Off to Malice, Festival of Mystery and so on

Well, wonders never cease. Two blogs in two days. My, my, my, I am getting chatting, aren't I?

This coming week I head to the Malice Domestic conference in Arlington, Virginia with my husband Jim. While he enjoys the sights of Washington, I’ll be doing my author bit. I had a terrific time at last year's Malice, so am quite looking forward to this one.

It's going to be a very busy time, starting with the Malice Go Round for Authors at 1:00 pm on Friday. It’s a frenetic race from table to table of anticipating fans where I and 2 other authors do a 90 sec pitch about our latest books. I did it last year with Louise Penny and Vicki Delany and had great fun.

This year I’m contributing to the silent auction used to raise money for one of the conferences favourite charities. I’ll be offering the three books from the Meg Harris series, which will be tucked into a metal container with a dragon fly painted on front. This can later be used as a planter. I’ve also added a dream catcher, which features in DEATH’S GOLDEN WHISPER, a tiny birch bark canoe, a full sized one plays a role in THE RIVER RUNS ORANGE, and a braid of sweetgrass, whose sacred aroma drifts through the series.

Saturday night I have the honour to host a table at the banquet. I haven’t quite decided on what favours to give out, but might do a draw for one of my books and a dream catcher. I hope to have some of you as my guests.

Bright and early at 9:00 am Sunday is my panel on The Agatha Legacy. I will be joining Mary Jane Maffini, Denise Swanson and C.R. Corwin. Since we all write such different mysteries, it should be a very interesting panel.

After the Agatha Tea, Mary Jane Maffini and I will make our way in the direction of Pittsburgh to the nearby town of Oakmont for the Festival of Mystery being held the next day on Monday. With over 50 authors signed up and the promise of 350-400 attendees it promises to be a madhouse, but an awful lot of fun. I, along with other authors, have been interviewed by a local journalist, so there should be a big splash in the local paper. The day starts off with a tea with local librarians and then the doors open at 5:00 pm and the hoards descend. If you live in the area, come, say ‘hi’ and introduce yourself and maybe buy a book or two. For more info click here

But the excitement doesn’t end here. The next day Mary Jane and I make a mad 9 hour dash back to Ottawa for the Winning at Crime event on Apr. 30 at 7:00 pm. As the local Vice President of Crime Writers of Canada, I will be hosting the evening, which will start with a discussion by previous Arthur Ellis award winning authors Barbara Fradkin, Mary Jane Maffini, Rick Mofina and Sue Pike. Afterwards at around 8:15 we move to the main purpose of the evening, announcing the shortlists for the 2008 Arthur Ellis awards for best crime writing. If you are in the Ottawa area, come. It promises to be an exciting evening and we are hoping that once again Ottawa authors will be nominated. For more information go to the events page of my website www.rjharlick.ca.

But the week isn’t over by a long shot. The next night, May 1st, I will be interviewed at 6:30 pm by Jane Crosier on her popular Literary Landscapes radio program on CKCU 93.1FM. Jane is a terrific interviewer and I always enjoy being on her show.

And finally I round off the week with the first of my many store signings. I’ll be signing at the South Keys Chapters, South Keys Mall in south Ottawa, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. If you are looking to buy your Mother something for Mother’s Day, you might want to consider one of my books.

And that’s it for the next two weeks. But it’s only the beginning. I’ll be at many different stores for book signings. Check out the schedule in my previous blog message or on my events page.

Hope to see you at one of these events.