Because the annual Malice Domestic convention is our "local" convention in the D.C. area, I thought I'd drop by and check out some of the panels and festivities this year. Although many writers of "traditional mysteries" decry the term "cozy" (which has almost come to be synonymous with an expletive to some critics), you definitely know you're not at Thriller Con by the presence of women in the audience knitting and crocheting during the presentations, not to mention the variety of ceramic teapots and quilts offered as part of the silent auction which benefits the worthy John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents. There was also a box set aside for donations to the Books for Soldiers organization—to read more about that group and to participate, check out their web site.
The first panel I attended was "CSI: Malice," where once again the consensus was that the "CSI Effect" of television is having an impact on everyone in the law enforcement community, including crime fiction writers. CJ Lyons (see on the far right in the picture above), a pediatric physician who has assisted police and prosecutors, summarized it best by saying, since most of what really happens in forensics is very careful and methodical (and slow), the trick is to trim away all the "boring stuff," and leave in the gist of the technical details. (Others on the panel included Barbara D'Amato, Lois Greiman, and Marcia Talley.)
"You're History!" was the title of another panel convened on the topic of historical mysteries. They were a lively bunch, especially Aileen Baron (in the middle, above), a retired near-Eastern archaeologist who writes mysteries set in the Middle East in World War II. She was asked if archaeologists have been asked to spy for their governments, and she answered with an unequivocal "yes," herself included, although the one example she gave of such a request (an excavation in Beiruit) she turned down. ("Are you crazy?" was her actual response, to which they replied, "But they won't shoot a woman!") There was quite a bit of discussion on how to get the details right when setting books in a different era, with Dana Cameron (who also writes archaeology mysteries) suggesting a good source is to read diaries and letters from the time period in which you're writing to get a true flavor of the culture—instead of what historians, with their various biases, have written. (The other panel members above were Sharan Newman, Cameron, Kahty Lynn Emerson, Kate Gallison, and Sally wright.)
There was also testosterone to balance all the estrogen, with a panel titled "Devious Devices" including Jack Cater (moderator), Michael Dymmoch (who, despite the name, is female), Chris Grabenstein, David Skibbins, and Andy Straka. The problem, all agreed, was how to throw in enough red herrings to keep the book from becoming a "wall tosser" (the perjorative term for a book that readers think is ridiculously easy to guess) but not make it so difficult it needs the intervention of a Deus ex machina (in which an improbable character, device, or event is introduced suddenly to resolve or untangle the plot). Dymmoch is always surprised at how willing people are to tell her different ways to murder people. She gave the example of a toxicology conference she attended where one doctor-participant took her to lunch and proceeded to regale her with various ways to kill a victim via poisons. As far as finding new devices to employ, David Skibbins added that so many good mysteries have already been written, you have to think of something outside the realm of what's been done via quirky characters and new settings that will encourage new plots and devices—probably why he created a protagonist who is a retired member of the Weather Underground-turned Tarot Card reader. (One interesting side note: Skibbins' next novel will take suggestions from fans as each chapter progresses to help write the book. For more details, you can check his web site.)
The Agatha Award winners this year were A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (St. Martin's Minotaur) for Best Novel, Prime Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Harlequin), for Best First Novel, Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life In Letters by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley, (Penguin Press) for Best Non-Fiction, "A Rat's Tale" by Donna Andrews, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Sept/Oct, 2007, for Best Short Story, and A Light In The Cellar by Sarah Masters Buckey (American Girl), for Best Children's/Young Adult.
Malice is first and foremost a reader's convention, and the feeling one has is of a very large family reunion. It was also heartening to see good crowds at the book signings, although the largest line by far was for Julia Spencer-Fleming, whose latest in the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne series debuts in June. Malice attendees may very well some of the most devoted and prolific book-buyers on the planet, and that alone is enough to give you warm fuzzies, despite this menacing sign spied at the "Devious Devices" panel:
Malice Domestic 21 is scheduled for May 1-3, 2009, with Guest of Honor Nancy Pickard, Toastmaster Elaine Viets, and the Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented to Anne Perry.
Each psychic will use different styles and divination methods, according to their individual psychic gifts and divination preferences. The most popular divination tools are astrology, Tarot, numerology, palmistry, aura reading and channeling.
Posted by: Psychic cards | April 29, 2008 at 06:48 AM