Left Coast Crime Recap 2017

Left Coast Crime 2017: Honolulu Havoc
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii
Hotel: Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort
Date: March 16 – 19, 2017

Left Coast Crime is a convention of fans and authors who gather during the first quarter of the calendar year in Western North America (as defined by the Mountain Time Zone and all time zones westward to Hawaii) to celebrate crime fiction.

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Aloha!

First Class – that’s how I flew from New York to Hawaii. It was recommended that I fly first class and nonstop. On the trip to Hawaii, I had a 3-hour layover in Los Angeles, this after changing my original flight on Tuesday to Monday due to a pending snow storm on the east coast. First Class is awesome on a long flight. You get to sit in their private lounge where the food is free; you get to board the plane first; you get your own overheard storage bin; you get an offer a beverage as soon as you board the plane and your meal is really, really good. But the best part is the seat…wide for those of us who are not of average size with plenty of leg room and the seat either reclines or turns into a flat bed. Nice.

After arriving Monday evening in Hawaii, my friend, Eleanor J. and I dined in the airport hotel’s restaurant where we were amused by our waiter before heading to our room for the evening. Tuesday morning Mary R. , a long-time resident of Honolulu, was our tour guide on the island.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

On the first day of our trip towards the North Shore we started at Green World Coffee where we took a little walking tour (5 minutes) through their garden. Then we headed to the most magical place on the island, the Dole Plantation where we took the Pineapple express train ride (20 minutes) and sampled the Dole Whip. Then it was off to Haleiwa where we had lunch at the Breaker’s Restaurant and Bar. Next stop was Three Tables Beach and scenic views of Pupukea and then we drove by several shrimp farms in Kahuku. Then it was off to see the sea arch/cutout in the rock at La’ie Point State Wayside. Next up was the ranch at Kualoa Private Nature Reserve, where they filmed parts of Jurassic Park and King Kong. Right across the street was Chinaman’s Hat island and lastly but not least, we visited the Byodo-In Temple where we gonged the bell and saw a black swan, before heading to our final destination at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort in Waikiki.

Green World Coffee Farm

Dole Plantation

Three Tables Beach

La’ie Point State Wayside

Kualoa Private Nature Reserve, where they filmed parts of Jurassic Park and King Kong

Chinaman’s Hat island on Oahu Hawaii

The Byodo-In Temple

Standing near the gong at The Byodo-In Temple

 

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Wednesday, March 15, 2017

On Day 2, we started out early from the hotel and headed to Leonard’s Bakery to get a couple of delicious Malasadas as our breakfast treat. The first tourist stop of the day was to see Dog’s the Bounty Hunter’s house in Portlock. Then we enjoyed the scenic wonders of nature that included Hawaii Kai and Koko Crater. We, along with other visitors stopped by Halona Blowhole to see it spout, but alas there wasn’t enough waves to accomplish this feat and on the opposite side is the Secret Beach, where the beach scene from the movie “From Here to Eternity” was filmed. Then off to Makapuu Beach park and then to Rabbit Island and the eastern side of island. We stopped at Waimanalo Beach for some frolicking and then drove to Kailua; and then up to Nu’uanu Pali State Wayside Lookout. We headed back to downtown Honolulu to the Iolani Palace and to King Kamehameha statue that is seen in the opening credits of Hawaii Five-O. Yes, Eleanor and I hummed the theme song as we took our photos. Our last stop of the day was up a steep and winding road to Mount Tantalus for an awesome view of the city and of Diamond Head.

Leonard’s Bakery, home of the malasadas

The door of Dog, The Bounty Hunter’s house

Koko Crater

The coastline from Lanaʻi Lookout

Secret Beach at Halona Beach Cove, Oahu, where the beach scene from the movie “From Here to Eternity” was filmed

Rabbit Island, also known as Manana Island

The view from Nu’uanu Pali State Wayside

Other view from Nu’uanu Pali State Wayside – notice the small island in foreground – that is Chinaman’s Hat Island

King Kamehameha statue that is seen in the opening credits of Hawaii Five-O

Mount Tantalus with an awesome view of the city and of Diamond Head

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March 15 – 19, 2017

From the Thursday to Sunday, my time was spent watching the sunrise over the ocean, attending panels, and socializing at Left Coast Crime. On Friday was my panel: Reviewers & Critics: Are authors at their mercy? with Jen Forbus moderating a panel with Les Blatt, Daniel Boucher, me and Jane Stillwater. On Saturday we went on a whale watching tour and yep, we saw some whales. Then on Sunday before heading home, we made a detour to check out Pearl Harbor  Historic Sites.

Author speed dating round

LCC Panel: Reviewers & Critics: Are authors at their mercy?

