Dana's Notebook

(This is what I sent out in my end of the year mailing, so you may have already seen this.)

Dear Readers,

Looking back over the year...

Just in case you hadn't heard me yodeling from the mountaintops, I had a wonderful Bouchercon. It was a very busy weekend, but megatons of fun. On top of having a terrific time on my panels and getting to hang out with friends, Swing Shift won both the Macavity and the Anthony! I'm still a little stunned; the nominees for both awards are all fantastic writers and I was delighted to be considered along with them. My thanks to the organizers and attendees who made St. Louis such a good time! B'con is going to be in Cleveland next year.

I've mentioned that I'll be Toast Master for Malice Domestic 24, and I cannot wait! The Guest of Honor will be Jan Burke and the Lifetime Achievement Honoree will be Simon Brett. I hope to see you there!

Before Malice, I'll be attending Sleuthfest and Boskone. Charlaine Harris, Jeffery Deaver, and Chris Grabenstein will be the Guests of Honor at Sleuthfest and John Scalzi will be the GoH at Boskone. I had a wonderful time at both events last year. At Boskone, I'm hoping to get The Wild Side signed by Daniel dos Santos, who did the hot, hot, hot! artwork for the cover (this is the volume with my Fangborn short story, Love Knot).

Speaking of short stories, I have several in the pipeline, and two forthcoming in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. "One Soul at a Time" will be in the June 2012 issue and features a new character, Jayne, a retired covert operative who can't quite seem to stop righting the wrongs she sees around her. Also forthcoming is "Mischief in Mesopotamia," an Emma Fielding short story. It's been a while since I've spent time with Emma, but a story set on a tour of archaeological sites in Turkey was definitely her cup of tea.

I wish you health, wealth, and happiness--and lots of good reading!--in 2012!

All the best,

Dana

Murder and Mayhem in Muskego takes place this Saturday.  I'll be there.  These fine folks will be there, too:

Megan Abbott
Tasha Alexander
Joelle Charbonneau
Sean Chercover
John Connolly - Guest of Honor
Hilary Davidson
Alyson Gaylin
Andrew Grant
Tony Hays
Gar Anthony Haywood
Jess Loury
Gary Phillips
Stefanie Pintoff
Marcus Sakey
Tom Schreck
Kelli Stanley
Duane Swierzynski
Martyn Waites
Jeri Westerson

I'm totally psyched--the panels look great!  Hope to see you in Muskego!

One of the reasons I've been so tardy in blogging is travel (the others are Facebook and Twitter, where I seem to be spending a lot of energy communicating these days).  Mr. G goes to Berlin for work, and last week, I met him there.  We spent three days in Berlin, flew to Copenhagen for three days, then took the train to Stockholm for the last three days.  Just enough time to get a taste of each city and plan future trips. 

Mostly when we travel, we take an archaeological approach.  Not that we dig up the cities, but more that we tend to go to museums to see archaeological collections.  There is a special thrill in seeing things you've only read about.  Plus, it is getting very cold in that part of the world, so museums are a great place to stay warm!  In Berlin, we returned to the Altes Museum and had a chance to visit the Neues Museum (which houses the famous Nefertiti bust, which you're not allowed to photograph).  This Egyptian frieze shows workers with papyrus plants.  The colors alone were worth the flight.

Outside Copenhagen, we went to the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde.  Inside Copenhagen, we hit the National Museum and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.  I love the word "glyptotek" (from roots meaning "to carve" and "to store") and will attempt to use it regularly.  In the National Museum, I was in it for the Vikings, and oh, my, the Viking treasures we saw.  When I say treasures, you know I mean not just the gold and silver (of which there was plenty), but also the carved memorial stones and brooches and pottery and human remains?  Good; I didn't want there to be any confusion.  This is a fragment of a medieval Tau Cross (or crozier) and I like it because of the Scandinavian intertwined beasts.  You can do a lot of intricate carving when there's no TV to get in the way.  

In Stockholm, we visited the National Historical Museum, the National Museum (oh, hello, Swedish Design exhibit!), the Vasa ship museum (it houses the whole ship, excavated in the sixties), and the Skansen outdoor museum.  Stockholm is great for walking, and I have the sore feet to prove it.   Here's a little of that silver treasure I was talking about.  Because sometimes, even for an archaeologist, it's nice to look at something that isn't dirty, broken, and unidentifiable.

