MURDER AT THE CRIME WRITING AWARDS

In honour of the Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Crime Writing, held last Thursday:  This post, from a few years ago.

By Melodie Campbell

Okay, I haven’t done it yet.  But I may soon.

I’m the Executive Director of a well-known crime writing association.  This means I am also responsible for the Arthur Ellis Awards, Canada’s annual crime writing awards night, and the resulting banquet.

I’ve planned hundreds of special events in my career as a marketing professional.  I’ve managed conferences with 1000 people attending, scarfing down three meals a day.  Usually, we offer a few choices, and people choose what they want.  They’re pretty good about that.  People sit where they want.  Simple.

Granted, most of my events have been with lab techs, doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. 

It is not the same with authors.  Nothing is simple with authors. 

THE SEATING ARRANGEMENT

A can’t sit with B, because A is in competition with B for Best Novel.  C can’t sit with D because C is currently outselling D.  E can’t sit with F because they had an affair (which nobody knows about.  Except they do.  At least, the seven people who contacted me to warn me about this knew.) G can’t sit with H because G’s former agent is at that table and they might kill each other.  And everyone wants to sit with J.

THE MENU

The damned meal is chicken.  This is because we are allowed two choices and we have to provide for the vegetarians.  We can’t have the specialty of the house, lamb, because not everyone eats lamb.  We can’t have salmon as the vegetarian choice, because some vegetarians won’t eat fish.

So we’re stuck with bloody chicken again.

P writes that her daughter is lactose intolerant.  Can she have a different dessert?

K writes that she is vegetarian, but can’t eat peppers.  Every damned vegetarian choice has green or red pepper in it.

L writes that she wants the chicken, but is allergic to onion and garlic.  Can we make hers without?

M writes that her daughter is a vegan, so no egg or cheese, thanks.  Not a single vegetarian choice comes that way.

I am quickly moving to the “you’re getting chicken if I have to shove it down your freaking throat” phase.

Chef is currently threatening the catering manager with a butcher’s knife.  I am already slugging back the cooking wine.  And by the time people get here, this may be a Murder Mystery dinner.

Postscript:

Nobody got murdered, but a few got hammered. 

Funny Girl Mel and Me

It is with great pleasure (and trepidation) that I welcome author Catherine Astolfo to these pages.  Pleasure, because she is a great writer, one of the good gals, and I adore her.  Trepidation, because of the title of her post, coming up below.  The books she writes may not be comedies, but she herself is a delightful wit.    

Melodie Campbell and I first met in a downtown Toronto dungeon. You know what dungeons are like. Dank, creaky, dusty, moldy; slanted stairs; iron-gated elevators that screech past each floor with excruciating sluggishness.

Picture emaciated people behind those bars. Dirty bearded faces with no teeth. Enormous spiders crawl up the filthy walls and down my arm…

All right. Most of that I made up. After all, I am a writer.

But it is true that Mel and I met in an old building that housed a boatload of Crime Writers of Canada paraphernalia. Budget cutbacks are everywhere and they even affected our storage unit. So off I went with this stranger to work hip-to-hip relocating all the stuff.

An old building it certainly was. The aforementioned creakiness was real and the elevator truly was antique. There were two elderly gentlemen in the office who might have been the original owners of the place. They looked a little askance that we were moving out, but gave us the key anyway and wished us luck.

Mel and I traversed the dimly lit hallways and slanted floors as only crime writers can do. We laughed all the way. I was overjoyed that this woman had a big laugh, not a teeny ladylike titter but a full guffaw. Just like me. She too had an inner skinny, muscular woman inside her covered up by clothes that were far too big. We were the perfect match for this task.

Here it is nearly four years later. We’ve not only cleaned up dungeons, but we’ve also been through health wars, writing angst, setting ships on course (I suppose it goes without saying that that’s a metaphor), awards, publishing, and traversing the mazes of social media.

Recently Mel was one of my beta readers for my latest novel, Sweet Karoline, and I did the same for her current release, Rowena and the Dark Lord. It’s wonderful when you not only like the person but you also enjoy their writing. Doesn’t happen that often, but it’s magic when it does. I even included a “y” version of Melodie’s name in my novel.

