California Crime Writers Conference 2023

I don't know about the rest of you, but I had a wonderful weekend! Saturday and Sunday marked the in-person return of the California Crime Writers Conference, a bi-annual co-production of the Los Angeles chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Southern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America. 

Cool logo, eh? Turns out it was done by the same guy who did the cover art for Entertainment to Die For.

 

In addition to the great panels, I met a bunch of really nice people (for some reason this genre seems to attract fun and funny peeps), and how about this - even though I've never even finished a novel, I had two books in the bookstore:

 

It was really nice to finally be able to attend a conference in person again. This one has the benefit of being in Culver City, the next town over from where I live, so I didn't have to fly in or get a hotel room. Ten to fifteen minutes from my apartment to pulling up in front of the hotel. Easy-peasy.

 

Historic Mysteries panel.

 

I'm already looking forward to 2025!

Recent reading: "Entertainment to Die For"

Entertainment to Die For

Edited by Gay Toltl Kinman, Meredith Taylor, Susan Rowland

Entertainment to Die For is the latest anthology from the Sisters in Crime Los Angeles. It includes my short story "As Seen on Television".

We weren't expecting it for a couple more months, but right before Christmas we were informed that it would be released on January 1. And here it is! Also, I love that cover art. The red is really striking. 

It's always fun to see how differently the theme is interpreted by different writers. My story involves an actor willing to murder for the leading role on a crappy sitcom. Other involve live theater in the park, long-simmering resentments dating back to the early days of television, life and death struggles for power, position, and onscreen credits, period stories, revenge being wreaked, and murder on location.

Taking my own story out of the mix because I can't really be objective about it (but I do love my story), my personal favorites out of this collection were "Murder in Xanadu" (how can you not love a story that starts with, "When I was murdered, it didn't hurt at all," and "Careful What You Wish For" (the aforementioned early days of TV story). 

From my story:

Joey had become a celebrity on some inane reality show, then parlayed that into the lead on an equally inane sitcom called Life with Newbie. Joey starred as a big-city guy newly arrived at a small-town college, and in each episode helped enlighten his hick peers, professors, and anyone else who crossed his path, dispersing meaningful lessons about diversity, inclusion, tolerance, and other socially relevant issues. These were all delivered with the condescending subtlety of a sledge-hammer on steroids...

Pick up a copy and enjoy!

 

"Entertainment to Die For" is coming!

A couple days ago the authors were informed that Entertainment to Die For, the upcoming anthology from Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles (that includes my story "As Seen on Television"), is being released on January 1. It was unexpected since it was right smack in the middle of the holiday season, plus SinC/LA usually doesn't release their anthologies until Spring, but whatever the reason, we're ringing in the New Year with a release. 

You can pre-order the Kindle edition now here, and I'm told hard copies will be available on January 1. Here's the description of the anthology from SinC/LA:

Are a famous director and an illustrious screenwriter best buddies or vindictive rivals? Why does an all-Black cast shooting a vampire movie find their star a bit…lethal? How does a glamorous bartender in a Hollywood tiki bar track the clues in a murder when it looks like a natural death? Can revenge last in the entertainment world, even into the retirement home?

In Entertainment to Die For, a Sisters in Crime Los Angeles anthology, you will find stories by first-time authors and stories by multi-published authors—all are killers (on the page, anyway). Sleuth along with the sleuths in these 18 suspenseful tales and solve the mysteries. Each story is a gem. Enjoy!

Introduction by Sisters in Crime founder and best-selling author, Sara Paretsky.

We have cover art!

Sisters in Crime Los Angeles has revealed the cover for our next anthology, Entertainment to Die For, which will include my short story "As Seen on Television".

I like the red, very eye-catching! Also looking forward to Sara Paretsky's introduction.

I don't know the exact date - in the e-mail it said "early next year". I'm thinking March or April, because SinC/LA usually releases their anthologies around the L.A. Times Festival of Books, which will take place April 22-23 next year.

All the editing that's fit to print

The editorial process for my story "As Seen on Television" was completed last week. The story will appear in Entertainment To Die For, the next anthology from Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles. It will be published sometime next spring, probably March or early April. SinC/LA always has a booth at the L.A. Times Festival of Books in April and they like to have the anthologies out right before that.

My editor has been super and the process was pretty painless. Mostly rewriting a couple of sentences for clarity, eliminating repetition of words and expressions, including removal of about five million uses of "had". Seriously, I'm going to do a word search for "had" in future stories because, damn, five million isn't as much of a exaggeration as it should be.

Other than all that, I'm really happy with the story. The lead Detective and her partner are characters I've used in some other stories, but this is the first one to be published. I'm hoping to use them in future projects as well.

Accepted!!!

Great news! I really wanted this one. From the email:

Dear Melinda,

It is my pleasure to notify you that your story "As Seen on Television" has been accepted for our 2023 Anthology, ENTERTAINMENT TO DIE FOR. The editor, who will be working with you if any revisions are needed, will be in touch. 

 

Entertainment to Die For is the next anthology from Sisters in Crime Los Angeles. This means I will be published in four consecutive years and in three of the last four SinC/LA anthologies. I don't know who my editor is, but it was previously announced that Sara Paretsky will be writing the forward. Great company to be in.