Bye-bye, B-con. As the Bay City Rollers (almost) sang.

by Catriona McPherson

(The Femmes Fatales once more welcome Catriona McPherson.  Catriona is the award-winning (since last Thursday – woo-hoo!) author of the Dandy Gilver series of 1920s Scottish mysteries.  She’s a recovering academic, a “blonde” with the hairdresser’s bills to prove it, and a fan of all crime fiction from the splatteriest thriller to the book (coming soon, I bet) where a cupcake actually solves a murder.)

As another Bouchercon dwindles to a dot in the rear-view mirror, and mystery and thriller writers all over America go back to typing in their jammies, I thought I’d take a look at what made Cleveland B-con the B-ee’s knees. (Note: click on any photo to see a full-sized version.)

Yes, the Rock and Roll Hall of fame was fantastic

and yes, I’d like to take all my journeys by trolleycar now

and yes, an ice-cream cart in the hospitality room was a nice touch

but of course the thing that made Cleveland  special was what made St Louis and San Francisco and every other year special too.

It’s all about the people, people.

And what people they are! Here are some of them: 

Val McDermid (center) and Twist Phelan (left).

Sparkle Abbey

Kelli Stanley

Clare O’Donohue

Already you begin to see the drawback of all these wonderful, kind, helpful types though: it’s impossible to take a picture of someone without someone else immediately offering to take one of you both, and then a third person offers to take one of you all and someone across the room says to them:  “No, no, you get in the photo.  I’ll take it.” And you end up with this. 

The woman with the dark hair tried to take a pic of the woman in the hat and it snowballed.  None of these people actually know each other.  (Just kidding: it’s Terri Bischoff of Midnight Ink and her authors, out for lunch.)

So please excuse the number of times my shiny face and coathanger-in-the-mouth smile appears, because here it is twice more.  Just to show that Bcon has range.

Christa Faust: noir writer, ex-professional dominatrix and seriously fluffy bunny disguised as a bad girl was there.

Alice Loweecey: cozy writer, ex-nun and steampunk aficionado was there.  Jessie Chandler: caper writer, ex-cop and bingo expert too. (Can you guess which is which, from this picture?)

Best of all, Mary Higgins Clark (The Big Boss), was there and was so inspiring about talent, commitment, hard graft and honouring contracts that I wanted to go straight to my room and write.  (I actually went for a doughnut, but we won’t quibble.)

The list goes on, but I’ll hold it down to two stories that show what we’re made of, we murdermongers. 

Reed Farrel Coleman fell headfirst off a stage on Saturday and spent good chunk of quality time in the emergency room, getting six stitches.  Did he pout?  Did he whine?  No, he said: “So, I’ll have a scar and women will find me sexy.”  Talk about making lemonade when someone fires a frozen lemon at your head.  Quite a guy.

(no pic of Reed with his boo-boo, I’m sorry to say.)

And finally, there’s  John Clement. 

(John with my good friend, NYC writer, Cathi  Stoler)

John’s mother Blaize wrote the Petsitter Mysteries (seven of them). When she knew she was dying, she asked John if he would continue the series once she was gone.  He hesitated – for almost an hour – and then agreed.  Blaize left us last July and the new book – Cat Sitter’s Cradle – is due out in January.   John calls himself an accidental mystery writer but maybe Cleveland Bouchercon will have turned him into a deliberate one.

Cx

Cationa

 

Comments

[Donna Andrews]

Great photos, Catriona! Makes me wish I'd worked harder on the people photos at the convention. I seem to have concentrated on the architecture:
http://365project.org/donnaandrews/365-2012/2012-10-04

[Cathi Stoler]

Great shots Catriona, you sly photographer, you!
I put up a few, one is of you getting your award.
Hope to see you soon.

Cathi

[Catriona]

I'm everyone's worst nightmare: A non-drinker with a camera. Bwah-ha-hah.

[Dana]

Wow, you certainly had a great time, Catriona! And congrats again on your Macavity Award!

"Non-drinker with a camera"--bwahaha indeed! (I almost typed "with a Cameron!")

[Charlaine Harris]

Mary Higgins Clark is the queen of grooming, though maybe she and Hank Phillipi Ryan should have an arm-wrestling contest for the title. Do you think having three names has anything to do with it?

[Catriona]

I loved that MHC was dressed down in a lounging suit . . . covered with sequins! As for Hank: how can the most beautiful woman you've ever seen be the nicest person you've ever met? (All those high school rom-coms were wrong.)

[Donna Andrews]

I live in hope of learning that Hank was at least a little awkward and geeky in high school, because that will mean that there is still hope for the rest of us!

[Toni LP Kelner]

I'm still bummed at the lack of dancing this time 'round. Albany Bcon? Are you listening? We want to boogie!

[Dru]

Great photos and nice recap.

[Elaine Viets]

Non-drinker with a camera"--bwahaha indeed! (I almost typed "with a Cameron!")

That should be "camera on" Dana.
Congratulations, Catriona, on your award, and when I meet you in person I promise to call you "Catreena."