Name Dropping

Writers’ conferences are one of those great places where you can meet people who you’ve only seen as names on book covers, or read about on the internet. You mingle with them at functions and get to talk to them one-on-one and ask them questions. Which they’ll answer! You’ll nod to them as you’re walking down the hall and wave to them from across the room. Here are some of my favorite examples from the last weekend:

- It was wonderful to meet the very Canadian Louise Penny and Vicky Delany at the Malice-Go-Round.

- Jacqueline Winspear is not only a great writer, but a gracious and lovely person.

- I spent Friday night at the bar with Bob Walker, Charles Benoit and Mary Dereske.

- I enjoyed telling Judy Clemens about Lorraine Bartlett’s dishwasher, mostly because I like her laugh.

- Julia Spencer-Fleming knows about Upstate New York

- Joyce and Jim Lavene were great hosts at our table during the Agatha Awards. They had great advice for newer writers and interesting insight into the publishing world as it is now.

- Jacky Sach was also at our table.

- I talked to Troy Cook about his book and the interest in making it into a film.

- I was proud to have voted for Toni Kelner on her Best Short Story win.

- Alexandra Sokoloff is just plain cool.