CRIME ON MY MIND

And yet more book clubs!

Yesterday Sue Pike blogged about her book club and it's easy to see she'd found a good fit. Book clubs abound throughout the city. Most, like Sue's are started and run by a group of readers who got together. Some are organized by a branch of the Ottawa Public Library. Some are through a book store. All have one thing in common -- a love of books.

My book club has been meeting for somewhere between 12 & 15 years, I think. The collective memory is not always a concise one. I've been a member for only a couple of years now but I've come to look forward to our monthly meetings.

We rotate gathering in member's homes and that hostess gets to choose the book. Along with the food. That's an important part of the ritual. Wine and chocolate are 'musts'. And the deserts are memorable. As is our annual April event -- a spa weekend. I must admit, there's not a book assigned for that month, although talk always turns to books.

The series I'm writing is aptly called the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries. It revolves around a group of seven people from the small town of Ashton Corners, Alabama who form a mystery book club. My main character is Lizzie Turner, a reading specialist with the school board who also teaches adult Literacy. She and fellow teacher Sally-Jo Baker, draw together a variety of readers of various ages, backgrounds and interests to ostensibly read and discuss a mystery each month. But, of course you know they'll also be solving them. But I promise, there won't be a murder a month.

It's fun writing about a book club because I value what it brings to each of the members and to the writing community. Without readers, why write? And the charming town of Ashton Corners adds another layer to each book in this series. The first book, A Killer Read, will be published in April, 2012 by this gal called Erika Chase. Don't be fooled -- it's really me and having an alter-ego has also been quite the experience.

Maybe my book club will read my book club mystery one day!

What about your book club? Do you belong to one? Tell me about it -- I promise not to mention any names!


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A Killer Read coming in April, 2012
from Berkley Prime Crime