Well, another Malice Domestic is officially in the books! It was my first time at the mystery conference since 2017 and it was so, so much fun to see old friends and meet new ones. Here are just some of the highlights:

1. Seeing Old Friends

Malice truly is like summer camp where you get to see all your old friends. And hey, look! It’s the original four founding members of Chicks on the Case! 

And here are Anita Carter and Mary Lee Ashford, who were my first-ever conference friends! I met them at Left Coast Crime Monterey a bajillion years ago:

2. Getting lost for an embarrassingly long time in the Whole Foods parking garage

We kicked off the conference with a trip to Whole Foods to stock up on provisions and almost became a Dateline episode. Picture Keith Morrison: “Four mystery authors entered the Whole Foods parking garage. CCTV footage shows them entering various elevators and walking around different levels. What happened to them next is a mystery that none of them could have written…”

Please congratulate me, Kellye Garrett, Lisa Q. Mathews, and Gigi Pandian on making it out alive.

3. Stocking up the book room

We eventually found our way back to the hotel from Whole Foods, and the next morning began with conference registration and the book room to drop off copies of Terror in Taffeta and Welcome to Cozy Town. While I waited in line, I chatted with Megan Gerig, author of Beatrice Ophelia is Flickering Out, and her husband Ryan. Yay, one hour in and already made new friends!

4. Malice-Go-Round

I’m a sucker for author speed dating. Authors go around a banquet room and pitch their books to almost 200 readers, eight at a time, handing out bookmarks and making friends very quickly. This is one of those times when talking fast comes in really handy!

5. Mystery authors who lunch

I don’t even know the name of this place but after Malice-Go-Round, a few of us snuck away for an offsite and drank Arnold Palmers and now I want a fairy light tunnel in my house. 

6. Anthology Signing

Ten years ago, I had an idea for the Malice anthology, Murder Most Conventional, about an aging mystery author. I wrote down the idea, but never wrote the story! When I heard this year’s theme was “Murder Most Senior,” I got to work. And I’m proud to announce that “Edna St. James Takes a Bow” finally got its moment! Friday night we had a signing after the auction, and I signed books and had the other authors sign my copy — including Toastmaster Ellen and her friend “Jackie.” 

7. Sisters in Crime Chapter Officers Meeting

Just a few months ago I became the Vice President of my Sisters in Crime Heart of Texas Chapter, so I was thrilled to get to meet other officers of other chapters and share ideas. What an amazing group of women!

8. Hanging out with the Chicks

Five Chicks were in attendance:

Here’s me and roomie Leslie taking a moment to wave to Cynthia Kuhn. (Hi, Cynthia!)

9. Banquet/Awards

So many pretty teapots! Congratulations to everyone — including Ellen Byron, who did a bang-up job of Toastmastering! 

10. Meeting New Friends

I finally got to meet the fabulous Tammy Barker in person (!) and Matt Greene and I bonded over theatre:

Tricia Maniaci shows off her copy of Terror in Taffeta along with her mug featuring a garden gnome who she will later learn is a character in Welcome to Cozy Town.

This year I decided to fly home on Monday, and I’m so glad I did! I had dinner Sunday night with a whole new group of friends that included Korina Moss, Annie McEwen, Tricia Maniaci, and Tiffany from The Beachbum Bookworm. We ended the conference by getting the giggles so hard we were crying, which was the perfect end to the perfect conference. 

Readers, what’s one of your favorite memories from a conference?