CRIME ON MY MIND

Something new!

It's time to give Mystery Maven Canada a bit of a new look. Not in the design but rather the content. I'll continue with the reviews of new mystery and crime novels, hopefully every second week, although the timing is flexible.

What I'm adding is, on alternate Fridays, interviews with Canadian mystery and crime writers from across the country (and beyond, when they choose to stray!). There are a lot of other blogs out there doing this but my thought is, the more exposure the better.

So, on Friday, September 13th, the first interview will be posted. I hope you'll visit regularly and get to know your favourite authors a bit better, and also, find some news ones to try. I'll also continue with occasional guest blogs by authors, particularly when a new book is due.

Don't worry about leaving comments -- I know it's hit and miss these days. You're welcome to send me an email at mysterymaven@rogers.com if there's a comment you're dying to make (I'd love to hear from you) or if there's a particular author you want to make sure is on my list.

I hope you'll enjoy this new feature! I know I will love getting to know more about my guests and the wide variety of books being written by Canadians. Excellent books, I might add! You might also want to visit the website for the Crime Writers of Canada association where you'll find invaluable information about just this topic. http://www.crimewriterscanada.com

Happy reading!

CRIME ON MY MIND

Arthur and me!


Okay, not really true. However, I was at the Arthur Ellis Awards banquet on Thurs. May 30th and those Arthurs were handed out. What an exciting event it was. Crime Writers of Canada has come a long way since the first Arthur Ellis Awards in 1984.

It sees major growth each year as more Canadians who write crime and mystery are coming on board. Publishers are getting into the act, too. And the media coverage has helped catapult the association, and the award, into the category of well-respected, major Canadian awards.

It's also a wonderful opportunity to get together with crime writers from across the country who all come out to help celebrate these accomplishments. This week is was an added gala time as the Bony Blithe Award was given out the evening before. Congratulations to Elizabeth Duncan for winning the Bony Blithe for her mystery, A Small Hill to Die On, the fourth in her series.


And, the winners of the Arthur Ellis Awards are certainly to be congratulated, too. They are:

Best first novel: The Haunting of Maddy Clare, by Simone St. James.
Best novella: Contingency Plan by Lou Allin.
Best crime non-fiction: The Devil’s Cinema: The Untold Story behind Mark Twitchell’s Kill Room by Steve Lillebuen.
Best young adult book: Becoming Holmes by Shane Peacock.
Best French book: La Nuit des Albinos, by Mario Bolduc.
Best short story: Switch-blade Knife, by Yasuko Thanh.
Best unpublished novel: Sins Revisited by Coleen Steele.

Also, major congratulations to all the nominees for all of these prestigious awards. Crime writing is indeed alive and well in Canada. See everyone again next year!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

READ AND BURIED
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
A KILLER READ, also available at your favourite bookstores and online.
Agatha Award nomiee, Best First Novel 2012
COVER STORY available for pre-order; coming Aug. 2013.

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

Springing into new titles!

It's almost spring (I seem to be stuck on a certain theme these days)and the other good news is that the new spring titles have started arriving! There are some criminously delicious new books from Canadian writers that may already be in the stores...so prepare your lists and start shopping!


From the award-winning Mary Jane Maffini comes a brand new cosy series, co-authored with her daughter, Victoria Maffini under the name of Victoria Abbott -- got all that? It's a Book Collector's series, the first being, The Christie Curse. They will be launching this book along with another award-winner, Barbara Fradkin, whose 9th Inspector Green novel, The Whisper of Legends comes out in April. The date for the celebration is Tues. April 16th. See more details under Events.

Just out, The Poisoned Pawn by Peggy Blair. This second fast-paced crime novel brings Cuban police Inspector Ramirez to Canada. And Gail Bowen continues her successful Rapid Reads series with the fourth Charlie D novel, The Thirteenth Rose.

Also new to the shelves, from West Coast authors kay Stewart and Chris Bullock, the third book in their RCMP Constable Danutia Dranchuk series, Unholy Rites. Stay tuned for a review next weekend.

And coming up:

In April, Jack Batten brings his criminal lawyer Crang back into action, after a long hiatus, in Take Five.
Ottawa author David Whellams second Peter Cammon mystery, The Drowned Man, brings the retired Scotland Yard detective to Canada. It appears in May, as does Twilight is Not Good for Maidens, by Lou Allin. Set on Vancouver Island, BC, this is the third in the RCMP Corporal Holly Martin series, the second series for Allin.

And, there are more! Check out the Crime Writers of Canada website at www.crimewriterscanada.com for a listing of all the new cool Canadian crime that's just happened or is on the way!