Our books are very different; Mel’s are mostly laugh-out-loud hilarious and mine are mostly serious. In some other life, when we have more time, maybe we’ll write a television script together. I’ve got some great characters who need funny lines. Naturally the series would be a smashing success.

I look forward to more collaboration with the Funny Girl. We can yap about the serious side of life, then make fun of everything around us. It makes for great girl talk. Plus, if only someone would make us queens of the world, we could solve every problem in the universe. I’m sure you and your friends could do the same.

Catherine Astolfo’s newest novel, Sweet Karoline, arrives July 14, 2013. Come visit her and find all the links you need at www.catherineastolfo.com.

Introducing guest author Rosemary McCracken and BLACK WATER - a gripping and compelling read!

I got to know Rosemary a few years ago, when I had the privilege to be her Mentor in the Crime Writers of Canada Mentorship program. Now, I've mentored many fiction writers - probably over 1000 -  through my classes at Sheridan College.  You know that great feeling one gets when you discover a new writer you know is going to be a hit?  I felt that way about Rosemary.

And here it is: her second novel.  Enjoy!

The Best Piece of Writing Advice I’ve Ever Heard

I wrote several stories when I was a child. They were pretty dreadful, and at the age of nine or ten I had no idea how to make them better. So I stopped writing fiction.

If only I’d kept on. My writing and my storytelling abilities would have improved.

Instead, I became an avid reader and went on to study English literature at university. I was told that I had a talent for putting words together. After university, I became a newspaper journalist because it involved writing. And I’ve been writing and editing newspaper and magazine articles for the past thirty years.

But deep down I wanted to write fiction instead of relating facts. I wanted to create my own stories instead of reporting those of other people.

One day I overheard a conversation between a newspaper editor and a fellow reporter. This reporter was a terrific newshound. She could sniff out a good story and track down wonderful sources to interview. But she had trouble building an article out of her wealth of information. She’d get stuck on the first sentence.

“Just jump in and start writing,” the newspaper editor told her. “Don’t worry about the opening. You can come back and fix it. Turn off your internal editor, and write the story down just as if you’re telling it to me.”

Turn off your internal editor. The words resonated. As a journalist, I never had problems writing articles. I had to write to deadlines, and at daily newspapers, those were usually daily deadlines. I had no choice but to submit an article and move on to the next. I had no time to listen to internal editors when I had editors in the newsroom saying they wanted that article ASAP.

But I remembered the internal editor I’d listened to as a child, and I realized that I was vulnerable to that voice when I was writing fiction. And that was because I was working completely on my own, without deadlines and without feedback.

I decided to take another run at fiction writing.

With some difficulty, I managed to tune out my internal editor while I was writing. I focused on getting the story out, sentence by sentence, page by page. Later, the following day or the following week, I revisited these pages with my editor’s voice turned on but firmly in check. I tightened and reworked sentences and paragraphs. I discarded entire pages if necessary.

I joined a writers’ group that meets once a month. This provides deadlines, and I work well to deadlines. I joined networking groups such as Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime. Several years ago, I left my full-time job at a Toronto newspaper and became a freelance journalist to free up more time for fiction writing. I submitted work to literary contests.

Slowly, I made progress. I had short stories published in anthologies. I made the shortlist on some pretty prestigious writing contests. Then last year, my debut mystery, Safe Harbor, was published as an ebook and a paperback by Imajin Books. Its sequel, Black Water, has just been released.

I’m still vulnerable to my internal editor who likes to compare my writing—usually unfavourably—with the works of other writers. I need to tune out these comments, and with practice, this becomes easier to do. The voice will always be there, and it can be useful when my work needs editing.

But it has to be kept firmly in check.

Rosemary McCracken has worked on newspapers across Canada as a reporter, arts reviewer, editorial writer and editor. She is now a Toronto-based fiction writer and freelance journalist. Her first mystery novel, Safe Harbor, was shortlisted for Britain’s Crime Writers’ Association’s Debut Dagger in 2010 and published by Imajin Books in 2012. You can buy it here.

