MURDER, INCORPORATED. I've just spent three days learning just about everything there is to know about murder and catching the culprits who think they can get away with it.
I (along with two of my fellow authors) attended the Killer-Nashville (TN) Writers' Conference. I went to six workshops and listened to a speech by Dr. Bill Bass, founder of the University of Tennessee (Knoxville) Body Farm. For those of us who are a bit ghoulish, it was great fun.
If you don't know what the "Body Farm" is...well, hmm, let's see if I can word this politely. It's a place where they expose dead people to outdoor environments to see how long it takes to decay.
It was interesting to learn that werewolves and zombies are fading from popularity, while murder in any genre continues to fascinate the reading public. It's also good to know that "cozy mysteries" (my genre) have never faded, but continue to be consistent sellers. Continuing characters in a series are also well accepted.
Another interesting observation spanning the twenty years I've been going to writers' conferences is that in the early years, you never saw anyone who would admit to being self-published. Nowadays, about half of the speakers and panel members were. Hooray for our side!
When I arrived home, I was "pumped" full of new ideas and plot twists for my current (WIP) Work In Progress.
My advice for today...find a conference near your hometown.
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