March 30 – The next-to-last panel I attended on Saturday was The Great Outdoors, consisting of Dave Butler (moderator), Ellie Alexander, Christine Carbo, Owen Laukkanen, and Margaret Mizushima (left to right in photo above). The conversation centered on the role the great outdoors plays in our novels, how real-life outdoor …
March 30 – Following Ingrid Thoft’s excellent interview with American Guest of Honour C.J. Box, there was an emotional presentation to remember this year’s Lifetime Achievement Honouree, Sue Grafton, who passed away in December 2017. In addition to Toastmaster Cathy Ace and several other speakers, Jamie Clark, Sue’s daughter, spoke …
March 30 – This panel, Crafting Twists & Reveals, revealed not only how different authors weave twists and reveals into their writing but also how their writing processes work. A great deal of information was provided and it was interesting to hear and compare my “process” to those of other …
March 30 – The first session on Saturday was Managing Your First Year as an Author. Panelists were Gordon Warnock (moderator), Robert Gussin, Carl Vonderau, Dana Killion, and Terri Bischoff. All provided observations about getting your book published. The panel represents authors and publishers with self-publishing and/or traditional publishing experience. …
March 29 – The last panel today, Burning Love: The Sex Panel, played to a full house…as you might expect. Panelists included Holly West (moderator), Lou Berney, Rhys Bowen, James Ziskin, and Lori Rader-Day. The questions focused on whether sex scenes are needed in books, writing fight scenes, writing implied …
March 29 – The third panel today, Unique Protagonists, continues the progression on the craft of writing. The panelists were Dharma Kelleher (moderator), Susanna Calkins, Shaun Harris, D.R. Ransdell, and Helen Smith. Each author introduced their unique protagonist, creating three-dimensional characters, and bringing their character to life. Any mistakes are …
March 29 – It seemed fitting to follow a panel of thriller writers with a panel about Writing Villains. The panel members were Bharti Kirchner (moderator), Hilary Davidson, Meg Gardiner, David Housewright, and Kim Moritsugu. Questions focused on the villain as a bad guy or as a sometimes “good” bad …
March 29 – Today’s second session was The Thriller Panel, consisting of Eileen Rendahl (moderator), Mike Befeler, Puja Guha, Glen Erik Hamilton, and S.J. Rozan (from left to right above). Questions focused on story setting, character vs. plot and which comes first, taking liberties with the intersection of fact and …
March 29 – It occurred to me this morning that I should pick up the pace on these Left Coast Crime posts, or I will still be writing when next year’s conference in San Diego begins. I’ll see what I can do. This is the report on Friday’s first panel, …
March 28 – I continued to focus on the craft of writing by attending the session titled Creating Three-Dimensional Characters, the final panel for today. The panelists were Priscilla Paton (moderator), J.D. Allen, David Corbett, Sherry Harris, and C.J. Verburg. The questions focused on the character development process, the creation …
