Announcing the 2015 Arthur Ellis Awards

Shortlists for Crime Writing






Best Novel:

Brenda Chapman, Cold Mourning, Dundurn Press

Barbara Fradkin, None so Blind, Dundurn Press

C.C. Humphreys, Plague, Doubleday Canada

Maureen Jennings, No Known Grave, McClelland & Stewart

Alen Mattich, Killing Pilgrim, House of Anansi



Best First Novel:

Janet Brons, A Quiet Kill, Touchwood Editions

Steve Burrows, Siege of Bitterns, Dundurn Press

M.H. Callway, Windigo Fire, Seraphim Editions

Eve McBride, No Worst, There Is None, Dundurn Press

Sam Wiebe, Last of the Independents, Dundurn Press



Best Novella *:

Rick Blechta, The Boom Room, Orca Book Publishers

Vicki Delany, Juba Good, Orca Book Publishers

Ian Hamilton, The Dragon Head of Hong Kong, House of Anansi

Jas. R. Petrin, A Knock on the Door, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine



Best Short Story :

Margaret Atwood, Stone Mattress, McClelland & Stewart

Melodie Campbell, Hook, Line and Sinker, Northword Literary Journal

Peter Clement, Therapy, Belgrave House

Madona Skaff, First Impressions, The Whole She-Bang 2, Sisters in Crime

Kevin P. Thornton, Writers Block, World Enough and Crime, Carrick Publishing



Best Book in French:

Hervé Gagnon, Jack: Une enquête de Joseph Laflamme, Expression noir / Groupe librex

Andrée Michaud, Bondrée, Editions Québec Amérique

Maryse Rouy, Meurtre à l’hôtel Despréaux, Édition Druide

Richard Ste Marie, Repentirs, Alire



Best Juvenile/YA Book:

Michael Betcherman, Face-Off, Penguin Canada

Sigmund Brouwer, Dead Man's Switch, Harvest House

S.J. Laidlaw, The Voice Inside My Head, Tundra Books

Norah McClintock, About That Night, Orca Book Publishers

Jeyn Roberts, The Bodies We Wear, Knopf Books for Young Readers



Best Nonfiction Book:

Bob Deasy (with Mark Ebner), Being Uncle Charlie, Penguin Random House

Charlotte Gray, The Massey Murder, HarperCollins

Joan McEwen, Innocence on Trial: The Framing of Ivan Henry, Heritage House

Bill Reynolds, Life Real Loud: John Lefebvre, Neteller and the Revolution in Online Gambling, ECW Press

Paula Todd, Extreme Mean, McClelland & Stewart



Unhanged Arthur for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel:

Rum Luck by Ryan Aldred

Full Curl by Dave Butler

Crisis Point by Dwayne Clayden

Afghan Redemption by Bill Prentice

Strange Things Done by Elle Wild



And the winners are?

Find out May 28!

THE ARTHUR ELLIS GALA at the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto! Tickets will be available starting April 25



*CWC announces the Lou Allin Memorial Award of $250 for the Arthur Ellis Novella Category

Sponsored by the 2011 Bloody Words Conference Committee, this award will be given in honour of Lou Allin. Lou was a board member of CWC, a co-chair of the 2011 Bloody Words Conference, an award-winning writer, and a mentor to many. This award is particularly fitting, as she was the winner of the first Arthur Ellis Novella Award. We miss you dearly, Lou.

Bony Blithe Shortlist

Murder Is Nothing to Have Fun With...Or Is It?

Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award Announces Finalists


The Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award, an annual Canadian award that celebrates traditional, feel-good mysteries is pleased to announce this year’s finalists. The award is for a “mystery book that makes us smile” and includes everything from laugh-out-loud to gentle humour to good old-fashioned stories with little violence or gore.

