Sleuthfest
I see you, John! Sleuthfest crowns the Mandingo--Sexiest Man Florida in February--now, that's nice. Add to that a mystery conference where hundreds of writers of all skill levels and tiers of fame mingle, and it's heaven. I've spent the last few days talking writing with writers, and there's not much I like better. I listened to agents and editors explain their thinking on the changes in publishing. I heard writers list their struggles and realized we all have the same ones. And I spoke on writing dilemmas, trying to help others solve the nuts-and-bolts problems of writing: How do you get past a plot-knot? How do you get your word count down to a number agents will accept--or up to that number for that matter. The private conversations are fun, too. Catching up with one of my earliest friends in the business and meeting several new ones. It's funny, but I often know right away if a person "gets" being a writer. Many are living on a dream that...