the more I agree with her evaluation.)

Sarah Weinman explained how often writers fall off the radar because the heirs either can’t be found, or they can’t agree among themselves about how to handle the rights.

Neither The Beloved Spouse nor I had eaten all day, so we wandered off early and found Clyde Cooper’s on Wilmington Street, not three blocks from the hotel. Best fired chicken I can remember eating, and without question the best hush puppies. Well worth a trip if you’re in Raleigh and hungry.

After that it was off to Common 414 for Noir at the Bar. Eryk Pruitt put this one together, and he did himself proud. The venue was perfect, the crowd was as raucous as was necessary and no more, and the readings were dead on. The only people who didn’t have a good time were those who weren’t there. I hate to single anyone out—everyone was worthy—but, looking back several days, Eric Beetner, Jedidiah Ayres, and Johnny Shaw stood out among even this cast of luminaries.

After that it was off to the Marriott bar. Recollections are hazy, though one sticks out. Heartfelt thanks to the den mother of crime writers, Michelle Turlock Isler, for introducing me to Eric Campbell. I asked her if that was him, she said why, I said I’m supposed to find him and now I know what he looks like, and she grabbed my arm and drug me over to meet him right now.

(Come back Monday for more.)