Killer Nashville, The Pandemic, and Me

The Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference, held annually in late August, recently cancelled under the ominous cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic. Did this surprise me? No, but my personal reaction and mixed emotions to this cancellation did.

In mid-March my employer sent me and many of my co-workers out of our offices and to our homes to conduct business. All this time, companies have been closing and people losing jobs, the stock market a miss-mess of confusion, my 401(k) drooping, and I continue to work from home. Yet, it was only when I recently heard that the Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference was cancelled that the pandemic felt truly real and hit home for me.

I’ve attended the Killer Nashville Writers’ conference every year since 2009. This year I held off paying the registration fee after watching what was happening in China. When we were told we were in a pandemic in March, I decided not to attend this year’s conference. Still, Killer Nashville went on preparing for the event, scheduling the panels and the presentations. They continued to work to make it happen right into this month.

Even though this was not a surprise, it still blew me away. Clay Stafford, the founder, stated online: “Thanks to all of you for a wonderful 15 years. I’m sorry, very sorry, we couldn’t pull it off.”

I’m sure many of you are aware of other author/writer conferences that have had to do the same thing. For some reason this felt personal to me.

Addendum:

A picture of the last time my husband and I went out to dinner on his birthday March 13th. Mexican food and Margaritas. Afterwards we went to Great Clips and got hair cuts. We’ve pretty much stayed home since. Bummer.

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The 2017 Killer Nashville Writers' Conference

by Linda Thorne

Me at Killer Nashville last month at the Embassy Suites in Franklin (a suburb of Nashville) 

I feel so privileged to live in a city with its own annual writers' conference. I started going in 2009 as soon as I realized there was such an event in the city where my husband and I had moved.

In the early years I attended the sessions to learn the basics on how to write, taking dubious notes and asking questions. Then came workshops on writing query letters and finding a publisher. When I had a book contract for my debut novel, Just Another Termination, I showed up at other sessions taking notes and asking questions about marketing and promotion. I even went to a very early Sunday morning one about the "swag" authors need (book marks, cards, pens, gimmicks).

Killer Nashville has everything needed for any wannabe author.

I've been on at least one panel for the past three years. This year I had a fun panel (below) on Saturday August 26. It's name:
A Cat, A Recipe, and an Old Curiosity Shoppe: How to Write Cozy Mysteries. 

Panelists from left to right: Phyllis Gobbell, Carol L. Wright, me, Traci Andrighetti, Barbara Collins, and moderator, Lois Schmitt.

When you are a Killer Nashville panelist, Parnassus Books orders your books to sell in its makeshift conference bookstore. 

The schedule is totally different every year at Killer Nashville, so lots to see and learn. I'm already looking forward to the August 2018 conference. 

Tom Wood stopped by to talk to me and Phyllis Gobbell prior to our panel.