Congratulations to the five finalists for the 2015 Bony Blithe Award:


Cathy Ace, The Corpse with the Platinum Hair (Touchwood Editions)

Judith Alguire, Many Unpleasant Returns (Signature Editions)

E.C. Bell, Seeing the Light (Tyche Books)

Janet Bolin, Night of the Living Thread (Berkley Prime Crime)

Allan Stratton, The Resurrection of Mary Mabel McTavish (Dundurn Press)

The award will be presented at the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award Bash on Friday, May 29, at The Hot House Restaurant & Bar, 35 Church St., Toronto (Church at Front). The festivities start at 6:30 p.m. in the Library Room. For more information, contact us at bw-award@bloodywords.com.

The winner will receive a cheque for $1,000 plus a colourful plaque.

Thank you to all the publishers and authors who submitted their books for this year’s contest. May there be many smiles in your future.

Website: www.bonyblithe.com

Facebook: Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award

Twitter: @bonyblithe

My Apologies!

What am I apologizing for? The fact that after many years of blogging, I'm taking a short hiatus. I'm faced with deadlines galore, now with two series on the go, and find it's really difficult devoting any extra time to Mystery Maven Canada at this point. However, I will be back! Hoping to return by the end of May, earlier if possible, so stay tuned. I'll post on Facebook the start-up date, as well as do a countdown on this site.

In the meantime, I'll start catching up on my reading and provide you with some long-awaited reviews. Books on the pile include:

Stinking Rich by Rob Brunet
By Book or By Crook by Eva Gates
Tidings of Murder and Woe by Cathy Spencer
The Women of Skawa Island by Anthony Bildulka
Butterfly Kills by Brenda Chapman
The Burying Ground by Janet Kellough
Pizza 911 by Donald J. Haika

I've got a bit of catching up to do!

As well, I'll be on the look-out for newer authors to interview and hopefully, I can also come up with some other ways to highlight Canadian Crime Writing. If you have any ideas, please let me know and, please bear with me!

If you're wondering what I'm working on -- the fifth Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery, Law and Author, comes out on Sept. 1 and, the first in my new Culinary Club Mystery, as yet untitled, will be out next year. I'll also be heading to Malice Domestic in Bethesda, MD , April 30-May 3; to the Arthur Ellis Banquet and awards, sponsored by Crime Writers of Canada in Toronto on May 28; and to the Suffolk Mystery Author Festival in Suffolk, VA, Aug. 22. Maybe we'll see each other?

Keep on reading!

CRIMINAL INTENTIONS

Okay, time for another writing question for our four authors. If you're new to this part of the blog, it all started last year when the four were on a panel at a Capital Crime Writing event. When their time was up, there were still plenty of questions left unasked. So, I've been working through them, one per month. We're almost at the end of the pile so, maybe I'll open it up to questions from the readers. Does that sounds like a good idea? You can respond on my Facebook page because I know it's sometimes hard to comment on this blog.

Here's the question this time around: How do sidekicks enhance a hero's character?

Barbara Fradkin:

The best characters are studies in contrast. Contrasting looks, style, interests, and personality all serve to make an interaction more vivid and dramatic, and increase the tension and impact of a scene. The most effective sidekicks provide an ongoing contrast and backdrop against which the character of the hero can stand out, and contribute to the push-pull of the scenes they share. Where the hero is whimsical, the sidekick is practical, where the hero is brilliant, the sidekick is befuddled, and so on… Sidekicks shouldn’t overshadow the hero, but serve as a foil against which the strength, bravery, or intelligence of the hero can shine.

Sidekicks enhance the hero’s character in other ways as well; by showing how they cope with friendship, closeness, loyalty in a relationship, and by acting as a sounding board for the hero’s doubts, ruminations, and deductive efforts throughout the story.

