Bouchercon 2011 Under the Arch

*** Giveaway Winners are ***
*** LINDA and DONNAS ***

The St. Louis Arch, that is. My home town. Ta da! I can go to the World Mystery Conference by driving about thirty miles. Last time that happened with a major local conference was Eyecon '99, the Private Eye Writers of America conference. (This year's Shamus award nominees just announced; hat tip to Janet Rudolph.)

Bouchercon, named for mystery critic Anthony Boucher, has been held continuously since 1970. The location moves around and out of the country from year to year. The Anthony Awards are associated with the conference; winners are selected by attendees.This year it's at the

Renaissance St. Louis Grand, St. Louis, from September 15th-18th. 

My panel is "Night Chills - Making Things Go Bump in the Night", on Thursday, September 15th, 8:30am-9:30am, room Majestic A,B,C. Yes, that's 8:30 in the morning, on the first day. Please, please, if you are going to Bouchercon, set your alarm and come to my panel!! It'll be fun and I hope to see you there--awake--in the audience. We're moderated by Monette Draper (aka Monette Michaels) and the other panelists are Angie Fox, Sarah Glenn, M.R. Sellars, and Jason Starr. 

I'll also be volunteering at the Bouchercon registration table and staffing the International Thriller Writers Outreach table. If you want information on joining ITW, stop by and talk to some genuine ITW authors. I'm currently on the board of ITW, printed out the brochures, and had a banner made for the front of the table, so I need to make sure the table looks busy. :) Stop by and talk paranormal stuff and I'll give you a Sacrifice: Mortal Path Book 2 pen. 

I've saved the best for last. HarperCollins is sponsoring the opening ceremonies during Bouchercon this year. The opening ceremonies will take place from 7pm-9pm on Thursday, September 15th (roughly twelve hours after my panel, so I hope I'm still functional by then). The Barry and Macavity Awards will be presented during the opening ceremonies, and immediately afterward, HarperCollins will host a book signing and reception in the lobby outside the opening ceremonies room. I'll be there, handing out FREE copies of Sacrifice: Mortal Path Book 2 to the first fifty takers, along with some see-through solar calculators. 

I'll give away two copies of Sacrifice (paperback or ebook format) plus two calculators right now to a pair of lucky winners, just for practice. All you have to do is leave a comment below by Thursday, September 1st and I'll do a random drawing. If you include your (disguised) email, I'll contact you; otherwise, you can check back on Friday to see the winners named at the top of this post.