Okay, I know I'm behind on this.  Waay behind, but some good news doesn't have an expiration date.  My St. Louis 2011 Bouchercon started off wonderfully, with the Macavity for "Best Short Story!"  Here you can see me celebrating with Kelli Stanley, who won the Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award for City of Dragons.  All of the nominees and winners are here.


I moderated one panel, "Nocebo:  Playing Fair with Your Readers," and had the pleasure of hearing what Joshua Corin, G.M. Malliet, Chantelle Aimee Osman, Wendy Staub, Jaden Terrell had to say.  The terrific thing about this panel (and this Bouchercon, overall), was that you got a whole range of writers--from suspense to psychological thrillers to traditional to procedural--on one subject.  I liked that!  The audience did us proud, showing up early morning, guessing trivia answers, and asking great questions of the panel.

The next panel I was on was "Right to Silence," moderated by Les Klinger, and featuring Chris Farnsworth, Charlaine Harris, Toni L.P. Kelner.  That was a blast, geeking out on vampire lore and what inspires us--from comics to "Buffy The Vampire Slayer."  What made this so fun for me was everyone on the panel had a deep knowledge of the history of the vampire story and its metaphors, and why it continues to be a popular subject.

The Anthony Brunch this year was wonderful--and not only because I think breakfast for lunch is one of the best inventions since the book.  I didn't hold out much hope of lightning striking twice (you can see why, when you look at the previous blogs on the nominees for Best Short Story), but the Anthony win for "Swing Shift" was the bookend to a wonderful weekend!  Here, you can see me celebrating with Charlaine and Toni.  That's the great thing about conventions, is getting to celebrate with friends. 

I wish I had more pictures, but it was one of those hectic cons where you're so busy catching up with friends and working, you don't even think about the camera until too late.  But here is a nice overview of B'con from Publishers Weekly.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

8:30 A.M - 9:30 A.M.
NOCEBO-Landmark 1,2,3
Playing fair with your readers.
Dana Cameron (M), Joshua Corin, G.M. Malliet, Chantelle Aimee Osman, Wendy Staub, Jaden Terrell

4:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
RIGHT TO SILENCE-Majestic A,B,C
But not with this group.
Les Klinger (M), Dana Cameron, Chris Farnsworth, Charlaine Harris, Toni L.P. Kelner

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

11:00 - 1:00
Anthony Award Brunch

I'm so excited about the Anthony and Macavity nominations for "Swing Shift!"  You can still read the short story here, for just a few days more.  

Just before Hurricane Irene, we had finished our preparations--emergency candles, water, crank-operated lights and radio, food, storm windows down, deck furniture stowed.  Once everything was in place, we just had to...wait.  Check up on friends to the south via Facebook.  Read for B'con.  Watch the news.  Wait. 

Waiting and anticipating a storm is hard.  I developed a bad attitude and decided I needed to invent the Tequila Mockingjay (yes, we made sure the liquor supplies were stocked up; we get a lot of storms).  And here 'tis*:

1.5 measures Tequila
0.5 measures Melon Liqueur
0.25 measures Orange Bitters

Shake well, pour over ice in a tall glass, and top with soda.  Garnish whimsically; lime works just fine.  Orange might, too. 

The recipe is based on the proportions for a Tequila Mockingbird; I'm not a fan of creme de menthe.  The bitters keep the melon liqueur from being too sweet.  The soda makes it refreshing.


*Don't drink if you're under 21.  Enjoy responsibly.

The schedule of events celebrating the launch of Cape Cod Noir has been updated, and you can find it here.  I hope to see you on the Cape, July 20-21!

I'm thrilled to announce that "Swing Shift," my second Fangborn urban fantasy short story, has been nominated for a Macavity!

The Macavity Awards are nominated and voted on by members of Mystery Readers International.  Mystery Readers Journal is MRI's publication. The winners will be announced at Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention. Bouchercon will be held in St. Louis in September. This award is named for the "mystery cat" of T.S. Eliot (Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats).

Here is the complete list of nominees.  Congratulations, everyone!

