ARTHUR ELLIS ON MY MIND

It's shortlist time!



The annual Arthur Ellis awards from Crime Writers of Canada are approaching -- where is the time going? This year, the winners will be announced at the Arthur Ellis banquet to be held in Toronto on Thurs., May 30th. It promises to be an exciting evening, as they always are, with lots of crime writers, publishers and readers joining in on the festivities.

But first, the shortlist must be announced and Crime Writers in the various regions across Canada will each host their own events on Thurs. April 18th. In Ottawa, the evening of mystery takes place at the Ottawa Public Library, main branch, 120 Metcalfe St., in the Auditorium. Also announced that night is the shortlist for the Audrey Jessup short story contest, sponsored by Capital Crime Writers.

Join Ottawa's top crime writers for an evening that promises to be entertaining as well as entlightening. There will be a panel "discussing" Hard-Boiled or Laughs: What makes a great mystery?, refreshments, and books for sale from Books on Beechwood. And, of course, the awaited shortlist announcement.

For more information, check the Crime Writers of Canada website, www.crimewriterscanada.com.

Join in the criminal activities on Thurs., April 18th! Hope to see you there.

CRIME ON MY MIND

Remembering Audrey Jessup


A lunch is taking place today in memory of a valued colleague, a very sweet lady with a killer pen. Audrey Jessup left us ten years ago and her presence is still felt when The Ladies’ Killing Circle gets together for a gig or just to have fun.

She left her imprint on this critique group – I can still hear her correcting something grammatical – and we were better writers, better friends for having her a part of LKC.

But she touched so many more lives, too.

As one of the original members of Capital Crime Writers, she’s been memorialized with the Audrey Jessup Award, given each year in the short story contest. Many of us remember, with a chuckle, the meeting where her dear husband Max was sitting right beside her when she asked a question of the guest speaker, a doctor I believe. She asked what poison to use that wouldn’t be detected. We all looked at Max. He sat very still.

For a regal looking woman with an elegant accent she wrote some very menacing short stories. You wouldn’t want to get on her bad side because she did know ways of doing a person in, without being caught. Aah, but there was that twinkle in her eye.

She loved to travel and she loved to write. And she loved the mystery world. She also loved the art world, and the volunteer world and so her many worlds will blend today as we lunch and remember the many facets and charms of Audrey Jessup.

If you knew her, you know what I mean. And if you knew her, you were very lucky!

Thank you, Audrey. You are missed!

CRIME ON MY MIND

Crime Spree!



There was a crime spree in Ottawa this week! That's the good news out of the capital city.

It started on Tuesday night with the launch of C.B. Forrest's third Charlie McKelvey novel, The Devil's Dust. Sadly, it's the last in the series but what a send-off it got! And just in case anyone in the room was thinking of leaving before buying a
copy (not really likely), the passage read from it had the line-ups forming at the selling table.

The following night, Capital Crime Writers held the final meeting before the summer hiatus, at Collected Works bookstore. The results of the Audrey Jessup Short Story Contest were announced -- honourable mentions, runners-up and a winner -- and then the crowd was treated to readings by these delightful new authors. Other members were then invited to read from works in progress.

My impression is that the business of crime writing is alive and well. I'm sure this can be said in many cities across the country -- established authors launching new books; new writers testing the waters. The future looks bright, if we can find the markets for these talented purveyors of crime.

And, fingers crossed that C.B. Forrest continues on a journey of crime!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

A KILLER READ
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
READ & BURIED, coming Dec., 2012
www.erikachase.com

LADIES' KILLING THURSDAYS

Honouring one of our own.

Today on Ladies’ Killing Circle Thursday, I want to celebrate the Mystery Maven herself. This is a very special week for her.

