Mystery Conferences

As of right now, I have one mystery conference scheduled to attend in 2025, the Left Coast Crime Conference in Denver. I have attended this conference almost every year since 2007, missing one because of family plans and another because of knee problems and being unable to fly. My wife and I lived in Colorado from 1977 until 2015, and this Left Coast Crime Conference will be my first return trip to Colorado since we moved back to Southern California in 2015.

Men of Mystery

One of my favorite mystery conferences is coming up on September 28 in Long Beach, CA, Men of Mystery. I’ve been attending this one-day conference since 2009. In addition to being a short commute from my home in Lakewood, it’s an enjoyable time to see old friends and meet new mystery fans. This year there are 27 mystery authors and between 250 and 300 attendees. All the authors give a one-minute pitch, followed by a signing session as well as guest speakers and lunch. During lunch each author is at a table with a host and mystery readers and provides an opportunity to answer readers’ questions.

Outline or Seat-of-the-Pants

Writers fall into two categories in how they approach their manuscripts. On one side are outliners who sketch out an outline of their story. On the other hand are seat-of-the-pantsers who just start writing and see where it will go. I am a basic outliner: I write a simple outline, but once I start writing it always meanders into a direction I wouldn’t have predicted. As a mystery writer, I often don’t know who the bad guy is until about two-thirds of the way through writing. This keeps me engaged because I’m trying to figure out who done it as I write. I am currently experimenting with a manuscript with no outline. I work on it for a while and then take a break. I’m not a natural seat-of-the-pantser. I’ll keep working on it to see where it goes, but I find this much more difficult than starting with an outline. The beauty of writing is that there is no one way of doing it.

Writing Different Genres

I primarily write mystery novels. I have also written a thriller, a non-fiction biography of a World War II veteran and a middle grade novella. Of the mystery novels, three are paranormal mysteries and two are historical mysteries. Upcoming in November is a middle grade mystery novel featuring a fifth grade Sherlock Holmes lookalike who solves mysteries in a fictional California town. Stay tuned for more information about this book.

Apps for Sending Emails

I used to use Mailchimp to send emails to my list. Now I’m using Beehiiv. I send out emails to my list when there is new information about my books. For example, I have a middle grade mystery that will be published in November. I’ll send out notification about this as it approaches. I also send out emails about anniversary dates for published books. In August I will note the  thirteenth anniversary of the publication of Senior Moments Are Murder, the third book in the Paul Jacobson Geezer-lit Mystery Series.