Sunday, September 22, 2013

Bouchercon Day 3: McFetridge and Lansdale; Laukkanen, King, and Anonymous-9

After Bouchercon
From the perspective of 6:20 p.m., Saturday's 8 o'clock breakfast with the people who put together Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine seems a disorientingly distant memory, so it's time for a revitalizing nap before dinner. (This is Bouchercon; everybody takes naps at Bouchercon.)
*
Ah, that's better.
*
Saturday's panel on villains included this from Joe R. Lansdale:
"You're pulling something out of yourself. ... You're trying to bring humanity to the villain."
and
"You shouldn't try to write people as villains to begin with.  You should write stories that unfold in a certain way."
And this from DBB friend John McFetridge, who said his villains:
"See themselves as breaking laws, but they see the laws as kind of temporary."
North flank of Empire State Plaza, whose conference
center is the home of Bouchercon 2013.
That was more than just a laugh line. McFetridge told of seeing university buildings named for Canadian brewers who made their money shipping beer into the United States during Prohibition, even altering the shapes of the bottles to make smuggling easier. The drug smugglers in his books, he said, fully expect one day to see the BC Bud School of Finance.
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I bought novels by Owen Laukkanen and Anonymous-9 after hearing them read during Bouchercon's author's choice sessions, which concluded with Dana King's passionate and eloquent defense of Raymond Chandler's championing of conduct not merely heroic but honorable. King is a fine crime writer. He'd also make a good university lecturer, and I was proud to have had him as a member of my noir and hard-boiled panel earlier in the convention.

Ali Karim, Roger Ellory, and your humble blogkeeper.
(Photo by Ursula)
© Peter Rozovsky 2013

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4 Comments:

Blogger Dana King said...

Thank you for the kind words, Peter, and thanks for sticking around for the dissertation I inflicted upon you and choice others. It helped immensely to see friendly and familiar faces in the audience.

September 23, 2013  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

No infliction, my friend. I used to say that I'd hire Megan Abbott and Allan Guthrie as professors at a hard-boiled university. You just received tenure to join them. It's o easy feat holding a Bouchercon audience at the end of the day, and you pulled it off with style.

September 23, 2013  
Blogger Anonymous-9 said...

Peter, at last we meet! Bouchercon was a blast. Nice hangin' with you and I'm delighted to visit your blog.
Smiles,
Anonymous-9

September 23, 2013  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Likewise on all counts. Welcome, and I'll see you in Long Beach.

September 23, 2013  

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