“Best in Show.” Say it in most of the country, and people are likely to assume you’re talking about the funny movie. If they’re seriously into canine competition, they might think you’re referring to the winner of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. But say it in Vegas, baby, and you’ll get a different response. Here “Best in Show” means the annual fundraiser for the Lied Animal Shelter, an event that always has folks scrambling for ringside seats. Having missed it in years past, I made a point of getting myself over to the Orleans Arena on June 1 to see to see why everyone ... (more...)

When I went to Bouchercon, the annual mystery convention, last September, I was expecting to meet mystery writers and fans from around the globe. Even though it was held in Anchorage, Alaska, the gathering drew a nice multitude of crime fiction devotees. I met writers from New York and London, fans from North Carolina, Hawaii and everywhere in between. And then there was Pamela Mains. Armed with business cards and fliers adorned with a slinky babe holding a gun and a pink box, Pamela was promoting her new bookstore-cum-bakery called "Cheesecake and Crime." She’d come to Bouchercon to let authors know there would soon be a new venue ... (more...)