... and he danced way better than Kate Gosselin

By Alison

It's that time of year again -- the time when my friends (who are much more into planning in advance than me)  say, "Are you going to Bouchercon?" And I say, "Oh, I don't know. It's kind of expensive, with airfare and all." And they go, "Oh come on." And I go, "I'm telling you, I don't know." And they go, "It'll be fun." And I go, "Oh.... okay."

One of the main reasons why I almost always go, "Okay," (Anchorage being a notable exception -- that was waaay too expensive to stand up to the 'It'll be fun' argument.) is this: I start thinking of all the great stories I have from Bouchercons past.

The best experience I've ever had at a Bouchercon was the first panel I was ever on. I don't remember the name, but it was something like "How was your first time?"  and the best thing about it was that Jeff, Lori and Karen were all on that panel. You pretty much know the rest of the story. We've told it here a million times: Drinking,getting lost, "Let's do a blog!", more drinking, "Is there no place to get food around here?" more drinking, "Lori, please don't make me have another glass of w... oh, okay," White Hen,  "Did someone say something abot a blog?" Bla bla bla...

And since then I've had a million great and hilarious Bouchercon experiences -- from learning how to shoot a gun to discovering the male erotica of Jim Born... But I do have to say that for me, Bouchercon will always stand out in my mind as the event which enabled me to sit in a gay bar in Madison Wisconsin, watching Ken Bruen dancing on-stage to Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

How about you, FOs? What is the one moment that defines Bouchercon for you? AND: Are you going this year?

Comments

[Mary Stella]

I love reading the tales from Bouchercon. They're as much fun as tales from the RT Convention where I'll be seeing Lori in about a week.

It's good to air these stories out on blogs. Makes it more difficult for anyone to blackmail us if we're telling tales on ourselves.

For the record . . . the hippos in Fantasia dance better than Kate Gosselin.

[Mike Dennis]

I went to Indianapolis last year and didn't like it at all. I didn't care for Indianapolis itself, I couldn't get a room at the host hotel, and because I didn't know anyone there, I felt waaaay out of place. But I know a few people now, and after being on a panel at Left Coast Crime last month, I feel a little better about the whole thing.

I'll definitely be in San Francisco come October.

[N]

I'm not going this year. San Fran is too expensive, and I'm busy with too many other things (Marshall Festival, NoirCon, Murder & Mayhem in Muskego).

The defining moment? The first afternoon of the 2001 con in DC. Gischler and I grabbed spots at the hotel bar and just started gathering people over as they were coming in the doors. People we'd only known online, like Vicki Hendricks, Victoria Esposito-Shea, and PWG alums, we were just calling em over and giving them beer.

[Patti Abbott]

I have not found my proper mojo at conferences so no.

[AlisonGaylin]

Your mojo seems fine to me, Patti! (and BTW, I was with your daughter while watching Ken Bruen onstage.)

Neil, wish I could have gotten a drink from you, but I didn't even know what Bouchercon was in 2001!

Mike, I think I'm going to SF too... See you there!

Mary, at some point in my life, I will go to RT. It sounds like a riot! And I totally agree re: Kate Gosselin.

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