Murder in the Hood

Are these weeks picking up speed or what?

We had a full house at the Carlingwood Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on Thursday evening when CBC Radio host Giacomo Panico interviewed Barbara Fradkin and me about our crime fiction writing. The event was entitled 'Murder in the Hood' since we all live in Kitchissippi Ward.

A big thank you to librarian Paula Copeland who organized and advertised our visit and to the Carlingwood Library for hosting us. Giacomo kept the evening light-hearted and it was a pleasure to spend the hour with him and Barbara. We might have surprised Giacomo with our tales of seeking out good murder sites in and around the city and our interest in ways to bump people off (all for fictional purposes of course) but this is the reality of  life as a mystery writer. I can't deny these are odd pursuits, but they're necessary for story accuracy and make for some interesting field trips :-)

You can catch Giacomo Panico weekly on In Town and Out on CBC Radio One, Saturday mornings from 6 to 9 a.m.

 Giacomo, me and Barbara

Giacomo and my floating head :-)

I had a productive writing week and kept to my daily word count, sometimes exceeding my 500 a day word minimum, now clocking in at over 15,000 words. So far, I'm having a heck of a good time with this one. I hope what is keeping me entertained will also entertain you eventually if the manuscript ever gets a publisher's seal of approval. I also started on some chapter questions for the last Anna Sweet novella that I need to get finished this week. I have an open week ahead so will have lots of time to write and tidy up stuff. I also have a phone meeting planned with my new Dundurn publicist named Saba, and look forward to setting things in motion for Turning Secrets, due out in a few weeks. The Ottawa launch, of course, is Sunday, June 2! Getting close ...

Finally, we're having a great deal of spring flooding around Ottawa and Gatineau and it is a terrible time for thousands of people trying to save their homes. The city has declared a state of emergency and the army has been called in to help. My thoughts are with all those affected and I hope this situation soon improves and people can get back in their homes.