WHAT DID WE DO IN BALTIMORE?

Kaye Barley on Bouchercon:
"Who’s that standing next to me? Not even 2 feet away. Nuh uh, it cannot be. My mouth dropped open and I looked at Sandra and she just nodded. Knowing that this was not an opportunity I’d likely have again I bucked up my courage and with legs shaking, walked over and asked if I could introduce myself and when I did, Mr. Lee Child said, “Kaye Barley. Nice to meet you. Actually, I’ve heard your name.”
from Meanderings and Muses

So were you there? With the legendary Kaye Barley? Here we are: At Bouchercon. In Baltimore. Where, as one convention attendee put it, they get 2000 introverts all of whom would rather be reading mysteries and thrillers or writing them, and make them all talk to each other.

We also got to sell books!

Wine helps. (Although Mom always told me never to have my photo taken holding a drink, so you'll never see that.) Caryn, is this a picture of you? My first Bouchercon signing...thanks!

Here's Lee Lofland (get well soon, Lee!) and Lucienne Diver, agent extraordinaire-turned-writer who's new book VAMPED has a pretty hilarious cover.

My sisters on Jungle Red Writers..together in a photo for the first time!

We did a panel together called "Do You Want to Know a Secret--What I Wish I had Known Before Writing My Novel."

And look: people came! Here's the audience. And they were terrific.

We had a great time. And told lots of secrets.

Here's another panel--Bouchercon organizers (congratulations on a great convention, by the way!) asked me to discuss the influence of Sherlock Holmes on my mystery novels. OOOOkay. But then--it turned out Arthur Conan Doyle's methods did influence me, quite a bit. And we can talk more about that later. But here's the panel..

You can see Laurie King (amazing and I was so honored to be next to her!) and then me, all happy, and then Steve Hecox, a wonderful Holmes scholar and teacher.

Others on the panel were moderator Sophie Hannah, whose idea it was. She's smart and lovely. I snagged a copy of her newest book, Little Face, and can't wait to read it.

Here's Sophie.

And Peter Blau, a Sherlockian who absolutely knows everything Holmesian. And he gave me terrific idea for Drive Time. Thanks, Peter!

Here's an event that wasn't on the schedule: When I came out of my hotel, and crossed the bridge to the convention hotel, I saw hundreds of people milling outside. And I figured they couldn't all be smokers. What was going on?

So see the person looking over the edge? I tapped her on the shoulder and asked what was going on. She turned, and told me the fire alarms had all gone off! So everyone scrambled (as quickly as people do when it's 8:30 in the morning and the coffee hasn't kicked in) and headed for the exits.

But what was more interesting than the fire drill was her name tag. Look who she is: Frances Neagley. Ring a bell?

Anyone? Know who she is..in fiction?