By Gale Albright

It’s been a treat to see Kaye George again.

She flew into town last week to visit grown children and to see us of course, her Austin Mystery Writers “branch” of the family.

We met at our BookPeople haunt last Thursday to hug and laugh and talk about many things, most of them involving writing. And a lot of other stuff.

I first met Kaye George several years ago through Kathy Waller, who had just joined Austin Mystery Writers. Kathy asked Kaye, who was the head poohbah, if I could join as well. It was a critique group with several members. But, as is often the case with critique groups, members faded away for various reasons, and at one point the group consisted of Kathy, Kaye, and me.

I remember the vicarious thrill I felt when Kaye’s mystery novel, Choke, received a publishing contract. After ten years of patiently slogging away at her writing, Kaye was a professional! We were all giddy with delight. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.

When you have a really good critique group, the heartstrings are involved. It’s not just about writing. You start to genuinely care about all the people in your group in a personal and  professional way. Kaye’s victory was our victory as well.

Kaye’s first three mysteries in her Immy Duckworthy series (Choke, Smoke, and Broke) were published, followed by three Berkley Prime Crime Fat Cat who-done-its (under the nom de plume Janet Cantrell), the Cressa Carraway series, the Neanderthal mystery Death in the Time of Ice (Untreed Reads), as well as various short stories. She was on a roll.

Unfortunately for us, she was also gone. First, she and her husband moved to Waco, then on to Knoxville, TN, where they now reside.

Kathy and I were members of a two-person critique group for a bit, but luckily we acquired fabulous new members for Austin Mystery Writers, gleaned from the ranks of the Sisters in Crime: Heart of Texas chapter—Valerie Chandler, Laura Oles, and Elizabeth Buhmann.

Now for the fun part.

Thanks to Kaye, who had the original idea and pushed it to fruition, Austin Mystery Writers’ first crime anthology, Murder on Wheels, got published by Wildside Press in 2015. Flash forward a year. Murder on Wheels just won the Silver Falchion Award for best fiction short-story mystery anthology at the Killer Nashville writing conference for 2016.

On top of that, we are hard at work on our second crime anthology, whose title is a bit up in the air at the moment. It’s about Texas and crime. Enough said.

Although we all worked very hard on Murder on Wheels, I give Kaye the credit for riding herd on the project. I thank her for her vision and guidance.

We all wish Kaye would move back to the Austin area. She’s just too far away. But, thanks to the miracle of e-mail attachments, digital photography, and FB posting, we can still create our dreams together.

Each writers’ conference has its own personality. If I were to summarize Killer Nashville, I would describe it as a broad embrace of mystery sub genres with an inclusion of indie, hybrid and traditionally published authors, all carried by an undercurrent of noir appreciation and a love of Nashville music culture.

I know. I’m casting a wide net.

My favorite traveling companion..

The first night kicked off with a Wine & Shine event, which after a full day of hustling kids to school and flying from Austin, left me with more whine and no shine. My efforts in networking resulted in little more than two sips of merlot paired with a chocolate chip cookie while slouched on a chair in the hotel lobby.

With fellow Claymore finalist Mercedes King

The next two days were packed with learning sessions and special events. Killer Nashville’s panel schedule offered five options per time slot, leaving many attendees to make tough decisions regarding which discussion to attend. Programs ranging from “How to Write Effective Plot Twists” to “Law Enforcement, Soldiers and PTSD” demonstrate the range in programming. Topics covering technique, marketing, publishing and collaboration were also offered, along with breakout sessions with bestselling authors Janet Evanovich, Anne Perry, Kevin O’Brien, William Kent Krueger and Robert J. Randisi. I attended as many panels as I could fit in my schedule and left with several pages of notes and insight. I still don’t know how Robert Randisi, co-founder of Mystery Scene Magazine and founder of the Private Eye Writers of America (and the coveted Shamus award), writes 25 books a year. Like many things in our profession, this remains a mystery.

With authors Janet Evanovich and Gretchen Archer

Janet Evanovich’s lunch program was both fun and fascinating. She is open with her advice and opinions, both of which were appreciated by the audience she addressed. Her honesty about the empire she’s building–she currently writes or co-authors four books per year with the support of her husband and children– made me tired just listening to her talk about it. She. Never. Takes. A. Break.

The Mock Crime Scene was exceptionally well done. Its primary architect, Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Special Agent Dan Royse, composed a puzzle well supported by clues, evidence and online interviews. Attendees had their work cut for them out in identifying the culprit. The smile on Dan’s face told us all we needed to know–he was going to make us work. Hard.

Laura Oles with author Anne Perry

The awards banquet was a sold out event and included a buffet-style dinner and some fantastic live music. I had the opportunity to meet several authors, including fellow Claymore nominee Mercedes King. Before long, attentions turned to the awards portion of the evening. I was honored to accept, on behalf of Austin Mystery Writers, the Silver Falchion award for Best Fiction Short Story Anthology, presented by Anne Perry.

The Claymore was awarded to R.G. Belsky for Forget Me Not. It was an honor to make the short list for the Claymore, and I was grateful to be amongst such talented writers. I’m interested in seeing how these authors’ careers unfold over the next few years. I imagine some fabulous stories will be shared, and I’m looking forward to adding them to my reading list.

With Killer Nashville 2016 now over, I’m back to my daily grind but with a new perspective on both my own work and the industry in general. Most important, I’m reminded how lucky I am to be able to tell stories and spend my time around others who love to do the same thing.

–Laura Oles