For nearly twenty-five years, Linda has worked tirelessly on behalf of Canadian mystery writers and readers. She started off by founding a local writers’ group called Capital Crime Writers at a time when there were almost no groups dedicated to this craft. It began with half a dozen members and over the years grew to about eighty, becoming the most productive writers’ group in the city, possibly the country. It is responsible for Ottawa’s huge success as a hotbed of crime (writing, I mean), launching the careers of about twenty published writers. Linda was its first president. In short order she also gathered together the critiquing group that became the Ladies’ Killing Circle, editors of seven successful short story anthologies.

Her love of mysteries, and her understanding of the hurdles faced by new authors and particularly Canadian authors, also led her to buy Prime Crime Mystery Bookstore along with friend and fellow Ladies’ Killing Circle author Mary Jane Maffini. Over the years, Linda welcomed numerous authors for signings in her store, found homes for their books and celebrated their launches. When Mary Jane’s writing demands became too arduous, Linda continued alone, one of only a half-dozen bookstores dedicated to crime in the entire country.

In the twenty years since we began, we LKCers have all had success with our short stories. We have sold stories elsewhere and received numerous Arthur Ellis Best Short Story nominations and awards (including Linda). We have also gone on to success in other writing ventures, three of us as novelists, Vicki Cameron as a YA writer both here and overseas, and Sue Pike as a publisher/ editor of her own anthology, as well as a premiere short story writer. Linda hosted all our launches and supported us throughout, while her own writing aspirations had to take a back seat.

But no more. After ten years of coping with economic crashes, the rise of big box stores and road construction on the store’s street, Linda decided it was time to let her own dreams take flight. She worked hard on a proposal, landed a three-book publishing contract with Berkeley, and began to write the first in her Ashton Corners Book Club series set in Alabama and written under the pen name Erika Chase. As every author knows, it’s a looo-ooong process from first draft to book-on-the-shelf, but that day finally arrived this week. Linda’s debut novel, A Killer Read, was released this week, and will be officially launched at the Library and Archives Canada on April 19.

Even as she worked on her own writing, Linda didn’t abandon her crime writing and reading friends. To replace Prime Crime Bookstore, she launched Mystery Maven Canada, which has quickly become one of the top blogs of, for and about Canadian crime fiction.

But enough of self-sacrifice, Linda. This is your week, and I know that the rest of us LKCers and indeed all your friends in the writing community are thrilled for you. A Killer Read is a fabulous read. Come hell or high water, we will all be there on April 19 to celebrate with you. Congratulations, Linda!



Barbara Fradkin is a child psychologist with a fascination for how we turn bad. In addition to her darkly haunting short stories in the Ladies Killing Circle anthologies, she writes the gritty, Ottawa-based Inspector Green novels which havewon back to back Arthur Ellis Awards for Best Novel from Crime Writers of Canada. The eighth in the series, Beautiful Lie the Dead, explores love in all its complications. And, her new Rapid Read from Orca, The Fall Guy, was launched last May.

CRIME ON MY MIND

It's all good!

With the media spending these last few days of 2011 revisiting the major stories of the year, I think it's fitting to do the same at Mystery Maven Canada. And I think the primary story in the mystery writing world is that it's alive and thriving!

Despite the gloom and doom, the ups and downs in the publishing world, Canadian crime writers continue doing what they do best -- writing outstanding fiction. There have been so many new releases in the past year that I dare not attempt to list them. It's guaranteed I'll leave out one or two, I always do. So instead, I'll refer you to the Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) website: http://www.crimewriterscanada.com.

You'll find all the year's new releases listed in their monthly newletters and even more information on the author's bio pages. Now, not every mystery author in Canada is a member of CWC. Those, you'll have to find on your own. Note to those authors -- see the value of belonging to CWC?

This isn't meant to be a blog flogging CWC membership but it's certainly one of the valuable resources for writers and also one reason that profiles of Canadian crime writers are increasing. It takes a national organization to get the word out to the big names in media. For instance, CWC has partnered with the National Post for the Arthur Ellis Awards. National coverage, people!! The more readers hear about Canadian crime writers, the more they'll start to read their works. But I'm preaching to the converted, aren't I?

