Evelyn David
Sullivan Investigations Mystery Series

The Northern half of Evelyn David attended Malice Domestic in Virginia on May 4 - 6, 2007. We thought you might like to read her real-time impressions of the biggest mystery event of the year.

Now I know how Jennifer Aniston feels when Joan Rivers demands to know the name of the designer of the gown she's wearing at the Emmys. The challenge? Can you spill out the information demanded in a coherent, charming manner or will you trip over yourself trying to get out unfamiliar phrases until you see the person's eyes glaze over??

Or maybe it's how my cousin felt when she decided to try a new technique in her quest for the perfect mate. She had to master the art of selling herself in under 30 seconds in a weird variation of "Beat the Clock" meets the Newlywed Game. In any case, I just emerged from 2 hours of Malice-Go-Round, a literary version of the red carpet mixed with speed dating. What happens? The new author moves from table to table filled with fans and must, in under 60 seconds, give a synopsis of the book that has taken her more than a year to write and is 284 pages long - and of course, can't give away too much of the plot or solve the mystery.

The Southern half of Evelyn David taught me that if all else fails, offer chocolate. So in addition to the catch phrase, "Murder Off the Books is fast, funny, and furry," the real reason everyone loved my presentation was because I passed out chocolate to all fans.

This half of Evelyn David is exhausted - but also thrilled. Walking through the booksellers room, I saw someone who had just emerged from Malice-Go-Round with a copy of Murder Off the Books at the cashier. Hooray!

Mystery fans are early risers. At 7:15 a.m., there is a ballroom filled with mystery devotees. Sponsored by Mystery Scene Magazine, the breakfast is an opportunity for new authors to meet and greet an audience eager to find new reads. The 25 tables are strewn with bookmarks (Whiskey is on ours and is always a hit!), but I am now officially out of candy. Even at 7 in the morning, mystery lovers want chocolate with their murder and mayhem.

After a quick continental breakfast, which I am too nervous to eat, the host of the breakfast goes from table to table interviewing the new authors. Again, there is about 60 seconds to make your pitch. This time, however, the host concentrates on the collaboration of the Northern and Southern halves of Evelyn David - and less on the plot. There is a gasp from the audience when I confess that the two halves of this writing team have never met!

The Malice organizers are fantastic. This is my first Malice, my first mystery conference ... and of course, my first mystery. The sessions are interesting and for those of us who are starstruck, the sheer number of superstar mystery writers is staggering. I will not have a dime to my name when I leave. I keep going to the book room to buy books of the authors I just heard on panels. Big thrill of the morning - a woman in the line purchasing Murder Off the Books, and saying her book group plans to read it together. I gave her bookmarks for everyone - and will gladly send them out to anyone else who wants them. Just write to us at evelyndavid@evelyndavid.com.

This is probably as close as I'll get to the Oscars. Sure Rhonda and I already have a suggested cast list should Murder Off the Books be made into a blockbuster movie we'd settle for a Lifetime Movie of the Week). But up until now, the only awards banquets I've ever been to are the ones held every year in the local VFW hall to mark the end of soccer season. There the winning team is already known,and in fact, the only surprise is exactly how many minutes can go by before the first nine-year-old boy tosses the first dinner roll (the record seems to be 2 minutes, 30 seconds, but that was an unusual year).

I just got back to my hotel room from the Agathas and this is what I learned. The mystery community -readers, writers, editors, agents - are an incredibly supportive crowd. They honestly cheer for each other and are delighted to share the experience with everyone who likes the genre.

In a phenomenal show of support, they had the entire ballroom go silent(there were probably 500 people in the room), and they dialed the hospital room of Elaine Viets (felled by a stroke three weeks ago). Elaine was to serve as toastmaster of the event. Knowing how hard it was for her to miss such an occasion, they called her room and surprised her with a "get well soon" cheer from all of Malice. I'm sure it brightened Elaine's day - and it certainly made me feel good to be part of such a community.

Rochelle Krich was the Guest of Honor. She spoke eloquently about why she was a writer and what she hoped to achieve through her stories. She also made us laugh out loud with her 'on the nose' comments about selling the first book and how her two-year-old erased an entire chapter - and they still decided to keep him! Kathryn Wall hosted our table and was incredibly gracious, kind, and welcoming. Her new book is Sanctuary Hill, the seventh in her Bay Tanner series. I was late to the banquet because I picked up a copy, fresh off the presses,in the bookroom this afternoon and couldn't put it down. It's a fabulous story that grabs you from the first paragraph.

Now on to the winners. Sandra Parshall won the Best First Novel for her mystery,The Heat of the Moon. Nancy Pickard won Best Novel for her mystery, The Virgin of Small Plains.In thanking the group, Nancy commented that she had taken off several years, stopped going to conventions, etc., to stay home and perfect her craft. This book was the result of that sabbatical. Isn't it inspiring that an accomplished author like Nancy Pickard dedicated herself to improving her craft? It was certainly a lesson that I'll remember.

Tomorrow morning I'm on my first panel,"Bad Boys, Bad Girls, What You Gonna Do?" I'm nervous (I know I say that a lot), but everyone has been so supportive and encouraging, that I'm less worried than I was when I arrived.

Next year is Malice #20. They announced the lineup of honorees and it's a dazzling group of writers. There's a discount for enrolling before December 31.

Taking the train back to New York, I've had plenty of time to reflect on my panel and Malice Domestic. Barbara D'Amato, author of the fantastic Cat Marsala mysteries, was the moderator. With a dry sense of humor, she kept the hour moving along at a brisk pace. Each writer on the panel(there were six of us!) was asked to read a "scary" section from his/her mystery. Although my choice of material wasn't as scary as the other authors (wax ears are involved!), my scene did get the biggest laugh.

And in the end, what's better than making people laugh?