Tuesday, March 16, 2010

LA and then some

My excuse for being among the missing at the end of last week: I was at Left Coast Crime in Los Angeles, and I have photos to prove it!

Side trip: A few of us made a side trip to San Diego to the wonderful Mysterious Galaxy bookstore. Here we are: me, Penny Warner, Rhys Bowen, and Diana Orgain. Ann Parker was the photographer.



Killer Panel! I was so pleased to meet Betty and Linda and attend their great Cozy-up panel. Linda and Betty are the left and right bookends, respectively, in the photo.



Here's a photo of the auction item I contributed, a one-inch scale scene borrowed from the bathroom scene in The Godfather (if you have to ask, never mind!) Can you find the gun?




Panel: I was on a panel with Rita Lakin and Cynthia Riggs, with Mike Befeler as moderator. The title, which we all cringed at, was Geezer Lit. Ouch. We tried to emphasize the LIT part!



Some of us (ok, me) were a little annoyed at the emphasize on the age of our sleuths. Certainly Geraldine Porter, mid fifties, would balk at being called a geezer! More important, I hope the miniature mysteries that feature her as protagonist aren't about age, but about the mystery, the sleuth, and how she solves the crime. Maybe there should be a category for Bald Lit, or Thick Ankles Lit.

thoughts?

6 comments:

Betty Hechtman said...

Camille, I laughed at the idea of thick ankles lit. I personally don't like the term geezer for anything. It certainly isn't positive.

The panels at Left Coast are intereting. Last year I was on one called Hot Sex and Cold Blooded Murder - except none of us had any hot sex in our books, except Mike Befler.

I love your miniature bathroom scene. But then I love all of your miniatures that I've seen.

It was great to see you. Thanks for posting the photo of the cozy panel.

Allison said...

I don't care for the term "Geezer Lit" either - it's disrespectful. Can't they just say "Senior Sleuth", or maybe "Life-Experienced Sleuth". I'll be 45 next week (did I really just admit that?!), and I really enjoy the cozies featuring Seniors as the hero/heroine; they have more experiences to bring to their sleuthing. I've been reading your books for years (both series), and I like Rita Lakin's as well.

Love getting to see the room boxes you create!

Peggy said...

I agree - we geezers have a lot of life experience and knowledge to give to the world, and certainly make the best characters in mystery fiction (at least IMHO).

Can't find the gun!!!

Camille Minichino said...

Sorry, Peg -- maybe not fair since it's hard to see in this photo. The gun is in a plastic bag, half in, half out of the tank!

Betty, I can't believe the title of your panel last year!

And Allison, 45 should be in YA!

signlady217 said...

A really good friend turned 57 yesterday, and she is certainly not a "Geezer". Neither is my mom at 61. About the only thing that panel title did well(?) was it maybe got people's attention.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I don't especially mind the term "geezer lit", but I'm not sure at what age one becomes a geezer. We're all as young as we think and act, and that includes our characters!
It was great fun to meet you in person, Camille, and to see you again, Betty. Love the photos!