Cape Fear

Headed out to the Cape Fear Crime Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina. I'm on three panels, and I'm doing a reading (note to self, take something to read...). This should be some fun. I've never been to NC before, but I've only heard good things about the past iterations of this festival. I've heard, for instance, that one may sell a lot of books and actually get time to talk with other writers in a relaxed atmosphere. Speaking of relaxation...

I will tell, one day, of my recent trip to Hollywood with the hope of pitching to interested producers and (more likely) their assistants. To give the brief synopsis - I pitched, boy did I ever pitch, but then so did one thousand others. The smell of desperation in the air was thick as a London Fog - the overcoat, not the weather.

Back to Cape Fear - my three panels are ones that I, for once, feel competent to say something about: Hardboiled Noir, police procedurals, and short story writing. This is as opposed to the "Writers who happen to be brown" panel I'm often assigned to. Did I mention that I was referred to as "a brown man" by the hotel staff where I stayed in Madison, WI? John Rickards thought that was hilarious. So did I, come to think of it.