Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Post Malice Domestic

Last week I wrote about the fun I'd had the weekend before at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.  Today, I'm writing about how much fun I had last weekend at Malice Domestic! 

Malice is a conference focusing on cozy mysteries, and it's for authors and readers.  I've been attending annually for a while and always enjoy it.  This year was no exception.  I got to see some long-time friends and make new ones as well.

At registration we received a Malice Domestic tote bag as always.  It contains the conference's program and some other items such as magazines and books--quite a few books from other attending authors.  And I was delighted to hear from other attendees that they received copies of BAD TO THE BONE, my third Barkery & Biscuits Mystery, which is a May release--although it was a few days before its official lay-down date.
 
When I arrived I was on the waiting list for the event called "Malice Go Round" in which readers sit at tables and pairs of authors go through the circuit to meet them, sitting with them and talking about their latest books for two minutes--and rarely a moment more!  It's always fun and I was hoping to be chosen to participate--and I was.  In fact, I was the last one on the waiting list who got chosen.

On Saturday I was on a panel called The "Paws" that Detect: Animal Companions.  Yes, another panel focusing on cozies with a pet theme and I enjoyed this one, too.  There was a book signing afterward and I met some more of my readers--always fun!

There are lots of meals at Malice with other attendees.  The main official ones I attended were the Sisters in Crime breakfast, as well as the Agatha Awards dinner.  I also had a lunch with my wonderful Midnight Ink editor and other authors.

And, yes, I attended some panels as well to hear how other people do what they do with cozies.

Plus, I visited the local Barnes & Noble.  It had a couple of copies of BAD TO THE BONE early, too!  I signed them and they were put on the Customer Service desk for people to see and buy.  That felt bittersweet since that B&N is going to close in a few months, as so many, unfortunately, have been doing.  Sigh.

Still, the conference was a lot of fun.  Will I do it again next year?  Probably.  It will be in a different hotel which is probably a good thing.  This year's, which has been the host hotel for a while, is undergoing a renovation and was a bit difficult to navigate.  The area where it's located is okay, but from what I heard next year's will have a lot more around it, too. 


So perhaps next year you'll hear another Malice retrospective from me!

3 comments:

Betty Hechtman said...

Glad Malice was a good experience. So, they're moving hotels. The good thing about the Hyatt was the subway station was right underneath. The bad thing was it was far from both airports. Too bad about that Barnes & Noble closing. I signed books there a number of times. And just when it was on the news that e-book sales are down and paperbacks sales are up.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I heard that about ebooks and print books too, and although I do like ebooks I was really pleased to hear about the resurgence of print books. That's still how I prefer to read.

Joanna Campbell Slan said...

Hey, Ladies,

I hope Malice changes hotels. The Hyatt never has enough servers. The fact the conference is spread out over several levels makes it hard to mingle.

It was great to see you, Linda, but we seemed to always be passing each other in the halls.