Happy mysterious reading!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

READ AND BURIED
Berkley Prime Crime, now available
A KILLER READ, also available at your favourite bookstores and online.
Nomianted for an Agatha Award, Best First Novel 2012
COVER STORY available for pre-order; coming Aug. 2013.

MAYHEM ON MONDAYS

Give us a break!



Every time I think about giving up blogging, I find my blood pressure brought to the boiling point by some news item or comment. On Sunday, it was the huge article entitled, 'Hot days, hotter fiction' in the Ottawa Citizen, which I'm sure appeared in most Postmedia newspapers. It was "compiled from Citizen News Services". Code for, let's ignore Canadians!

My point...not one of the books or authors mentioned, no, heralded in our most widely-read local paper...was Canadian. There are some stellar names there...many of whom I read and thoroughly enjoy. That's not the point. The point is, we have tons of excellent Canadian mystery authors. Many of them have new books out that certainly qualify as "hotter fiction", yet none are mentioned.

Our media giants have got to do better than this!!

Just as Sisters in Crime began as an organization in the U.S. decades ago to promote equality on the reviewer's pages for female mystery authors (the proportion of male authors being reviewed greatly eclipsed the females at that time), maybe it's time for a "Canadians in Crime" equivalent. We do have Crime Writers of Canada, which is an excellent organization and works hard at promoting Canadian crime writing. But perhaps we need more! A grassroots group of mystery lovers including readers, who are also getting short shrift as it stands.

Maybe we don't need yet another organization. Maybe we need a CRTC to regulate Canadian content on the books pages! It worked for radio. I honestly don't know how we go about rattling the chains of the print media to give us a break. I've written similar blogs several times over the years. I know several authors who have written letters to the editors, etc. Our voices are too small.

Maybe it's the readers who need to get more vocal...that is, if you care about Canadian crime writing. And you should. Besides being a group of excellent writers, they tell our story, in most cases. And, there is a difference between what you read between the covers of a mystery penned by a Brit, an American, and a Canadian. There should be. It doesn't mean any nationality is better at it. Some readers prefer authors from certain countries. Others just prefer a variety of books. It's all good.

The thing is, if you don't know what's out there, how can you choose to read it? Giving Canadians a piece of the reviewing pie, or in this case, the summer reading list, is the first step. Why can't they take it?

I know the decision these days is basically out of the hands of the Books editors in each of the newspapers. These stalwarts have traditionally been very supportive. But times have changed.

Have you Postmedia editors heard of Gail Bowen, Peter Robinson, John Lawrence Reynolds, Deryn Collier, R.J. Harlick, C.B. Forrest, Pam Callow, Janet Bolin, D.J. McIntosh, Dave Hugelschaffer, David Russell .... the list goes on of new books in print from Canadian mystery authors. If not, I'm sure we could arrange to have some copies sent to you! But then, you'd have to read them. Lucky you!

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

In praise of the Unhanged Arthur!




Most authors have gone through the dreaded phase of sending in an unsolicited manuscript only to have it languish on the slush pile of some editor's desk. Or maybe it's not even a finished manuscript but rather a query letter, three chapters and synopsis. The end result is the same. This will not be the publisher that offers that magical contract.

So, how great to be able to add some key words to that query, words like 'contest winner', 'shortlisted', and better still, 'winner of the Best Unpublished First Crime Novel from Crime Writers of Canada'. That's the Arthur Ellis award fondly called the Unhanged Arthur. Same familiar wood trophy picturing a person on the gallows except with the Unhanged, the 'boy' is not dangling and cannot be manipulated by a chord.



This is big stuff. For many years, McArthur & Company sponsored the award with the wonderful prize of publication. This year, Dundurn Press became the sponsor. Both publishing houses deserve tons of gratitude from all mystery authors for aiding and abetting a newbie and thus, leading the genre in a healthy process with promised growth in the number of authors available to the growing market of mystery readers.

This year's winner is Sam Wiebe for the manuscript, The Last of the Independents. I've not read it--yet-- but it was judged by a jury of very competent individuals, as efficient a process as any vetting in a publishing house where timing is key and luck is often the master of an author's fate.

You may wonder why, a couple of weeks after the Arthur Ellis Awards were announced, that I'm blogging about the Unhanged Arthur. It's because on the Sunday that Bloody Words ended, Jack Batten, crime reviewer for the Toronto Star had less than favourable words to say about the award although he did point out that Deryn Collier, last year's winner, has had her winning manuscript, Confined Space, published by Simon & Schuster and it's dynamite book. The review of the book is right on; the comments about the Unhanged Arthur are not. At least in my point of view and that continues to irritate me.

Among earlier winners of the award who have gone onto impressive publishing careers are Phyllis Smallman and D.J. (Dorothy) McIntosh.

