Highlights by Juliet Kincaid
The fourth Great Manhattan Mystery Conclave, September 28 through September 30, 2007, in the “little apple” of Manhattan, Kansas, offered panels and opportunities for mystery writers and readers.
For instance, the first panel on Saturday resembled a typical Partners in Crime on a law enforcement topic, only times five. A police detective started off by describing crime scene security, etc. An internationally known forensic anthropologist took the baton and described what he does typically in a murder investigation. A forensic psychologist, AKA a profiler, followed. Then a prosecuting attorney and a defending attorney described their roles in the investigation and trial. All referred at least once to the “CSI effect,” that is, juries’ demand for DNA evidence even when unneeded. And television aside, it still takes lots longer than an hour (try six weeks to several months) to process DNA.
Many panels pleased both the writers and readers among us. Lisa Harkrader, for instance, along with Colorado writers Diane Mott Davidson and Beth Groundwater, discussed “Weaving Your Passions into Plots.” Nancy Pickard was on panels about the importance of setting in mysteries and bringing series characters to life. Will Thomas, author of a Victorian mystery series, Warren Bull, and I talked about our methods of research and the issue of authenticity in historical mysteries.
Chris Roerden, author of the writing advice book Don’t Murder Your Mystery, presented a writers’ roundtable, an informal schmooze session, and a writers’ workshop on “Preventing Quick Rejection.” I found all excellent, but especially the workshop. I’m reading her book now, and pretty often I’m saying, “I can’t believe I’m still making that same dumb mistake!”
As a reader I appreciated the offerings of the book room, and as a writer I appreciated the chance to learn from published authors like the writing team of Honora Finkelstein and Susan Smiley and the support of the conference organizers they give to writers like me still trying to break in.
Mystery writers like Diane Mott Davidson are clever people who will make you laugh lots. And the food was great. On the basis of this year’s conclave, I highly recommend next year’s GMMC.
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