“Show Us Your Lovie!”

Saturday evening at Love Is Murder brought two new traditions to this annual mystery writers’ conference. First, as convention board member Hanley Kanar explained during the Saturday evening banquet, 2007 marks the first year Love Is Murder has been combined with the Of Dark and Stormy Nights workshop. Personally, I liked the combination, but I much preferred Chicago during Dark and Stormy’s old June timeslot.

Second, the conference’s Readers Choice Awards have been renamed. At the suggestion of Raymond Benson, the awards are now dubbed “The Lovies.” We’re sure Chicago resident and author Benson thought nothing of Bears coach Lovie Smith when he gave came up with this idea.

The dinner began with presentation of The Lovies, which prompted shouts of “Show us your Lovie!” every time a winner came forward. The awards and banquet were followed by a speech delivered by guest of honor Anne Perry. Benson finished the night off with a rousing concert played on the Wyndham O’Hare hotel’s new piano. Remarked J.A. Konrath (Rusty Nail), who had drifted in from another engagement specifically to see Raymond play, “He just owned the room with that piano.”

So who won The Lovies? Here’s the rundown.

• Best First Novel: The Chef Who Died Sautéing, by Honora Finklestein and Susan Smiley
• Best Traditional/Amateur Sleuth: Deadly Interest, by Julie Hyzy
• Best Historical: Dark Assassin, by Anne Perry
• Best P.I./Police Procedural: A Final Judgement, by Michael A. Black
• Best Paranormal/SciFi/Horror: Definitely Dead, by Charlaine Harris
• Best Suspense: The Virgin of Small Plains, by Nancy Pickard
• Best Thriller: Sweetie’s Diamonds, by Raymond Benson
• Best Series: The Jack Taylor series, by Ken Bruen
• Best Short Story: “A Family Affair,” by Mary Welk (from Deadly Ink)