Black Water, the second book in the Pat Tierney series, has just been released at the special introductory price of .99! You can buy it here.

To win a $50 Amazon gift certificate, enter the contest here. Deadline is June 15.

Welcome Leanne Dyck!

Each month I feature a guest author on the pages of Funny Girl.  Today, I'm delighted to welcome crime writer and fellow Crime Writers of Canada member Leanne Dyck, who writes a positive post just perfect for ringing in the New Year with optimism.

           

 It’s amazing what the power of the word yes can do.

            In 2010 I received an email regarding a free writers workshop that was to be given at the Victoria Public Library.

            My husband asked, “Would you like to go to that?”

            I said, “Yes!”

            Prolific author Lou Allin provided a blue pencil critique. I signed up for it. Lou taught me to take pride in my words. She also pointed the way to growth. The panel discussions captivated me. And I came away from this event feeling enriched and inspired.

            During the event I invited Lou Allin to visit my rural island home:  Mayne Island. I explained that I was a co-organizer for an upcoming artistic celebration. One of the events I was organizing was a writers round table.

            Lou said, “Yes, I’d like to visit.”

            During the round table Lou Allin told the participants about the Crime Writers of Canada. She also told us about Bloody Words. She explained that Bloody Words is Canada’s oldest and largest gathering of mystery readers and authors. I was excited to learn that next year Bloody Words would be held in Victoria.

            I’d already self-published a cozy mystery and, at the time, was writing a thriller*. So I quickly filled out an application to join CWC and to attend Bloody Words.

            Shortly after becoming a member, I received an email from CWC regarding Bloody Words. They were looking for panelists and were encouraging participants to sign up to meet with a literary agent. I was nervous and didn’t feel ready but said yes to both of these opportunities.

            CWC continues to facilitate my growth as an author. To date I’ve sat on a total of three panels and networked with countless authors.

            I encourage you to say yes.

            Here’s an opportunity…

            I blog three times a week and it’s paying off:  100 page views per day, on average. One of my blogging goals is to help promote my fellow authors. I’ve featured over 100 authors—including Melodie Campbell. I’d like to feature you.

Please visit my blog (http://sweatercursed.blogspot.com).

To say yes to this opportunity, please email me (leanne@oknitting.com)

 *I’m pleased to add that this thriller—The Sweater Curse--was published in 2011. And one of my writing projects is to transform it from novella length into a novel.

Blurb:

 

Aspiring knitwear designer Gwen Bjarnson is stuck in Purgatory. To escape, she must re-examine her life, journey through her past and right a wrong. But which wrong?

Young and in love, she works to establish her career, except fate has different plans. One rash act and she loses everything. Never resting, always seeking, and yearning for what she can no longer have, Gwen faces the truth:  if she remains, others are destined to die.

How will she solve the mystery before it is too late?

Buy Links:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Sweater-Curse-ebook/dp/B004IPPJQ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AZC9TZ4UC9CFC&s=merchant-items&qid=1295645546&sr=1-1http://

Bono Bookstore http://bonobookstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_51&products_id=16&zenid=2i0ban234d2cmimpod9i13p7r5

Chapters http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/home/search/?keywords=The%20Sweater%20Curse&pageSize=12&cookieCheck=1

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36891

Sony Reader Store https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/leanne-dyck/the-sweater-curse/_/R-400000000000000341365

Quotes from reviews...

'Stitch by colorful stitch, Leanne Dyck knits a tale of intrigue' --Laurie Buchaman

'Leanne Dyck has crafted a tale as exotic and existential as Danish author Isak Dinesen's' --Lou Allin (Twilight is not Good for Maidens; Contingency Plan)

'I found myself totally engrossed... Go out and pick this one up' --Deborah Warner

'I found it very difficult to put this book down once I started it, because the voice of lovely Gwen Bjarnson, already dead at the start of book, drew me in immediately.' --Holly Robinson (Sleeping Tigers:  a novel)