I’m just back from Left Coast Crime, which was in Sacramento this year. It was a terrific conference with guests of honor such as John Lescroart, whom I was lucky enough to meet when I moderated a panel about Writing the Criminal Mind. (William Kent Krueger, Rick Reed, and Denise Hamilton were also panelists.) Rick Reed told harrowing stories about encounters with criminals, including a serial killer, and John Lescroart expanded on his belief that the best way to reveal the criminal mind is through dialogue.

I also participated as a panelist for the subject: Writing Is a Real Job. Simon Wood, a top-ranked Amazon author, moderated. The panel included a ghost writer, an author who also runs a small publishing company, and a screenwriter/novelist—giving the audience a wide view of how various writers make a living.

One of the most interesting panels I attended discussed the new age of movie-making, and how inexpensive and easy it is now to create a high-production-value film, then expose it to potentially millions of viewers through You Tube.

Then there was the Men of Mystery panel, in which we heard from more than a dozen authors, many of them quite humorous. The moderators also entertained us with video clips—writers heads digitally imposed on dancers of all types, including Chippendales. Hysterical! Wish I had a good photo of it.

And I had a blast hanging out with other CFC bloggers, Gayle Carline and Marlyn Beebe (who read and reviewed many of the award-nominated books). As well as good friends Teresa Burrell, Terry Shames, Susan Shea, Terry Odell, Simon Wood—and I could go on and on. The best thing about these conferences is the opportunity to talk shop with others who love this business as much as I do.