Me Me Me

Bouchercon Day 3

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Sara Gran, me, Scott Phillips Another lively day at Bouchercon… it started with a panel on the legacy of Robert B. Parker. My fellow panelists were Joseph  Finder, Dick Lochte, Mark Coggins, Declan Hughes, and Russel McLean. The panelists and the audience seemed to really enjoy it.  Afterwards, a guy came up to me and said "You look like the most hated politician in San Francisco… but now that you're standing, I see that you're fatter."

I thanked him.

The panel was  followed by a signing. A woman asked me to sign her program and, as I was doing so, she said "I really enjoyed your books back  when they were good."

I thanked her, too. Oh, these dumb comments remind me of one that came up when I was "in conversation"  with William Link. A guy in the audience stood up and asked Link "When you created COLUMBO, how much were  you influenced by Huckleberry Finn?"

"Not at all," Link said.

"This brings up an interesting question," I said. "When you created MANNIX, how much were  you influenced by CATCHER IN THE RYE?"

Link was still laughing about the Huckleberry Finn question  today when I signed with him after the Parker panel.

After the signing,  I grabbed a sandwich at Boudin and got a little writing done…then hung out in the bar for a while, talking with David Hewson, Bill Crider, Lynn Sheene, Doug Lyle, Christa Faust, Robert Ward, and probably a dozen others throughout the afternoon. 

But the highlight of the day  and the conference for me was the screening of my short film REMAINDERED tonight. The room was packed with authors, editors, agents, booksellers and fans. And they all seemed to love  it. I couldn't have asked  for a better  first screening. It really was the perfect audience for the film. I just wish the cast and crew could have been there to enjoy it with me. 

The screening  was followed by a lively Q&A and then I headed up to the bar, where I talked ebooks and the future of publishing with Penguin/NAL senior editor Sandra Harding…and later with Mulholland  Books editor John  Schoenfeller and agent Josh Getzler. I also caught up with Sara Gran, Scott Phillips, Joe Konrath, Cameron Hughes, Megan Abbott, Allison  Gaylin, and several other authors.

All in all, it was a terrific Bouchercon for me. I'm so glad that I  came up for it. 

(Pictured: Sara Gran, me, Scott Phillips)

Bouchercon Day 2

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Starr Highes Goldberg Gagnon I started my day by making a pilgrimage to Kayo Books, one of my favorite bookstores on earth, and spent an hour browsing their amazing stock of pulp novels. I bought some old westerns then walked down to the Hyatt, where I ran into Daniel Woodrell as soon as I walked in the door. The two of us went to the Boudin Bakery and had a terrific conversation over a long, leisurely  lunch. Sourdough and Woodrell, a perfect combo.

After lunch, I spent an hour chatting with various authors before participating in a panel on ebooks. CJ West did a remarkable job moderating, especially considering how big  the subject is, how obnoxious I am, and how many authors there were on the panel…me, Boyd Morrison, Wendy Hornsby, Gary Phillips, Bill Fitzhugh and David Hewson. The audience was very engaged…and I think if the panel had a weakness besides me, it was that we didn't have nearly enough time to field all the questions (I continued answering questions on the topic for much of the afternoon, not that I am any sort of expert). We could easily have filled two  hours on the topic. David Hewson, by the way, is hilarious. 

I didn't attend any other panels. I spent the rest of the afternoon talking to fans and with authors (like Joel Lee david ellis konrath Goldman, Declan Hughes, Jason Starr, Michelle Gagnon, Steve Hamilton, DP Lyle, etc). In the early evening,  I attended the Penguin author party,  where I met Scott Brick, the voice of 1000 audiobooks…and then went  out to a terrific dinner with David Ellis, his wife, and Bill Rabkin at the Empress of China. On the way back, we ran into Dick Lochte and Gar Anthony Haywood and spent the walk back talking about ebooks and what a great guy Steve Cannell was.  The rest  of the night was spent at the Lee Child's Jack Reacher party…where I chatted with Lisa Lutz, Robin Burcell, Vince Keenan, Alafair Burke, Parnell Hall, to name just a few folks.

I'm having a grand time and am looking forward to screening REMAINDERED tomorrow….

(Pictured: Jason Starr, Declan Hughes, me, Michelle Gagnon. And in the other picture, from yesterday, me, David  Ellis and Joe Konrath)

Bouchercon Day 1

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I am too tired to write anything…at least anything coherent.  The conference is off to a great start and I'm having a lot of fun.  My "Conversation with William Link" went really well even though I left my notes & questions in  L.A. and had to wing it. And I have  had a fantastic time schmoozing with old friends and making new ones.  Here are some photos…you can click on them to enlarge the images.

Remaindered display1
(It was a nice surprise  seeing two REMAINDERED posters at the registration desk…this is one of them)

Lee and link
(Me with William Link before our conversation)

Crider-lee-alan
(Bill Crider, me, and Alan Jacobson)

Lee woodrell
(Me going all fan-boy over Daniel Woodrell)

Lee meg gardiner
(Me  and Meg Gardiner)

 

Open Up Those Golden Gates

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Kevin Signing 4 I am heading up to San Francisco this morning for Bouchercon, the world mystery conference. I’m on a bunch of panels, including one on self-published ebooks and another on the legacy of Robert B. Parker, but what I am really looking forward to is my on-stage conversation this afternoon with COLUMBO writer/producer/co-creator William Link and the screening on Saturday of my short film REMAINDERED. I’ll try to post a few reports from the conference while I am up there.

(Pictured: a screen grab from the film)

Men of Mystery

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37146_163851763625858_158753804135654_518223_2322449_n It's not too late for you to sign up for this year's Men of Mystery on Oct. 30 in Irvine. It's the Raven-award winning, day-long mystery conference and luncheon featuring fifty fantastic male  authors, including Gregg Hurwitz, Don Winslow, Christopher Rice, Thomas Perry, Brett Battles, Tim Hallinan, Alan Jacobson, William Link, and yours truly. Mysterious Galaxy will be on hand to sell books, too. You don' t want to miss it… or the mushroom soap.

Watch THE GLADES Tonight

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Episode-generic-promoYeah, I know BOARDWALK EMPIRE and MAD MEN are on tonight. But please don't forget to set your DVR's for tonight's episode of THE GLADES, which I wrote with William Rabkin.  It's entitled "Booty" and it's all about pirate treasure, murder, and the relationship between Longworth & Callie, which changes significantly before the end credits roll…

Mr. Monk and the Nice Review

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Amazingly prolific  author James Reasoner has  given MR. MONK IS CLEANED OUT a rave review on his blog. He says, in part:

What’s left to say about Lee Goldberg’s Monk books? You already know they’re some of the very best TV tie-in books being published today. More than that, they’re some of the very best mystery novels being published today, period. MR. MONK IS CLEANED OUT is the latest in the series, and it’s excellent, as always.[…]The plot is appropriately twisty, but as usual, Goldberg plays fair with the clues. Monk has never been more miserable (or funnier), and Natalie’s narration is as charming and appealing as ever.

Thank you, James!