Bouchercon 2010 - Day one


I just spent the past three days geeking out at my first ever mystery writers convention "Bouchercon By The Bay" in San Francisco.   I enjoyed getting to meet my favorite authors, new to me authors and readers from all over the world.  

I arrived Thursday afternoon, registered and headed over to my first panel.   

Commitment Panel: Conversation with William Link and Lee Goldberg
Lee Goldberg, producer of diagnosis murder, writer for Monk and author of several Monk books interviewed William Link who is the creator of multiple movies and tv shows such as Columbo, Mannix, Murder She Wrote, et al.  

After the panel, I explored the hotel for a bit, then meet Maria Alexander, an old friend and roommate who I haven't seen in 20 years.  We had a wonderful time catching up over dinner and she is trying her hand at writing mysteries, rather than the horror fiction and poetry she is known for.   She introduced me to her good friend,  Christa Faust who just happened to be hanging out with Jason Pinter and I have two more authors to add to my must read lists.

I wandered down to the reception in the grand ballroom and unfortunately my introvert geekiness kicked in.  I didn't see a soul that I knew and it didn't help that the badge only listed people's names.  There were people there that I knew but didn't recognize because I knew them by their twitter or blog handles and not regular names.  I remember when John and I went to the Consumer Electronics Show reception.  We'd be able to identify folks we've worked and talked with on the phone by their badge. "Oh, honey, there's such and such from Stereophile or there's whosiwhatis from Audible."   Then we'd go up and talk to them.   Nor did I have my extroverts around to help ease me into conversations with complete strangers which completely stressed me out so I headed back up to my room and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Although it did give me the idea of conventions having a Designated Extrovert program.  If you're an introvert, you'll totally get it.   Once I quit worrying about forcing myself to go down to the bar or to the after parties alone, I had a completely wonderful time. 

3 comments:

  1. It does make it easier to have a buddy to go around with, but there are many, many levels on which to enjoy these book events. Just find the one right for you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would be afraid to go alone!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beth: Thanks for the encouragement.

    Staci: I was nervous about it, but I took the first step by going. Next time, I'll have a bit more courage for more.

    ReplyDelete

Unfortunately due to being spammed, all comments will be moderated and will appear after approval. At least I'm not using the dreaded captcha. Thank you for dropping by!