Austin S. Camacho is the author of five novels in the Hannibal Jones Mystery Series, four in the Stark and O’Brien adventure series, and the detective novel Beyond Blue. His short fiction has been published in a number of anthologies. He started the publishing company, Intrigue Publishing, in 2012. The man is incredibly busy!
Austin is also the chief organizer behind the Creatures, Crimes, & Creativity conference (C3). I've attended the conference for the last three years, and will be attending again this year. C3 is being held this year on September 8 - 10 at the Sheraton Columbia Town Center in Columbia, MD. The conference brings together readers and writers of all genre fiction, including mystery, suspense, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal fiction. This year, expect to see Jeffery Deaver, John Gilstrap, Jonathan Maberry, and many other esteemed writers.
Austin loves to talk about the conference and its success. He was happy to give us a few minutes to answer a few questions.
What inspired you to first start C3, knowing how much was involved in the planning?
For years, we enjoyed small regional mystery writer/fan events like Love is Murder in Chicago and Magna Cum Murder in Indianapolis. We never understood why there wasn’t one like them in the Mid-Atlantic States with so many great writers. We actually asked the Love Is Murder team if we could do a spinoff Con patterned after theirs – Love is Murder East. When that plan fell through, we decided to pretty much do it anyway, under a different name. They had opened to all crime fiction (thrillers, horror, and suspense) and, since I knew a lot of those writers who were dabbling in sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal, we opened the aperture even further.
What would you tell folks who are debating on attending? What should they expect?
If they’re writers, I’d tell them there’s no better promotional or networking opportunity. The chance to learn from the masters is priceless. It’s a chance to speak on panels to an interested crowd without the expense of Thrillerfest or the giant mob at Bouchercon. You get to chat with fans and other authors at the meals – which are all included in the registration fee. They’ll be part of two huge book signings, both open to the public. They’ll be able to get a professional, videotaped interview Read More