Alison Gaylin - Hitting Bouchercon

Writing can be a very lonely profession, so when the time comes to convene with readers and fellow writers, we all welcome the chance. 

     I have attended Bouchercon (most) every year since 2005 (I couldn’t make it to Anchorage). And I have to say, it has afforded me experiences I will never forget – whether it was hitting a gay sports bar in Madison, Wisconsin with Megan Abbott, Ken Bruen and Jason Starr, shopping for cowboy shirts in Cleveland, OH with Michele Gagnon Martyn Waites and Mark Billingham (the latter two giddy after visiting Johnny Cash’s trailer at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) or sitting on a truly fabulous panel in Albany, NY, in which moderator Laura Lippman dressed (to perfection) as Andy Cohen. As mystery writers, the stuff we put on the page is full of surprises – and thankfully, so is our biggest conference. I can hardly wait to see what’s in store for us in Long Beach!

The Nero Wolfe Banquet

Do you know there is a special limited ticketed event to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the creation of Nero Wolfe? Join the Wolfe Pack and members of Rex Stout's family at this gala event filled with song parodies, toasts, themed quizzes, and general hilarity as they celebrate Stout's magnificent legacy. The event takes place on Friday at the Skyroom and requires a separate ticket. All are welcome! Learn more.

Y.A. FanFest Aboard the Queen Mary

There is a special limited-ticket event aboard the legendary Queen Mary with Eoin Colfer and more than 20 additional Y.A. authors on Sunday, November 16th at 1:00pm. All proceeds will go to the LB Public Library Foundation for their Family Learning Centers programs, designed to promote literacy, and academic success. Price includes luncheon and transportation to and from the Hyatt Regency. You can find out more here. 

Memories of Long Beach

By Kristi Belcamino

A few of the most important moments in my life took place in Long Beach, California, home to this year’s Bouchercon.

When I first moved to Long Beach in 1989 to attend college, I was still exploring who and what I wanted to become. I was both excited and a little bit afraid. The whole world lay before me, but was I ready for it? 

Well, it was ready for me.

My visit to Long Beach will be haunted by ghostly memories of my college life — the day I had to flee a restaurant on Second Street when police told the owners to close up shop because the rioters were only a few blocks away burning buildings; afternoons spent in the CSU Long Beach school cafeteria listening to local band Sublime play a set; moments spent meeting two of the most important people in my life …

Twenty-three years ago, I met my husband in Long Beach.

Me and my European friends — chic Spanish and Greek women — headed to a local coffee shop, Midnight Espresso, to attend a poetry reading.

The café was packed and the crowd overflowed onto the sidewalk. We parked ourselves on a bus stop bench and sipped our lattes. A guy we knew, Dumas, came over to say hello. He was carrying a Baudelaire book and was with a guy I barely noticed. Boys who wore baseball hats were not my type.

But then this boy began to entertain us, standing in the middle of the street like it was a stage and reciting poetry, acting out the words, twisting his body and twirling. Who was this guy?

My girlfriends said they were going across the street to check out the cute waiter at the other café, The French Riviera. Was I coming?

At this point, the baseball cap boy was sitting on the bench beside me, speaking poetry into my ear. 

I stayed behind, not even aware that my friends had left.

Twenty-four years ago, I met my best friend in Long Beach.

I went to a college party with a German exchange student and was introduced to Manisha. She was exotic and glamorous with with her proper British accent and her giant, kohl-rimmed black eyes and gobs of luxurious black hair.

Although on the surface we were nothing alike — she had been raised in a traditional East Indian family in Zimbabwe where she had a crocodile for a pet — we both instantly recognized one another as kindred spirits and have been best friends ever since.

Twenty-five years ago, I debated whether to change my major at Cal State Long Beach from business to creative writing. I had dreamed of being a writer my whole life. I tossed and turned with the decision and ultimately was afraid that the degree would be meaningless. As a compromise, I decided to study journalism. I became an editor at The Union student-run newspaper and fell in love with journalism, discarding my dreams of being a fiction writer.

