Cartoon of the Day: Shake

LEFT COAST CRIME NEWS

Left Coast Crime is my favorite mystery convention. Left Coast Crime is an annual mystery convention sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors. LCC is held during the first quarter of the year in Western North America.from Anchorage to El Paso, from Boulder to Hawaii, and various locations in between. We once met on the 'Left Coast" of England! It's a great conference with panels, banquet, awards, and so much more.

The purpose of Left Coast Crime is to host an event where readers, authors, critics, librarians, publishers, and other fans can gather in convivial surroundings to pursue their mutual interests.

This year, Left Coast Crime was awarded the Raven Award from Mystery Writers of America. This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. Go, Left Coast Crime! Left Coast Crime wants to thank the hordes of volunteers and the amazing teamwork of the local and national committees that have allowed us continue the Left Coast Crime tradition.

Sadly, with all that's going on this year with COVID-19, Left Coast Crime: Murder's a Beach was in full swing this week in San Diego, when it was shut down abruptly by San Diego County. Nevertheless one full of panels and meetings, new authors breakfast, snacks, and treats took place. Hats off to the Organizers of this year's conference: Stan Ulrich, Lucinda Surber, Lisq Brackmann, Kim Keeline, Maryelizabeth Yturralde, Tammy Kaheler and all the local committee and volunteers. They put in years of planning and hard work to ensure a terrific convention.

Lefty Awards: Do not fear, the Lefty Awards will be voted on and the winners announced in the near future. New procedure this year due to the cancellation of the convention.

All things being what they are, join us at Left Coast Crime: Southwest Sleuths next year in Albuquerque, NM, April 8-11, 2021. See you there!

Call for Guest Posts on Mystery Fanfare!

I'm following Lesa Holstine's lead. Lesa is the force behind Lesa's Book Critiques. She posted on her page the offer to feature even more authors on her blog in this time of unavoidable canceled appearances and canceled book events. I'm making that same offer to authors on my MysteryFanfare blog. Love to have more guest posts!

Author posts should be 500-1000 words, about whatever you'd like to share with readers. Writing? Reading? Research? Hobbies? Your dog? Awards? A recipe? It's up to you. Make it interesting and fun. Add a title, photo (or bookcover), and a 2-3 sentence bio/tagline. Deadline: Whatever works for you. Let me know, so I can schedule.

We all love books and mysteries. We will get through this weird time together.

And, check out your favorite blog to see if this invitation is also on offer there!

Cartoon of the Day: The Verdict

Cartoon of the Day: The Sentence

Barbara Neely: R.I.P.

Well, this is very sad news, indeed. Mystery author Barbara Neely passed away earlier this week.  i only met her a few times, but she was always positive and fun. I loved her books. Barbara was a Brash Books author, and Publisher Lee Goldberg, posted this on his Facebook page.

She was recently named the 2020 Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America and is best known as author of the Blanche White mystery series, which we are honored to publish. The following obituary was supplied by her family:

"Early in her life Barbara demonstrated a vivid imagination, by making up stories from her daily experiences, developing into a young griot. Barbara was observant, a good listener and she knew how to ask probing questions. Sometimes her information gathering would result in her developing a storyline for one of her many short stories. She used these talents not only as a writer, but when she produced and hosted several radio programs.

In addition to her writing, Barbara was also a Social Justice Warrior who dedicated her time and talents to causes such as Economic and Criminal Justice, Women’s Rights and Equality. Her Socially Conscious work was acknowledged by receiving several awards.

She incorporated her dedication to social change with her love of writing. The fruit of that labor was a wonderful series of four mystery books featuring Blanche White, an African American women employed as a domestic. Blanche is a proud independent woman, with a curious mind and keen observational skills. Not only does she solve crimes she also shines a light on many social, cultural and economic issues. The Blanche series was so well received it has been translated into several languages including French, Czech, German and Japanese. Barbara has also won several distinguished awards for her writing.

Barbara died after a brief illness. She leaves a loving family and millions of adoring fans to celebrate a life well lived."

Indeed!