The Crime Writers Association in the UK was a leader in this trend with their annual awarding of the Debut Dagger for Best Unpublished novel and it's seen as a coveted award. In fact, Alan Bradley won in 2007 and Louise Penny was a runner-up in 2004. Now they are both stars on the international mystery writing scene. Peggy Blair was also shortlisted and she's now published by the Penguin Group.

Winning does count. But so does the process of writing and actually finishing a novel. That's quite an accomplishment and if it doesn't make it past one editor's reject pile, there are more publishers out there. But there are also an awful lot more books in competition. Some get lucky. But all deserve credit for trying.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

LADIES' KILLING THURSDAYS

Canada Writes Crime… Oh yeah!

The month of May began with a bang, or possibly a gunshot. It is National Crime Writing Month, and the CBC has teamed up with Crime Writers of Canada to celebrate the flourishing but under-appreciated Canadian crime scene. Check out Louise Penny’s opening blog to get a flavour of what’s to come.

http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2012/05/louise-penny-master-class-my-top-20-canadian-crime-writers.html

Louise sets the scene with a quick who’s who of Canadian crime writers, both old and new. As an aside, I am amazed and honoured that she placed me on the list with “some of the world’s best crime writers… Giles Blunt, Maureen Jennings, Barbara Fradkin, Peter Robinson, William Deverell…” Right back at you, Louise.

Keep a bookmark in the CBC.ca site for the month, as there is much more to come. Short stories by some of Canada’s finest writers, writing challenges, daily writing tips by established authors, and Louise’s master class in writing. Canadian authors find it hard to compete for shelf space and ad space with the more familiar names from the US and the UK, whose publishers have bigger budgets and a longer reach. The front tables at Chapters and the book racks of drugstores, Costco and Walmart have nary a Canadian book among them. So it’s particularly thrilling that CBC and the National Post are shining a crucial spotlight on us in this month leading up to our national annual Arthur Ellis Awards for best crime writing, and our annual national mystery conference Bloody Words.

The CBC site is packed with information for readers and writers alike. Over the month, readers will meet favourites such as Gail Bowen and Mary Jane Maffini and will also discover the many new talents on offer. Crime fiction is a wonderfully diverse genre with books for every taste and mood. Whether you’re in the mood to be entertained, terrified, thrilled or moved to tears, there is a book for you. Among those new talents, of course, is the Mystery Maven herself, writing as Erika Chase and transporting us to the genteel and deceptively dangerous mansions of Alabama.

While you’re at it, why not check out www.crimewriterscanada.com and sign up for the quarterly e-newsletter Cool Canadian Crime, which contains listings and brief descriptions of new releases for that quarter. It’s a great way to keep abreast of the crimes we are plotting.


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

TUESDAY BRINGS TROUBLE

Remembering...

Sunday night was Tony Awards night on TV! I love the Tonys just as I love watching old black & white Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movies. I re-watch my DVDs of Rent, West Side Story, My Fair Lady, South Pacific and many more. And while the Tonys honour much more than musicals, that's what's captured my attention.

The Tonys remind me of the real live movie star I met when I was a young girl, on a visit to my aunt's house in Port Angeles, Wash. Renting out her basement apartment for a short while was Marjie Millar. If you were an avid watcher of anything that had dancing and singing in it, you might have seen Marjie. She appeared in the mid-50's as Ray Bolger's love interest on his weekly TV show, as well as in numerous movies and TV series. She was a tall, gorgeous, blonde. Like I said, a movie star. However, she'd been in a horrid car accident and she'd had to give up dancing. I lapped up the stories she told and photograph albums I was allowed to pour through. I romanticized at the time that she was retreating from the world. Sadly, she died a few years later. But I never forgot her.

So when the point came during the Tonys, where those involved in the industry who died in the past year are remembered, I thought of Marjie again. (I know, she wasn't on Broadway but she was bigger than life to me). The Academy Awards do it, too.

And, Crime Writers of Canada does something similar on its website with the In Memoriam. This past year, the Canadian crime writing world lost Michael Van Rooy, author of A Criminal to Remember, which was up for a Best Crime Novel award. He died early this year while on tour in Montreal.

In 2010, John Ballem from Calgary was remembered for his 14 novels. The previous year, Lyn Hamilton, a double Arthur Ellis nominee, left her readers with 11 books in the wonderful Lara McClintoch mysteries. And in 2008, Dennis Richard Murphy, an Arthur Ellis winner for Best Short Story, died just after finishing his first novel, Darkness at the Stroke of Noon, which went on to be short-listed for Best First.

These, and there may be other mystery authors in various stages of their careers who I haven't listed, are remembered and missed. The crime and mystery genre is richer because of their contributions. And we are grateful.


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