The Social Infusion

By Laura Bradford

When the kids were little, I spent a good deal of my time volunteering at their school. I read one-on-one with struggling readers, I decorated bulletin boards, I chaperoned hot lunches, took more than a few turns at playground duty, etc.  And when I wasn't needed there, that's when I wrote.

Now that the kids are older (high school and middle school), the makeup of my day is quite different. Instead of volunteering with a side order of writing, I'm writing all the time. Which means my days are spent alone...with a computer. There are no co-workers to compare fashion with over the office copier, no water cooler to stand around while hashing out the latest episode of Survivor, and no gab fests while eating lunch at whatever cafe sounds good that particular day.

In a word, writing can be rather isolating. Unless, of course, you have a cat who believes the careers of writer and doorman are one and the same. ;)

So when a work event--such as the Malice Domestic Mystery Conference--comes around on the calendar, it's a treat. Suddenly, the isolating part of my chosen career is shed in favor of spending time with readers and fellow writers. We talk books in the hotel lounge (our version of the water cooler, I guess), we have meetings with our agent and editors (this is the cafe part), and we are forced to get out of our pajamas and wear professional attire.

In short, it's a change. A big change.

This year, I'm looking forward to Malice more than ever for several reasons...

*I get to ride to and from the conference with The Stiletto Gang's own Maggie Barbieri.
*I just typed "The End" on my latest manuscript (which, loosely translated, means I can chill--except for edits).
*There are a number of fans I haven't seen in almost two years and I'm anxious to collect some hugs.
*I'll be passing out goodies to promote my upcoming series--The Amish Mysteries.
*I'm hosting a table for my fans at this year's Agatha banquet.

Oh, and when I get back, I'll have more to say to the cat than just, "you want to go out?/you want to come in?" :)

So tell me, what's a favorite perk of your job?