Saturday, September 21, 2013

On the road again: Bouchercon, Albany, day 3


If my experience today is any guide, most of downtown Albany shuts down on Saturday.  Consequently, I wasn't very hopeful about my lunch prospects.  Fortunately, a food truck, Capital Smokehouse, pulled up alongside The Egg and came to the rescue of a whole lot of Bouchercon attendees, including me.

Click on any image to see a larger version.

The menu featured all the sorts of dishes such a food truck should, so I was hopeful.


I particularly appreciated the spelling, "sammiches."

I wanted a brisket sandwich, but they had already sold out of those by the time I reached the head of the line.  I instead opted for the beef and burnt ends sammich, which was yummy indeed.

I've run many Liars' Panels at conventions, so I was quite curious to see how this Bouchercon would do its version.  I'm sorry to report that though the panelists were all quite funny, and the hour passed in pleasant humor, the format really did them no favors.  Instead of raising money for charity and getting the audience involved, in this panel the moderator asked questions and then sometimes asked who believed the answerer.  I had fun, but this panel could have done so much more.

After a bout of work in my room, I headed back to The Egg to watch part of the interview with Sue Grafton and then the Anthony Awards. 

Grafton was gracious and funny as she answered all the questions that fans asked.  I've never tried her work, but after listening to her comments, I'm now quite tempted to read a novel or two of hers.

The Anthony Awards ceremony was low-key but pleasant, just the Toastmaster announcing the nominees and another writer naming the winners.  Presenting all five awards took well under an hour.

I expected to spend some time working and then watch a for-pay movie in my room, but this hotel doesn't offer in-room movies.  In my experience of con hotels, that's rather odd indeed.  Fortunately, I am never without a good book and a work backlog, so I passed the late hours of the day pleasantly.


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