Rocky Mountain High Jinks News
November 25, 2024
Welcome to all the new registrants since our previous newsletter!
This newsletter is going out to all registrants of Seattle 2024 and Denver 2025. Seattle registrants will remain on our newsletter list through the Lefty Nomination period in mid-January. (Not sure if you are registered for Denver? Check the Denver Attendee page for your name.) More about Left Coast Crime 2025 and registration information can be found on the Rocky Mountain High Jinks website.
Congratulations to Guest of Honor Manuel Ramos
Warner Bros. Television, a division of WB Studio Enterprises, Inc., has optioned rights to the work of Manuel Ramos to produce a TV series or theatrical film(s). (Press Release)
“For almost forty years, Chicanos have been the focus of my novels and short stories,” Ramos said. “I look forward to giving my characters a bigger stage and introducing Luis Montez and Gus Corral to new audiences through my partnership with Warner Bros. and Arte Público.”
Ten of his books — nine novels and one collection of stories —are included in the agreement. Five of the novels make up the Luis Montez Mystery series, which features a Chicano attorney and civil rights activist in Denver, Colorado — much like the author himself — who finds himself involved in cases that impact his Mexican American community, including gentrification, discrimination, and police violence. Four feature Gus Corral, a native of Denver’s Northside neighborhood, and one book, My Bad, brings the two protagonists together to solve a mystery. The books that will serve as the basis for future films and/or TV programs are: The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz, a finalist for the Edgar Awards; The Ballad of Gato Guerrero; The Last Client of Luis Montez; Blues for the Buffalo; Brown-on-Brown; Desperado; The Skull of Pancho Villa and Other Stories; My Bad; The Golden Havana Night; and Angels in the Wind.
Sara Paretsky Speaks First,
Counts the Bodies Second
Interview by Mike Thomas in Chicago Magazine (Article)
I worked downtown at CNA Insurance for a guy who was not a nice character. It was October, and I was looking down at Grant Park. The trees are dead. I’m dead. I’m listening to him. My lips are saying, “Oh yeah, great idea,” and the balloon over my head is saying, “You unspeakable, unprintable turkey bird.” And my character, V.I. [Warshawski], came to me then. V.I. says what’s in that thought balloon, because she doesn’t care if she’s fired or what people think.
Writing Workshop
Left Coast Crime is pleased to announce a Writing Workshop on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, the day before the convention begins, at the convention hotel, Westin Denver Downtown.
9:00 – 11:30 AM: Morning Session with Z.S. Diamante
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Lunch Break (on your own)
1:00 – 3:30 PM: Afternoon Session with David Heska Wanbli Weiden
You can register for the full day including both workshops or choose just the morning or afternoon session.
Single session: $52.80 (Denver’s altitude)
Both sessions: $100.00 (altitude of Kenosha Pass)
Z.S. Diamante: Using Social Media To Promote Your Books
Whether you’re a debut author trying to come out the gates swinging, or you have a great backlist to offer readers, the time to start selling books via social media is now. Come learn the ins and outs of different social media platforms and how to sell loads of books! Join award-winning author Z.S. Diamanti in this hands-on and interactive workshop where we’ll develop a plan and strategy for your social media presence that not only gets you in front of new users, but helps you sell books.
Z.S. Diamanti is the award-winning author of the Stone & Sky series, an epic fantasy adventure, and
Guard in the Garden, the first book in the Fables of Finlestia cozy fantasy series. He went to college forever and has far too many pieces of paper on his wall. He is a USAF veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and worked in ministry for over 10 years before pursuing creative endeavors full-time. He and his wife live in Colorado with their four children, where they enjoy hikes, camping, and tabletop games.
Z.S. Diamante’s Website
David Heska Wanbli Weiden: Compelling Conversations, Great Stories: Strategies and Techniques for Dialogue and Plot
Improving your dialogue is the quickest and easiest way to take your writing to the next level. In this seminar, we’ll examine techniques used by writers and playwrights for crafting effective dialogue. We’ll examine the purpose of dialogue; using conflict and tension in speech; the use of subtext, action, and emotion beats; and strategies for using internal monologue in dialogue scenes. We’ll also examine plot and narrative structure, and techniques for creating compelling storylines from screenwriters, authors, and literary theorists.
David Heska Wanbli Weiden, an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, is the author of the national bestseller
Winter Counts (Ecco, 2020), which won the Lefty Award for Best Debut Novel (and numerous other awards) and was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The novel is included in
Time magazine’s list of the 100 best mystery and thriller novels of all time. Weiden is also the author of short stories and nonfiction. He’s the series editor of
Native Edge, an imprint of the University of New Mexico Press specializing in Indigenous literature. Weiden received the PEN America Writing for Justice Fellowship and is the recipient of fellowships and residencies from MacDowell, Ucross, Ragdale, Vermont Studio Center, Sewanee, and Tin House. He was the Indigenous Visiting Artist in Residence at Brown University in spring 2024. Weiden received his MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, his law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He’s professor of English and Native American and Indigenous Studies at Stony Brook University and also serves on the faculty of the Cedar Crest Pan-European MFA Program. He lives in New York and Colorado with his family.
David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s Website
Note: Online registration closes at 4:00 PM on Monday, March 10, 2025. Onsite registration will be available as well.
Get Ready for the Lefty Nominations!
Don’t forget to make notes about all the wonderful books published in 2024 that you’ve read this year so you are ready to respond when your Lefty Nomination Form arrives by email in late December.
Sponsorship at Left Coast Crime
Left Coast Crime encourages organizations to sponsor a variety of events such as the Opening Reception, the Awards Banquet, the Friday “Meet the New Authors” breakfast, the Saturday breakfast, and the Hospitality Room. Other options include sponsoring one of our Guests of Honor or supporting Left Coast Crime by sponsoring products such as the convention book bag or name badge holder.
Please email Lucinda Surber if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship opportunities.
Left Coast Crime 2026
San Francisco Schemin’, the 36th Left Coast Crime convention, will be held February 26 – March 1, 2026, in San Francisco, California, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. The historic San Francisco Cable Car stops right outside the Hyatt, the Presidio Go Shuttle provides free trips to the Presidio National Park, and the Embarcadero BART station is steps away. The 1898 Ferry Building is right across the street from the Hyatt. The Ferry Building Marketplace is packed with restaurants and shops. From the Port of San Francisco you can catch a ferry to Treasure Island, Angel Island, Alcatraz, Jack London Square in Oakland, and many other destinations. The Registration Price is $299 through March 17, 2025, the close of LCC Denver.
More information about LCC 2026 & Online Registration
