I’m so glad you can’t hear me, that this isn’t some fancy-schmancy audio blog because oh my god, the croak. As usual, my sojourn in a hotel resulted in “hotel voice” a form of laryngitis that’s an absolute given for me. Dry air does it and no matter what I do, how much a drink water, I’m stuck with it. I totally resent that the second I leave the damn hotel and return to Seattle (with all its reputation for wetness, dampness, wateriness) my voice does not return to me instantly. I think it should. Instead here I am croaking away like a small fuzzy frog. Not Kermit – he sounds WAY better than this.

Adam Woog didn’t win the Ellen Nehr award. Dammit. Louise Ure DID win the best first novel Shamus – YIPPEE!!!! I just got all the awrd news stuff posted over on Deadline News. (Blush – I totally forgot to do it while I was in Madison and had computer access. Oh DUH. What a brain.)

While the plans for airport transport went smoothly and the cabs were very welcome and useful, the disability issues that seemed to arise from this trip were constant and ranged from annoying to absolutely humiliating. We landed a few minutes late in Madison; Rae, the ever-organized and willing, helped me fetch my suitcase. We headed out to the cab stand area; didn’t see the cab and just as I decided that the cab had waited the requisite 10 minutes (I was told that was all they were allowed to wait at the airport – but have no idea if that is true as I was given that info by a hotel employee, not the cab company) poof, suddenly there on the horizon appeared my cab. With room for me, scooter, suitcase, Rae and Rae’s stuff. Yay! Easy. I hoped it was an omen.

It wasn’t. I had not received an answer from the email I sent to the place with the party on the second floor. I called them. I left a message Thursday morning asking for them to call me. I never heard. During our tromp around the lovely Saturday market (cheese, Gromit!), my friend Diane went OVER to the damn place and, as she put it, pounded on the door til someone answered. Oh yes, they said, sure, there’s an elevator and your friend can get up to the second floor, no problem (so why hadn’t they bothered to respond either to email OR phone call? And no, they NEVER did). I had, by Saturday morning, decided no way I was going to bother anyway. Rae tells me she was there and cannot imagine how I could have gotten up – she saw nothing like an elevator and can’t picture where it was.

Okay, I don’t want to give the impression that my entire four and a half days in Madison were fraught with trauma about travel. There was a lot of crap, interspersed with the immensely cool and enjoyable. I spent some time hanging out in the lobby very early on talking with Steve Booth having one of those conversations you LIVE for at a convention. We talked about passion and creativity, writing and how good writing can get. Damn, it was so interesting and such a good omen for a good convention.

I missed all the award stuff – I actually had no plans to go to them (except for one) but I just couldn’t deal with the idea of crowds and all. I managed not to attend any panels again but my own and I am really sorry. This happened last year as well, because I had other stuff that either was really interesting to be part of or that I really HAD to do; this year, I had a page and a half of notes on things I needed to do; meeting with this person and that, go here, go there. It was all Left Coast related and when I wasn’t here, there and everywhere, I was either eating or at the LCC table, where I tried to hang out several hours every day.

I managed to not get enough sleep any damn night; the worst being Friday because of course I was getting up at 7 to get downstairs by 7:30 to get to the Saturday Market. So of course I woke at 6:15 and could not get back to sleep.

I shopped. This is an odd thing as I don’t tend to shop and I sure don’t like clothes shopping. But Wednesday night, Shira and I went out to dinner at 7:30. All was calm, all was bright. Returning to the hotel a couple hours later I was freakin’ cold. I’d read the forecasts; the temperature seemed about 10 degrees colder than forecast. Brrrr. So the next day I headed over to my idea of fun clothes shopping – the local Lands’ End Outlet Store. I’ve never been in one. I bought too much stuff but it was SUCH a BARGAIN. And of course, the minute I bought a sweater, I was never in a position to need it again. But heck, it was $20! And that was not the only shopping I did. More on that.

I always hesitate to name names, because I hate when I read those posts about “And then I saw” and sniff sniff, I’m not listed. But I’ll try to name some of the folks I remember talking to. Keep in mind please that I’m still hungover with fatigue.

Best single meet-up was Louise Penny, whom I had been SO wanting to meet. When she walked up to the LCC table with her husband, I exclaimed something like “Oh, just the person I’ve been looking for.” And she didn’t seem to believe me, saying something like “maybe you think I’m someone else”. Snort. So then I said in a tone fraught (I’m using that a lot aren’t I? Sorry, but it suits) with meaning, “no really. I’m ANDI SHECHTER.” in this case, it really was okay to be so Important Sounding because she and I had had SUCH fun when I interviewed her months back for Library Journal and we SO wanted to meet each other. I later got to talk with her for some time at the Mysterious Press party. Her book is one of only two on my “best first mystery” list for 2006. She’s terrific. Read her book too.

