Rachel Brady, Master Trickster

I'm up to bat at the Stiletto Gang, talking about the head games I play with myself to get stuff done. Please stop by and chime in, but only if you're a slacker. Super heroes are banned today.

Wonderful news from Left Coast Crime

Dead Lift has been nominated for a Watson, Left Coast Crime's award for the best sidekick in a mystery novel. Thanks to everyone who nominated it! Jeannie wants to buy you a round. :) I'm humbled by the company in the nominee list.

At the conference in March, I'll moderate a panel called "Detectives Without Badges." Panelists are Laurie R. King, Annette Mahon, and Lawrence Light. This should be a fantastic time!

Thinking about new writers

Yesterday I attended the monthly local meeting of Mystery Writers of America. Without fully understanding how it happened, I'm now serving as the chapter's vice president. This is an honor, but what scares me about it is knowing that I was recommended for this position because others believed I could infuse "new energy."

You know how it goes. Complain enough and somebody eventually says, "Well, if you think you can do better, we invite you to try."

MWA is a fabulous organization, but the complaints I allude to have to do with my outspoken opinion that the organization doesn't do enough to mentor its pre-published members.

So yesterday, I voiced some of my ideas to improve that. And today it occurs to me that I may be able to do something similar here at the blog.

One fortuitous side-effect of writing has been meeting other authors. What a cool bunch of people writers are. This morning I am wondering if the readers of this blog would be interested in posing a few questions to "authors at large." I could collect feedback from some of my author friends and post it here, and that would give you an opportunity for a little insight into their writing lives and their challenges in publishing.

Any interest? If so, please post your questions in the comments. I'll collect them and return with some professional feedback to share.