A two-fer: Left Coast Crime and a new release

Left Coast Crime in Colorado Springs, Colorado, exceeded all my expectations. The facility was beautiful and spacious. The volunteers were oh-so-helpful. The authors and fans were friendly. And the food was great!

The sessions at LCC were mostly panels or interviews, and it was easy to drop in and out of the rooms. Sometimes it was very hard to choose between the four concurrent sessions. I have no industry news to report, only that mystery authors and fans are alive and well in Colorado!

I was selected to participate on two panels. The first panel was on Thursday, March 21, "Romance and Mystery-Finding the right mix," moderated by Donnell Ann Bell. Panelists included Tina Whittle from Statesboro, Ga, and Mara Purl, a former actress from "Days of Our Lives" turned mystery writer. Thanks to Donnell's insightful prompts, we talked about blending romance and mystery into our current releases, followed by a lively question and answer session.

Pictured from left: Maggie, Donnell, Mara, and Tina.

Author Mike Befeler organized the established author breakfast on Saturday morning. About 30-something of us got up one at a time to speak for an entire minute about our book for sale at the conference. I practiced the day before with my friend Barbara, so hopefully I wasn't such a motor mouth that actual words could be heard...

The second panel is participated in was on Saturday, March 23, after the established author breakfast. "Traditional Mysteries: Murder by the Book" was ably moderated by Patricia Stoltey, another Five Star author. Panelists included G.M. Malliet, Sheila Simonson, me, and Nancy G. West. Another fun group of mystery writers and interesting topics. One attendee came up after the panel and said this was the first panel she'd ever been to where she wanted to buy everyone's books.

Pictured from left, Gen, Maggie, Sheila, Nancy, and Patricia.

On Friday a group of us "left the building" for a ride around town and lunch at the top-rated "Marigold's". What fun! Thank you, Donnell, for inviting me along on this outing.

Pictured from left, Donnell, Maggie, Barbara Graham, Kari Wainwright.

I spent some time with Bob Spiller in the raffle basket room. He did a great job of keeping everyone straight. My only regret is that I forgot to take a picture of my gift basket I donated with Death, Island Style, a shore bird, a turtle and lots of seashells.

Beth Groundwater clowning around with Edgar; Barbara Graham, left; LC Hayden

Terry Odell with Mike Befeler

Bob Spiller, standing. Cathy Dilts, sitting

Some of these pictures are from the Saturday breakfast, others from our Friday night gathering - a group of Five Star authors met in Deni's office, aka, the bar. What fun! Even better, a bunch of soldiers in their dress uniforms thronged the place too. Lots of nice scenery.

Barbara Graham, editor Deni Dietz, and Maggie

On Saturday morning, snow fell so fast from the sky that the huge panoramic view of the mountains was completely blocked. It let up a bit in the afternoon, but I was glad I'd worn boots and layered my clothing.

Nancy West, Sheila Simmons, and Maggie

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the conference, made some new friends, and hopefully found new readers. The really good news is that my hot pink ink pens were very popular. Many people picked them up off the promo table, thus moving me one step closer to being a household name (I wish!).

The bonus was seeing the grandkids afterward, which delayed our return home. Newspapering kept me busy through the rest of the week, and I woke up today to find my romantic suspense, Hot Water had released on Kindle. I'm scrambling to get the link distributed, but I'd love for you to check it out, and if you decide to read it, be sure and post a review.

Buy link for Hot Water at Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/d9ly236 In Hot Water, a cop and an arson investigator are on the trail of a serial arsonist.

That's it. Whew! I'm so glad to be home. I love attending conferences, but there's nothing I like better than coming home. Now I just need to update my website and write a newsletter!

Maggie Toussaint

www.maggietoussaint.com

Bear cakes, books, and babies, oh my!

Ben and a Bear Cake

Nothing I like better than visiting my kids and grandkids. Our family is spread out all over the country, so we can't just jump in the car and show up for dinner. My oldest grandson recently had the honor of being served a bear cake, and I was lucky enough to come away with the best picture ever. I also jumped gleefully off the diet wagon and had a pancake and they were that good.

Donnell Bell and Maggie at Marigold's

On this same trip I had lunch with mystery author Donnell Bell (The Past Came Hunting), and she's on the silent auction committee for Left Coast Crime. Her co-chair is Mike Befeler, so if you're headed to Left Coast Crime next March go ahead and be thinking of items you can donate to the auction. I just had a wonderful idea occur to me for what I'd like to donate.

Mule deer just out for a stroll

I am most pleased to announce a new book contract! HOT WATER, the second book in my seaside series, was acquired by The Wild Rose Press. In this romantic suspense, a small town cop trying to make detective is paired with the state arson investigator. They're on the trail of a serial arsonist who has a habit of leaving dead bodies in his fires. Thanks to fan Martha Carney who kept insisting that Laurie Ann deserved her own story.

Colorado

Because all good things come in threes, I'm working on the final book of that trilogy. The working title is Still Waters, but there are a lot of books with that title out there, so count on it having a different name when I shop it to my publisher. The series started out with MUDDY WATERS, in which Roxie the realtor and Sloan the security expert hunt for a missing inheritance.

Blue skies in Colorado

Last in the great news department is the pending re-release of ON THE NICKEL, the second in my popular Cleopatra Jones mystery series. The first in that series, IN FOR A PENNY, was released in July as an e-book. Both books were hardcover and large print editions for Five Star / Cengage. My publisher for the e-book versions is Muddle House Publishing, my own imprint.

I worked with the most fantastic cover artist ever to develop the new cover for ON THE NICKEL. I found a batch of photos I liked. Polly helped me to pick the picture that had the clearest message, then she went to work on the fonts. She even managed to work the nickel into the cover without it looking cheesy. Hail to Polly Iyer, a great author and cover artist. Check her site at PollyIyer.com to see all the powerful covers she created for herself. I'm awed that she took me on.

Look for ON THE NICKEL to debut in late October. Mama's car killed the church lady, but who was behind the wheel?

Craig in Colorado

Thanks for visiting Mudpies and catching up on my news. Here's one more tidbit: Happy aniversary to me! 35 years ago today I said "I do" to a wonderful man.

Until next time,

Maggie Toussaint
www.maggietoussaint.com
www.facebook.com/MaggieToussaintAuthor#