Some folks I never got time with the way I’d hoped; Sarah Weinman and I got to “hello” but we both then raced off in all directions. I did get some time with Barbara Seranella – I usually see her when she tours, but she’s had a few shall we say interruptions in her normal schedule this past year, so seeing her in Madison was almost good enough. I got dinner with Shira and got to catch up a little with Marv and Carol Lachman. I was in a horrid situation and am so hugely grateful to Larry Gandle and George Easter for being the classy gentlemen and kind souls that they are (once again). I was on a really good panel and I take full, er, some, okay, a smidgen of credit for how it went because I seem to recall telling Maddy Van she’d be a really good moderator. Am I right or what? The panel involved a bunch of folks representing a number of on-line mystery book groups, from the specific (Lord Peter) to the large and general, (RAM) and all stops in between and it really worked. How do I know? Standard rule: a program is good if it could have gone for another half hour at least. I was at first sorry it was in a classroom across the street from the hotel, but happy when I got there and realized that for the first time, I didn’t have to deal with the issue of stairs. We were all just sitting at a table that was at the same floor level as the audience. I usually climb the stairs because well, god, the hassle of moving everything – tables, chairs, mikes, water pitchers is such a fuss. But there are times when I really shouldn’t so this was just poof.

I got into the book room once. I don’t find Bouchercon book rooms very interesting, but that’s cuz I’m a heretic here. I know it’s probably going to bring down lightning on my head but it’s all just books. I can’t afford to buy books, don’t have a huge list of old or rare books I’m looking for, tend to be more interested in other stuff (of which there was none – not even tee shirts) and I know that makes me weird in this crowd. But when you’re on as limited an income as SSDI is, you just don’t go looking at books. And I‘ve never been a fan of old books; I know folks swoon at Hay-on-Wye or even searching Powell’s or the Strand but it’s not for me. I’m such a, a, a, I dunno what I am. It used to be because I couldn’t stand up that long. But it really isn’t fun “window-shopping” when money is so tight. I do have the review books piling up too, so it’s not like I’m without books. I did want to get something for Stu and for someone else, and never found what I wanted. (But got home to about 6 more books for review. And got something like NINETEEN in the Bcon book bag. Normally I sort through those and leave tons behind; this time I just shipped them home, figuring my mom would get some of them. It was easier that way, although I should have found the swap room at least and tried for some different ones since as you’d imagine not everyone got the same books.)

I saw Linda Barnes, but didn’t get enough time with her. Jeff Abbott, ditto. Got to say a quick hi to Lori Andrews, the only other person at Bouchercon who knows about the Armed Forces Institute Of Pathology (her book Sequence is about it. Me? They have my biopsy slide results.) I never got to meet the talented Colin Cotterill. I was planning to bring only 2 books for autographing: Louise Penny’s and one by Cotterill. I mean how often do you get a chance to meet an author who lives in Laos. But bringing LCC flyers, hotel information, maps, notes, this and that and the other thing, I had no room and left even those two books behind.

Got dinner with SJ (I realize I say Shira half the time but I constantly switch off – Shira is SJ Rozan for those who don’t know. There, now you does.) which was as always one of the best times I can have ever. Had fun with Zoe and Andy and got to hear about Zoe’s auction prize (must see blog for story). Looked for Eleanor Bland but didn’t spot her. Looked for Sara Paretsky, but apparently she never made it. Julia Buckley looked like she was having a fine time with no shyness/hesitation as she’d feared. Found Lillian Stewart Carl and I have the same secret passion. Saw the Criders and met Troy Cook, saw Robin Burcell and Michael Dymmoch – usually Michael and I get to talk during a Bcon but not this one. Kate Flora and I dissected the art of moderating; fell in love with Al Guthrie’s accent. Alan Gordon’s got a new Festus book coming out – SO happy at that news!!!! Jerry Healy looks better than ever. Swoon. Damn.

Sujata Massey (when I saw her last was far too many years ago) threw a “bachelorette party” for Laura Lippman who’s marrying David Simon this week, like maybe it’s happened as I write this. (and got her matching bride/groom rubber duckies at the rubber ducky store). I got to talk with Nancy Pickard, who wrote a great book this year and walked away with 2 awards for her short story, and we were stunned to think it might have been over 10 years since we last saw each other. She does look the same, seriously she does. Finally met Dusty aka JD Rhoades, one of mystery’s truly cool dudes. Finally met the ridiculously energetic Sandra Ruttan. Met newcomer Alexandra Sokoloff at the Bantam party along with the person I had really gone to meet – the wonderful Kate Miciak – whom I‘ve only wanted to meet for like two and a half years since interviewing her for the LJ article.

END PART ONE so I can stop and think up part two!