In place of the annual Cape Fear Crime Festival last Saturday afternoon,
Dorothy Hodder and Phyllis Smith at the New Hanover County Library in
Wilmington, NC arranged two panels of authors. All authors had books released
in 2008 that dealt with the Carolinas and had ten minutes to tell the audience
about their works.

Authors on the first panel, left to right: Bill Floyd,
Jacqueline DeGroot, Russ Hatler, Judy Nichols.

Authors on the second panel, left to right: Joyce
Lavene, T. Lynn Ocean, Jim Lavene, Amanda Lamb, Suzanne
Adair.

After each panel, the library provided refreshments and a
booksigning. Many thanks to the New Hanover County Library, Dorothy, Phyllis,
and Two Sisters Bookery for a fun afternoon.

Today Fiction Matters posted my guest blog on the
obligations of the historical novelist to readers. I don't know about you, but
I hate reading through pages of historically accurate descriptions. In my
opinion, the primary obligation of any novelist is creating riveting
drama and compelling characters. Stop on over and tell me what you think.