Well, here it is Sunday again, so time to do the blog for Foul Play. (I seem to remember someone–that would be Toni– saying she would do this every other weekend, which hasn’t happened, but maybe it is my memory.) Anyway, though I talked about Bouchercon last time, I neglected to mention one of the fun things that happened. And it is a good tip for authors, if there are any reading this blog.

If you want to sell more books, do as Don Bruns did: come to the vendors’ tables and charm the buyers into wanting your book while you sit there and make them laugh. Don does a great job of luring passers by into becoming buyers! Of course, readers love meeting authors, and when they are as good as he is at talking and pointing out just why the readers will love his books, it makes our job as booksellers very easy. Thanks, Don.

We used to say this about M.D. Lake, who would come to Malice Domestic and spend time in the dealers’ room, hand selling his books featuring the female campus cop, Peggy O’Neill. He would corral people as they walked by and talk them into trying his books, and make them happy to do it. Of course, for both Don and M.D., it helps that the books themselves are good reading, but frankly, the new readers bought the books because of the charm of the men, not the content of the books. I’m sure they liked the books when they got home and read them, and it probably added to their enjoyment that they had had such a pleasant interaction with the authors.

Isn’t that the main point of conventions like Bouchercon–to allow readers to meet authors? It is for me, anyway. I can vividly remember how excited I was to go to the first Malice Domestic and see Robert Barnard, Elizabeth Peters, and Patricia Moyes in person after having read their works for years. The idea that I could actually speak to some of my favorite authors was breathtaking. And then to meet and hear new authors was enough to guarantee I’d be returning year after year. I sat in a session which I think was titled “I need a dead mouse”; I mean, how could I resist that? The presenter was incredibly funny and very articulate, so I immediately but her on my must read list, where she has remained, even though Sharon McCrumb no longer writes her funny mysteries. Learning about her was worth the price of the conference, and the bonus was knowing that if a book was nominated for the Agatha award, or won the St. Martin’s first novel contest, chances were great that I’d like it.

Even if we don’t make it to the conventions, watching what is nominated for an Edgar, an Anthony, or an Agatha is a good way to keep up with the best in the mystery field. But going to the conventions is an even better way!

O.K., this one is short. But it is a beautiful day, almost 70 degrees out, and we won’t have many more of these days in northeastern Ohio, so I’m out of here. The garage needs cleaned out, and I’m sure I can find other outdoor work. Or even outdoor non-work!