The crime writing world is also served by other organizations such as the Canadian arm of Sisters in Crime. The Toronto chapter is the hotbed and they work hard at carrying out the goals of the International association through workshops, meetings and social events. On the local front, in Ottawa we have Capital Crime Writers http://www.capitalcrimewriters.com an extremely active group of about 70 members with monthly meetings featuring writing workshops and speakers from associated professions such as the police, lawyers, pathologists to name a few.

Then there are the conferences! Bloody Words http://www.bloodywords2012.com remains the major gathering for those who like to commit crime on the pages of a book. In June, 2012 it returns to Toronto for another information-filled and fun weekend. That's followed by the smaller sized but just as potent Scene of the Crime http://www.sceneofthecrime.ca held at Wolf Island (just off the shores of Kingston, ON) in August.

No wonder crime continues to run rampant in Canada -- crime writing, that is. With such strong organizations behind every writer, the possibilities are endless. And with that added ingredient, the reader who spreads the word to other readers, 2012 should be a great year!

Wishing you all great reading and good sales!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A Killer Read coming April, 2012
from Berkley Prime Crime
www.erikachase.com

MAYHEM ON MONDAYS

I’m feeling revved up after having spent the last few days with writers and readers and having the prospect of a few more. On Saturday, the excellent Capital Crime Writers 'A Day to Kill' brought together Ottawa and Eastern Ontario authors to share thoughts on writing with writers and readers, to hear celebrity readers and to celebrate the genre and pick up some new books. It was a high energy day with a lot of laughs and some surprising secrets revealed. Ottawa has its share of writers and the numbers are growing. I find that heartening. There will be even more to read next year!

Prior to that, Thursday meant a trip down Highway 7 with Barbara Fradkin and Robin Harlick for a reading in the Tweed Library. You never know what to expect on dark and rainy weekday evenings in small towns. We were pleased to be met with a room full of readers who were happy to have us spill our writerly secrets and also pleased at the groaning table of goodies to be shared afterwards. And of course, it’s always fun to have a road trip with other women who kill for a living. You just have to be very careful.

Sunday was the second annual Carleton Reads. Mark Frutkin, Paulette Bourgeois, Kate Heartfield and Dave Cannon gave spirited presentations on the books they had chosen, all Canadian literature: The Last Crossing by Guy Vanderhaeghe, Galore by Michael Crummey, Room by Emma Donaghue and Salamander by Thomas Wharton. Salamander was voted the book the audience

would choose to read first and a tough battle. I enjoyed the passion in their well-articulated cases. During the question period, I asked about ‘guilty reading pleasures’ and was gratified to hear that this elegant and thoughtful panel all read, enjoy and respect genre fiction as well as literary fiction. There was no sign of snobbery here and no attempt to look down on so-called commercial fiction. Lots of room in our reading lives for whatever we want to read whenever we want to read it they felt. They all flatly refused to feel guilty about any of their reading pleasures.

I’m darn glad to hear it and also glad to be settling down to read. On my bedside table and ready to start is Louise Penny’s A Trick of the Light.

It will probably be joined by a few more books in the pile when I drop in to hear the Scottish mystery writers who are here in Ottawa as part of the Writers’ Festival. Ian Rankin, Denis Mina and Stuart McBride should put on a great show.

It all served to remind me that it’s a great time to be a reader and a writer in Ottawa!


Mary Jane Maffini rides herd on three (soon to be three and a half) mystery series and a couple of dozen short stories. Her thirteenth mystery novel, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder, which hit the bookshelves this spring, is brimming with names, no two the same.

CRIME ON MY MIND

And now for some truth...

Last Friday, in anticipation of tomorrow’s Capital Crime Writers event at the Ottawa Public Library, I blogged about liars. So, being fair-minded, today I’m giving equal time to telling the truth. And its sidekick, accuracy.

