Big fun at the Mystery Writers of America University this past Saturday in Philadelphia. An excellent series of classes/lectures by top-notch instructors, held in the beautiful and historic Society Hill section of Philadelphia.

Every one of the speakers, successful authors all, was engaging and inspiring. (I will say, I think the MWA should make an effort to include instructors from the host city -- there are plenty of excellent crime/mystery writers right here in the City of Brotherly Love.)

Special thanks to the instructors, every one of whom took the time to greet attendees individually and talk to us about our works-in-progress. A generous crew, full of wisdom.

The authors/instructors and their courses:

JESS LOUREY: "After the Idea"
HALLIE EPHRON: "Dramatic Structure & Plot
DANIEL STASHOWER: "Setting and Description"
REED FARREL COLEMAN: "Character"
KATHLEEN GEORGE: "Writing as Re-writing"
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: "The Writing Life"

If you get a chance to attend an MWA-University event like this in your area, seize the moment. There's nothing like hanging out with a bunch of murderers and investigators for a day. 

A bittersweet time for mystery fans everywhere as crime writer Reed Farrel Coleman has released the final Moe Prager novel, THE HOLLOW GIRL -- available NOW at your favorite indie bookstore or here.

Dennis Lehane says: "In Reed Farrel Coleman's hands, the Moe Prager novels are turning into one of the great series in PI literature. These are soulful, beautifully written investigations into an American Dream that slipped through our fingers when no one was looking."

Reed was gracious enough to visit this blog a few months ago for a free-wheeling Q&A about the writing life. You can find that conversation at this link. 

Grab the last Moe now -- and be sure to watch for more Reed Farrel Coleman in September as he takes over Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone with BLIND SPOT!

PS: I'm looking forward to this Saturday when Reed and other members of the Mystery Writers of America will be leading a day of top-notch classes for fellow mystery/crime writers. Can't wait!

Hi Megan. Thanks so much for being here. Let's start off with this: when did you know you wanted to be a writer? When did you know you were one?
I’ve always written and even more so, I’ve always been a compulsive reader (and I love reading best), but I never had a distinct moment when I just knew. Maybe it’s yet to come!

Who or what inspired you as a kid or teenager?
Books (classics, pulp, true-crime, Southern Gothic, you name it) and old Hollywood movies (gangster movies, screwball comedies, melodramas). And my parents, both writers and both endlessly curious people.  Also: Archie comic books.

What creative work most recently inspired you?
The Maid’s Version by Daniel Woodrell and Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers.

The most underrated creative (writer, musician, artist) is …
I’ll go with Woodrell again. He’s very highly rated but should be rated a thousand times more.  Same with Jack Pendarvis, brilliant short-story writer, novelist, TV writer (Adventure Time), essayist.

In moments of self doubt, how do you push through?
Mostly, I don’t know what else to do. So I keep going. That, and the occasional cocktail.

Have you ever abandoned a creative project?
Countless. You can’t know until you’re in it. And sometimes you lose your way. I started my novel The End of Everything when I was twenty-three, abandoned it, and picked it up more than ten years later and finished it.

Which of your works comes closest to the way you heard/saw it in your head?
They always change, they really do. That’s part of the mystery and excitement of the process.

What was the best creative advice you ever received?
From the wonderful writer Wallace Stroby, quoting Harry Dean Stanton: “Whatever you do … is right.”

My favorite fictional character or hero is …
Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe.

The next book on my reading pile is …
An advance copy of Sophie Littlefield’s The Missing Place. It looks great.

The book I really should have read by now is …
So many! Let’s go with Crime and Punishment.

Does The Great American Novel exist (yet)? If so, what is it?
There’s been so many of them: Gatsby, Beloved, American Pastoral, Invisible Man. There couldn’t be just one. America is a complicated place.

What creative work might we be surprised to find on your shelf, iPod, or TiVo?
On my DVR I have many, many episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Facebook and Twitter: friend or foe to a creative?
Both.

In addition to writing, how do you express your creativity?
I’m a compulsive Instagrammer. I love taking pictures of strange and beautiful things.

The most difficult thing about the life of a creative is …
Isolation required.

For such a nice person, you seem drawn to some truly dark tales. What are some true-crime stories you find fascinating?
All of them. Many of my books are based on real-life crimes. There’s several cases that linger with me the most: Black Dahlia, Zodiac, Jeffrey MacDonald (the case immortalized in Fatal Vision). Recently, the Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony cases. But mostly it’s seeing these tales rendered in expert writerly hands, like Robert Kolker’s superior non-fiction book last year, Lost Girls.

I've had a blast visiting book clubs over the past few months. Such a thrill to meet readers who really seem to enjoy my debut novel, PHOENIXVILLE RISING.

Recently, I visited the wonderful store-wide book club at Towne Book Center and Cafe in Collegeville, PA, a huge supporter of PHOENIXVILLE RISING. (In fact, my novel is the bestselling regional novel in Towne's 27-year history!) We had a lively, insightful discussion of the novel, with a packed house for the book club. It's always a good thing for the writer when the store has to bring out extra chairs to accommodate the crowd!

Visit your local independent bookstore. And if you're ever near Collegeville, be sure to stop by Towne Book Center, one of the country's true indie gems. Tell them I sent you -- and let them introduce you to all the terrific books they love. Pam, Mary, Jen, Masynn, Sue, Liz and all my friends at Towne are even more accurate than an algorithm.

The Unconventional Librarian blogger strikes again, with one of those make-the-writer's-day reviews of my debut novel, PHOENIXVILLE RISING:

"I’d heard the book was good. Everyone in the neighborhood raved about it. But you know me: I hafta see it for myself. I said: “I’ll be the judge.”

And you know what? It’s Good! I mean like RandomPenguinHouse you should pick it up and republish it good.

Yep. It’s a coming of age story set in Phoenixville PA, a sleepy mill town in suburban Philadelphia. Like many mill towns, Phoenixville was glorious in its heyday. I was born in Pittsburgh so I can relate to this reminiscence.  But don’t let the former mill town saga get you down. Phoenixville Rising is a story of a bunch of streetwise kids and how they cope with life in this town.  Think of it as a modern day Outsiders, by SE Hinton. There are a slew of reasons these kids should do better.

And a slew of reasons why you love them anyway.  Remember your first love? Your first fight? Your yearning to leave a legacy?

Yeah that.

Happens to us all.

And it happened in Phoenixville."

Wow. Check out the full review over on the Unconventional Librarian blog. And hear the explanation behind the attached photo. Sort of.