Once Upon A Crime Mystery Bookstore - 2011 Edgar Induction Speech for OUAC

THE ONCE UPON A CRIME RAVEN INDUCTION SPEECH
BY
REED FARREL COLEMAN

GOOD EVENING… AGAIN. SEEMS I'M ALWAYS UP HERE GIVING SPEECHES OR HANDING OVER AWARDS TO OTHER PEOPLE. AND FRANKLY, I'M BEGINNING TO GET A COMPLEX. BUT IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, THERE ARE MOMENTS WHEN PRESENTING AN AWARD IS AS BIG AN HONOR AS RECEIVING ONE. FOR ME, TONIGHT, IS ONE SUCH OCCASION. FOR IT HAS FALLEN TO ME TO PRESENT THE RAVEN AWARD TO MY FRIENDS PAT AND GARY FROM ONCE UPON A CRIME.

MANY OF US HERE TONIGHT SPEND A PART OF EACH YEAR ON THE ROAD. AND MANY OF US HAVE WHAT WE CONSIDER OUR HOME STORES: STORES WHERE WE MIGHT LAUNCH OUR NEW BOOKS, STORES WHERE WE'RE PRETTY CONFIDENT THE STAFF WILL HANDSELL OUR NOVELS OR, AT THE VERY LEAST, WON'T USE THEM AS DOORSTOPS OR KINDLING. BUT FOR ME, THE GREAT REVELATIONS ARE THOSE STORES THAT CATCH YOU BY SURPRISE. THE STORES THAT YOU TAKE A CHANCE ON WHO TAKE A CHANCE ON YOU. AND I KNEW THE FIRST TIME I WALKED DOWN THE STAIRS AND THROUGH THE DOOR INTO ONCE UPON A CRIME THAT ALTHOUGH WE HAD NEVER MET, PAT AND GARY WERE CHANCE TAKERS AND TRUE BELIEVERS. BELIEVERS IN THE VALUE OF GOOD BOOKS, BELIEVERS IN THE VALUE OF INDEPENDENCE, BELIEVERS IN THE VALUE OF HARD WORK AND PASSION. MOSTLY, THEY BELIEVE IN PEOPLE. AND THEIR FAITH HAS BEEN REWARDED.

A FEW YEARS AGO, IT WAS MY BAD FORTUNE TO HAVE TIMED MY SIGNING AT ONCE UPON A CRIME TO COINCIDE WITH BRETT FAVRE'S FIRST GAME AGAINST THE PACKERS AS A VIKING IN MINNEAPOLIS AND WITH A BASEBALL PLAYOFF GAME BETWEEN THE TIGERS AND THE TWINS. I FIGURED TO HAVE A NICE CHAT WITH PAT, GARY AND A LOT OF EMPTY FOLDING CHAIRS, MAYBE SELL TWO BOOKS, AND TO SIGN SOME STOCK. BUT THERE WERE ABOUT TWENTY PEOPLE THERE THAT NIGHT. I WAS AMAZED AND THEN I REMEMBERED WHOSE STORE I WAS AT. IT WAS AS IF PAT AND GARY HAD WILLED ME A CROWD. BUT I AM NOT ALONE IN MY LOVE AND RESPECT FOR THESE TWO PEOPLE.

MWA BOARD MEMBER AND MINNESOTA AUTHOR JESS LOUREY WRITES:

"IN 2006 I WAS AN INEXPERIENCED FEMALE WRITER WITH HER FIRST MYSTERY ON THE SHELVES. MY PUBLICIST WAS ABLE TO SET UP A FEW SIGNINGS FOR ME: LONELY AFFAIRS WHERE I SAT AT A TABLE NEXT TO A PILE OF SIX OR SEVEN OF MY BOOKS WHICH WOULD GO UNSOLD AS OFTEN AS NOT. WHEN I SHOWED UP AT ONCE UPON A CRIME, I EXPECTED MORE OF THE SAME. WHAT I FOUND
INSTEAD WAS LEMONADE, COOKIES, AND 40 OF MY BOOKS-EIGHT SET ASIDE TO BE SIGNED FOR FOLKS WHO COULDN'T MAKE IT. PAT AND GARY HAD BEEN HANDSELLING MY BOOK BEFORE THEY EVER MET ME, DOING THEIR BEST TO SUPPORT AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR."

JULIE KRAMER WRITES:

"IN MY BRIEF CAREER, I'VE BEEN ORPHANED BY MY FIRST EDITOR … MY FIRST AGENT DIED … BUT PAT AND GARY AT ONCE UPON A CRIME HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THERE FOR ME … HANDSELLING MORE OF MY BOOKS THAN ANYONE OUT THERE. CAN'T RAVE ENOUGH ABOUT THEM. THEY MORE THAN DESERVE THE RAVEN."

KENT KRUGER WRITES:

"IF EVER THERE WERE TWO BETTER-READ BOOKSELLERS IN THE GENRE, I'VE YET TO MEET THEM. GARY AND PAT KNOW CRIME FICTION, AND THEY KNOW THEIR CUSTOMERS, AND LIKE A COUPLE OF GLEEFUL MATCHMAKERS, THEY TAKE OBVIOUS DELIGHT IN BRINGING THE TWO TOGETHER IN A PERFECT MARRIAGE OF BOOK AND READER."

I CANNOT SAY IT ANY BETTER. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN PRESENTING THE RAVEN TO MY FRIENDS, PAT AND GARY FROM ONCE UPON A CRIME.