On Saturday, October 27th, I attended the Magna cum Murder Conference in Muncie, Indiana, with my friend and fellow author, Sue Myers (author of Deception coming next year). They had a wonderful continental breakfast where we could mix and mingle with our fellow authors and with readers who were attending followed by panel discussions.
The first panel discussion was entitled “Infinitely Cozy”. Elaine Orr moderated this panel of Cozy authors which included Sheila Boneham, Monica Ferris, Molly MacRae, and C. L. Shore. They discussed the challenges and rewards of writing the traditional mystery in an age of noir and gore.
The second panel discussion, “Ripped from the Headlines” featured Tony Perona as the moderator, with Marian Allen, John Billheimer, and D. C. Brod. These panelists discussed how current social issues inspire their writing.
At lunch, I had the pleasure of sitting at a table with Elaine Orr, Molly MacRae, Sarah Wisseman, Sue Myers, Brandt Dodson, and Crystal Rhodes. Our lunchtime speaker was multi-award winning, bestselling author, S. J. Rozan. She was interviewed by Terence Faherty. It was wonderful to get to know her better and the lunch was top-notch as well.
After lunch, a panel discussion, “Thrilled to Death” was presented. Authors Randy Overbeck (moderator), E. S. Abramson, John Desjarlais, and Tony Perona talked about the popularity of edge-of your-seat reads. Then we sat in on a “The Cold Dead Hand of the Past” where the past is used as an active agent in novels. The moderator was Brenda Stewart with fellow authors Jeanne M. Dams, Brandt Dodson, and David J. Walker.
The last presentation I attended was “The Antidote is Vodka” by Luci Zahray. Luci is a pharmacist with a Masters in Toxicology from Texas A&M and has been dubbed the poison lady. Her talk on certain poisons and how to use Vodka as the antidote was quite interesting. She also gave us many good ideas on how to use these poisons to our advantage…in our writing, of course.
That was the end of my day at the conference. My grandson, Kodey, and his roommate who are attending Ball State University, picked me up for dinner at the local Olive Garden. It was wonderful to see him and catch up. All-in-all, a wonderful end to a great day.
I anxiously await next year’s conference, which will be held in Indianapolis.
Until next time.
The first panel discussion was entitled “Infinitely Cozy”. Elaine Orr moderated this panel of Cozy authors which included Sheila Boneham, Monica Ferris, Molly MacRae, and C. L. Shore. They discussed the challenges and rewards of writing the traditional mystery in an age of noir and gore.
The second panel discussion, “Ripped from the Headlines” featured Tony Perona as the moderator, with Marian Allen, John Billheimer, and D. C. Brod. These panelists discussed how current social issues inspire their writing.
At lunch, I had the pleasure of sitting at a table with Elaine Orr, Molly MacRae, Sarah Wisseman, Sue Myers, Brandt Dodson, and Crystal Rhodes. Our lunchtime speaker was multi-award winning, bestselling author, S. J. Rozan. She was interviewed by Terence Faherty. It was wonderful to get to know her better and the lunch was top-notch as well.
After lunch, a panel discussion, “Thrilled to Death” was presented. Authors Randy Overbeck (moderator), E. S. Abramson, John Desjarlais, and Tony Perona talked about the popularity of edge-of your-seat reads. Then we sat in on a “The Cold Dead Hand of the Past” where the past is used as an active agent in novels. The moderator was Brenda Stewart with fellow authors Jeanne M. Dams, Brandt Dodson, and David J. Walker.
The last presentation I attended was “The Antidote is Vodka” by Luci Zahray. Luci is a pharmacist with a Masters in Toxicology from Texas A&M and has been dubbed the poison lady. Her talk on certain poisons and how to use Vodka as the antidote was quite interesting. She also gave us many good ideas on how to use these poisons to our advantage…in our writing, of course.
That was the end of my day at the conference. My grandson, Kodey, and his roommate who are attending Ball State University, picked me up for dinner at the local Olive Garden. It was wonderful to see him and catch up. All-in-all, a wonderful end to a great day.
I anxiously await next year’s conference, which will be held in Indianapolis.
Until next time.
