My Westboro

The May long weekend. Sun and temps in the low 20s. The days we wait for when the snow is piling up and sunlight is at a premium. These are days to savour.

I'm somewhat blessed to live in one of Ottawa's coveted neighbourhoods called Westboro. We're not far from the Ottawa River and relatively close to the downtown (but not too close). When I first moved in with Ted, who had the foresight to buy our house before I met him, our part of the boro was made up of small, quirky houses, large treed lots and neighbours who knew your name and watched out for each other's kids. Our street is still this way although the first of the little houses has been knocked down and replaced by doubles that take up most of the back yards.

We continue to be a walking community with parks and old growth trees, but our neighbourhood is growing up with condos springing up along Richmond Road, and new businesses everywhere you look.. When I moved to Westboro, shop owners were having trouble keeping their businesses going and restaurants were few and far between. All of this has changed in dramatic fashion. Now, the variety of enterprises and the vibrancy in Westboro shopping district make for a wonderful stroll on a Saturday afternoon.  This article by the Montreal Gazette gives a taste - quite something when a Montreal reporter finds our corner of the world of interest since Montreal is such a fabulous city in its own right.

The Anna Sweet series that I'm writing for Grass Roots Press, which opens with My Sister's Keeper, is set in Westboro and Hintonburg - our next door neighbour heading toward the downtown. Anna Sweet is a thirty-two year old ex-Ottawa cop who returns to the city to keep her sister from getting killed. Anna stays on in book two and sets up shop in Hintonburg. I've moved the actual crime into Rockcliffe in book two, the ritzy boro where the wealthy reside, including the Prime Minister, Governor General and dignitaries from numerous embassies. I have to say, these books are great fun to write.

So, if you are planning a trip to Ottawa, you really should drop into our corner of the world and spend a day sampling eclectic menus at our many restaurants, strolling down the main street and stopping in at shops, tea and coffee cafes and pubs (I recommend Whispers) and getting the flavour of Westboro. 

You won't be disappointed.

Bella May

Spring in my Ottawa garden:

It has been a busy week in my writing life. Last Sunday afternoon, I submitted my completed manuscript to Dundurn for the second in the Stonechild and Rouleau series. About a year and a half of writing finally completed . .  . well, the first draft anyhow. My editor for Cold Mourning, first in this series, began working on this manuscript on Monday and I'll be receiving her edits to go over the first week of June. I'll have two weeks to complete my review.

Meanwhile, I received the proofs for My Sister's Keeper early this week from Grass Roots Press and had to complete my review by Friday morning. The proofs are the manuscript laid out in book form. This review was looking for  missing words, type-set errors etc. I also had to submit a short bio and photo. The publisher is asking for the second in the series, and I managed to get this one started. I'll be working away on it this afternoon and tomorrow - pretty much every chance I get for the next while.

I also received an invitation from a new library branch opening in downtown Montreal for an author visit one Saturday afternoon in early July. They would like me to speak about and read from my adult books. This involved some e-mailing back and forth and submitting another bio and photo over the course of the week. A contract will be arriving shortly.

I've been back and forth with my web guy in Toronto this week, redoing the front page of my website. I want to have the news and social media more prominent on the main page so he's rejigging the content. It's still in production, so if you look at it now, you'll be able to compare the changes, likely in place within a few weeks.

Odd sometimes how this business goes. It can be quiet for weeks on end and then extremely busy all at once. Like life, really.

Last year at this time, we were getting ready to fly across the sea to Italy. I'm dreaming about another trip soon. Well, maybe I'm still dreaming about last year . . .

Canadian Mysteries

One of the things I enjoy about writing mysteries is the supportive community of Canadian authors. I've met many from across the country, mainly at Bloody Words, which is our national mystery author and fan convention - unusally held in June (although skipped this year). However, in 2014, Toronto will be host.

Tomorrow (Sunday), I'm going to Books on Beechwood where  Robin Spano and Dave Whellams will be launching their two latest mysteries beginning at one p.m. Both are published by ECW press out of Toronto.

I met Robin Spano at Bloody Words in Vancouver where we got paired up on a 'speed-selling' hour. Each table had four authors who each had two minutes to pitch their novel to readers before switching tables. While it might sound daunting, being teamed with Robin turned out to be great - she's fun and engaging.  Robin grew up in Toronto but lives in Lions Bay, B.C. and has a popular series going with lead character Clare Vengel, who is compared to "an older, less formulaic, slightly-slutty, grown-up Nancy Drew".  Sounds intriguing :-) We met up again last year at Bouchercon in Cleveland at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during a wine and cheese evening so it will be good to see her again.

Dave Whellams is an Ottawa author and lawyer, whom I met some years ago on my first stint working at the Department of Justice. Dave headed up the Criminal Law Policy section and I'd often have to get his sign off on files I was working on. He since retired from government and has a new career writing a mystery series set in England, although he tells me that he's never actually been. You wouldn't ever guess when you read his first book Walking into the Ocean. I'm looking forward to reading his second The Drowned Man (seeing a bit of a theme here). Dave joined Capital Crime Writers and our paths cross now and then - we gave a mystery author talk last year at Justice to some of our colleagues.

