A Guest is a Gift from God

My friend Deborah Sharp writes the Mace Bauer "Mama" series. She and her husband Kerry Sanders, the NBC reporter, live in a charming Floridian home on a waterway in Fort Lauderdale. Deb asked me if I'd like to stay over at their house so I wouldn't have such a long drive to the Miami Book Festival on Saturday (Nov. 18)--and I eagerly said, "Yes!"

Now, Deb proclaims long and loud that she's not crafty, but believe me, she doth protest too much. She has a terrific eye for decorating--and that's very crafty in its own way. Her home showcases fascinating objects d'art that capture the essence of "old Florida."

In particular, she and Kerry love the art of the Highwaymen, a group of African-American painters whose name came from their sales method, driving up and down Highway I-95 and selling their paintings.

The Royal Poinciana tree is an iconic South Florida image, and a favorite subject of the Highwaymen.

Shoot, I was thrilled to get the invite just so I could nose around her house and neighborhood, which goes by the delightful name "Sailboat Bend." It's Fort Lauderdale's only Historically Registered neighborhood.

That's Deb's yacht. (Kidding!)

Friday night we walked to dinner, going past the impressive Broward Center for the Performing Arts and through the Riverfront area. I loved the walk, the company and the sights. Even though it was growing dark, I enjoyed seeing the local architecture, which is uniquely Floridian.

A typical Florida sunrise. How cool is this?

The next morning we were up at dawn. Then we drove into Miami for the Miami Book Festival.

Our host Jose, Bob Williamson our moderator, Deb Sharp and me. Deb loaned me one of "Mama's" boas so I would be appropriately dressed.

Our panel was fun, probably because we know and enjoy each other so much. I left right afterwards because I needed to get home to take care of my dogs.

I hope to go back and spend a day with Deb, poking around. I really enjoyed my visit to her home--and I loved learning about the Highwaymen.

What about you? Is there a friend whose house you enjoy visiting? A place you'd like to go back to? The Muslims have a saying: A guest is a gift from God. So I think that being welcomed into someone's home is the penultimate of graciousness. For Thanksgiving, we're having twenty people for dinner! Family is coming from all over, and then we'll also have friends that we've "adopted" as family. I think it's going to be a BLAST!

What are your plans?

A Halloween Invitation--and A Gift for One Lucky Commenter!

Skyler and Lexie at the Pumpkin Patch...sort of.

It takes a bit of getting used to, but here in Florida, a "pumpkin patch" is a concrete slab decorated with pumpkins. I grew up wandering muddy fields with dying vines and rotting orange globes. This is MUCH more sanitary--and a bit scary. Here's a photo of my drop-dead gorgeous niece Lexie and her 3-year-old son Skyler picking out the gourd to go ghoulish. As you might guess, Skyler is our own "pumpkin." We're having all sorts of fun watching him grow. He's going to be Spiderman for the big Spook Fest.

On Wednesday night, I'm lucky enough to escort Skyler to the Jupiter (FL) Community Center where they're having a Halloween event especially for kids his age. I'm so excited I can barely wait! I love Halloween! I'm dreaming of Snickers bars. Sigh.

In the spirits of the spirits, I'm giving a Halloween party ONLINE on my new Facebook fan page. From 9 p.m. to midnight (Eastern Time) on Halloween (Monday, October 31) join me at http://www.Facebook.com/JoannaCampbellSlan  Simply watch for my status updates and participate by reading the comments.

We have a great line up of guests. So far, we have commitments from Mollie Cox Bryan (Scrapbook of Secrets: A Cumberland Creek Mystery, coming February, 2012); Penny Warner (How to Party Like a Killer Vampire); Camille Minichino (Malice in Miniature); Sparkle Abbey (Pampered Pet Mysteries);  Julie Compton (Tell No Lies and Rescuing Olivia); Deb Sharp (Mama Sees Stars); and Linda O. Johnston (The More the Terrier). And since I've been slow about sending out the invites to my author pals, you can bet that list will grow. Most of the authors will offer copies of their latest books or ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) to give away.
I hate the fact that I need to move folks from my "old" personal FB page to a fan page, but...the times are a changing. Here's a great explanation of the advantages of a fan page.

Okay, so what would encourage you to come to my fan page? Hmmm? How can I bribe you to make the switch?

Speaking of bribes, we have a copy of A MISCELLANY OF MURDER: FROM HISTORY AND LITERATURE TO TRUE CRIME AND TELEVISION, A KILLER SELECTION OF TRIVIA to give away to one lucky commenter, thanks to one of the five co-authors, Stephen D. Rogers.

So come on, readers--tell me what you're thinking! One of you will randomly be selected to receive Stephen's new book.

The Psychic Predicts a Wonderful New Year

January 1, 2011


1-1-11 Seemed like an auspicious date, so my sister Jane suggested that we have a "New Year's Day Fortunetelling Party." We wound up with about 20 women and one very busy psychic, Karen. After proclaiming the energy in my office to be "good," Karen set up a table and two chairs, then opened her pack of Tarot cards.


I was her first client. Although I do believe there's more to heaven and earth than we know, I was also a bit skeptical. However, when Karen began with a "health" reading and asked me about the tingling in my hands, especially my right hand, I nearly fell off my chair. Yes, I'd been having a strange sensation, like my hand was falling "asleep." Yes, I chalked it up to overuse of my hands, scrubbing floors and painting. But Karen suggested I start yoga again and include daily stretches.


