The 27th Malice Domestic Convention in Bethesda was brilliant. By now this will have been thoroughly blogged about elsewhere so I’ll just say how enjoyable it was to meet friends old and new.
There was time to explore the area around Annapolis. I borrowed a big hat to avoid burning in the sun!
After Malice, three of us hit the road for a book tour of North Carolina, organized by the wonderful Molly Weston. We even made headlines – on the Books Page of The Pilot. Left to right, me, Elaine Viets (of whom more later) and Marcia Talley whose Hannah Ives books have me hooked.
Last year in Harrogate Waterstones, I chatted with Pam, a North Carolina librarian who was visiting Yorkshire with her husband. It was a real treat to meet her again at Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill.
This was my first visit to North Carolina so I had to try fried green tomatoes – twice. Mama Dip’s Kitchen, Chapel Hill takes the prize.
Molly is well-known for her Molly-on-Mysteries program and has been bringing mystery writers to North Carolina for years – for which we are all grateful! She arranged talks at two Cultural Arts Centres: the Halle in Apex and Page-Walker in Cary. I didn’t know what to expect but both were impressive venues and it was great to see artwork and tapestries on display.
Here we are at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh on our “Amazing Mystery Tour”.
After Quail Ridge came The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines. Everywhere we went, we were made welcome. The readers were great, with lots of questions and chat, including a very enjoyable lunch with a book group.
On Friday, Elaine Viets took a flight to St Louis, to continue her promotional tour for Checked Out, set in a library and written with Elaine’s usual wit and verve. There’s a poster to download on her website: “Libraries Are Like Vegas – What Happens There Stays There”
Fearrington Village, Pittsboro, is a peaceful and picturesque spot. McIntyre’s Books have a great selection of crime books, with Crime Scene Do Not Cross tape decorating the top of the bookshelves.
We were joined at McIntyres by Sarah Shaber whose Louise Pearlie novels, set in 1940s Washington DC I look forward to reading.