Mary Jane Maffini:

The right sidekick can complement the hero's character, speaking about him or her in a way the hero couldn't speak about her or himself. Sidekicks are great at getting the hero to engage in passionate conversation, revealing character with every sentence. Also (if picked with care) the sidekick can take care of some of the more mundane daily activities, leaving the hero free to be heroic. A sidekick can also do things necessary to solve the dire situation that the hero might not be willing to. Blow things up, for instance, or steal cars. I am speaking of my own wicked sidekicks here, not of my blushingly well-behaved heroes.

R.J. HARLICK:

Sidekicks are fun. They add dimension to the main protagonist. They can also be a counterbalance. While sidekicks don’t usually share the same personality traits as the main protagonist, their personality will compliment that of the main protagonist. When writing with more than one POV, a sidekick can also provide another perspective of the story not shared by the main protagonist. They can also be used to convey information not known by the main protagonist. Often in a series with an amateur sleuth, the sidekick is a policeman or woman in order to provide the police procedural aspects in the solving of the murder. I think every good crime story needs an engaging sidekick or two.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase:

You've heard the old adage about knowing a person by the friends they keep -- well, that's one big reason for choosing sidekicks with care. He/she or they can either enhance the protagonist's image or make a reader question whether or not they like this person enough to read on. They can be used to draw out the hero's ideas and views, to add contrast to scenes where the hero might need to be serious while the sidekick can add some humour, and to say things your hero really shouldn't be saying. These are secondary characters so that's the role they should always be playing. But the main thing is, everyone needs a friend, even our characters. Especially our characters.

SCHMOOZING WITH JANICE MACDONALD

1. Who has influenced you the most in your writing career?

My influences have been myriad. Every mystery I read for my thesis years ago, books I read throughout my time as the Edmonton Journal’s mystery reviewer, and the works of John Cawelti and George Grella. My sense is that popular genre writing has the capacity to include social commentary and act as a beacon two or three steps before mainstream fiction.

2. What are you working on now?

My next Randy Craig mystery, a university reunion story called at present Another Margaret, is in the editing process now. I am putting together the foundation of the next one while also working on a creative non-fiction piece that requires some research. I also have two or three short pieces that have been commissioned and need polishing.

3. In what ways is your main protagonist like you? If at all?

Randy Craig is like me in that she is a graduate from the University of Alberta. She too loves the thought of teaching at the university level and is not able to capture it as a livelihood. She lives in an apartment that I once lived in quite happily.
On the other hand, I am married with grown children, I have moved into a profession where I can achieve a pension and some security. And we own a car, though it spends loads of time in its parking stall.

4. Are you character driven or plot driven?

I think I am situation-driven. As with all series, the character and the locale is what brings readers back; I hope to find new aspects to the university/academic world for Randy to explore.

5. Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Well, aside from the fact that I deplore that term just because of its vulgarity, I do like to write without being sure of the ending. I usually know my way about forty pages ahead of wherever I am in the draft. It makes the getting up early on weekend mornings worth doing. I’m not in a bracket where I am paid enough for the writing not to be the fun part.

6. What do you hope readers will most take away from your writing?

I want them to enjoy themselves, laugh out loud once or twice, and find out elements of Edmonton and the university world. There is usually some social or philosophical argument woven into the plot, as well.


7. Where do you see yourself as a writer in 10 years?

With any luck, I will be able to retire and devote more time to my writing…or vegetable marrows. There are a couple of non-mystery works I have in mind, as well.

8. What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to know about you?

Oh gosh, my life is an open book, it seems. Maybe they might be surprised to know I work for the government now. In the same way that Murakami once said he felt he could write more clearly about Japan when he was living in the USA, perhaps I can write about academe from outside the ivory tower.

9. What do you like to read for pleasure?

I read mystery novels voraciously – Canadian, English and Scottish especially. I also read Canadian fiction, Commonwealth fiction, and I support local and Alberta writers.


10. Give us a summary of your latest book in a Tweet.

The Roar of the Crowd @RandyCraigBooks explores murder amidst Edmonton’s theatrical crowd, experts at prevarication. Can Randy keep the murderer from striking again?