We’ve all heard the story, perhaps some of you have even experienced, the frustrated or could be gleeful, reader who fires off an ‘aha’ email – “gotcha! you can’t make a right hand turn at that intersection”. Or some similar faux pas.

They’re out there waiting to catch you in an in-accuracy. Ok, that’s not really fair. Most times these readers are just eager to help the author. Maybe the correction can be made for the re-print, after all.

But they’re right. Accuracy is important. The author tries to build a relationship with the reader based on trust and that’s a sensitive commodity. If your character is turning the wrong way, possible headed for a brick wall, is the reader going to believe that just hours before, the report this pathologist gave to the police about the cause of death in a suspected homicide is the truth? How can this person who can’t see brick walls, see the entry wound on a body? And it’s even more crucial if you’ve done tons of research and have the pathologist toss around some medical facts. Could leave a big question mark in the reader’s mind.

But, you know all this, don’t you? It’s basic mystery writing 101.

My point – and I do have one – is that in this thing called fiction, there’s always some basis of truth. It may be as subtle as your own observations creeping in (possibly unbeknownst to you) or it can be all those facts you’ve included in that long detailed pathologist’s report. The fiction is the story we spin around the facts.

So, am I totally at odds with what I blogged last week? I have no idea. Like most fiction that I write, once it’s on the page, it’s gone out of my mind. That’s a scary fact I’m finding out now that I’m in the editing stage of A Killer Read. In fact, is that even my title?

And now for something completely different! Jacques Filippi, whose superb crime blog is found at http://www.quebecrime.com/ and his cohorts have put together the QuebeCrime festival which is being held Oct. 28-30 in Quebec City. Visit the website for all the details. But stay tuned here because I’ve been given a pair of tickets to the festival – to give away at Mystery Maven Canada.

We’ll make this easy – the first email I receive after 1 p.m. EDT (have to give the West coasters a chance, too) at mysterymaven@rogers.com that names one of the many Canadian authors featured at this event, will win the tickets. So, check that website & get your fingers tapping.


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A Killer Read coming April 3, 2012
From Berkley Prime Crime

LADIES' KILLING THURSDAYS

The Book Club Challenge

This Saturday October 22, Capital Crime Writers and the Ottawa Public Library are teaming up to host A DAY TO KILL, a free, day-long festival of mystery to celebrate the large, vibrant crime writing community in the Nation’s Capital.. There will be panels, celebrity readings, book signings and a writing workshop given by fellow LKCer Mary Jane Maffini. Not to mention a free lunch. The event runs from 9 am. to 4:30 pm at the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library on Metcalfe Street, so come on down!.

I will be duelling it out with C.B. Forrest in a debate about Oprah’s Book Club. The resolution we’re debating is…

"Whereas Oprah's book club greatly increased reading rates across North America, the Publishing industry should strive to recreate that phenomenon with another celebrity book club. " - Agree or Disagree?

I’m on the Disagree side. The debate is intended to be heavy on humour and rapier wit, but as I was sharpening my rapiers, I started thinking about book clubs. We authors love book clubs. They engage people with reading, introduce people to new books, encourage critical thought and debate, and nurture a community of book lovers.

Plus, as an author I sometimes get invited to speak at one. I treasure those evenings. There I get a glimpse inside the warm, welcoming world of friends, many of whom have been getting together to talk books, eat, schmooze and laugh for over twenty years. They have seen each other through marriage and divorce, through births and deaths. Books may have brought them together, but friendship keeps them there.

Almost invariably they are women. I have been to dozens of book clubs around Ottawa, and I can count only two or three that included a man. Usually only one, usually a husband.

What’s with that? Do men not read? Do men not discuss what they read? Once they finish a book, are they done with it and raring to tackle the next? Before anyone replies that maybe men just don’t read fiction, or mysteries, let me add that these book clubs are highly discerning and rarely stick to a single genre. They read widely, and in fact my book is often the first mystery they have tackled. Some members are pleasantly surprised to discover mysteries can have literary merit, so I consider that a victory.

