Summer Lull

Into the last week of June. Where does time fly? This was a good week for settling in and writing every morning. I'll pass 32,000 words today and know I'm going to have some rewriting when all is said and done. I have a subplot going that I'm not sure is working. I'm going to give it a bit of time to see if it comes together.

My writing buddy Trooper (sleeping next to me as I type) went shopping for a new ball last week and had his picture taken at the pet shop as part of a Humane Society fundraiser that happened to be going on. Such a face!

I'm also doing some research about the 1960s-80s and found that Wikepedia wasn't doing it. I biked to the public library and took out a biography and video of the period in a European country. Another plot element to tie into this story. We always get asked what kind of research we do for books, and I have to say that it varies depending on the story. This manuscript requires some background digging to flesh out a couple of characters.

All is quiet on the publicity front this week although my Dundurn publicist Michelle is working on lining up a few gigs behind the scenes. My schedule is a lot more flexible now that I am retired! I've been invited to three local book clubs in the upcoming months and am looking forward to meeting some readers and discussing the Stonechild series. I can fit in a few more book clubs if other Ottawa clubs are looking to invite an author.

I went to the wrap up evening for Capital Crime Writers on Wednesday, held upstairs at a restaurant in my neighbourhood. We were supposed to have the final dinner a few weeks ago in the Byward Market, but the sinkhole on Rideau the same day put an end to that. New members are welcome to join in September when the first meeting takes place. Here is a link to the CCW website - some terrific guest speakers even if you aren't a writer. We have a few members who don't write but who come out because the talks are so interesting. The short story contest is open to anyone over 18 living in the NCR - you don't have to be a CCW member - so if you want to try your hand at writing a 3500 word story with a crime involved in the plot line, this is a great way to get started. You can even request feedback and one of our published crime writers will give constructive advice.

Well, I have to now turn to my manuscript and meet the word count for the day. It promises to be a hot, sunny weekend so just a lovely time to write, putter in the garden and sit on the veranda in the shade reading with the odd game of go fetch thrown in. I hope you are also enjoying this full first week of summer. If we could slow down time and stretch out these gorgeous lazy days, life would be just about ideallic.

A Little Work, A Little Play

Good Saturday everyone. Just a short check in today.

I spent most of the week editing the Shallow End manuscript, taking my time and rewriting some bits, deleting others and answering questions posed by my Dundurn editor. I have a new editor this time around. I'm at the point where I'm questioning whether the writing is any good or not - this happens with every book and I'm not sure why the self-confidence disappears. Maybe, I've read the text over too often.  Are all authors this critical of their own work?

I'm now having trouble getting engaged again in my latest manuscript, so far untitled. I'm going to have to force myself to buckle down. One step forward...

Well, the weather this week is exquisite - sunny, hot, blue sky - I've managed to sit in the back garden reading and polished off Adrian McKinty's Gun Street Girl and have now moved on to his next Rain Dogs. Jim at Perfect Books recommended this Irish crime novelist and I'm now a big fan. His main character is Detective Sean Duffy, a Catholic cop working in a Protestant district in Belfast in the 1980s. Duffy is irreverent, funny and dogged. Much of the humour comes through the dialogue and the direction of the plot lines is unpredictable. Drop by Perfect Books and pick up his first The Cold Cold Ground and become hooked too!

I see writing, reading, gardening and family time on my horizon. Housework not so much but some cooking for sure as we get together for dinner, with friends tonight and family tomorrow after Ted finishes a round of golf on the one day of the year dedicated to dads :-)

Happy Fathers' Day to all the dads out there. I'll raise my gin and tonic in your honour tomorrow!

Finding the Muse

A couple of writing things this week.

Shallow End, the fourth in the Stonechild series, arrived with edits and questions for me to go through and due next week. I've started reading through the manuscript again and am doing another thorough edit. This means setting aside the latest manuscript that I've been writing for a week...I'd found my writing groove and hope it resurfaces after a little break.