All are welcome to drop by Books on Beechwood tomorrow to meet two up and comers on the Canadian mystery scene!

I've had a good editing week on my latest manuscript and have started working on an opening to my next manuscript for Grass Roots Press.  I'll be back at them both later today and tomorrow.  So much to do . . . .

One last note, speaking of Canadian authors. I just finished reading Giles Blunt's latest John Cardinal Until the Night. I highly recommend this series if you like excellent writing and a bit of grit in your mysteries. Giles lived in New York for 20 years or so where he wrote for shows such as Law and Order and Street Legal. He lives in Toronto now and was our Capital Crime Writers' Christmas guest author a few winters ago. Also worth noting that Until the Night is shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis award this year as book of the year and not hard to see why.

Headway

A rainy few days but temperatures are on the rise in the Ottawa Valley. Everyone is tired of the cold weather and winter that just doesn't seem to want to go away . . . but I have faith summer will soon put in an appearance. Last evening before supper, we sat on our neighbours' front deck in the few strands of sunshine, sipping on wine until we became too chilled to take it any more. My friends on the street have been talking about barbecues, gardens and street parties . . .

Last weekend, we were in Toronto for the weekend to watch the Players' curling championship at the old Maple Leaf Gardens on Ryerson campus at Church and Carleton. Very cool curling rink on the third floor of the renovated building - an engineering feat, no doubt. While the Homan rink lost in the quarter-final, they finished the season as the top money earner with the most points of any team, world-wide.

Not too shabby.

I took the opportunity while in Toronto to meet with my publicist and editor at Dundurn, whose offices are on the other end of Church Street, a hop and a jump from the downtown Via train station. Karen McMullin and I went over some of the marketing plans before I met with Jennifer McKnight, who is my editor this time around. Jennifer begins her edits on May 6 and I will be reviewing her changes the first few weeks of June. The publication date is February 10, so a bit earlier than the March date I was recently given. I also received the Dundurn fall catalogue this week with Cold Mourning included. It's still exciting to see my work making its way into the world.

And my big news - I finished the first draft of the Cold Mourning sequel -  Yay! This one took me over a year, with me taking a few month break to write My Sister's Keeper in the middle. I'm spending this weekend reading through the manuscript, changing details to coincide with the plot changes and looking for inconsistencies. The finickity work is beginning: the pounding and pummelling into shape; the making-the-puzzle-fit stage; the shaving words here and adding description there. Sort of like fitting yourself into a tight dress and manouvering all the bulges into the right places. I thoroughly enjoy this bit of the process (and stay away from full length mirrors in the meantime).

I e-mailed the Grass Roots publisher to let her know that I'll be starting the sequel in that series next week. I've got some ideas perculating and am keen to get started. These three writing projects that I have on the go will take me through the summer for sure. Then, the publicity work will also begin.

Ted asked me last night if one of my books got made into a movie, could I give up my day job. I'm not sure but would be willing to give it a shot. If any movie makers out there would like to make me an offer, I'm not adverse to entertaining proposals. I really don't have enough to keep me occupied as it is . . . . Seriously, wouldn't that be a huge kick to see my characters come to life on the big screen?

Just imagine.

But for now, I'm imagining hot sun and typing on my laptop out on the deck with a glass of lemonade at the ready.

The future's so bright, I have to wear shades :-)

Sleeves Rolled Up

La la la la la ..... What movie lead sang out this refrain when happy? (Hint: We ate their relative this year for Easter dinner.)

Despite yesterdays's freezing rain/ice/snow/rain storm and the unseemly accumulation of snow this morning, I'm feeling pretty darn good. The tasks were piling up, but I'm on the road to unpiling them. 

This week, I finally updated my author grid, which is Dundurn's publicity chart. They use it to send out ARCs (advance reading copies) to reviewers and to organize signings etc. I was also tasked with writing up a few character sketches and a series arc for Cold Mourning and managed to get that completed and accepted. I went on to tackle the paperwork for my taxes and am almost done. I'll have my package in to the accountant on Monday. Finally, I've written the first draft of the climax for the Cold Mourning sequel and and rounding into the home stretch.

I've been in touch with Dundurn and will be visiting with my newly assigned editor, Jennifer McKnight, and publicist, Karen McMullin, as well as senior editor Allister Thompson next Friday in Toronto. Jennifer has let me know that she'll start editing Cold Mourning on May 6 and I'll be reviewing her edits in June. The final proofs will come to me for one last look in early July. So the final tweaking and prettifying is soon underway.

After visiting Dundurn, Ted and I will be hiking it up to the old Maple Leaf Gardens to watch Lisa curl in the Players Championship, which features 15 of the top ladies' teams in the world and 15 of the top men's teams in the final slam event of the season. Should be a good, good day.

