by Julie, figuring out time zones in Seattle
I have mentioned my rediscovery of Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series several times ever since I reread The Beekeeper’s Apprentice last fall, followed by the rest of the series. I read them/listened to them first as a reader. Then I relistened to them as a writer. I even bought a copy of Beekeeper’s so that I could mark it up. As a reader, it’s a wonderful series. As a writer, I want to figure out how Laurie pulls it off.
When I saw that she was celebrating 30 years of The Beekeeper’s Apprentice being in print with events this year, I was intrigued. First of all, hat tip. 30 years is a long time to be in print. Secondly, I decided to give into being a fan and attend the event in Seattle.
The master of ceremonies for the day was Laurie R. King herself. She started the day talking about Mary Russell, and ended the day with a conversation between herself, SJ Rozan and Barbara Peters. All wonderful. (SJ Rozan has a new book out, The Murder of Mr. Ma, which I’ve started listening to. She writes it with John Shen Yen Nee, and I’m loving it so far.)
Here are some other highlights:
Eli Ocheltree, beekeeper, is part of the SnoKing Beekeepers Association. She is the sort of magical person who is a font of knowledge in addition to being in love with her subject. Her enthusiasm for bees, and why Sherlock Holmes would find them fascination, was contagious. She brought in closed hive, and we all got to take a close up look. The queen was marked with a red dot, and I found her!
We also got to taste different types of honey, another wonderful experience. I bought a jar–wish me luck packing it for the plane ride back.
After lunch, Matt Burrough, a red team security expert (!), gave us a lesson in lockpicking. He co-leads the Seattle Locksport group. They get together and pick locks. I may need to find the Boston version.
Like most mystery writers, I like to try things out, and have wanted to know how to pick a lock forever. Friends, I picked mine four times! (And won a poster of The Pirate King as a prize!) I bought Locksport for research purposes. He’s one of the co-authors. I’m noodling a new character, and this book may be the key. (Get it, key? Insert sound of a rim shot here. Remember, time zone issues.) Seriously, it was a fascinating hour.
Then there was Beekeeper’s Bingo.
Aren’t these cards wonderful? Lines from the book, and a chance to talk about them, hear LRK’s thoughts on different books, and on how her creative process works.
All in all, a lovely day spent with other Mary Russell fans. LRK will be hosting two more of these days. One the day before Malice Domestic starts, and another at Bouchercon. There will be knife thrower at Malice. And there won’t be lockpicking demonstration at Bouchercon because it isn’t legal in Tennessee. Another fun fact to add to your knowledge base.
Readers, would you like to spend a day celebrating a book series? If so, which one?