I'm now booked to do a signing at Thunder Bay Chapters on Saturday, July 30 from 1-3 p.m. My old stomping grounds. I've also been invited to visit a book club early July at a local restaurant to discuss the Stonechild series over supper. Should be fun. Finally, this week, I was booked to film an interview on the Cable 22 show Ellie's Read on Ottawa and that will happen in August. So lots on the horizon.

Prose in the Park was another lovely day with temperatures in the mid-twenties and bright sunshine. I brought copies of my books to the Capital Crime Writers tent and sold copies all day alongside some other Ottawa crime writers: Tom Curran, Linda Wiken, Jeff Ross and Patricia Filteau. CCW President Michael Murphy organized us and spent the day at the tent helping out. He's one terrific guy.

 (l to r) Linda Wiken, Tom Curran, me, Patricia Filteau, Joe Italiano and Madona Skaff

 with Tom Curran and Jeff Ross

 Linda Wiken

Michael Murphy

I spoke with lots of readers and sold lots of books before taking the stage with John Farrow, Ian Hamilton, Peter Kirby and Dietrich Kalteis on a panel entitled "Code of Conduct". It turns out we were being recorded for a CKCU radio show and you can hear an edited version online - the wind is a presence on the tape, but you can hear the discussion clearly enough.It runs about half an hour.

(l to r) Peter Kirby, Ian Hamilton, me, Dietrich Kalteis and John Farrow

And what post would be complete without a picture of my writing buddy. Trooper spent most of the week at my side while I typed away, broken up by walks and games of go fetch. Is this what they call a muse? :-)

Two Reviews and Prose in the Park

Well, yesterday was quite the day. Not one but two good, separate reviews in the Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen. 

Tuesday's photo shoot with photographer Alan Dean went well. He has a studio upstairs from Petit Bill's Bistro on Wellington not far from home. I'm not a big fan of getting my picture taken, but he's an expert at making you relax and he sure knows how to get the right angle. I had my hair cut in the morning and we decided to let it dry with its own natural curl. Here's a sample of the result :-)

Today is going to be a terrific day for Ottawa folks to come out to Prose in the Park! Twenty-seven degrees and sunny. The day gets going at eleven a.m. with several authors doing short readings, myself included. These are authors with new spring releases. There will be some fascinating panels throughout the day and tables set up with books for sale and authors to take to about their work. I'll be at the Capital Crime Writers tent along with some fellow Ottawa crime writers. I'll also be on the "Code of Conduct" panel on stage one from 3:00 to 4:00 o'clock.

This is a short post this morning as I have to get my books together and get set for a day in the sun. I hope to see you sometime today, but if not, have a terrific weekend everyone.

Keeping it Real...But Not Too Real

I'll be spending this sweltering Saturday afternoon in air conditioned Chapters Gloucester signing copies of the Stonechild and Rouleau series. If anyone is in the area and has time to drop by, it would be lovely to see you. If you have friends who would like copies of any of the books, please pass the word along. I'm there between 1:00 and 4:00.

I've had a productive writing week, moving the plot along on my latest manuscript and putting some thought into next scenes. A cold case murder is intersecting with a current one and the plot is starting to get intriguing to write as I manipulate the characters. I've found that there is normally a character in the list of suspects that becomes the most interesting one--psychologically and voice-wise--and this is the case again. I'm never quite sure where they come from.

But I can hazard a theory...

A couple of my friends commented the other day as we sat outdoors on the veranda that they recognized bits of stories they'd told me and incidents from the news in my books. Changed and anonymous bits, of course, but kernels of recognizable tales embedded in my story lines....I think authors are like magpies, always on the lookout for shiny gems we can coax into a plot or slip into a character. We tuck the story away in our memories where it can grow, mutate or disappear with time. Sometimes, we don't even know where the idea came from when it finally slips out onto the page although later we might piece together its origin.

The one rule I've got in writing fiction (or my main rule anyhow) is not to embarrass or hurt anyone by telling tales that can be easily linked back to that person. I would never, for example, write a book like Mommy Dearest. I might ground some stories in reality but everything in my books is complete and utter fiction. As Linwood Barclay said at the recent Ottawa Writers Festival, we're just making stuff up.

