This was
the 20th year of the LATFOB, and the fifth year at the USC campus. I've attended quite a few of the festivals over
the past years, including when it was held at the UCLA campus.
This year, I
attended both days, and my commute was easy since I live within easy driving
distance of Universal Studios and the LA Metro stop that's there. As a result, I took the subway and then
transferred to the train to the USC campus.
On
Saturday, I signed books at the Mysterious Galaxy bookstore booth which was
part of the mystery complex at the festival.
I was delighted that copies of my newest mystery, BITE THE BISCUIT, were
there even though its official publication date isn't until May 8.
Later that
day I helped to staff the Mystery Writers of America booth, where I told people
about the great organization MWA is.
I've been a member for a long time and really enjoy it.
In between,
I wandered around visiting lots of bookstore and other booths and grabbing
lunch and listening briefly to people speaking at some of the outdoor
stages. I didn't get tickets for any of
the indoor talks or panels this year, though.
And then I took the trains back home.
On Sunday,
I came early to make sure I arrived in advance of my 10 AM signing at the
Sisters in Crime booth. It's another
great organization and I also talked it up while additionally signing books
that were sold there by another wonderful independent bookstore, Mystery
Ink. And yes, I currently write for the
publisher Midnight Ink so I have to be careful when I talk about one or the
other to ensure I mention the right one!
Later, I
was a volunteer at another booth--the one representing two Romance Writers of
America chapters, Los Angeles and Orange County
That booth
was near one of the outside stages, and I was delighted that one of the speakers
while I was there was Candice Bergen!
I've enjoyed seeing her on TV in many shows for quite a while and had
just seen her that week in a role in Battle
Creek
So will I attend the LATFOB next year? I most certainly intend to!
Did you
attend any reading or writing events last weekend? Anything coming up?
2 comments:
I'm glad to hear your time at the Festival of Books worked out so well. You really covered a lot of bases.
I always find the Festival fun, Betty. I'm glad that this year one of the booths was about romances and that they're considering doing it again next year. But I've had many years where I enjoy just going from one mystery booth to the next!
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