Bouchercon

I’m back from Bouchercon and pulling myself together. My editor revealed the release date for THE EDGE OF RUIN (April 27, 2010) and sent me a picture of the cover.

Bouchercon was wonderful, as always, maybe even better, thanks to the efforts of Jim Huang and his troops. The Hyatt was glorious. I could have gone up and down all day on the elevator.

My plan to get people to remember me and my book by sponsoring ice cream on Thursday afternoon hit a snag or two.

We started out with a bang, displaying a sign with the name of the book and cranking up the soft-serve ice cream machines. Famous writers turned up to volunteer to hand out the ice cream: Rosemary Harris, Beth Groundwater, Denise Dietz, and a host of others. Everybody wanted to do ice cream. Customers were lined up as far as the eye could see.

But the machines were uncooperative. First it was chocolate soup and vanilla nothin’, and then the fuse blew. The hungry had to be sent empty away.

Mortified, I retired to my room to listen to soothing music. After awhile I went back downstairs. While I was describing the failure of the ice cream gambit to my husband over the phone, a woman strolled by eating ice cream.

“Where did you get that?” I cried.

“They’re handing it out all over the conference,” she said. “Some writer paid for it.”

I rushed back to the hospitality area. Sure enough, the Bouchercon volunteers had somehow resuscitated the ice cream machines. Brenda Stewart was cruising the book room with a tray full of ice cream and my blue napkins that said Irene Fleming, The Edge of Ruin, Minotaur Books. People were getting the ice cream, spoiling their dinners, thinking kind thoughts, perhaps, about Irene Fleming. Or some writer. Some of them will still remember me when the book comes out. April 27, folks.

Note: The elevator music is from Yo-Yo Ma plays Ennio Morricone, an album available as an MP3 download on Amazon. You want this album. It’s great.