New England Crime Bake 2015

I’m back from New England Crime Bake, the terrific writers’ conference held every November in Massachusetts.  This was my seventh time attending Crime Bake, which has come to feel like old home week(end). It was especially sweet this year because unlike the first six, I am now a published author.

There were 22 debut authors in attendance this year, far more than usual.  The organizers made sure we felt celebrated, which was lovely. Here is a photo of the 2015 finally published class. That’s me wearing a red shirt in the middle of the top row.

The twenty-two (!) debut authors who attended the 2015 New England Crime Bake conference

The twenty-two (!) debut authors who attended the 2015 New England Crime Bake conference

Others include my Maine colleagues Maureen Milliken and Mary Lawrence, my Malice Domestic friend Lisa Lieberman, and four wonderful writers with whom I participated in a new author panel discussion Saturday afternoon — Julie Hennrikus, Brian Thiem, C. Michele Dorsey and Ray Anderson.
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Crime Writer Confab in Bar Harbor

Maine’s crime writing community invaded Bar Harbor the sunny weekend of September 18 – 19 to hang out with readers and other writers at the inaugural Murder By The Book conference sponsored by Jesup Memorial Library.

Imagine this crew, together in one small town.

The author lineup at Murder By The Book in Bar Harbor

The author lineup at Murder By The Book in Bar Harbor.

Friday night Julia Spencer-Fleming, Chris Holm, Dorothy Cannell, Kate Flora and Paul Doiron read work in progress. Those five also participated in Saturday panels and classes, along with Lynn Raimondo, Gerry Boyle, Lea Wait, Bruce Coffin, Maureen Milliken, Vaughan Hardacker, and me.  It was an honor to share the bill with so many talented writers.
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Summer’s End

I hate to admit it, but the calendar doesn’t lie.  The thermometer does sometimes—witness the heat wave that washed over Maine this past week. But summer is at its end, which prompts this greatest-hits photo array from what was a wonderful spring and summer.

Stalwart tulips, spring of 2015

Stalwart tulips, spring of 2015

After the endless winter of 2014-2015, we were ecstatic when the tulips arrived in early May.  The spring flowers and long hours of daylight were beyond welcome. It was a thrill when the earth reappeared beneath the snowbanks and blooms started pushing toward the sun.  These tulips fought their way through a considerable crust of snow that lingered in our front yard. They were showing off their red petals a couple of weeks after the green shoots emerged, a balm to our winter-weary souls. Continue reading

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