I’ve just returned from Bouchercon 2025, held this year in the always-spirited city of New Orleans. If you’ve never heard of Bouchercon, it’s one of the largest annual conventions for mystery, crime, thriller, and suspense writers and readers—named after legendary mystery critic Anthony Boucher. Though its focus is mystery fiction, the panels and discussions often transcend genre and offer valuable insights for any writer, myself included.
This year’s conference took place at the Marriott Hotel, just steps from the French Quarter. Over several days, I attended a wide range of panel discussions—from character-building and pacing to action scenes and emotional arcs. While the crowd leaned heavily toward crime fiction, I found that the advice shared applied just as well to historical, adventure, and even speculative fiction.
One panel that especially caught my attention focused on artificial intelligence in writing. Not surprisingly, many traditional authors expressed concern or outright disdain for AI tools. But as someone who has found AI helpful for brainstorming and refining my own work (as you may have seen here on the blog), I found the conversation revealing. The creative community is grappling with what these new tools mean—and that conversation is just beginning.
Another panel I made sure not to miss was on paranormal fiction. I’m currently developing ideas for a paranormal/mystery novel, so hearing how other authors approach the genre gave me lots to think about.
Two of the conference highlights were live interviews with Craig Johnson and Michael Connelly—giants in the crime fiction world.
- Craig Johnson, best known as the author of the Longmire series (which inspired the popular TV show), talked about his rural Wyoming roots and the balance he strikes between character-driven storytelling and the gritty realism of crime in the American West. He shared how Longmire started with a single image and grew into a multi-book (and multimedia) phenomenon.
- Michael Connelly, creator of Harry Bosch and The Lincoln Lawyer, described his background as a crime journalist and how that shaped his fiction. He emphasized how deeply he researches police procedures, legal details, and locations to lend credibility to his stories. His discussion of character evolution and longevity was especially interesting—something I’ll be thinking about in my own future series work.
Of course, no trip to New Orleans would be complete without some time away from the conference hall. I wandered the historic French Quarter, listened to street music, and enjoyed excellent food at several restaurants. Of course, beignets at the famous Cafe Du Monde!
One of my personal goals at Bouchercon was to share my own writing, so I brought my novels and gave away 30 copies of Timepath, Enchanted Journal, and Red-Haired Distraction. I’m hopeful that those books find good homes—and that some new reviews might appear soon.
Whether you’re a writer or a reader, Bouchercon reminded me of the deep value of community. It’s easy to think of writing as a solitary act, but events like these show how much we can learn from one another—and how stories connect us, regardless of genre.
I’m already looking forward to what’s next—both at the keyboard and on the road.