I can understand a man’s reluctance to venture into a club already chock full of women. Women en masse, chattering and laughing with that warm intimacy of shared experience, can be scary. But bring another man with you, and the balance tips. Or start your own book club. Book clubs spring up every day, between neighbours and co-workers, between women waiting with their children at the school bus stop.

I would love to go to an all-men’s book club. And no, not for that reason. I’d love to see how men react to books. What do they get out of them? Do they discuss the issues? Share impressions? Relate to the characters? Laugh and schmooze the way women do, taking at least half an hour to get down to business? Would they use the club, as women do, as a springboard for friendship?

So come on, guys. I challenge you. Do you belong to a book club? If not, why not?


Barbara Fradkin is a child psychologist with a fascination for how we turn bad. In addition to her darkly haunting short stories in the Ladies Killing Circle anthologies, she writes the gritty, Ottawa-based Inspector Green novels which havewon back to back Arthur Ellis Awards for Best Novel from Crime Writers of Canada. The eighth in the series, Beautiful Lie the Dead, explores love in all its complications. And, her new Rapid Read from Orca, The Fall Guy, was launched in May.

CRIME ON MY MIND

Are we all liars?

Our local crime writers’ association, Capital Crime Writers, is having an event filled day of mystery on Sat., Oct. 22, at the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library -- A Day to Kill. If you’re within driving distance of the city, it’s well worth putting on your calendar. It kicks off at 9 a.m. with coffee, then at 9:30 the panels, readings, and signings kick-off. There will even be raffles and book selling.

A highlight of the day will be the workshop given by Mary Jane Maffini on Character Building. And the best part – it’s all free and open to mystery writers, buffs & the general public. Some of the top names on the Ottawa and surrounding areas scene will be present so it’s a good way to schmooze, too.

Now what’s got me thinking about how we fictionalize what we write, is the panel I’m on called, "Meet the Fibbers". I’ve attended them at conferences and they can be hysterical. The premise is, the panelists each tell a story or two, and the audience has to guess if it’s true. Or, are they liars?

So, we’re taught not to tell a fib. But then we learn that little white lies might be okay in certain circumstances, like if your best friend asks what you think of her new dress – a small lie to save the friendship? Go for it! There’s also the ‘stretching of the truth’ to your boss when you clock in late – car wouldn’t start, bad traffic jam, car-jacked. It can, and does, get out of hand.

Next thing you know, you’re writing fiction. There’s probably a kernel of truth – something about you or from your past, or all that research that's really true – that works it’s way into the plot but the rest is all lies…or fiction, if you prefer. Which can lead to other fibs – like when your neighbour says she thinks she recognizes herself in your book – as the glam yet smart side-kick. The dialogue bubble above your head reads, “Oh, puh-leeze – you’re the drab, introverted psycho-killer.

Some of us even lie about our identity. I’m Linda…uh, no that’s Erika to you. And all in the name of fiction.

So, creatively speaking, it should be a good panel on Sat., Oct. 22. Except, I’m not sure if I’ll be pleased you think I’m telling the truth…or lying.

Lies are fiction, after all. And it’s what we get paid (so to speak) for.


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A Killer Read coming April 3, 2012
From Berkley Prime Crime (all true!)

CRIME ON MY MIND

A Capital Crime idea!

There are a lot of really nice people with really criminal tendencies in the Ottawa area. Before you start naming some of the obvious...I'm talking about the members of Capital Crime Writers (CCW).

They come from near and far in the National Capital Region to attend the monthly meetings held at the Library & Archives Canada -- the second Wednesday of each month -- and listen with rapt attention to the speakers. These vary from the amazingly large contingent of published mystery writers who live here to the wonderfully generous professionals about whom we write. The police, fraud investigators, pathologists, lawyers, private investigators, arson experts -- they're happy to share their stories and expertise in aid of authenticity in the mystery novel.

