News from Love is Murder 2011 Conference

September 2010 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang! The Official Newsletter of the Love is Murder Mystery Writers & Readers Conference February 4-6, 2011 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago In This Issue Interview with Jon Land Author Spotlight MWA Writers Track Short Story Contest Winner Expert Demos @ LIM Quick Links Conference website Registration Blog LOVE IS MURDER MINI-CON  SATURDAY, NOV. 20,  2:00-4:00pm Meet mystery authors Raymond Benson, Shane Gericke, Libby Fischer Hellmann, and Conference Local Guest of Honor Michael Allen Dymmoch at the at the Vernon Area Public Library, 300 Olde Half Day Rd. in Lincolnshire Co-sponsored by the Lake Forest Bookstore go to  www.vapld.com or Lake Forest Bookstore  for details Want to know who's coming to LIM in 2011? Check out the "Attendees" list under "Who's Who" at www.loveismurder.net PITCH-A-PALOOZA: Planning to pitch your manuscript to an editor or agent at Love Is Murder? Find advice on the pitch process at http://tinyurl.com/25emkr8 Bigger!  Better!  Back!  EARLY REGISTRATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 12/31! At this time of year, things get hectic and our "To Do" list gets too long. If registering for Love is Murder was on your list but somehow slipped by the October 31 deadline, the LIM board wants to give you an extra gift this holiday season: an extra few weeks to register for the full conference at the discounted rate of $349 until December 31, 2010! So before you forget, do it now -- because you DON'T want to miss this year's conference! "...never lose sight of the most important thing a thriller must have: pace." Author Jon Land An Interview with Featured Author Jon Land by Joanna Campbell Slan JCS: Your books are very complex with multiple points of view and several story lines running through them. How do you plan them out? What strategies and techniques can you share? JL: Great question to start with-you're challenging me right off the bat. And the simple answer I actually don't plan them out. As a writer, I believe in instinct. You've got to go by your feelings, let your gut tell you where to go. But the real thing is, and this goes to strategies and techniques, to never lose sight of the most important thing a thriller must have: pace. That's what keeps readers turning the pages into the wee hours of the morning. You make it impossible for them to put the book down by never having any slow or dull parts. And its instinct, your own sense of entertainment as you write, that dictates when it's time to stay with a sequence and when it's time to cut. My experience in screenwriting has helped me out a lot here but generally it all comes down to telling a story. JCS: For someone who has never written multiple points of view, can you give any pointers? JL: I may have already done that but let me summarize it this way: know your characters and know the story you're trying to tell. John D. McDonald once said in answer in the question what is story, "Stuff happens to people you care about." Well, the more you know your characters, the more they come alive, the more reader cares about them. The structure of thrillers harks back to old-fashioned quest stories. People are after something, what Hitchcock called the McGuffin. So in writing the multi-plotted thriller the question a writer needs to keeping asking themselves is What is my hero after and why? If you can't answer that, something's wrong. Jon Land's most recent book is Strong Justice: A Caitlin Strong Novel. Read more about his work at http://us.macmillan.com/author/jonland Joanna Campbell Slan's most recent book is Photo, Snap, Shot. To read the entire interview with Jon Land, go to http://www.JoannaSlan.blogspot.com. Visit her at www.joannaslan.com   Author    Spotlight If Not For You by J L Wilson Free-spirited, independent 50-something meets uptight businessman. Result: SPARKS FLY! Totally Buzzed by Gale Borger Buzz Miller and her wacky sisters debut in a hysterical romp through murder and mayhem! No Less in Blood by D. M. Pirrone Rachel's search for her birth family makes her a target for murder. Would You Like to Advertise Your Book? For Info, Visit: http://tinyurl.com/2ckwn8t Author Alert!   If you are an author attending LIM and want to be included in the program book, send a photo and brief bio to Susan Gibberman at sgibberman@stdl.org and Hanley Kanar at Hanleyliz@wideopenwest.com ** Attending authors who want to have their books sold in the book room should contact bookseller Sue Petersen by December 15, 2010 with book title & publisher information. Call 630.241.1040 -- Fax 630.241.1043 -- or email sue@brnsncks.com ** Program book advertising space is open to all authors and publishers until December 15, 2010 Full page: Author, $100; Publisher, $200 Half page: Author, $50; Publisher, $100 Quarter page: Author, $25; Publisher, $50 Ads must be emailed in .pdf or .jpg format to Susan Gibberman at sgibberman@stdl.org    Send payment by check or money order to Mary Welk, 6127 N. Ozark Ave., Chicago, IL 60631. Announcing.... 2011 MWA Writers Track The MWA Writers Track will focus on the following topics:  "How to Write and Maintain a Series Character" "Outlining, Do You or Don't You?" "The 10 Things Every Mystery Writer Needs to Know about Publishing in the Marketplace Today,"    and "Query Letter Writing/Submission Proposal Writing" Let some real pros answer your questions at these informative presentations. You'll be a better writer for it! Short Story Contest Winner! Congratulations to the winner of our Short Story Contest, Gloria Alden of Southington, Ohio for her story, Cheating on Your Wife Can Get You Killed. We received 26 entries from 15 states, plus one from Ontario, Canada. Alden's story will be published in the January/February 2011 issue of Crimespree magazi ne, of which several hundred copies will be distributed to all  conference participants in addition to regular subscribers. Expert Demos: Computer Forensics and eDiscovery Thomas Yarrish, Senior Consultant, Guidance Software, will join us at LIM to give a presentation on "Electronic Investigations in the 21st Century: Computer Forensics and eDiscovery". Tom has worked in the IT industry for the last 15 years, and exclusively in the Computer Forensics and eDiscovery industry for the last 2 years. He has worked on cases involving the government, intellectual property, and employment termination matters. His presentation will include information on where computer data is stored, tools examiners use to extract material, common myths about computer forensics, and how eDiscovery differs from Computer Forensics. See You in February! Lovingly (and alphabetically), Hanley, Luisa, Marlene, Mary, Silvia, Terri and Wally