Good evening from the Grand Hyatt, where the room temperature is a very pleasant 68 degrees and yours truly is six inches away from a six hour nap. But first, a recap:
This morning I attended an informative panel about paranormal thrillers, hosted by Heather Graham and led by Dakota Banks, Janice Gable Bashman, Jeannie Holmes, Jonathan Maberry, J.L. Saint (Jennifer St. Giles), and Rochelle Staab. Most of these writers are from the South, so much of the hour was devoted to the unique lore of the Southern ghost story; Jeannie in particular shared a very engaging story about a church that was haunted by the spirit of a black man who had been lynched there IN THE CHURCH over a hundred years ago. Naturally, the question was asking as to whether or not the panelists were themselves believers and, interestingly, every single one of them answered in the affirmative. Jonathan grounded his response with a rather eerie story from his own life involving birds and car crashes.
Lunch was Two Boots pizza (mm!) and then it was on to the ITW General Meeting, where several important matters were discussed, including what to do about self-published authors and how best could the organization serve its membership on Twitter. From here it was a hop-skip-and-a-jump to a panel near and dear to my heart, “Humor in Thrillers,” which was hosted by my roommate Shane Gericke and led by David Bell, Toni McGee Causey, Richard Helms (no, not that Richard Helms), Harley Jane Kozak (yes, that Harley Jane Kozak), Robert Liparulo, and Amanda Kyle Williams. Essentially, the consensus was that humor needed to grow organically out of story and character and that comedy thrillers were difficult to market. Now they tell me! After this panel, I returned to the room for a little bit and then joined this year’s debut class across the street at Pershing Sq. for dinner and drinks. I hadn’t run into Pam Callow or Hilary Davidson yet, so this allowed me time to catch up with these two lovely, talented women.
And this brings me back to my room and my bed and the nap I’m about to enjoy. Tomorrow is my panel. Remember to spade and neuter your pets.