Do you know any good hangover cures? I don’t, so I’m afraid I’ve spent my time since Wednesday night just trying to maintain consistency if not strictly optimal operational equilibrium. I’ve been up till three a.m. or later and out the door again by eight or nine the very same morning to throw myself into the midst of all the Bouchercon action I could.
Did you go? Did you vote?
Big congratulations to all the Anthony Award winners, (who were announced at Sunday’s closing brunch) Best Novel - Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny, Best First Novel - The Damage Done by Hilary Davidson, Best Paperback Original - Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski, Best Short Story - "Swing Shift" by Dana Cameron (from Crimes by Moonlight), Best Graphic Novel - The Chill by Jason Starr, Best Critical Non-Fiction - Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks by John Curran, and Best Web Site/Blog - Stop, You’re Killing Me! edited by Stan Ulrich and Lucinda Surber.
Were you there for the panels? The bowling? The author signings?
Without a doubt, my favorite part of events like Bouchercon is rubbing elbows with a community that exists most of the year only in the ether. The Crimedogs of the internet who publish fiction and blogs and journals that speak to, challenge and inform my own tastes and sensibilities were represented strong this weekend. One of the leaders in my community are those fearless taste-makers from the Crime Factory electronic journal and it was a thrill to finally put my hands on their brand new anthology - Crime Factory. Anybody who knows the Factory workers knows that they know their stuff, speak their mind and make no apologies. If you’re not familiar, go browse the essays, reviews, interviews and the Nerd of Noir’s double-feature film pieces – which I always read - then you can get excited about their very first fiction collection edited by Keith Rawson, Cameron Ashley and Jimmy Callaway. The hungry ones bring it right alongside favorites like Dennis Tafoya, Roger Smith, Ken Bruen, Charlie Stella, Adrian McKinty and Scott Wolven.
Jedidiah Ayres writes fiction and keeps the blog Hardboiled Wonderland.
