Some are from my bookshelves, but most are being acquired for this trip. Some have been lugged to previous conferences but my mission was not successful for various reasons. I am sure this trip will be no different, but whatever happens, I couldn't accomplish it without my husband's help.
First, I make a list of all the authors I want to see. Then I look at the schedule to see when each author is signing and make a note of it. Lastly, for each author I list the day and time, even if there are multiple times for one particular author. That way, if we miss one or the line is too long, we can try again another time. And if an author is only signing once we do that person first. Unless I need his help. my husband will wait for me at a convenient location, books ready for the hand-off. The hand-off occurs when when I return from a successful signing mission and get handed a new set of books for signing.
Which mostly explains my husband's dismay, although this year one of his favorites will be there signing the last of the books we don't have. He is a Charlaine Harris fan (the Sookie books), and for a wedding present I got him all of her hardcovers and had them autographed for him (and to him). That particular mission was hard to do without him catching on but I managed.
The picture shows just a few of the authors who will be "targeted" during my mission. I am very excited to have all of Elizabeth George's hardcovers making the trip with me. It will mean multiple trips through the line (she has 17 out right now) but it will be worth it. One author, now a friend, I met when she was a debut author at ThrillerFest. I've collected all of Julie Kramer's books since then. Robin Cook is a delightful man I've heard speak who writes gripping medical thrillers. Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter Carol Higgins Clark are two authors my mom and I both enjoyed. I am looking forward to meeting both of them. Linda Fairstein's legal thrillers keep me turning the pages to see whodunnit. Peter Farris is a new (to me) author whose book, Last Call for the Living, I have not yet read but anyone who puts 'sentence making' under his interests is a writer I'm sure I will enjoy. Chelsea Cain does serial killer well, a real-life evil that fascinates me.
There are many others I am looking forward to meeting, but this is just one aspect of the Bouchercon experience, one I am looking forward to in addition to the panels and get-togethers! Visiting a new city will also be a great part of the experience, especially since I've heard that Cleveland has a few ghosts lurking around and even a lighthouse or two or three ...
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