Royal Wedding!

I'm so proud of myself! I woke up at 6 a.m. on the East Coast (which is 3 a.m my time), just in time to tune in to the best part of the ceremony. And I thought it was perfect, didn't you? The dress was simple and elegant (in fact very like the dresses that my daughter's chose) and what struck me most was the rapport between Kate and Will. Those little snuck glances and grins--so endearing.

The other thing that struck me was how well the police managed the crowd. That many people surging forward could have been disastrous. But the police just calmly moved them forward until they were at the palace gates. And it all went smoothly with no security glitches. Pfew.

And what did you think of some of the hats? Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie? They looked like hats out of a period comedy. And I'm sorry, but yellow is not the queen's best color. Harry looked very glam. All in all very satisfying, except that there was no tea in my hotel bedroom. Sorry Hyatt, but some of us like to drink tea in the morning.

Now back to real life and a day ahead at Malice Domestic with friends, fellow mystery writers and fans for the next three days. I hope to see some of you there.

Report on Malice

I've just managed to catch my breath after a hectic weekend at Malice Domestic--the convention dedicated to the celebration of the traditional mystery. When I was asked to be toastmaster I thought it was a cool honor. I didn't realize I'd actually have to work! Talk about great exposure: I had to host the opening ceremony, introduce all the speakers at the banquet, have an hour's interview, speak at the farewell tea, be on a panel with Mary Higgins Clark and Parnell Hall, be on the best novel nominees panel, plus an interesting panel on culture clash. I had two signing sessions and looked wistfully at the line out of the door for Mary HC. Maybe one day....

Then I had lunch with the Red Hat Ladies,(who make me a new hat each year) breakfast with agent, lunch with editor. This left about ten minutes for a bathroom break in three days.

But it was fun and I have greater respect for the president and the queen who have to be "on" like that all the time. The muscles around my mouth ached from keeping up a perpetual smile for three days.

I didn't win the Agatha this time around--but another well deserved win for Louise Penny. This is three years in a row as a nominee... am I turning into Susan Lucci?  (oh and please note the tiaras which we personalized and then auctioned off for charity. Mine had a tiny crown on it, plus a magnifying glass and handcuffs)

My only regret was that my duties kept me from attending more panels. I was so sorry to miss Parnell's humor panel and there seemed to be particularly good topics this year, so well done to Barb and her planning committee. And kudos especially to Verena Rose and her committee for making a large convention go so smoothly. It will be hard to be back there next year as an ordinary participant but at least I'll have time to actually hang out with my friends who only passed me like ships in the night this time around.