It's 7:03 here in Madison. Sunshine is gently snoring in the background. I'm up because 7 in Philly time is actually 8, and the Bride and I pretty much never sleep beyond 7 a.m. There's no excuse for Sunshine, though, because right now it's about noon or so in Scotland. Like, hello... L-A-Z-Y...
Yesterday was cool for a multitude of reasons:
1. The "Three Guys Talking" panel with Ken Bruen, William Kent Krueger and Don Winslow was a blast from start to finish. The conversation started out with sex, quickly devolved into drugs, and then hit agents and money and editors along the way. Winslow, once and for all, put to rest the rumor that writes S&M erotica novels under the name... well, Don Winslow. It's some other Don Winslow. He swears.
2. I ran into Busted Flush impressario David Thompson in the hallway and he gave me a cool Fifth of Bruen t-shirt. We also decided, on the spot, that the t-shirt for Damn Near Dead shouldn't be a t-shirt at all, but a bowling or old man polo shirt.
3. Jon and Ruth Jordan gave me copies of their Bouchercon mix CD, which are terrific. Jon and I might be fellow comic book geeks, but I think I share Ruth's taste in music. (I thought nobody else in the world liked Elvis Costello's "The Other Side of Summer.")
4. More B'Con goers asked for copies of The Blonde! Holy crap, people... you really do read this thing! I have exactly six copies left, if anybody's interested. One is earmarked for my BFF, Christin "Timberlake" Kuretich. But the rest are fair game.
5. Early in the morning, I ran into Jeff "The Other Male Erotica Writer from San Diego" Shelby, who was suffering a wicked (note: subtle plug) hangover, courtesy Lori Armstrong. Later that morning I ran into Lori Armstrong, who claimed to be suffering a hangover courtesy Jeff Shelby. Karen Olson plead the fifth.
6. After tossing back some coffee with Theresa "T" Schwegel and Megan "Don't Call Me Meg" Abbott, Sunshine and I parted ways. He joined Megan for the "Four Olives and a Twist" panel, while I follow the nerd herd into Jon Jordan's excellent comics panel. Max Allan Collins had some jaw-dropping war stories (after the success of Road to Perdition, everybody called, begging him for another graphic novel... until they learned that artwork actually costs money). Gary Phillips revealed that he's a Marvel man, and in his neighborhood, the surest way to get your ass kicked would be to pick up a D.C. comic. Denise Mina explained the true appeal of writing Hellblazer: "It's all about Catholicism and cigarettes." And finally, David Morrell talked about how he landed the gig to write Captain America: namely, by writing two spec scripts. Yes, two. David Frickin' Morrell!
7. Sunshine and I were reunited (cue Peaches and Herb song) just in time to have lunch with David Thompson, David "Hale" Smith, T, Stacey Cochran and Declan Hughes. For some reason, much of the conversation revolved around 80s music and C. Thomas Howe.
8. We left lunch early to meet Sandra "Voice of Killer Year" Ruttan and Bill "Lost Dog" Cameron for beers and a serious round of Dave White mockery. (Boo! Dave Boo!). Problem was, we found it hard to keep a straight face after saying things like, "I was more concerned with the safety of the goat, frankly" and "His stench is legendary." At one point, actual beer came out of my actual nose. Holy Christ in a chicken basket. Look for the results on Sandra's blog at some point, unless she comes to her senses.
9. OkaY, Let me say itAGAIN FOR THe record: UK keyboards fucking sUCK.
10. Before we knew it, it was time for the Minotaur party, which was held in a former church. Like this stopped me from drinking scotch? I think not.
11. And finally... the walleye. Friday night is apparently fish fry night in Madison, so how could I resist? I found myself trying to clog my aorta one forkful of fried fish at a time at a table with DHS, T, Sunshine, Dr. Sean Doolittle, Mitch Bartoy, James Patrick "Pat" Hunt and a friend of T's who wore a knit cap. (Sorry! I missed your name.)
12. At some point in the evening, I informed Sunshine that he had to write two plot germs for this (Saturday) morning's panel. Now mind you: Sunshine's not even on this panel. But he did it anyway. That's the kind of guy he is. (Easy.) Thing with Sunshine is, he never takes these assignments lightly, and he stayed up until 1 a.m. working on four sentences, pretty much burning through all of the paper in the hotel memo pad.
Speaking of Sunshine, it's time for our usual morning check-in.
Me: "How's it hanging, Sunshine?"
Sunshine: "[moaning, grunting]... ardent mischief... young whippersnapper..."
I think somebody stayed up too late...
8 comments:
I vote for the bowling shirt.
Victor Gischler
Make that three for EC's "The Other Side of Summer." A song that's not without its noir aspects.
"The sun struggles up, another beautiful day/And I feel glad in my own suspicious way."
What's not to love?
Damn, Duane.
You should go out of town more often.
Someone might mistake you for a reporter.
Again, my active vicarious life thanks you.
Poor Al.
Poor me.
Poor everyone for not getting to see me.
Careful what you wish for, Dave.
Duane, thanks for all the great updates. Really enjoying your special coverage.
Another vote for The Other Side of Summer.
You know, you've inferred I have sense.
Of course, when Dave's around I wish I didn't have the sense of smell...
I can still make virtual beer squirt out of my nose just thinking about the Dave White "discussion."
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