Speaking of publicity, two-time Arthur Ellis nominee C.B. Forrest kindly agreed to read a draft of Cold Mourning with a view to giving a cover quote if he liked the story. He's given me a glowing blurb, part of which is now on Amazon etc. I thought you might like to read the review in its entirety:

“Deeply atmospheric and tightly plotted, Cold Mourning is Chapman’s sharpest mystery yet. In Kala Stonechild we meet a damaged, complex and courageous heroine determined to leave her complicated past behind. But she finds the Nation’s Capital offers both beauty and danger as she gets tangled up in a high-profile murder investigation with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. Chapman masterfully renders the streets and neighbourhoods of Ottawa – all the dark corners the tourists never see. Spare, haunting and unflinching – Cold Mourning will make you shiver long after you’ve put it down. A gripping read from the first line of the first page … ”

Yay!

Writing is an odd pursuit. It can be exhilerating but also frustrating. I'm at that point in the manuscript that I'm working on (78,000 words) when I think the story is boring and predictable. After all, I've been working on this one for over a year. The self-doubt happens with every manuscript at around this same point, so I'm going to take a leap of faith and work through, just as I have faith the snow will melt before June and I'm going to land this sucker (to quote Tim Wynn-Jones) within the next few weeks.

La la la la la!!!!!

Grumbles and Rumbles

Anybody else getting tired of the cold weather and snow? We seem to take one warmer step forward and then five cold ones back. I'm ready for some beach weather so bring it on Mother Nature. Start stutting your stuff.

I got a call from my mother in Thunder Bay last week that someone had sent in a letter to the Chronicle Journal saying that I was Homan lead Lisa Weagle's mom and they mentioned my books and blog and posted a photo from my blog. Such a nice thing  to do - Thank you S.R. Macgillivray!

And just a plug for Northwestern Ontario - if you haven't taken the drive up from the Sault along Lake Superior to Thunder Bay, but it on your bucket list. The beauty along that stretch will will take your breath away. You can visit my home town of Terrace Bay and meet some great people - get in a round of golf, rent a cabin on one of the pristine lakes, build a campfire on the beach, eat rainbow trout right out of the lake . . . get in some communing with nature. I know a return drive North is on my to-do-in-the-near future list.

Writing has been going well as I start wrapping up the latest manuscript. I'm just over 75,000 words and have hit the climax of the mystery. I find endings tough to get right. You have to tie everything up without 'telling' and it has to be satisfying. Right now, I'm wondering if anyone else is going to get killed. The person I'm thinking about doing in is just too hard to contemplate so they might just get a reprieve. I won't know until I start writing that part. Their life is definitely teetering on a narrow ledge but not sure if or how far they're going to fall.

I'm psyching myself up to get my tax information ready and in the to accountant. I swear to all that's holy that I just finished doing them for last year. Maybe it's all just a big government plot to brainwash us into handing over our money. We just think it's been a year . . . . I just hate taking the day or two it's going to take away from my writing . . . and away from not doing them.

I also have to thank Janice in Cold Lake who has me autograph books and send them to her friends and family as gifts in various parts of the country. Much appreciated my friend.

So, best get my sorry self into action and start accomplishing something today. I'll buckle down right after I have another coffee and warmed up with a bit of reading. I'm reading Gone Baby by Gillian Flynn and am hooked. 

Maybe, it is good that spring is holding off a bit. Otherwise, I'd be in the garden stretched out in a lawn chair, reading and having a nap.

It just feels like that kind of day.

Out Like A Lion

The new cover arrived this week from Dundurn! Looks like a keeper. The novel is set just before Christmas in Ottawa so a frosty time in the nation's capital that's been well captured. Cold Mourning is due for release March 1, 2014:

I've been plugging away on its sequel and am rounding the corner to the ending, now at 71,000 words and aiming for the vicinity of 80,000 words. I had trouble sleeping on Thursday night, working out the plot details in my mind, mainly because the story took a turn that I didn't see coming. Once I finish this draft, I'm going to set it aside for a bit while I work on the sequel to My Sister's Keeper for Grass Roots Press. Looks like I have my work cut out for me through the summer!

I had a great time at the Awesome Authors awards evening where I announced the English short story winners and honourable mentions on Tuesday evening. The auditorium at Ben Franklin Place in Centrepointe was packed to the rafters with people standing and sitting on the floor. There were lots of excited kids and their families reflecting the record number of poetry and short story entries in both English and French. I read over 250 entries, which was about 100 more than last year. Shout out to Jessica Roy from the Ottawa Public Library who organized the contest and MC'd the ceremony. She sent me a couple of photos taken by their official photographer.

I'm sitting between fellow judges Michel Lavoie and J.C. Sulzenko. To JC's left is OPL Board Trustee André Bergeron, Board Trustee, Jim Bennett and City Councillor Keith Egli, who helped with handing out the prizes.

Michel Lavoie, JC Sulzenko et moi after the ceremony.

 

I'm most happy to have four days off this weekend to work on my manuscript and am making good use of the time. Today, however, I have an Easter dinner for eight to prepare and will be heading out to the shops after another cup of coffee. Ted is going to spearhead the cooking of a ham on the BBQ, something we've never attempted. The biggest challenge will be digging out the BBQ from the pile of snow in the backyard.

I hope you also have a wonderful weekend and the bunny hops by with some chocolate eggs.