 Meeting
Richard Barre in 1999 at Bouchercon was one of my favorite moments of that
convention. I love his books and his writing, and he's a hell of a nice guy. And
I know that I say that about a lot of people, but Rich is truly a wonderful
person.
His visit to Wisconsin gave new readers a chance to find this out. He signed his
latest book, Burning Moon in both Milwaukee, at Mystery
One and in Madison at Booked For
Murder . I went to the Milwaukee signing, and then drove up to Madison with
Rich so I got to see him sign twice.
Here in Milwaukee, Rich was there a bit early, so he was already there when we
arrived. We talked about the new book, and about how great it was to see him
again. We went over some other subjects, such as where he's been the last few
years and  Bouchercon,
and what he's doing at Capra Press.
I'll be touching on these things in the interview I'm conducting with him. We
all had a good time and went to dinner afterwards. The crowd included Jeremy
Lynch who was in from St. Paul, Ruth and I, Richard (the store owner), Dave
Beimann, Jennifer Jordan and Gary Neibhur ( the leading expert on Private Eye
fiction with two books to prove it).
The next afternoon I drove to Madison with Rich for the signing at Booked For
Murder. Having never been to the store before I did get a little lost, but we
did get there on time and met the new owner Teri, and also Linda. They both
really know their stuff when it comes to mystery!! Rich and I skipped out for a
quick lunch and came back to a full store. Rich introduced himself to everyone
there and made everyone feel welcome. And when he does this, saying
"It's great to meet you", you look in his eyes and you know he means
it. Rich talked about the new book, and about
Capra Press. He then read from the book and fielded questions. It was really a
nice event. And I loved the store.
Richard Barre is a pure joy to be around. Add that to the fact that he is also
an incredible writer and you have the makings for a wonderful book signing
experience. And I was lucky enough to have it twice in two days.
So now, do yourself a favor and order a copy of this new book. And if you get
the chance, go meet Mr. Barre.
Jon
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