Back from Bouchercon

Greetings one and all,
just back from Bouchercon - well, actually that isn't true. I got home yesterday but have been trying to catch up on some sleep after a day and a half's travel, that was only slightly marred by a couple delays.

The 40th World Mystery Convention was great, and based this year in Indianapolis. I didn't know what to expect from a city famous for car racing, but was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't full of drag-racing wannabes. The city centre is practically pedestrian free due to an inter-linking walkway that connects a major mall to all the hotels, so it was a pleasure to walk down nigh-on deserted pavements and to admire some beautiful buildings. Don't know if many Bouchercon-goers would have appreciated the architecture if they never left the more populated sky walk. There was a theatre opposite the Hyatt with an amazing frontage, and the Old Union Station (now a hotel and convention centre) was like something out of Batman's Gotham city. The Omni Severin, the hotel where I stayed, was beautiful. I'm a lover of old music, and everywhere you went, Sinatra or Dean Martin or some other crooner was filling the air with music. Loved it. And speaking of great music, I had the pleasure of attending Lee Child's annual Reacher Creature party at the legendary Slippery Noodle, an historic club with four rooms each with its own personal band playing. Didn't catch the band's name I was listening to, but it was 'original' R & B and right up my alley. Something the Slippery Noodle is famous for is bullet holes in the walls where John Dillinger let loose a few rounds when he went there to plan a bank robbery!

I'll be back shortly with a report on the convention itself.