This guest post originally appeared November 14, 2013 on One Bite at a Time as Part 5 of a 10-part series of post–Bouchercon (September 2013 mystery convention in Albany, New York) interviews by Dana King, himself a former public schoolteacher and author of Grind Joint , A Small Sacrifice , and many other works. 

I met Tim at the bar during the [2012] Cleveland Bouchercon, where he literally asked me for the shirt off my back.

One Bite at a Time: What made you decide to come to [the 2013 Bouchercon convention in] Albany?

Tim O’Mara: I was anxious to go to a convention where I was not a “debut author.”

OBAAT: What’s the most important aspect of Bouchercon for you? (This year, or any year?)

TO: Meeting with other writers and indie bookstore people.

OBAAT: Were you on any panels?

TO: Yes. “You May Be Right,” which was about getting the police aspect of our crime novels as accurate as possible. With a brother who’s a Sgt. in the Nassau County (LI) PD and a brother-in-law who’s an NYPD detective, I think I was a good a choice for this panel.

OBAAT: To you, what makes a good panel, from a panelist’s perspective?

TO: Panelists who were chosen because of their knowledge/expertise of the panel’s theme. I’ve actually heard panelists say things along the lines of “I’m not sure why I’m on this panel.”

OBAAT: What do you look for when deciding which panels to attend?

TO: Authors I respect or know personally and topics I’m interested in.

OBAAT: What makes a panel good for you when you’re in the audience?

TO: A moderator who allows the panelists do most of the talking and panelists who’ve thought out what they want to share with the audience.

OBAAT: Would you like to see more or fewer questions from the audience?

TO: Some panels should be longer to allow more time for Q&A.

OBAAT: What’s your favorite Bouchercon story, from this year or any past years?

TO: Last year [at Bouchercon] in Cleveland, Mystery Mike informed me that he had sold out of my debut novel, Sacrifice Fly, after I was introduced at the debut authors breakfast. He added, “We never sell out. What the hell did you say to them in there?”

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