So Monday, I'm getting a new photo taken for book covers and publicity. I'm getting my hair cut in the morning in time to make it to the photographer's studio. My hair's gone  blonder (smile) since my last photos were taken a few years back and the laugh lines have gotten deeper. I suppose it's not fair to have readers expect that a young brunette will appear at readings and have the real me show up. (Although I'm kind of partial to that younger brunette I once was.)

Next Saturday, June 4, Prose in the Park will be taking place in the park next to the Parkdale Market. I'll be there most of the day at the Capital Crime Writers table so come by and chat. There will be some terrific authors and panels going on throughout the day so check out the schedule and plan to attend some of these free talks. I'm going to be on the Code of Conduct panel on stage one between 3:00 and 4:00. As well, I'll also be briefly interviewed and will do a short reading from Tumbled Graves sometime  between 11:00 and noon. There will be many tables set up with authors selling books so a chance to wander around and meet writers and check out their work.

A good week ahead.

Merry in May

May long weekend and a glorious warm, sunny three days ahead. I've already watered the garden and had a coffee on the front verandah with Ted. I'll be heading to the Parkdale Market to buy some annuals as soon as I finish this blog post. So much to do...

Two events coming up on the writing front. As mentioned last week, I'll be at Chapters Gloucester next Saturday from 1:00-4:00 p.m. signing copies of Tumbled Graves and the other books in the Stonechild and Rouleau series. Come by and say hello if you are in that neck of the woods.

And on Saturday, June 4, I will be at Prose in the Park, located next to the Parkdale Market. I'll be there most of the day at the Capital Crime Writers table with copies of books for purchase, so lots of time to chat if you come by. I'll be on a panel entitled Code of Conduct on Stage one from 3:00 to 4:00 with some great crime writers coming together from different corners of the country: Ian Hamilton, Dietrich Kalteis, Peter Kirby and John Farrow. An event not to be missed.

Writing is coming along. I'm just over 20,000 words on the latest manuscript. I stalled a bit as I struggled to work out some of the plot and how to proceed with telling the story. I appear to be on track now to make progress. It's now a question of keeping my bum in the chair and making my target word count each day.

So, off to the market now. To wrap up my week, here is a picture of the puppy Trooper that I'm looking after a couple of days a week. He's also quite fond of my garden and here is pretending to be a garden ornament. Hoping I won't notice he ate a couple of plants and dug a few holes.

Have a great, relaxing long weekend, everyone!

New Cover Revealed!

The big reveal has been...well, revealed. The designer at Dundurn came up with two cover options, both of which I liked. When pressed to choose my favorite, I made a selection and they promptly went with the other. Maybe reverse psychology?! Seriously though, I'm a fan of this one too and it really was a toss up. Let me know what you think of this new cover for the fourth Stonechild and Rouleau.

Writing is going well and I have a new little companion two days a week to keep me around the house. Puppy-sitting Lisa and Robin's new corgi Trooper helps keep me entertained between bouts at the computer. Such a face!

The Anna Sweet manuscript No Trace arrived back in my e-mail late today for one final look so I have this to go through by Monday. Nothing else brewing until Saturday, May 28 when I sign books at Gloucester Chapters between one and four. Hope somebody out there drops by to keep me company for some of it :-)

As I mentioned last week, I picked up a copy of A Spy Among Friends by Ben McIntyre about British double agent Kim Philby and finished reading it today. I made a Youtube search and found the clip of him in his home in 1955 denying that he was spying for the Russians and tipped off two other Russian double agents, Burgess and Maclean, who escaped to Russia before they were apprehended. Apparently, those who knew he was a double agent found his performance in lying quite stunning even by spy standards. Ian Fleming, John Le Carre and Graham Greene were all in his circles and Le Carre writes an  "Afterword" at the end of the book. If you are looking for a nonfiction thriller, put this book on your summer reading list.