CCW also boasts an outstanding newsletter available to members, with invaluable items about markets, trends, writing techniques and events. This has been one of the most useful member benefits in the association's existence.

Last year, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, Capital Crime Writers undertook a day-long writing event at the Ottawa Public Library. This year, building on the popularity of that celebration, CCW once again is presenting A Day to Kill -- Sat., Oct. 22, 9:30-4:30 at the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library, 120 Metcalfe St. It's free and the public is also invited to join in. The program includes panels, readings and prizes plus a half-day workshop by award-winning author Mary Jane Maffini entitled A Character Building Exercise.

This is one of the strengths of CCW. That there is such a terrific wealth of talented members who are so willing to share their knowledge of the craft. And that's what Capital Crime Writers is all about -- writers sharing with writers, no matter what stage in the writing process you find yourself. It's that opportunity to learn from and to support each other, that makes CCW such a success. And a necessity in this business.

But, isn't that what the Canadian mystery writing scene is all about? Congeniality, support, sharing and, of yes, strong criminal tendencies!


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
A Killer Read coming April 3, 2012
from Berkley Prime Crime

WICKED WEDNESDAYS

Tomorrow evening (the 15th, if all goes as planned) I’ll be giving a talk to Capital Crime Writers on cross-genre fiction. There won’t be time to cover all the things in the rough draft of my speaking notes, so I thought I’d use the opportunity of this guest blog to revive a couple of the darlings I had to kill.

Normally, CCW asks me to do a presentation but this time I approached them. I had some fuzzy ideas I wanted to clarify, and there’s nothing like a deadline and having to explain things to others to force you to concentrate. It’s almost as good as hanging. http://www.thisdayinquotes.com/2009/09/hanging-it-concentrates-mind.html

What inspired the fuzzy ideas was having one of my stories accepted by a
publisher http://amazon.com/Tattered-Souls-Publisher-multiple-
Nominated/dp/1461080819 . The publisher in question is a small but respected horror press. I didn’t know the story was horror.

Now, I’m not the world’s biggest horror fan, but some of my favourite short stories are horror. And if, by horror, you’re thinking Dean Koontz or Stephen King—all I can say is: that’s a tiny bit of the market, and not the most respected bit, either (apologies to Koontz & King fans).

That story resided on my hard drive for at least a decade, because I kept sending it to the wrong markets. Needless to say, I’ve been examining my other long-term residents, looking for symptoms of horror. I found a couple of incomplete efforts that would qualify, and some crime stories I never sent out because they’re not EQ or AHMM material. Oddly enough, none of the crime stories have an ounce of horror in them, and none of the horror are in any way criminous.

But crime and horror: what a perfect fit! Horror is all about sending shivers up a reader’s spine. Ghosts, ghouls, zombies or other paranormal creatures are not a requirement. The best horror, in my opinion, concerns itself with the monsters that dwell within us: obsession, ego, guilt, ignorance, greed et al.—we’ve all got at least one, and have observed those monsters in others. And feared them.

Obsession, ego, guilt, ignorance, greed ... Sound familiar? They’re what
motivate people to kill, or to get themselves killed. So why aren’t there more crime-horror cross-genre stories out there?

If there are any publishers reading this, and it inspires you to put out a crime-horror anthology, I can recommend an excellent editor, and guarantee her enthusiasm for the project.

Another point I had to cut was one of the few good things I have to say about Amazon.com: they have an honest best-seller list.

Ever since the introduction of bar codes on books, writers and smaller publishers have been begging the mainstream media’s best-seller list publishers to use actual sales figures to compile their lists. Unfortunately, individual writers and smaller publishers don’t have the funds to take out half-page ads in those mainstream media, so it wasn’t in their interest to modernize. The old-fashioned way of doing it was to call up “selected” bookstores and ask what was selling that week. Absent among the “selected” were specialty—i.e., genre—bookstores. Genre has always sold extremely well, yet few genre writers ever made it into the mainstream media’s best-seller lists. Crime was among the first, because writers such as Robert B. Parker and Jonathan Kellerman were selling too well to be ignored. King, Rice and Crichton also broke in but, generally speaking, a perusal of a newspaper or news magazine’s best-seller list would lead one to believe that either very little genre was being published, or that it didn’t sell all that well; that genre was “niche.”

