Monday, April 2, 2012

Highlights from Left Coast Crime

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers
This blog was founded after a group of us met at Left Coast Crime last year in Santa Fe, and three of us made it to LCC again this year in Sacramento.

It was a terrific conference with guests of honor such as John Lescroart, whom I was lucky enough to meet when I moderated a panel about Writing the Criminal Mind. (William Kent Krueger, Rick Reed, and Denise Hamilton were also panelists.) Rick Reed told harrowing stories about encounters with criminals, including a serial killer, and John Lescroart expanded on his belief that the best way to reveal the criminal mind is through dialogue.

I also participated as a panelist for the subject: Writing Is a Real Job. Simon Wood, a top-ranked Amazon author, moderated. The panel included a ghost writer, an author who also runs a small publishing company, and a screenwriter/novelist—giving the audience a wide view of how various writers make a living.

One of the most interesting panels I attended discussed the new age of movie-making, and how inexpensive and easy it is now to create a high-production-value film, then expose it to potentially millions of viewers through You Tube.

Then there was the Men of Mystery panel, in which we heard from more than a dozen authors, many of them quite humorous. The moderators also entertained us with video clips—writers heads digitally imposed on dancers of all types, including Chippendales. Hysterical! Wish I had a good photo of it.

And I had a blast hanging out with other CFC bloggers, Gayle Carline and Marlyn Beebe (who read and reviewed many of the award-nominated books). As well as good friends Teresa Burrell, Terry Shames, Susan Shea, Terry Odell, Simon Wood—and I could go on and on. The best thing about these conferences is the opportunity to talk shop with others who love this business as much as I do.

9 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your panels, L.J. Another highlight was the Sex in Mystery Panel. I was there with Allison Brennan, Deborah Coonts, and Denise Hamilton. We had a blast (and the champagne didn't hurt, either ... tongues were loosened).

    Another topic of discussion (regardless of the panel, it seemed) ended up being a discussion of e-publishing. I know there are a bunch of Amazon Select advocates in this group, but I shared some news about the Nook First program (which isn't the equivalent, rather a different approach). I've shared those findings at my blog today.

    It was wonderful seeing so many friends and meeting the real life versions of cyberfriends

    Terry
    Terry's Place
    Romance with a Twist--of Mystery

    ReplyDelete
  2. It sounds like a wonderful conference. Congratulations to Maryln who had a hand in making it happen.

    Were there a lot of readers there?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I missed it, so I enjoyed your comments. Maybe next year I can attend.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like you had a blast, LJ! Wish I'd been able to make it again this year. I'll certainly try for next year! I love writers' conferences. Am off to Tallahassee in May to attend some workshops by Jessica Page Morrell and others.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow! It will take me a few days to recover from it, but it was so much fun and so educating.

    I enjoyed all the panels I made it to between solving problems, and it was great to see some old friends and meet new ones (like Gayle -- still can't believe we'd never met before!).

    Thank you all so much for your wonderful feedback!

    ReplyDelete
  6. BTW, I hope to post some thoughts and photos tomorrow on Stuff and Nonsense.
    Thanks for covering for me today, LJ!

    ReplyDelete
  7. So where's next year's LCC conference going to be held? I want to make sure I make it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jodie, the conference next year is in Colorado Springs! I just registered!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I really wish I could have gone this time, but unfortunately, life got in the way. Last year in Santa Fe was one of my most memorable because I made so many great new friends, including my buddies here on CFC. Hopefully next year I won't miss out again.

    So glad you were able to take it all in and report back to those of us who missed out.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.