Apologies for the System Failure...

by Michelle Gagnon

I arrived in Cleveland for Bouchercon last night around 11:30pm after an insufferable series of layovers and general travel woes, and was up until 2 am trying to post a fascinating, insightful blog about marketing with a traditional publisher. Of course, the internet in my room doesn't work (inexplicably, neither does HBO).
So instead, now that I've finally managed to log on, I'll leave a much more abbreviated post on Bcon Cleveland so far...

Firstly, I sold a house today! Yes, in between panels and wireless struggles, I managed to close a deal. It's bittersweet, really- the first house I ever owned, and the one where my daughter spent the first three years of her life. Lots of good memories there, but some more recent, bad ones too. So all in all, I'm pleased to be moving on.

Great Young Adult panel today with our own Jordan Dane, Joelle Charbonneau, and Bev Irwin. We laughed, we cried, we discussed sex and violence (and the lack thereof) and John Gilstrap threw peanuts from the back row (not really, but I could tell he was considering it). 

Sadly, the bookroom did not manage to stock my books. It's kind of a post-apocalyptic bookroom, there's a mere scattering of books at every table. I've never seen anything like it.

On the plus side, I scored an ARC of TWELVE by Justin Cronin in my book bag. So apparently I'll be up all night reading instead of logging time on a bar stool.

Ate lunch with Alyson Gaylin, Martyn Waites, Deborah Crombie, and Wallace Stroby. Great food here so far, although I'm not entirely convinced that my lamb burger was made of lamb. 

Side note: there's a casino next to the hotel. Every window is branded with the following: SMOKING PROHIBITED. WEAPONS NOT ALLOWED. Who knew they were so strict here?

Tonight is the opening ceremony at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, and of course I forgot to pack my Led Zeppelin T-shirt. 

Did I mention that I sold my house? Still slightly giddy over it.