Crimefest

This time last week I was living in the lap of luxury, eating an enormous four star breakfast in a four star hotel surrounded by people who wanted to talk about writing.  This week I’ve just had my usual two pieces of toast with Marmite, one of my titchy little tropical fish has died, Lucy is glued to the TV watching rugby and I’ve got to do the ironing.

This is called real life.  (*Sigh*)

Last week was, of course, one of the highlights of the year, the annual Crimefest held at the Bristol Marriot Hotel.  It’s the fourth time I’ve been to Crimefest and it just keeps getting better and better.  The best thing about it, from my point of view, is being able to talk about books and writing from a standing start.  Usually you have to edge into these conversations, but here they just happen.

John Curran, for example, who’s edited the monumental Agatha Christie’s Secret Notebooks, a labour of love if there ever was one, will chat quite happily about the Queen of Crime and gave a fascinating short talk on Golden Age writers.  Deryn Lake recounted any historical writer’s dream job, where she was asked to research the history of Rawlings and found John Rawlings, her apothecary hero, in an 18^th Century newspaper.

This is in addition to catching up at length with old friends such as Suzette Hill, Jane Finnis, Rebecca Jenkins and Lyndon Stacey and, I’m glad to say, others such as Jennifer  Palmer and Frances Brody.

I suppose one of the biggest stars was Stella Rimington, ex-head of MI5.  I was lucky enough to be on a panel with Stella Rimington.  She, of course, writes the Liz Carlyle books (highly recommended) which give a real insiders’ account which certainly sounds plausible of how the Intelligence Services conduct an operation. As the Liz Carlyle books are, of course, fiction, she’s able to add the reasons why people do what they do and it’s a great mix.

Another real pleasure was meeting Carola Dunn.  Carola, the author of the much-loved Daisy Dalrymple series, has lived in America for many years but is (as her accent immediately reveals) English.  As we both write mysteries set in the 1920s, it was fascinating to compare notes.  I have her new book, Anthem For Doomed Youth, on my to-be-read pile.

Perhaps the nicest thing about Crimefest is the complete lack of them-and-us-ism.  I’ve come across this at other events, where some guests are treated like VIP’s and the rest of us are merely invited to marvel.  I’m not quite sure why this doesn’t happen at Crimefest, but it doesn’t.  It’s a terrifically friendly atmosphere, aided by excellent organisation in a very friendly hotel.

Now I suppose I’d better do the ironing!