Mystery Trip 

“Finally, you get to spend the weekend with a host of other writers, all striving for the same goal, all working hard and learning.  Many will be complete newbies, and many will already be published, with all sorts of folks in between. We spend so much of our time toiling alone, FEELING alone, that it sometimes helps to remind us we’re human when we can relate to others in the same boat.  And, it gives us inspiration to boot.”

Susan Malone, contributing editor to Authorlink.com. 

Writers’ conferences are always a little intimidating for me. Last year, however, I had a most welcoming experience at my first Malice Domestic Mystery Conference in Bethesda, Maryland. The impetus to attend came from the online MG/YA subgroup of the Sisters in Crime Guppies. As a member, I became acquainted with like-minded authors, many willing to offer advice and support. When several said they planned to attend Malice, I signed up and looked forward to meeting my Internet friends in person. That positive experience had me looking forward to this year’s event, Malice Domestic 36.

My trip began on Thursday, April 25, 2024, when my husband drove the ten miles from our home to Palm Beach International Airport and dropped me off for my flight north. I slowly weaved through the TSA line after leaving my suitcase at the bag drop. The wait was perhaps fifteen minutes, but a toddler having a screaming tantrum made it seem longer. Her poor mother tried holding her, talking softly to her, rocking her, but nothing worked. The child eventually wriggled free and lay down on her back, defiantly inching backward along the carpeted line.

While waiting at the gate and all through the two-hour and twenty-minute flight to DCA (Reagan International Airport in D.C.), I opened the Kindle app on my laptop. I read the book Brainstorm by author Elaine Viets, the lifetime achievement honoree at this year’s Malice.

After I arrived at DCA, I opted to travel by the D.C. Metro. (I had shared Ubers to and fro last year, but I thought a train ride would be fun.) After all, I grew up using the New York subway and later often took the commuter rail in Massachusetts and the “T “in Boston., not to mention the U-Bahns and S-Bahns I rode during the six years I lived in Munich. The Metro was quite convenient, with a station right at the airport. From there, I took the Blue Line nine stops to the Metro Center station, where I transferred to the Red Line. I rode eleven more stops to the North Bethesda station, a short block from the conference hotel. The train trip took about an hour, not much longer than Uber had taken the previous year, and the price was a bargain.

I arrived in the late afternoon. I had a free evening after picking up my registration badge and Malice tote bag filled with complimentary books and magazines. I used it to get some exercise by walking a few blocks to pick up dinner. On the way back, I was pleased to run into an old author friend from Massachusetts and met a few others. It was a nice start to the weekend.

On Friday morning, I attended an information session for volunteers and signed up as a timer for one of the afternoon author panels. It was easy enough. I picked up an envelope containing name cards to be placed on the table in front of each participating author and time cards printed with “10” and “5,” which I had to flash for the panel moderator when the session had ten minutes left and then only five minutes.

At ten am, I attended “Malice-Go-Round.” It’s an event for forty authors to talk about their new books to twenty groups of eight people each, sitting at round tables. Two authors start at each table, each with two minutes to present. Most also handed out bookmarks or postcards about their books. They switch tables and repeat their performances when the four minutes are up. It continues until they have spoken at all twenty tables. Since I did not have a new book published this year, I was not eligible to present, but I was one of the listeners. I came away inspired by many new stories.

At one pm, I attended a panel with some of the Honored Guests talking about tales from their book events around the world. At two pm, I did my timing volunteer work at a panel with authors who write about international and exotic settings. At three pm, I listened to the nominees for Best Contemporary Mystery, and at 4 pm, the panel was devoted to the nominees for Best Historical Mystery.

After 5, I took a quick break until I joined the Sisters in Crime Guppies at 5:30 for a meetup at the hotel bar. My MG/YA friends from the previous year were there, and it was great also to meet the ones I only knew from our online chats. A glass of wine extended into dinner, and it was fun to join a table with friends of friends. I met authors from many states.

I started bright and early Saturday morning with a 7:30 am breakfast meetup with author friends. At 9:00 am, a panel on historical research was moderated by one of my friends, and that was followed at 10 am by the panel of Best MG/YA Mystery nominees moderated by another friend. 11:00 am brought a session with the nominees for Best First Mystery, which yet another friend moderated.

After dropping off my voting ballots for the Agatha Awards to be presented that evening, I took a quick lunch break. At 1:00 pm, I attended “Interview of a Lifetime” with Guest of Honor Sujata Massey. At 2:00 pm, I listened to a panel about writing short stories, and at 3:00 pm, I enjoyed hearing from authors who write about small towns, and they had a lot of funny things to say.

At 4:00 pm, I took a break and read an ebook on my laptop called Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer by Dorothy Gillman. Then I dressed in my finest and joined the attending authors for Cocktails, followed by the Awards Banquet. A lovely surprise at my table with MG/YA authors was finding gift bags waiting on our chairs. One of our generous and thoughtful MG nominees treated each of us at the table to a copy of her book and some other treats. After dinner, awards were announced, and each winner received an engraved teapot, a symbol of the Agathas named after Dame Agatha Christie. Here are the results:

Best Contemporary Novel - The Weekend Retreat, Tara Laskowski

Best Historical Novel - The Mistress of Bhatia House, Sujata Massey

Best First Novel - Crime and Parchment, Daphne Silver

Best Short Story - “Ticket To Ride,” Dru Ann Love and Kristopher Zgorski, Happiness is a Warm Gun anthology

​Best Non-Fiction - Finders: Justice, Faith, and Identity In Irish Crime Fiction, Anjili Babbar

Best Children’s/YA Mystery - The Sasquatch of Hawthorne Elementary, K. B. Jackson

On Sunday morning, I attended one more panel session at 10 am called “How Do Authors Pick Careers for Amateur Sleuths.” It was fun to run into yet another friend I hadn’t seen for a while there. That session ended the conference for me since I had to catch a flight home. I was pleased that the sun was out and the weather had warmed up. I walked to the Metro and repeated the earlier ride in reverse. DCA was busy but not as crazy as the previous year when bad weather delayed many flights, including mine. The flight left on time this year, and I landed in West Palm early. My husband was there to meet me. The weekend was stimulating, and I look forward to next year, but for now, it’s nice to be home.