Back home after my trip to Bouchercon in Raleigh, North
Carolina.
The journey there was something of an odyssey for reasons
too lengthy to report here, but which involved, among other things, having my
case removed from the plane before take-off and – wait for it – the
confiscation of my pedometer. Didn’t realise that it was a potential lethal
weapon. But twenty three hours after starting out, I finally made it. And I
have to say, the people in Raleigh - the airport staff, in the hotel,
restaurants and bars - are all exceptionally
friendly and helpful and that was true throughout my stay. And the weather was gorgeous – warm and sunny!
After a few hours’ sleep, on Wednesday morning I headed off to
the Sheraton and immediately bumped into Ali Karim, our tireless , tremendously
warm and welcoming Bouchercon programmer, who introduced me to, among others,
the lovely George Easter, editor of Deadly Pleasures http://www.deadlypleasures.com/news.html.
In the afternoon, I met up with my friend Nancy Bilyeau – we
had met online, but not in person. We went for an enjoyable dinner together
and chatted away as if we had known each other for years.
On Thursday I had my first panel, which I was moderating,
with Elly Griffiths and Susi Holliday, Anne Cleeland and Deborah Crombie
