The Streets of San Francisco

This week I am at the Bouchercon mystery conference. It's only the second one I've been to. My first Bouchercon was in Baltimore (so much fun!). My book wasn't out yet, but they put me on a new book panel. I got to meet some of my favorite authors, and I met lots of new friends.

This year it's San Francisco, which just so happens to be one of my favorite cities. I would consider moving there if it weren't so far from family (and didn't have earthquakes).  I spent time here as a kid (my step-father grew up in Palo Alto). I also have a couple of great friends who live here, and I'm lucky enough to get to stay with one of them. Joanna and I met at Smith and worked in the college archives together. She's a mystery fan, and attending the conference, too.

San Francisco has been extra magical this week. The weather is amazing--incredibly warm and sunny, and yesterday I was starting to believe that I could not take a bad picture of the city.

When I joined this blog back in May, I knew Kelli Stanley and CJ Lyons. I had never met any of the funny delightful bloggers on 7criminalminds. We're having brunch Saturday, but happily I've run into Michael, Tracy, Joshua, Rebecca, Sophie and Shane already. They're just as charming and delightful as their blog posts, and so our brunch today should be a blast.

My panel isn't until tomorrow, and I know we'll only get the Sunday early risers. But with Alafair Burke, Dana Cameron, Sheila Connelly and Rachel Brady on the panel, it's sure to be lots of fun. We're giving away books and prizes to attendees who can guess some facts about us, and of course talking about our books.

I will definitely be going home exhausted on Sunday night, but with a suitcase full of books and happy memories.

Ah, Bouchercon...