Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Left Coast Crime OR Chile Con Carnage

I love my t-shirt from LCC! I loved being there, too. If you've seen pictures posted by other attendees that include me, you'll see a big, silly grin on my face. I couldn't get over the fabulous feeling that I was at a mystery confab as a legitimate mystery book writer for the first time.
(The mighty Agamemnon likes the t-shirt too.)

I know, I've been a published short story writer for a few years, as others have pointed out, and even got an Agatha nomination last year for a story dear to my heart. But a "book" writer is a different person. Some people envy those of us who don't have as hard a time with a short story as we do with a novel, but, believe me, we short writers envy the long ones just as much!

This gathering was in Santa Fe, in the Land of Enchantment, and took place in the historic La Fonda Hotel. My family has vacationed in Santa Fe often, and we've eaten at La Fonda (back when the central restaurant was outdoors), and I've envied those who could afford to stay there (our family usually camped on vacation with all the kids), but this was my opportunity to get all the way inside the place. And I love it!

From the auction (where someone bought my basket!) 


to the panels (where people laughed, and came up afterward and said they liked them), 





to the Guppy lunch (what a great gang!)









to the banquet (where I bravely hosted a table and people signed up and sat with me)--it was all amazing.

I didn't get the names of two of my table mates and I'd like very much for them to email me! Here I am with Gigi Pandian.









Below, Gigi again and Michael Dymmoch (who took half these pictures)//(don't know the names of 2) & Pat Gulley


Pat and her friend again, and Jeanne Munn Bracken form DL (who brought me a DL pin)



Cae and Billie from Killeen TX//and  the other gal I don't know













I'm seriously thinking about doing LCC in Sacramento next year.

8 comments:

  1. Wow! I bet Julius* didn't get a T-shirt. But he didn't write a mystery, either.

    *Reference to your statement elsewhere.

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  2. Oh, THAT Julius. He might have gotten a toga, but no, no T-shirt. (Are you supposed to cap the T?)

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  3. When we hotel/motel it, my hubbie is all for budget and I'm all for comfort. In Santa Fe I only had to please me so I stayed at the hotel. It added fun to the conference, wasn't it? I have no idea how many times I got lost in the halls.

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  4. I had a proud moment, Marilynne, when I was able to tell someone how to get to La Terazza (Terraza?). I can't spell it, but I know where it is.

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  5. It was great seeing you at LCC. Thanks for posting on it again. As far as I am concerned, you can post on it every day. It was the best conference of any sort I've ever attended, and I hated to see it end. I guess Sacramento is nice, but I wish LCC could make Santa Fe its permanent home.

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  6. You DO have a special reason for liking 2011, Mike. ;) Thanks for posting here and Congratulations on the Lefty!

    That would be fun, though. Maybe I'd learn the layout of La Fonda in three or four more years. :)

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  7. Hi Kaye,
    The two to my right in that picture are friends of mine. Sally Cadigan and Barbara Filho.
    Great table, lots of fun.
    Patg

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  8. Oh good! Which one is Sally and which is Barbara?

    If I ever do this again, I'll know to get lots of chat in BEFORE the meal starts because there's no time later!

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