Malice Domestic Recap

Like Vicki, I attended Malice Domestic at the end of April. I've been back for over a week, but somehow it seems like it was only yesterday. I think this is the 4th Malice I've attended, the third as a published author. There's such a great sense of camaraderie there. A lot of Henery Press authors attend and it's a chance for me to meet face to face with my editors. All of us stay in touch throughout the year via email, Facebook, etc., but it's always nice to actually see each other. That's my favorite part of Malice, spending time with friends I haven't see in a while.

I'm in the center, surrounded by my wonderful editors Erin and Rachel

My next favorite part of the convention is the Agatha awards banquet. I'm really not great at small talk, but I've always had a fun time talking with the people at my banquet table. This year was especially great because several HP authors were nominated for Agathas. Cynthia Kuhn won for Best First and Art Taylor won for Best Short Story (this is his third win in this category.) I was seated at Cynthia's table, which erupted in shouts of joy when she won. Tears were flowing, people were jumping up and down in excitement. It was great to see. You might remember Cynthia from her recent guest post.

Agatha Award Winners Cynthia Kuhn and Art Taylor

This year fellow HP author Gretchen Archer and I explored the possibility that we might actually be related through my husband's family and her son-in-law's family. We're exchanging genealogy info and looking into the possibility. The jury's still out, but it's fun to entertain the possibility.

I enjoyed the panel I was on, "Murder and Crafts" with Mollie Cox Bryan, Peggy Ehrhart, Maggie Sefton, moderated by the wonderful Aimee Hix. We had a great time discussing how we incorporate our craft into our stories. Knitting needles used as weapons came up a lot in the discussion with the audience. And I mean a lot. And, just so you know, knitting needles are allowed on planes.

The Murder and Crafts Panel

Next year Malice will be at a new hotel, 3 Metro stops north of the one this year. We'll have to learn a whole new area of Bethesda, but we'll actually have a bar. That was one thing that was sorely missed at this conference. The lobby bar bit the dust in the hotel's renovations. Not that I drink much, but it was a convenient place to find people you were looking for.

Just one more convention for me this year. June will find me at the California Crime Writers Conference here in Southern California. I'll be moderating my first panel there, so if anyone has any helpful hints, I'll take 'em.