It took a long time for me to become brave enough to try my hand at fiction. In reality, it took letting go of my fear of failure — something that could have only come with age and maturity.

So, now, when I go to Bouchercon, I will take a day to walk the same streets that a young, idealistic college girl did so many years ago. I will remember the moments and places where I met my husband and best friend. I will recall the excitement of being in my 20s with the whole world before me. 

A quarter of a century later, I will return to Long Beach, this time as a published fiction writer. I will embrace the girl I once was — with all her fears and hopes for the future — with the woman I have become.

Find It All (Even Mystery) in Long Beach

By Tammy Kaehler

We've got everything in greater Los Angeles. I often talk about that being both our blessing and our curse: you can find anything and everything you want in the LA area ... but you may have to drive to get there. Hey, it’s why we have so many freeways.

But back to the positive: we've got everything. What do you want? Beach, mountains, deserts? City center, suburb, or rural areas? We've got industry and tourism, socio-economics that range from Bel Air to Compton, and ethnic diversity only found a couple other places in the nation. 

And what's true of greater Los Angeles is especially true of Long Beach, where I've lived for most of a decade. Here, in a single city of half a million residents, we've almost got it all. Almost.

One study I saw online ranked Long Beach as the fourth most diverse city in the nation—behind Oakland, Sacramento, and New York, and ahead of Chicago. I've heard Long Beach is home to more Cambodians than anywhere but Cambodia, and certainly, if you want Cambodian food—or Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Ethiopian, Indian, Mexican … even raw, vegan, vegetarian, or other specialty cuisine—you've got a variety of options.

We've got other kinds of neighborhoods, as well. You can visit the projects where Snoop Dogg grew up or tour the country club neighborhood where Ferris Bueller and Donnie Darko lived (cinematically, at least). In between, we have a host of friendly, character-rich neighborhoods. And did you know one of the CSIs is filmed here? That's right, make the pavement wet, and Long Beach becomes Miami. So we’ve got Florida, too.

Up near the Long Beach Airport (which I recommend flying into), we've got some remnants of World War II era airplane manufacturing, which we're told will become an automotive plant in the next few years. We've got a couple factories of the mind also, in our community college and a state university.

If all those weren't enough attractions, we've got real ones. There's that big boat (the Queen Mary), a fantastic aquarium (the Aquarium of the Pacific), and the waterfront area that's been revitalized, in part due to a bunch of cars zooming around every April (the Long Beach Grand Prix). We've got great weather here, even for LA, given our waterfront status (proximity to the ocean means we stay more temperate than a lot of areas). 

But honestly, even with all that, we don't quite have everything. I live and work in Long Beach, and I write mysteries about a female race car driver. Long Beach has some auto racing for me, but I've had to leave town to find my mystery writing tribe. Until this November, when you're all coming to town. 

Now I feel like a nervous host. Will everyone like each other? I hope that Long Beach enjoys a bunch of mystery authors running around for most of a week. But more, I hope that every one of the Bouchercon attendees enjoys and appreciates Long Beach as I do.

So when you get here, look around—from the air, from a vehicle, and from your hotel room. Appreciate the kookiness of a whole lot of very different people calling one city home. And think about bringing a little mystery to this vibrant, thriving city. I think it's about time!

Enjoy your trip, and let any of us who live here know if you have any questions or need any recommendations!

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Tammy Kaehler’s career in marketing and technical writing landed her in the world of automobile racing, which inspired her with its blend of drama, competition, and friendly people. Mystery fans and racing insiders alike praised the first two Kate Reilly Racing Mysteries, Dead Man’s Switch and Braking Points, and she takes readers back behind the wheel for the third time in Avoidable Contact. Tammy works as a technical writer in Long Beach, where she lives with her husband and many cars. Find out more at www.tammykaehler.com.