Left Coast Crime and Then Some

by Peg Brantley
Evocative Characters. Intriguing Crime. Compelling Stories.


I still haven't settled back to normal (whatever that is) since Left Coast Crime. After the conference in Monterey, my husband and I headed south on Highway 1, then looped inland from Ventura up to Sequoia National Park. We got home late Wednesday. Sillily, I thought I'd be back to my routine immediately.

Didn't happen. Hoping for tomorrow...

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy a couple of photo highlights. (We took around 600, so be happy I'm only posting 5!)

The Last Panel of LCC
With Donnell Bell, Warren Easley, Cathy Perkins and Terry Shames

A wonderful meetup with Sheila Lowe. Time flew!

They grow big pineapples in California!

At Sequoia National Park. The snow surprised us! We only saw  rain in the weather forecast. Oh! And we stayed in the same suite where George W. Bush stayed when the park reopened in 2001. Kinda cool.

They grow some big trees in California too!

Here's to the memories of a wonderful LCC in Monterey and a huge excited shout-out for LCC 2015 in Portland!

Left Coast Crime 2014

By Teresa Burrell

Author of The Advocate Series

March 20, 2014

Today is the first day of Left Coast Crime 2014, Calamari Crime, in Monterey, California. I love these conferences because the panels are so informative but mostly because I get to see friends who I have come to know over the past

seven years. Most of these people I see only once or twice a year so it is a real treat to catch up.

It’s especially fun to participate on panels. This year I’m on two and both are very unique. The first is on Thursday from 2:30 to 3:15. It’s called “The Truth and Nothing But: Law and Murder.” Our moderator is Daco Auffenorde and the other panelists are Susan Goldstein, Lynne Raimondo, and Robert Rotstein, all attorneys. We’ve decided to have a mock trial in which we will appear as our characters. I will be Sabre Orin Brown, but Susan Goldstein will appear as her character, Samantha Crowley, the defendant who is accused of killing her husband. We will also be dressed in character. It should be a lot of fun.

Then on Friday from 4:00 to 4:45 I have the pleasure of appearing with many of our own Crime Fiction Collective authors, Marlyn Beebe (Moderator), Peg Brantley, Gayle Carline, Andrew E. Kaufman, and L.J. Sellers. The title of our panel is “Lying for a Living: Crime Fiction Collective.” This will be a hoot. We plan to present in a format where we tell the truth with an occasional lie thrown in to see if the audience can tell the difference. Please stop in to see if you can tell when we are fabricating. You may even win a free book.

If you’ve never attended Left Coast Crime, you should. It’s a lot of fun, but more importantly I always learn something and I come home pumped and ready to write, write, write!

I hope to see you there.

Teresa Burrell

Author, Attorney, Advocate

Calamari Crime, here I come!

By Gayle Carline
Mystery Author and Excitable Gal

I'm going to Left Coast Crime next week! Come on, sing it with me - let's dance!






Actually, I don't know which is more exciting this year, the convention or the fact that it's in Monterey, one of my most favorite cities on the planet. If I ever wanted to pack up all my stuff and move anywhere, it would be someplace in the Monterey area.

)

I'd even live in Spreckels (population 673). Of course, I'd never really want to pack up and move anywhere. Sounds too much like work.

Not that the convention isn't going to be fun - it is. I'll be on two panels, one with my CFC buddies ("Lying for a Living"), and one about writing protagonists of a certain age ("Closer to Death: The Older Sleuth"). I admit, that last panel's name is disconcerting. Peri, my main character, is only 50, and yes, the further 50 appears in my rearview mirror, the more I say only.

I also volunteered to help out with a couple of panels. I get to clear away trash, provide water, and escort panelists to the signing area. If my impish side appears, who knows where I will lead these folks? It is Monterey, after all. I could take them right down to the bay...

Of course, it will be great fun to see all my pals again, as well as to meet new folks. This is my third LCC. What I'm finding with this convention, as well as with most of the recurring events I attend, is that I can't judge everything on the first year. I need to repeat the experience several times, to build a network of people I know. Then it stops being about whether I have a new book out and starts being about who can I talk to, brainstorm with, enjoy.

One of the more fun things I'm looking forward to doing is giving out a copy or two of my newest mystery. It's a standalone, featuring brand new characters and I hope to have a couple of ARCs to give away to some lucky reader. I really like this book, and although I don't see it as a series, one of my beta readers is dying for me to write at least one more.

"She was looking for a horse. What she found was romance. And danger.

Willie Adams is at the L.A. Equestrian Center shopping for her first horse. A young widow struggling with the idea of dating again, she never expected that a gorgeous trainer like Tyler Ransome would notice her. But he did.

He wasn’t the only one, either. Bobby Fermino is not as handsome, nor as pleasant. After attacking Willie he ends up dead in her tack room, leaving her the most likely suspect.

Willie has to convince Detective Lucas Macy that she’s innocent, but her physical attraction to him isn’t making the task easy.

With growing evidence pointing to her, and two famous actors drawing attention to the investigation, Willie decides to take the reins. She must find the murderer before they find her, but will she survive opening her heart to someone new?"

 

Anyone else going to LCC this year? Let me know and maybe we can meet up for coffee!