Bouchercon 2022

I was delighted to attend the Bouchercon conference in person in Minneapolis this fall. Bouchercon is a gathering of mystery writers and fans and features keynotes and panel sessions by great authors.

This was the first in-person Bouchercon in two years, with the last two conferences being held online only. I got to meet some of my favorite authors including Dennis Lehane (Shutter Island), Scott Van Doviak (Charlesgate Confidential), William Kent Krueger (Iron Lake), S. A. Cosby (Razorblade Tears), Scott Mofina (Her Last Goodbye) and many others.

I was pleased to now be in the “published author” category with the release of The Man from Mittelwerk. That enabled me to speak with a bit more confidence on the panel session I was on, which was all about music in mysteries. That’s not quite as out-in-left-field as it sounds, given that I’m an amateur musician, as is Jack Waters, the main character in the book.

Bouchercon is the kind of conference where you can hang out at the bar and meet your favorite author. One evening, I turned to my left, and Dennis Lehane was ordering drinks. We got to talking for a few minutes and he admitted that writing novels had taken its toll on him. In a way, I was shocked that a writer of his experience and reputation could still find writing to be hard. I guess we all face the same challenges when it comes to getting your thoughts and emotions down on paper.