Then along comes Amazon, and they don’t care what places highest in their sales ranking. The mainstream media has to follow its lead or look totally out of sync with the reality of Amazon sales. So genre finally has its place in the sun, and genre readers no longer have to hide their horror or fantasy novels inside a Booker winner cover. Genre, except among the diehards, has become respectable.

Of course, Amazon isn’t solely responsible for this change. Writers such as Salman Rushdie (fantasy), Michael Chabon (crime-science fiction) and Margaret Atwood (crime and science fiction) have also done their bit. A Google search on literary writers genre turns up some interesting articles for further reading.

This second point doesn’t have a point, in and of itself. It’s by way of
introduction to a talk on writing cross-genre fiction, because I suspect crime readers and writers are just as susceptible to prejudices against other genres as any other fiction readers, and I wanted to assure them that by going cross-genre, they’d be expanding their potential rather than pushing themselves further into a niche. Then again, if they’re attending a talk on cross-genre fiction, maybe they already know that.


Melanie Fogel is a fiction editor, writing teacher and occasional
fiction writer, with an Arthur Ellis nomination to her credit. She has
presented workshops to most of the Ottawa area's writers' organizations
and at the Bloody Words and Surrey Writers conferences. You can read the
first two pages of her horror story here: http://cuttingblock.net/PDFs/ts2/pied.pdf. Or visit her website at
http://tinyurl.com/bitcheditor

CRIME ON MY MIND

It's raining crime this April!

There's plenty of crime and mystery afoot this month, with so many opportunities to see and hear local authors. In case you haven't checked the Events side-bar on Mystery Maven Canada, what follows is a brief outline of these mysterious goings-on.

Starting with Sat., April 9th at 7 p.m., popular authors Brenda Chapman (In Winter's Grip), C.B. Forrest (Slow Recoil), Barbara Fradkin (Beautiful Lie the Dead), and Mary Jane Maffini (The Busy Woman's Guide to Murder) will share the spotlight with a wine tasting...and we all know that wine and crime go so well together! It's a fundraiser for the Ottawa School of Speech & Drama... a great way to get your fill, so to speak, and help a good cause.

On Tues., April 12th, busy authors Brenda Chapman and C.B. Forrest headline the Talk 2 Writers event at the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library, Auditorium, 7 p.m. Another local mystery writer, Tim Wynne-Jones will be the host. It's a great way to enjoy a reading, ask questions, and perhaps, crack the mystery of what makes these two such popular mystery writers.

The final event for April takes place on Thurs. April 28th, again at the OPL Auditorium, at 7 p.m. It's a triple event starting off with The Perilous Path to Publication -- a panel of authors Peggy Blair, Randall Denley who have taken a different route. They're happy to share experiences in this wacky world of publishing. Katherine Hobbs, local Councilor, will be moderating the well-behaved panel.

Also at that event, the short-list for the prestigious Arthur Ellis Award from Crime Writers of Canada will be announced. Are there local mystery authors on it? You'll want to be the first to find out. Plus, the short-list for the Audrey Jessup Award in the short story contest from Capital Crime Writers will be announced.

It's an exciting evening for the local mystery scene...in fact, an exciting month! And May promises to be just as busy as mystery conference season is in full swing, plus Mary Jane Maffini's launch of her latest Charlotte Adams mystery, and Vicki Delany's new Const. Molly Smith book, will take place on May 9th.

It would be criminal to miss any of it!


Linda Wiken/Erika Chase
Book Club Mystery series coming April 2012
from Berkley Prime Crime
Murder By the Book