Listed below are the five conferences/conventions that I attended this year. In the midst of all this, I also attended a family reunion with long-lost relatives and it was good to meet them. I hope we continue to get to know one another.
May 3 – 5:
I attended the 25th anniversary of the Malice Domestic Convention. It was great seeing old friends and meeting new friends. It’s a non-stop weekend of attending panels, book buying, hanging in the lounge and just chatting with everyone. This year the hotel went all out and some of the staff were dressed as Sherlock Holmes. I had a great time and look forward to next year’s Malice..
May 29 – June 1:
I attended BookExpo of America as a Power Reader at the Jacob Javits Center. I got there early enough to get one of the bags filled with books that MacMillan was giving out. Then we got a tour of the Expo and I knew the first place I was going was to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to get a copy of the new Y/A book, THE TESTING by Joelle Charbonneau personally signed; I was third in line. Then after I got my wits about me, I grabbed several books and autographs. Authors spotted were: Mary Higgins Clark, Jim Carrey, Jill Shalvis, Jeffrey Deaver, Mary Jane Clark, and Andrea Kane.
July 10 – 13:
I was invited as a special guest of Daryl Wood Gerber to the first Thrillerfest FanFest. My friend C.W. and I got two free tickets for beverages and a goodie bag filled with books and a special mug from Daryl filled with chocolate kissed. Yum, Yum. I had a good time with my author sightings. The first author I saw was Sandra Brannan and then I saw Alan Jacobson and had a nice chat with him; I also had a nice chat with Camille Minichino, before we were allowed into the ballroom for the Fanfest.
August 2 – 4:
I attended my first Deadly Ink Conference which was held in New Brunswick, New Jersey where the Guest of Honor was Hank Phillippi Ryan and the Toastmaster was Rosemary Harris. While at the hotel, we had the opportunity to see a traditional Indian wedding with the groom riding in on a horse.
September 19 – 22:
Bouchercon 2013 was hosted in Albany, New York, where authors and readers gather to attend panels and have fun. This will be my third Bouchercon and I’m already looking forward to next year’s Bouchercon in Long Beach, California. I love attending Bouchercon because a different city hosts it and I get to visit a place that I probably wouldn’t visit if it wasn’t for this conference.
- 2013 Reading Round-up
- Read 231 books
- 117 cozy mysteries
- 80 traditional mysteries
- 15 thriller titles
- 11 suspense titles
- 7 other genre titles
- 153 authors
- 37 new-to-me authors
- 44 new series
The first book read/posted on January 1, 2013
The last book read/posted on December 31, 2013
- 2013: My Blog in Review
- This blog was viewed about 60,000 times
- There were 515 new posts
- The busiest day of the year was October 12th with 753 views
- Billionaire Blend: An Excerpt and Giveaway from Cleo Coyle got the most comments (201)
- Visitors came from 91 countries (US, Canada and UK were the top 3)
- 2013: A Day In The Life
- 238 features
- 192 authors
What was your 2013 like?
Follow dru’s book musing on Facebook for book giveaways, contests, posting about discounted books and some of my reading musings.
I read only 225 books this year. I find I am reading more slowly as I get older. I also find retirement to be so busy that I wonder how I found time to work. Thank you for your reviews, Day in the Life, and giveaways. I am looking forward to sharing 2014 with you on line.
You are AMAZING, DRU!!! Just seeing all this info in one place is VERY cool! You read and reviewed and supported SO many authors AND did all that traveling??? Oh, and there’s the DAY JOB? Wow! It tired me out just reading this blog! Thanks for all your support and for sharing terrific books with all your followers. I wish you an AWESOME 2014, filled with joy, good health, and lots of awesome books!
Thank you for all you do Dru! You amaze me with all your talents beyond your blog and reading. Cheers!
Dru, your year was awesome!! I admire you not only for your energy but for your generosity to so many writers. Have a great 2014 and keep us posted on your exciting exploits.
Awesome year, awesome post, Dru Ann! Looking forward to your 2014 posts.
What a great year!
Congrats on your reading achievements and all you do with the blog! Looking forward to seeing you at Malice (and maybe a few others?) All the best for you in 2014!