Gumbo Justice by Holli Herrle Castillo

$14.95

Paperback

I just returned to New Orleans from Vegas early this A.M. (one-ish, although I forget the exact time.)  I attended the PSWA writer's conference, which is always fun, this year being no exception.  It's a smaller conference with a single track, and focuses on novel writing as well as some article writing.  The PSWA is for authors who write about public safety workers, whether it's a novel that features a law enforcement officer or agent, a prosecutor, fireman, EMS, etc..  It actually covers a wide range of professions and topics, especially in the non-fiction arena where articles are written about all types of law enforcement and fire issues.   My own series is about a female prosecutor-- which is what I used to do until I had my first child-- so it falls in line with the group.  

The conference attendees are a unique group, mostly former law enforcement, and pretty much everyone has a sense of humor.  The conference is geared toward every level of writer, from the unpublished to the more experienced writers who have tens of books and decades of writing under their belts.  The egos for the most part get checked at the door, so it's really a comfortable setting to get to meet other writers, as well as the publishers and agents in attendance.  This year's keynote speaker was Simon Wood, who spoke about writing suspense, which was quite interesting.  Every writer has his or her own way of putting a book out, and it was fascinating to be invited into the process of a well-known author.  He was also very gracious and approachable, not to mention funny. 

The topics this year were better than last year, and with the exception of maybe two were relevant to my writing.  I learned four things from three different speakers that I think will make my writing better, made new friends, and sold a few books.  All in all, I would say it was a huge success and a good time was had by all.  

But like all good things, (bad things too for that matter, but I digress), the conference had to come to an end, and after five more days of letting my husband and kids take over Vegas,  we had to come home. Today, when I stumbled out of bed at the crack of two p.m., I made the huge mistake of watching the news instead of General Hospital and learned that BP had capped the oil leak while I was gone, but an underwater robot had uncapped it, and now BP was trying to cap it off again.  Then, my weather man broke my heart by announcing the weather center was watching a "system," which would probably turn into a named storm tomorrow.  Damn television. 

It's early in the year for a named storm, even if does cut west like my weather man claims.  Then again he might just be trying to get back on  my good side.  One model from Princeton, which is supposedly one of the most accurate weather models, has it coming directly at New Orleans.  So now we wait to see what's going to get us first, BP or Alex.  (I think that's the name designated if this thing becomes a storm.)  

In the meantime, I'll be working on the appeal of an armed robbery case I was appointed to, and on trying to finish Jambalaya Justice, the second in the Crescent City Mystery Series and the followup to Gumbo Justice, to get it to my publisher, keepimg my fingers crossed (even though that might make it more difficult to type), that we don't have to evacuate, wondering what we'll come home to this time if we do.  

I should have stayed in Vegas.  

Holli Castillo