Whale going back into the water

whale spout

LCC banquet

Pearl Harbor Historic Sites

The USS Arizona Memorial, at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii

Diamond Head – view from plane headed back home

This was a trip of a lifetime that I never thought I would take and I’m so glad that I got the chance to experience Hawaii. Mahalo!

Left Coast Crime Recap 2016

Left Coast Crime 2016: The Great Cactus Caper
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Date: February 25 – 28, 2016

Left Coast Crime is a convention of fans and authors who gather during the first quarter of the calendar year in Western North America (as defined by the Mountain Time Zone and all time zones westward to Hawaii) to celebrate crime fiction.

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It was called The Great Cactus Caper and what happened in Phoenix, of what I remember, gets recanted on this blog.

Authors, fans, booksellers, editors, librarians, publishers, oh my! Loads of fun at every corner and in every bar (okay there was only one bar, but it had many corners).

Seven hundred and counting. That’s how many were registered, which makes Left Coast Crime a shade larger than Malice and much smaller than Bouchercon. A perfect compadre to the other two major reader/author conventions.

I found the atmosphere and relaxation quotient to be a cross between the other two conferences and that’s where I coined the phrase “introvert break” because I was able to do this multiple times and not miss much of the conference.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency and it’s a beautiful hotel, nice and airy. I found the perfect spot to people watch as my friends started trickling in. Inside this hotel there were four places to eat, Networks Bar and Grill (lunch, dinner and drinks), Einstein Bros. Café (bagels), Terrace Café (breakfast) and Compass Arizona Grill (never made it up there). I mostly had breakfast at Steve’s Greenhouse Grill. Other restaurants sampled were Majerle’s Sports Grill, Seamus McCaffrey Irish Pub, Marston’s Café and I know I’m forgetting a place. All dining experiences were excellent.

I started the convention out by volunteering with book stuffing and ended with assigning guest to the dinner table for the banquet. A fun time was had with my partner, Ann Hogsett. My other volunteer responsibilities were taping the signs to the wall with the author’s name prior to their signing time.

The next day was the start of the conference and I was more or less prepared for the panel I was sitting on, but before that, I enjoyed the several panels that I did attend which started with Author Speed Dating and ended with the Opening Ceremonies and Welcome Reception. Ran into several friends and had gabfests and just had a relaxing day of the convention. Then it was time for my panel and I had a good time sitting up on the dais with a nice group of friends. It is always a delight to see friends in the audience – sort of tampered down the nervousness. PANEL: Fans and Reviewers Talk Their Favorite Books with Bill Fitzhugh moderating and panelists: Katrina Niidas Holm, Lesa Holstine, Dru Ann Love and Lucinda Surber. The day ended in the bar.

The next day was another day of panels that started with the Continental Breakfast featuring Debut Writers and ended with the Have Your Cake and Murder Too Dessert Reception. I also attended the Meet the Canucks Reception where we had to get the answers from the Canadian authors and correct answers won a prize. I got a copy of Unreasonable Doubt by Vicki Delany. I also signed up for the author/reader connection with Seventh Street Sleuths authors: Lori Rader-Day, James W. Ziskin, Jennifer Kincheloe, Lynne Raimondo, and Terry Shames at the Hyatt Regency Network Bar & Grill. I had a good time gabbing and listening to all that was around me. The day ended in the bar.

Saturday, once again started with the Discover Mystery Breakfast hosted by Poisoned Pen Press. Ann and I table hosted for Tina Whittle who was under the weather. Saturday was also the day I was moderating the PANEL: The Making of a Cozy Murder: What defines a cozy? with Ritter Ames, Donna Andrews, Carolyn Greene and Camille Minichino sitting on the dais. It was a good panel and I started out nervous but felt good when it was over.

Then the rest of the day was spent, yet again, attending panels, eating, drinking and volunteering. This was also the night of the banquet where the Lefty Awards was given out and it was fun. I sat at Cindy Brown and Kate Dyer-Seeley table and we played a few games and took pictures with our masks. They also had an auction prior to the awards and it was fun listening to the bids, I believe one item went for $2,000.

Then it was time to give out the awards: Donna Andrews won the Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel; Rhys Bowen won the Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel; Gigi Pandian won the Lefty for Best LCC Regional Mystery Novel and Louise Penny won the Lefty for Best World Mystery Novel. And once again, the day ended in the bar.

The last day of a fun-filled weekend comes to a close with the usual dining, gabfest and the Closing Panel Interview with Guests of Honor. Then it was time to say goodbye until the next time. The day did not end in the bar.

The pictures will tell you how much fun was had at my first Left Coast Crime convention.

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Thank you for reading about my wonderful time at Left Coast Crime. Have you attended a reader/author convention before?