Crimebake Wisdom!

by Hank Phillippi Ryan

You see me running, right? Rushing, panting ,collapsing, hands on knees, trying to catch my breath.

I'm just back from CrimeBake, the New England mystery festival sponsored by New England Sisters in Crime and New England MWA. (It's in New England, if you didn't figure that out.)

All kinds of wonderful things happened, as they always do at Crime Bake. Including Femme Toni and her husband winning the prize for "Partners in Crime" costume in their hilariously perfect outfits representing Mrs. Peacock and Mr. Boddy from Clue.

Jonathan and I won, too! For best dressed. We were Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. I'll post a photo soon...but think fur and tweeds for me; monocle, tux and and top hat for Jonathan. 

 Friend of Femmes Nikki Bonnanni won best in show for  a truly show-stoppping Lisbeth Salander get up..I'm sure photos will soon be everywhere.

However! It was not all about costumes. :-)  There were some marvelous panels--with top notch authors.  Here are some of the truly valuable things I heard:

Guest of Honor Nancy Pickard talking about all the secrets revealed by her characters in her novels--Nancy admits, when she's writing them, she doesn't know what they are until the characters reveal them to her.

Guest of Honor Barry Eisler remembered a waiter in a crowded restaurant on the Ile St. Louis..overworked, crazed, ovewhelmed. Barry said the waiter, working at top speed, kept muttering: "Just keep going, just keep going..." So now, when Barry's feeling that way, he just says to himself (probably in English) "Just keep going, just keep going.."

Barry also revealed that when he turned down a $500,000 advance from St. Martins (that was not a typo) it was scarier than anything he'd ever done in the CIA.

Michael Palmer revealed he still feels a huge relief when he gets an okay on his book proposal from his editor. He said "I'm so reassured I'll have something to do!" He's a New York Times best-selling author!

Peter Abrahams (who also writes the Spencer Quinn books) said "It's good in writing if you make it hard for yourself. Challenge yourself. Always pick the hard way."

Do you outline? someone asked Gerry Boyle. "Yes," he said. "Almost every day! But all the ideas are jettisoned as the books takes over..so be open to the book as you're writing. The books just--figure themselves out. Be especially ready and receptive when ideas seem to come out of nowhere."

Abrahams said: "Backstory should be folded in like truffles in a cream sauce--so the reader doesn't know its there." (Isn't that wonderful? I adore him.)

Boyle says he has a hard time writing descriptions of people--so, he said, "I just write really fast and hope that no one notices."

Next year, I wish you all could be there!

 If any of you attended--what wonderful things did you hear or see?

 

Comments

[Michael Selmer]

I didn't attend, but your summation of remarks made it feel like I was; thank you! I didn't see an easy way to contact your group. I am new author and my debut crime fiction novel will be released in early December. I'd like to send you information on the chance that you might consider a review.
Michael Selmer

[Michael Selmer]

PS - When I click "Subscribe to this blog's feed, I get a page full of HTML. Thought you might like to know.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Thanks, Michael! We don't do reviews, so that's that. But good luck with your book--very exciting! We hope you come hang out with us at the Femmes...lots of good info here!