New England Crime Bake Time!

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By Julie, enjoying fall in Somerville.

thankful-for-our-readers-giveaway-3Today is my day to do a giveaway! Reader’s choice–either Just Killing Time or Clock and Dagger! Comment to enter.

I missed the first New England Crime Bake, but have been to every one since. The first one I went to was the debut of the Level Best Book’s anthology. My friend Regina ran around, getting everyone’s signature on their story. “This is a goal for us,” she said to me. “To be in this book.” Two years later Regina passed away, but I think of her at every Crime Bake, and know thrilled she’d be to collect signatures on the latest Level Best anthology. I thought of her every time I signed my story in the three anthologies I was in. (My story, “Her Wish”, was inspired by Regina.)

This is part of what Crime Bake means to me. Partly a wonderful conference with fellow writers, where I learn and get inspired. But mostly it is a reunion with dear friends. Part inspiration, part therapy session, part gossip fest. The Wickeds are all together physically, which is a rare treat and my favorite part of the weekend.

What else am I looking forward to this year?

  • William Kent Krueger is the Guest of Honor. I’ve seen him on a couple of panels this past year, and know how lucky we are.
  • Learning about branding. We have a Friday night keynote about it, and a Sunday session on using podcasting to create a brand.
  • Celebrating the debut novelists. We started this last year–during “Death and Desserts” everyone with a debut novel gets a ribbon and congratulations.So great to cheer on folks who had their dream come true–I was one of them last year!
  • Spending time with Donna Andrews repping MWA and Diane Vallere repping Sisters in Crime.

We’ll report back on how the weekend went. Follow the hashtag #CrimeBake, and we’ll post this weekend.

Readers: Do you have a favorite annual conference or gathering, small or large, that you attend and look forward to all year? Writers, what’s your favorite meeting of the fans-and-fellow-authors tribe?

Published by Julie Hennrikus aka Julia Henry

One woman, three names, many books. As Julia Henry she writes the Garden Squad series for Kensington. As J.A. Hennrikus she writes the Theater Cop series, and as Julianne Holmes she wrote the Clock Shop series. Click on my profile picture to connect with me on Facebook and Instagram! @JHAuthors

60 Thoughts

  2. The National Association of Black Journalists annual convention was my favorite conference. I work for Northwestern University and the first 6 years of my tenure, I supported students at Medill. NABJ was a highlight because I was able to re-connect with alumni, employers and support students as they engaged with employers. Even though attendance was in the thousands, NABJ always felt like family reunion, plus the people watching was tremendous.You could always tell the broadcasters from the other journalists! LOL!! I left Medill to work for another school at Northwestern so NABJ is no longer on my dance card but I look back on that conference with great fondness and memories!

    1. It sounds great!! I’ve noticed the difference between broadcasters and journalists as well, though I’ve never been to a conference of them. I used to work for Harvard at a facility that hosted conferences–loved the people watching of that.

  5. It’s not far and I wish I could attend. I will think of all of you and the fun you are having!

  6. Oh, how I wish I could be there with with all of you. It’s sounds like so much fun.

  8. I have not been to Crime Bake in @10 years, so enjoy! My favourite mystery convention is Left Coast Crime. I have been to 12 of them. It is great to go somewhere warmer than Ontario in February or March, and the smaller sized convention provides more opportunity to interact with authors and see friends more than once.

  9. A friend told me about the Maine mysteries, as she called them, because she discovered the CrimeBake writers during a visit there. Later on, I shared your web address with her after discovering your website while trying to contact your “poison advisor.” We didn’t want her advice about poison—just wanted to know if a stray dog she’d taken in was working out OK—since it had been passed to us, and on to friends of ours, who gave it to her.
    We love the Clock Shop Mysteries. My husband is a graduate horologist, now retired, so I am quite familiar with clocks and watches—their intricacies and how folks rely upon their timepieces, abuse their timepieces and think of them as family members—whom they usually treat the same way as they do their family.
    I have bought, read and recommended to my Bas Bleu Book Club “Just Killing Time.” So, if I win, I want “Clock and Dagger.” Wish me good times and good luck!

