The Poisoned Pen Web Con

Kittling: Books is one book blog where you just don't find news about author signings or any sort of book conventions. Why? Because most of them are held on weekends, and I work every single weekend. (The last time I had a weekend off was April 2007 when Denis and I were in the UK for three weeks.) As for the author signings that occur during the week? They're at night and past my bedtime. (I get up to start getting ready for work at 4 AM.) When I was a young whippersnapper, it wouldn't make any difference: I'd go and not care if I got any sleep before work or not. Unfortunately I was a young whippersnapper in the days before blogs or even the internet.

Okay. Now that I've gotten that explanation/ whinge out of the way, you might imagine my delight when I discovered that my favorite bookstore in the whole wide world, the Poisoned Pen, will be a co-host of the first ever virtual mystery convention, the PP Web Con, which will take place on Saturday, October 24.

After paying a $25 fee and registering at the PP Web Con site, here's what you get:

• A $20 USD book voucher valid for The Poisoned Pen - a bookstore and more!
• A Goodie Bag, containing: a selection of E-books featuring stories and samplers by mystery authors from around the world! (E-books are in the universally accessible PDF format)
  
• Privileged Access Password to access protected areas of the PP WebCon site on Convention Day, to meet and mix with authors and other attendees via LIVE chat, video and audio.

Live Events include:

• There will be live visits from authors in the Coffee Shop - a text chat room where authors, fans and others who have registered can mingle and chat by text.
  
  
• There will be live radio/audio using where people can call in, or click to talk through their computers to hosts and guests.
  
  
• There will be live talks or presentations on Video from individual authors where people can ask text questions and the author answers and responds on live video.
  
  
• There will be "Pitch to an Editor" sessions for authors, where they can pitch their book ideas to professional editors.

Pre-recorded material in the forms of video and audio panels and presentations as well as written essays will be available as On Demand during the convention and beyond.

For anyone who loves mysteries, the authors scheduled to participate are drool-inducing. Here are a few of my favorites:

Dana Stabenow
Lee Child
Laurie King
Mark de Castrique
Clea Simon
Donis Casey
Larry Karp
Leighton Gage
Peter May
Judy Clemens
Vicki Delany
Susan Wittig Albert
Mary Anna Evans
Robin Hathaway
Ann Parker
Vicki Lane
Craig Johnson
Beverle Graves Myers
Betty Webb
Jane Finnis
Libby Fisher Hellman
Kerry Greenwood
Deborah Atkinson
Deb Baker
Cara Black
Yrsa Sigurdsdottir
Michael Stanley

I've also noticed that two of my favorite book bloggers, Lesa Holstine and Jennifer Forbus, are also signed up!

If you love mysteries, please consider joining us at the PP Web Con October 24. It sounds like altogether too much fun to miss!