News & Events
July 17th, 2023
What I just finished watching: The Bear (2), Better Call Saul (6)
What I’m watching now: Beef
What I’m looking forward to watching: Minx (2), What We Do in the Shadows (5), Miracle Workers (4)
What I just finished reading: Slough House by Mick Herron
What I’m reading now: A Ghost at Noon by Alberto Moravia
What I’m looking forward to reading: Bad Actors by Mick Herron
Hi all!
I’m sad to report that I’ve canceled my trip to San Diego for the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. I had been especially excited to attend the Shamus Awards, as I was a judge this year. Where else can a girl reasonably wear a red silk dress except to a banquet hosted by the Private Eye Writers of America? Well, it’s going back in the closet and I’m staying home in my Gap lounge pants.
I think 2023 is a year of false starts after the long slog of the pandemic.
The good news is that I’m registered for three conferences in 2024. Also, I’m not going to wait until there’s another conference in my home state of California to visit. I have many mystery and TV friends to have fun with in Los Angeles and I’ll be planning a trip there as soon as the hotel workers get a fair contract.
Speaking of labor strikes, I’ve watched the WGA and SAG strikes with hope, sadness, and now anger. I’m certainly not an expert on licensing compensation, cross-platform residuals, and exclusivity windows, but it’s obvious writers and actors aren’t able to feed themselves working within the current compensation structure. As a viewer, I continue to hope folks can get back to work, but I know why they have to fight.
For my own part, I took a voluntary break from writing. This was partly out of necessity, as I had many books to read for the Shamus, and partly because I just wasn’t getting anywhere. You can only rework something so many times before you turn into Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I’m happy to report that I’m back at it and feeling good about both projects.
-Nora
P.S. I have successfully resisted buying a Barbenheimer T-shirt.