Sleuthfest 2012 Is in the Books
It’s hard to tell with so many participants, but the early betting is that suspense novelist Daniel Palmer squeezed the most of SleuthFest 2012.
Palmer spent most of last week in Orlando — some of it to serve on writers panels, some of it to moderate panels and some of it to cart his son to and from the theme parks. (SeaWorld won the theme park wars, according to dad.)
Writers won the rest of the week. Among those who shared anecdotes of woe, struggle, hope and success with the masses — and with each other — were Jeffery Deaver, Charlaine Harris, Chris Grabenstein, F. Paul Wilson, Heather Graham, James Grippando, Reed Farrel Coleman, John Gilstrap, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jamie Freveletti, Keith Thomson, Mike Cooper, Michael Wiley, Neil Plakcy and two dozen others.
Sleuthfest is what organizers — the Florida Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America — call the preeminent regional mystery/thriller writers conference.
Suspense writer Jeffery Deaver talks about Carte Blanche, his addition to the James Bond series.
Deaver, Harris and Grabenstein were the headliners, with Deaver and Harris delivering keynote talks and poolside chats about themselves and their books and Grabenstein doing a memorable session about taking-as-it-comes writing.
Many others served as panelists to talk about telling mystery, suspense and thriller stories, about agents, about the publishing business today and mostly about the craft of writing. Agents and editors looking for new voices showed up, always a hopeful sign.
Finally, if you ever have the chance to see Grabenstein, either on a book tour or a guest lecturer, take it. He’s a one-man comedy show, hardly surprising given his improv background.
He’s good. He’s also damned smart.
Although he’s apt to tell you what a former co-worker used to share with him at the end of a long day writing ad copy: “Another day, another day undetected.”
