Black Orchid, or BUST

I plan to meet and greet Ken Bruen and Jason Starr (co-authors of Bust) and whoever else will be at Black Orchid Bookshop tonight. This is quite a-ways from my usual beat, but I am yong and full of ragerye...

UPDATE (10:47 PM): Just home from my local train station after a most enjoyable night among writers and readers. In fact, it seemed a lot of people were readers of my blog, including Ken Bruen and Jason Starr. Who knew?

Though this was my first time meeting Ken and crime fiction writer and critic Anthony Rainone, no ice needed to be broken. My main goal with this blog is to give a good sense of who I am in person, so I guess I've succeeded.

Jason and Ken read (almost performed) two chapters of Bust. I could tell they had fun writing it, and I'm sure it'll be fun to read. I've been fortunate to meet so many writers lately who are both dedicated and enthusiastic about what they do.

I also chatted with New Jersey crime writer Wallace Stroby and hardboiled and noir afficionado Paul Eng, and reconnected with Mystery News publisher Chris Aldrich, Hard Case Crime editor Charles Ardai, Paul, Colleen, and Nicole from Dead End Books. (They're optimistic about a return, so I am, too.)

Thanks, everyone, especially Black Orchid owners Bonnie and Joe.