  10. I don’t work anymore and $$ is short. But, I’ve done 2 RWA-NY meetings. I’d get to the hotel hours before the open signing and literacy book sale and go looking for the authors that I know personally. It’s a pleasant way to spend a day out of the house and maybe even get to have dinner with one of them.

    I’ve read both of the clock books and enjoyed them immensely. I’d love to own either one of them to add to my home library.

  12. Julie, you’ve made me green with envy. Have a wonderful time there for all of us who wish that we could be there with you. Enjoy!

  13. Crime Bake is on my list to attend next year for sure– what could be better than New England and mysteries! My current favorite conferences tend to involve knitting and lots of yarn.

  14. This year I will be attending Crime Bake for the first time. I’m looking forward to meeting all of the Wickeds and the rest of the attendees. Party! Oh…and lots of learning.

  15. I’m so excited to attend my first Crime Bake this year. I just finished my first draft of my cozy mystery, and I’m looking to pitch to some agents and learn what I need to do for next steps! Also can’t wait to meet/see some of my fellow New England authors!

    I also attended Bouchercon in New Orleans thanks to a fellow Sisters in Crime Guppy for the first time this year and had an amazing time. I just signed up for next year in Toronto. Hopefully I’ll have my first book to show!

  16. I haven’t been to a book convention yet but there is one near me (about an hour and half drive) coming in FEB. I would love to go and start that as a tradition. Something has always come up and prevented me from going. Maybe I’ll get lucky this coming feb. I do have a Christmas tradition with a friend of mine to go to a hotel in Orlando that features ICE- its a warehouse/convention center that has ice sculptures and is 9 degrees inside. In Florida it’s pretty amazing. It’s not a book convention but it’s the closest thing I have to look forward to. I hope to start meeting authors soon!

    1. Are you talking about Sleuthfest? I’ve heard great things about that conference. Your Christmas tradition sounds wonderful. I love ice sculptures, and watching them being made. Sadly for us, the 9 degrees is all too familiar in January/February/March here in New England.

  17. I had vaguely heard of the conference before I started reading this blog. You have made it sound like so much fun.

    Hope everyone has a great time this weekend!

  18. I have always wanted to go to the Hallmark annual convention as I have been a member of their group for many years as soon as they put it out . I should of went in the beginning but not knowing i would get a nerve disease that would make me 99% home bound now i just love reading the newsletters about people that make the ornaments that is my other fav thing to collect besides books to read. Would love to read and review on a few sites ! Thank you for blogging .

  19. My husband’s side of the family has a reunion every year, and I love going to them. His family has been so incredibly welcoming to me, and made me feel liked I belonged right from the beginning. I am so blessed! Your conferences all sound wonderful, and it’s especially nice that fans are welcomed and appreciated. One of these days, I would love to attend ~

    1. Isn’t it great when you like your in-laws? Sounds like a wonderful reunion. Hopefully you will make it to a conference at some point. Some, like Malice Domestic and Bouchercon are very reader focused, and a lot of fun.

  20. I wish I could go to more conferences to meet my favorite authors! There isn’t really any close by me. I got to attend BEA in Chicago this year and that was my first time going to anything like that and I got to meet a lot of cool authors and meet some of my blogging friends for the very first time, it was so cool! šŸ™‚

  21. Hi Julie! Hope you & your fellow authors have a great time this weekend. Thank you for a chance at winning one of your books.

  22. Crime Bake sounds like an amazing good time. Would love to be a fly on the wall. Thank you, Julie for a chance to win one of your books

  23. I had a wonderful time at Bouchercon in New Orleans. That was my first conference.

  25. I enjoy Porsche Club Of America’s Parade. It is an annual get together with things to do & people to reconnect with. great social event that is roughly four days. Alternates from the east and west coasts or mid-section of the country.

  26. Not a literary event; I look forward to the Agape Ministries Christmas Party where I can touch base with former campers and see how their lives are turning out.

  28. Crime Bake sounds amazing. Wish I could go. I’d really like to win one of your books, Julie.

  29. On my bucket list is the wish to attend a mystery writer’s conference. Thanks for the interesting post & giveaway!

  30. I want to attend a Mystery Conference also…I have taken local writing classes at the Univ. Of North Alabama and I want to pursue it…In Jan. I hope to join Sisters in Crime…Thank you for a contest.
    Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com

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