How did she know I was having trouble with my hands? Well, duh. She's PSYCHIC!!


I won't tell you my exact fortune, but I will say that 2011 should be a very good year for me.

Others took their turns, and they came away feeling refreshed and ready to face the year ahead.
Of course, no party would be complete without food. Boy, did we have a gracious plenty: turkey, ham, shrimp, dips, hashbrown casserole, baked beans, cheese dip, cherries, gingerbread cupcakes, herb dip, and a stunning cake featuring a Maneki Neko, the Japanese "lucky cat."

Cheryl, the cakemaker, formed the cat out of Rice Krispie treats, covered it in icing, and wow, isn't it neat?

The Lucky Cat sat on a Red Velvet cake (as shown at the top of this post), which we learned is a lucky cake to eat on New Year's Day. Seems like all the signs were aligned for this venture.

My sister also planned for a door prize. Jane had everyone write her name on a slip of paper. I drew one and my friend and sister Midnight Ink author Deb Sharp won a Maneki Neko cat. Deb was thrilled. See that happy grin?

Today Jane and I decided that the New Year's Day Fortunetelling Party will definitely be an annual event!

Back from Bouchercon 2009

Just got home a few hours ago from Bouchercon 2009 in Indianapolis. Wow. What a terrific five days.

Bouchercon is a fan conference named for Anthony Boucher, hence it's Boucher's Conference, see? This year, my pal Jim Huang, from The Mystery Company in Carmel, Indiana, was the person in charge. Jim's a ball of fire, a great resource for the entire book industry. He really put a lot of thought and effort into the event. It was my first Bouchercon, so maybe all the rest have been super, but...I don't know how you could top this.

Of course, it's always super to visit with my mystery writing pals from around the country. Below is a photo of me and Deb Sharp, whose book Mama Rides Shotgun was featured on the Today Show. Here's a link: http://www.deborahsharp.com/

We met before we were published mystery authors. I have to tell you, there's a special bond among those of us who met before publication. We were kind to each other then, so we're cheerleaders for each other now. And Deb's just the sweetest, smartest person. I think you can tell that from her eyes, right? Some of you will recall her post about doing research on a trail ride. She's promised that we can go on a ride together next time I'm down in Florida. Giddyup.



Below is a photo of the massive Book Bazaar, an idea floated by my friend Joe Konrath. (You gotta love a guy who comes up and says, "Give me some love," then presents his cheek for a kiss.) Joe reasoned that at many conferences, attendees get free books--but not necessarily the books they want to read. Instead, he suggested that at this conference, each attendee receive 5 tickets redeemable for books by participating authors. I went through 75 books in about an hour! That was a thrill for me! And I was able to autograph them for new readers, which made the event really special. Did I mention I was seated next to Alexandra Sokoloff? http://www.alexandrasokoloff.com/index2.html (We were alphabetically arranged. Lucky me!)

I think we're proof that naturally curly hair rocks! I can't wait to read her book The Harrowing. Perfect choice for Halloween, eh?

As you can see from the photo, the lobby of the Indianapolis Hyatt was a total mob scene of happy book-lovers exchanging red tickets for new reads. In fact, the event proved so popular that they ran out of red tickets (people could purchase more and the $$ went to charity), and the organizers were forced to be inventive. They used brown bits of yarn instead! How's that for crafty?

My "contribution" to Bouchercon was the idea that we have a Craft Room. More than 200 people participated, making dishclothes (Betty Hechtman), counted cross stitch bookmarks (Monica Ferris), and "flower"art ( Camille Minichino). Killer Hobbies sisters rock!

My project was a scrapbook page. My wonderful friends at EK Success donated more than $20 in craft supplies per person, as well as supplying that wonderful page design I posted earlier. Gosh, we had so much fun! And that was so very, very generous of EK Success.

My dear friend Jamie Freveletti showed up to learn to scrapbook. http://www.jamiefreveletti.com/

Guess what? She took to it like the proverbial duck to water. Yep, you guessed it: Jamie and I met before we were published. Proof positive that when you run with good peeps, good things happen to you.

The women in my Craft Room group were just the sweetest, most creative people I've met in a long while. I gave them the basics about our page, and they were off, running and having fun. Gosh, their variations on the page layout were amazing. See them at "work" below:

I was followed in the Craft Room by my new/old friend Cricket McRae, author of Lye in Wait. I say "new/old" because we've met as Midnight Ink authors online, but we'd never met "in the flesh." What a delightful, fun person Cricket is! We chatted for hours. Check out her beautiful website http://www.cricketmcrae.com/

Cricket's protagonist Sophie Mae sounds like all sorts of fun. I hope that Sophie and Kiki can get together some day and have an adventure! I mean, after all, our heroines can do anything, right? That's why they call it FICTION.

Here's to Bouchercon--the most fun I've had in a long, long time. It was a joy and a pleasure to "come back home again in Indiana." For a little girl from Vincennes, Indiana, the whole event was a fantasy come true! Imagine this: I'm all-grown up, traveling the world, and writing books. It just doesn't get any better than this.