Malice Domestic: A Wonderful Celebration for Mystery Fans and Authors
Beth Schmelzer and I at the MG/YA panel
I’ve been so crazed writing articles in connection with the upcoming May 18 release of DEATH IN THE END ZONE that I’ve barely had a moment to reflect on my experience attending Malice Domestic at the end of last month. But being a part of this special weekend was genuinely an uplifting experience!
For those of you not familiar with Malice, it’s a three-day convention held every April in Bethesda, Maryland that celebrates the mystery genre and brings both fans and mystery authors together.
What I love about it is the sense of community that it fosters among all these lovely people ranging in age from young adults to folks in their nineties who are passionate about mysteries. There are stimulating panels, interviews with famous authors like the guest of honor (Annette Dashofy) and the lifetime achievement award winner (Jacqueline Winspear), and Malice Go-Round in which authors go from table to table in pairs and spend two minutes each pitching their books. It’s fascinating to hear about all of these diverse mysteries and get to meet so many authors with amazing “elevator pitches” about their books! The New Author’s Breakfast is also a special event as we celebrate debut authors who’ve published their first mysteries in the previous calendar year.
This year, I was lucky to be an Agatha nominee in the Middle Grade/Young Adult category for my YA novel, MISSING MOM. I genuinely enjoyed participating in the nominees’ panel moderated by Beth Schmelzer and exchanging ideas about mysteries for young people with fellow authors Nancy G. West and our category’s winner, Mia P. Manansala.
Another highlight for me was acting in Hal Glatzer’s radio play, Vengeance in Vegas, which we performed at the weekend’s final event, the Agatha Tea. I got to play the part of a tough broad, a big league bowler named Viveca Vickery. Working with Hal and the other actors was an absolute blast.
All in all, I highly recommend attending Malice Domestic. If you’re a reader or writer passionate about mysteries, you will find your tribe at Malice!