A Glimpse of Killer Nashville and Bouchercon in Nashville, TN

The last few weeks (8/22-9/2), I attended Killer Nashville and Bouchercon - both writer's conferences, and both in Nashville, TN. The major difference is that Bouchercon caters to fans (readers) as well as writers. This was my first Killer Nashville and I met some interesting people. The first photo below is the cozy mystery panel I was on along with CB Wilson, JD Webb, DL Mitchell, and Kay DiBianca, with Susan Parker moderating. Of note, DL Mitchell won the Silver Falchion Award for Cozy Mystery. It was a fun panel and CB Wilson explained succinctly that a cozy mystery was "a Hallmark movie on steroids." Would you agree with that?

The second was romantic suspense vs. romantic mysteries. That panel included Kathleen Caraway, Lynessa Layne, me, and Gay Yellen. I just finished a book by Gay Yellen - review coming soon. 

Between the two conferences, my husband and I enjoyed Gatlinburg, before returning to Nashville for Bouchercon. We visited the Great Smoky Mountain State Park and stayed in a cabin near the park. This is the sunrise from our deck. 

This is my third Bourchercon and they've all been a little different. Bouchercon 2024 was held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville. If you've never been to this hotel, it is phenomenal (and larger than life) with a conference center.  I attended a number of panels, saw some people I met at Killer Nashville and previous Bouchercons and made new friends.  

One of the panels I most enjoyed was entitled "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." The panel was moderated by Linda Hurtado Bond, and the panelists were Harlan Coben, Tom Farrell, Elise Hart Kipness, Andrew Welsh-Higgins, and Jonathan Brown. Very entertaining and informative. Not exactly cozy, but I'm a fan of Coben and may have to try some of these other authors.

I participated in a panel on Sunday morning - "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" moderated by Sara Glenn, along with Nicole Asselin, Carolyn Eichhorn, and MS Green. The focus was on cozy mysteries, why we write them, and where we get our ideas. It was a fun panel and I now have more authors to add to my TBR list.

I enjoyed my 10 days in Tennessee, but I came home exhausted and won't be doing back-to-back conference weekends again any time soon. In between, I ready many books so reviews will be coming slowly but surely.