Best Mystery Novel
The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)
Faithful Place by Tana French (Viking)
The Queen of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan (HarperCollins-William Morrow)
Thirteen Hours by Deon Meyer (Grove Atlantic)
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard (Ballantine)

Best First Mystery Novel
The Damage Done by Hilary Davidson (Forge)
Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva (Forge-Tom Doherty Associates)
The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron (Minotaur)
Full Mortality by Sasscer Hill (Wildside)
A Thousand Cuts by Simon Lelic (Viking)

Best Mystery-Related Nonfiction
The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum (Penguin)
Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making by John Curran (HarperCollins)
Following the Detectives: Real Locations in Crime Fiction edited by Maxim Jakubowski (New Holland)
Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang (W.W. Norton)
Thrillers: 100 Must Reads, edited by David Morrell and Hank W Wagner (Oceanview Publishing)

Best Mystery Short Story
"The Scent of Lilacs" by Doug Allyn (EQMM)
"Swing Shift" by Dana Cameron in Crimes by Moonlight: Mysteries from the Dark Side (Berkley)
"Devil's Pocket" by Keith Gilman in Philadelphia Noir (Akashic)
"The Gods for Vengeance Cry" by Richard Helms (EQMM)
"Bookworm" by G.M. Malliet in Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin' (Wildside)

Sue Feder Memorial Historical Mystery
A Marked Man by Barbara Hamilton (Berkley)
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (Random House)
City of Dragons by Kelli Stanley (Minotaur)
The Red Door by Charles Todd (HarperCollins- William Morrow)
The Fifth Servant by Kenneth Wishnia (HarperCollins-William Morrow)
 

Did I say in my last entry that it's been a busy and wonderful two weeks?  I'm delighted to share more good news:  "Swing Shift," a Fangborn short story in the MWA anthology Crimes By Moonlight (edited by Charlaine Harris), has received an Anthony Award nomination for Best Short Story!

The werewolves are going wild!

You can read the full list of nominees in all categories here.  Congratulations to all the nominees, and thank you, thank you to my readers!  I can't tell you what this means to me!

The nominations are taken from votes cast by members of Bouchercon, the current year (2011) and the previous year (2010). The awards are named after Anthony Boucher, a book reviewer and early champion of the mystery genre.

Previous winners include New York Times bestselling authors, Robert Crais (The Monkey's Raincoat), Laura Lippman (What The Dead Know), Charlaine Harris (Dead Until Dark), and Nevada Barr (Track of the Cat). The first Anthony Awards were given out in 1986 and included Sue Grafton, Jonathan Kellerman, and Nancy Pickard.

Attendees will vote for this year's winners at the 2011 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in St. Louis (Sep 15 - 18). The winners will be announced at the awards brunch on the morning of September 18th.

For more information about the Anthony Awards and the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, please visit www.Bouchercon2011.com.

It's been a busy, wonderful couple of weeks. 

Ten days ago (was it only ten days?), I was in NYC to present the MWA's Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical Work.  Congratulations again to the nominees and to the winner, Yunte Huang, for his work Charlie Chan:  The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and his Rendezvous with American History.  Thank you again to my hardworking committee:  Charlaine Harris, Dean James, Toni Kelner, and Peter Straub!  (On the left:  Steve, Reed Coleman, Margery Flax, Dan Hale)

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were devoted to Malice Domestic.  If the Edgars are like the prom for mystery writers, Malice is like a class reunion, where it takes forty minutes to hug your way across the hotel lobby.  I got to catch up with so many friends, including 7/8 of the Femmes Fatales.  I ran into Elaine and Kris in the hallway, Mary Saums also presented at Edgars, Donna and Hank were up for Agathas, Toni and I shared at table at the banquet, and I got to have lunch with Charlaine in Boston the following Wednesday!  A great weekend for catching up.  (Right:  Hank Phillippi Ryan, Sasscer Hill, me, Sarah Smith (who won best YA!).

"Swing Shift" didn't take home the Agatha, but the story was in such strong company, I was delighted to find my story among them.  Congratulations again to MaryJane Maffini, who won, and the nominees:  Barb Goffman, Liz Zelvin, and Sheila Connolly!

I can now tell you:  I will be the Toastmaster for Malice 24!  The Guest of Honor will be Jan Burke, the Lifetime Achievement Honoree will be Simon Brett, Lee Goldberg will receive the Poirot Award, Ruth Sickafus is Fan Guest of Honor, and Malice Remembers Tony Hillerman.  I hope you will join us--I've got the insider scoop, and it's sure to be a blast.