Just back from Black Orchid Bookshop's Second Winter Carnival of Crime, featuring past and present members of the Mystery Writers of America. I actually arrived an hour early and chatted with Russell Atwood and Margery Flax about the aforementioned Edgar noms. Talk turned to the CIA movie The Good Shepherd, easily confused with Joseph Kanon's The Good German. I said someone should write a book called The German Shepherd... . Maybe you had to be there.
Just after 6:00 the authors poured in, filling the shop to standing room-only. Reed Farrel Coleman, a.k.a. Tony Spinosa signed my copy of Hose Monkey and we chatted about the YouTube trailer for his next Moe Prager book, Soul Patch.
I met Lee Goldberg, who signed my copy of Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu, "To Gerald, a fellow Parker fan. I love your blog!" I also met DetecToday chat regular Harry Hunsicker and his wife Alison for the first time. Great to finally put faces and voices to names.
Crime fiction's preeminent photographer Mary Reagan was there and still I haven't had my picture taken by her. I'm way behind this guy on that score.
Another reason I attended was to exchange Christmas presents with my friend Deshant. Then leaving Black Orchid, we walked down to Nell's Coffee Shop where I had turkey on rye with a side of fries, an excellent way to wrap things up.
Thanks to Black Orchid owners Bonnie and Joe, gracious hosts as always.
3 comments:
Sounds like a cool event. Every now and then, I get jealous of you city folk.
Yeah, I like mugging for the camera.
I'm actually suburban, but close enough to go into the city now and then.
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