A Blast-from-the-Past
By Jackie King
Getting into an
altercation with a mystery reader and avid fan was the last thing I ever
expected to do. I write mysteries,
for goodness sake. But such an unforeseeable thing happened at the 2011
Bouchercon in St. Louis, where I had a slight altercation with a reader/fan. |
| Robert Crais on Tour for SENTRY |
The great Robert
Crais was present and handing out, “I Like Pike,” buttons, and of course, I took
one and pinned it to my jacket. After all, I’ve been in love with Joe Pike for
years. Although the main hero of Crais’ best-selling series is Elvis Cole,
who is both brave and handsome, my heart was stolen by his dark-hero sidekick,
Joe Pike.
This is how such
an anomaly came to pass while chatting with a reader and bonified fan.
“I’m in love
with Bob Crais,” this ultra-respectable looking woman said. “I would drive
hundreds of miles to see him or hear him speak.”
“I can
understand that,” I rejoined. “He’s a good-looking guy and a dynamite writer,
but it’s Joe Pike that I fancy. You’re welcome to his creator.” I flashed my
Pike pin.
“I’ll bet I’ve
been in love with Joe longer than you.” Her eyes took on a proprietary glint,
and to my surprise, a surge of jealousy rose inside my chest. Just as swiftly,
the absurdity of the situation dawned on me, as I guess it did with her,
because we both grinned and backed away. (Just after I handed her one of my own
bookmarks, of course.)
I blame this whole kerfuffle on Robert Crais. If he didn’t create such sublime characters, none of this would have happened. That writer has made addicts of thousands of women. Maybe I should tattle to his wife?
I blame this whole kerfuffle on Robert Crais. If he didn’t create such sublime characters, none of this would have happened. That writer has made addicts of thousands of women. Maybe I should tattle to his wife?
Carolyn Hart, Jackie King and Judy Rosser at Bouchercon 20l11
7 comments:
LOL, Jackie. It's too cool to know that somewhere fans are thinking about a character you've created -- maybe even arguing with someone else over who's been sweet on him the longest. Kudos to Mr. Crais!
Jackie, I love my "I Like Pike" and have been a fan for years. Now I'm feeling a little jealous myself, LOL.
How funny. You are such a sweet person that it's hard to believe you'd go toe-to-toe with someone. (Pssst. Don't tell anyone, but we both know you've been a fan MUCH longer. Right?)
Hi Marilyn, Thanks for stopping by. I'll bet that a lot of fans fuss over your cool characters.
Hugs,
Jackie
Jaden, So glad you're also a Pike fan. And since he's a very tough guy, there's no need to be jealous. We'll just share!
Hugs,
Jackie
Linda, Thanks for always saying nice things to me! (And you're right...I've been his fan the longest!)
Hugs,
Jackie
I avoid that problem since my main character, Paul Jacobson, is in his mid 80s with short-term memory loss. Women aren't falling in love with him, but they get a kick out of him.
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