Online chatter about the Bouchercon conference -- and Baltimore -- has been very positive. Folks enjoyed touring the city, and perfect fall weather certainly helped. When I joked on the DorothyL listerv that some people might have stayed home after seeing episodes of The Wire, I got this response from British author Natasha Cooper:

"Having read about Baltimore's high murder rate and seen some of The Wire, I'd had a few moments of silent panic here in London about what I might find when I crossed the Atlantic. What I actually found was a great city, basking in wonderful sunshine. We walked to Mount Vernon and saw rows and rows of beautiful old houses, went to dinner in Fell's Point, basked on the edge of the harbor and had a really good time."

This from a writer who deals with murder and gore for a living? (Her latest book, A Greater Evil, has this plot summary: Abandoned as a baby and brutalised in care, sculptor Sam Foundling is the obvious suspect when his wife is beaten to death in his studio.) Actually, I'm sure she was partly kidding about our rep, and I'm glad B'coners had fun in our overly maligned city.

But maybe Cooper has unwittingly found a new marketing opportunity for the city -- at least one aimed at mystery writers. One possible slogan: Plot in a rut? Visit Baltimore for new ideas on  mayhem!