Blood On The Bayou - Bouchercon in New Orleans

by Linda Thorne

What an ideal place for me to attend my first Bouchercon World Mystery Convention last month. The great city of New Orleans.

Above is a picture inside the Marriott - New Orleans on Canal Street where I stayed and where the convention was held. A great location near the Riverwalk and the French Quarter. Harrah's Casino was close by too, but no time for a casino visit this trip.

The first time I saw New Orleans was in early 1995. My husband and I had moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, so not far from NOLA. On our first trip we stayed at one of the old boutique hotels close to Bourbon street and immediately fell in love with everything about this city.

Here some of the pics I took last month around the French Quarter.

 

I'm not sure I can do justice describing the ambience of the place to folks who have never been there.

In 2002 my husband and I moved across country and it was goodbye to New Orleans. This September 2016 Bourchercon visit was the first time I've been back since we left the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I'm happy to report that it looks and feels like the same place we fell in love with. Katrina did her damage and over many years we heard the presumptions that New Orleans would never recover, never come back. I'm glad to report that the soul of the city seemed untarnished, completely alive in the same way it's always been.

My book, Just Another Termination, is set on the Mississippi Gulf Coast with numerous references to New Orleans. I had it stocked for sale at the makeshift bookstore set up by Garden District Book Shop at the convention (front center below). I also donated a number of my books to the Bouchercon Book Bazaar at the convention. I wanted the book available in the region of the country where my story is set.

I got to participate on a panel at the conference called the Continuous Conversation. This went on through the entire convention, with new panelists rotating every fifteen minutes to stay a solid hour. My hour was Thursday afternoon. It was a good time and I stopped in again periodically to hear other authors joining the Continuation Conversation. I attended numerous traditional author sessions too.

Anyone else have some experiences to share about the New Orleans, Blood on the Bayou, Bouchercon? Or New Orleans? I came back muttering the words, "Laissez les bons temps rouler," meaning "let the good times roll."

http://www.lindathorne.com