Wednesday, October 1, 2008

I Love My Job

The Michaelmas Feast went well. To me, what makes a great party is the conversation. And we had some interesting opinions expressed, arguments (the good kind) made and defended, and some learning went on ("I didn’t know that!" said at least once an hour). The food was good, the wine better. Dessert was hot, home-made applesauce over a high-quality vanilla ice cream. Yum!

I find I’ve signed up for two big events in the spring. One is the Nashville Needlework Market, which formed the setting for my novel Crewel Yule – the one where an attendee is tossed over a railing twelve stories up at a thinly-disguised Embassy Suites Hotel. I am an associate member of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America which backs the Market, and it is a terrific place to see the newest fibers, fabrics, patterns and gadgets. Needlework shopowners buy wonderful things to bring home to their loyal customers. One thing they’ll be offered in 2009 will be autographed copies of Thai Die. Oh, and as Associate Member (I sort of own Crewel World, by virtue of writing about the fictional shop in my books), I get to buy things at wholesale. Next year I’ll bring a former shopowner along as my own "associate," and she will help me understand what I’m looking at and select the very best items to write about in a forthcoming book.

The other event is Malice Domestic, a mystery convention held in Arlington, VA, every spring – this year it’s May 1 – 3. I hope to be on a panel. A special panel, perhaps. When filling out the form for authors, they left a place to suggest a topic for a panel. So I suggested web logs – Blogs. As in Killer Hobbies. I noted that several of the people who contribute to Killer Hobbies plan to attend, so here might be a ready-formed panel. That’s the panel I’d really like to be on.

I’m back at work on Blackwork, having finished the short story, "It Slices, It Dices." That story takes such dead aim at a particular anthology that if it doesn’t make the cut, I don’t know where else I might sell it. I’m enjoying watching Blackwork unfold. I have to call the Medical Examiner to ask how a particular death might be described when all the victim did was stop breathing and so die of suffocation. Nothing suspicious about the death, except that people don’t usually stop breathing for no reason. I am reminded of what the ME told me a few years ago: "If anyone you know dies in a way remotely suspicious, I’m going to do a very thorough autopsy." Well, I wish him luck with this one, there is nothing to be found. And yet . . . it’s murder.

I love my job.

3 comments:

Betty Hechtman said...

I like hearing what you're up to. It's great that you can just call up the ME for info.

Camille Minichino said...

The ME's comment reminds me of people who swore they'd never accept a dinner invitation from Jessica Fletcher of Cabot Cove Maine!

I'm looking forward to Malice also and hope to be sitting next to a large, attractive hat.

countrygarden said...

your job sounds fantastic. the research sounds interesting and you have a great question for the ME. I need to get to the Nashville Needlework show too with my creations, but it is so far away for me, one of these days. Can't wait for the new book. that old cabin looks perfect