Last month I wrote what I hope was a "simple" interpretation on steps to take to become an author. One of my suggestions included hanging out at writers' conferences. If you're an aspiring author, what you'll get out of a conference (and you'll get a lot) is a whole other post.
Today, Thursday September 15th, is my first day at the 2016 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, Blood on the Bayou. I'm here now in New Orleans attending as one of the many published authors; so, although my purpose at this convention still includes learning as much as I can, promotion and networking has taken on a much bigger role.
I'm assigned to a non-traditional panel today from 1:45 to 2:45 p.m. It's an interactive author panel/workshop called the Continuous Bouchercon Conversation and also referred to as the Magna cum Murder. There will be many different authors participating in this panel all day today, tomorrow, and Saturday, each coming in at their designated time and leaving an hour later.
Here are some pics from my two panels at the recently concluded 2016 Killer Nashville Writers Conference:
Session 5 Friday August 19, 2016 Building Your Network at Killer Nashville 2016. 
Left to right in the picture of all of us: Linda Sands,
me, Tom Wood, Bryan Robinson, and Kay Kendall.
The next panel I was tagged as moderator for How To Write Effective Plot Twists. Below from left to right is me, Tom Wood, Sharon Potts, Ray Wenck, and Kris Calvin.
Killer Nashville was a fun time. I started going in 2009 when I did not have a book published. I do now and this is the second year I've been included on authors' panels. Always a great time.
