Linda Lovely and me at Malice Domestic 30

I can still recall the first time I heard about Malice Domestic. A fellow attendee at an International Women’s Writer’s Guild workshop recommended it to me when I revealed I was writing a cozy mystery. She said Malice Domestic was a yearly conference dedicated to cozy mystery writers and their fans.

Sounded ideal to me. So I googled Malice Domestic, registered for the conference and drove myself down to Bethesda, MD the last weekend in April 2014.

I didn’t know a soul, but soon discovered that didn’t matter. I had found “my people”. My fellow attendees and I shared a love of the same books and when you have books in common, you share a kindred spirit.

A few years back I read Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving — not a cozy mystery at all — but a book I love nevertheless. In one scene, the main character, writer Juan Diego Guerrero, reflects on the idea of using books as the criteria for finding mates and lovers. I thought that was a brilliant alternative to dating websites. A shared love of the same books is by far a more sound basis for the start of a relationship than any of the criteria used by Match.com and eHarmony.  But I digress…

Bethesda in bloom!

This year, I once again returned to Bethesda for Malice Domestic 30 the last weekend in April. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you already know that I rated it as “the best Malice Domestic ever.” Louise Penny was the Guest of Honor and Nancy Pickard received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Their interviews were magnificent. I’m always amazed at how open and generous writers are as they answer questions about their personal journeys. They never fail to inspire us to keep writing our own stories.

The first night of the conference we were treated to a viewing of Season nine’s first episode of Vera, a British crime series based on the novels of Ann Cleeves.  Brenda Blethyn was honored with the Poirot Award for her portrayal of the intrepid Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. The interview with both Ms. Blethyn and Ann Cleaves was marvelous.

Author of the Dandy Gilver mystery series, Catriona MacPherson was the Malice Domestic Toastmaster. And what a delight she was! Her remarks about the award winners at the Agatha Awards Banquet were eloquent and heartfelt. Best of all, she tapped into the sense of kinship Malice attendees share whenever she took to the podium all weekend, her sense of humor making us laugh all the while.

On Saturday afternoon, I attended an event entitled “30 Years of Malice Memories.” One question from the audience was where did the name “Malice Domestic” come from. That was something I’d always wondered, too. Turns out the name comes from who else? My absolute favorite writer of all time–Shakespeare.

“….…………Duncan is in his grave.

After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well.

Treason has done his worst; nor steel nor poison,

Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing

Can touch him further.”

Macbeth, Act III, Scene 2

Was there ever a character more embroiled in malice domestic than Macbeth? Could there be a more perfect name for a conference dedicated to mysteries about murders usually committed by family and friends in small towns and home-bound settings?

Finally, one of the things I love best about Malice is coming home with a bag of books and a list of titles to read by authors I either heard speak or met face-to-face at the conference. I even sold a few of my Holly and Ivy mystery books–the cherry on top.

If you like cozy mysteries, whether or not you can attend the conference, you may want to check out malicedomestic.org for the names of authors you might like to read. In the meantime, as the days grow longer and warmer, I wish you a summer free of actual malice domestic and full of cozy mysteries where there are no cold cases, justice is always served, and with a little luck, the spunky female sleuth always gets her man!