Janice MacDonald is the creator of the Randy Craig Mysteries. She is a dyed-in-the-wool Edmontonian, and makes no apologies for setting her novels in a recognizable Edmonton and celebrating the things that make this northern metropolis so vibrant and unique. Miranda "Randy" Craig finds work in various aspects of academe and walks the not-quite-so-mean streets of Alberta’s capital, finding herself enmeshed in puzzling murders and drinking lots of coffee. Janice herself lives with a lovely husband who is not in law enforcement, works for the government, and drinks copious pots of tea.

SCHMOOZING WITH RICK MOFINA

1. Who has influenced you the most in your writing career?

Sister Mary from St. Michael’s Academy who taught me grammar in the 7th Grade with the intensity of a drill sergeant. We feared her. She numbered our seats, called us by our last names and smacked our desktops with a yardstick to ensure we paid attention to the examples she’d written on the board; demanding we identify subject and predicate. I remember how she once stared at me and said: “Mofina, one day you’ll thank me.”

2.What are you working on now?

Going through edits of my next book, EVERY SECOND, which is due for release later in 2015.


3. In what ways is your main protagonist like you? If at all?

I’m a former reporter and most of my main protagonists are reporters. I draw on my experience to get into their heads.

4. Are you character driven or plot driven?

Both. You need a sympathetic character and you need them to face challenges that will re-define them.

5. Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Plotter.

6. What do you hope readers will most take away from your writing?

That feeling you get when you just step off a mid-way thrill ride.

7. Where do you see yourself as a writer in 10 years?

I really don’t know.

8. What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to know about you?

I’d prefer not to say. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.

9. What do you like to read for pleasure?

The notes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, especially his essays in The Crack-Up.

10. Give us a summary of your latest book in a Tweet

Screams in the Night, a gut-wrenching call and a reporter's life-long search for her missing sister.

Rick Mofina is a former journalist who has worked in newsroom across Canada. He's also reported from the Caribbean, Africa and Kuwait's border with Iraq. His books have been published in nearly 30 countries. The Crime Writers of Canada, The International Thriller Writers and The Private Eye Writers of America have listed his titles among the best in crime fiction. As two-time winner of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award, a three-time Thriller Award nominee and a two-time Shamus Award nominee, the Library Journal calls him, “One of the best thriller writers in the business."

CRIMINAL TENDENCIES

Time for this month's question once again. You may have forgotten at this point that it all started back last spring when four local mystery authors, Barbara Fradkin, R.J. Harlick, Mary Jane Maffini, and Linda Wiken were panelists at a Capital Crime Writers' workshop at the Ottawa Public Library. We had a great time but we also had a great stack of questions and by the end of our time, hadn't gotten through many of them. So, we're tackling them now. One a month. Sometimes we're all able to take part but at other times life interfers -- things like deadlines or even, holidays! -- so this week we're a threesome. Here's the question and our answers follow:


Protagonist, sidekick, villain -- which do you prefer to write?

MARY JANE MAFFINI:

I am most at home with the protagonist. The protagonist carries your values and is the person the reader cares about (if all goes well) but really, the sidekicks (quirky, irritating or whatever) and the villains (over the top, vengeful, evil, again whatever) are much more fun to write. Especially villains because you can get rid of them at the end of a book. Begone!

LINDA WIKEN:

This may turn out to be another question with total agreement. I find the protagonist the easiest to write, especially in a series, because the author has to get into his or her psyche right off the bat and that expands over time. And, if you're going together on a long journey of several books, this should be someone you like. Unless you're writing an anti-hero, it's not difficult to come up with a likeable character. Writing the villain can be liberating with an outlet for any deep-seated neuroses. :) No one would ever attribute those to the author's personality! The sidekick is the most fun because this person gets to be sympathetic, empathetic, play the role of a sounding board, and give the protagonist a good kick in the rear when necessary. Everyone need a reliable sidekick.


BARBARA FRADKIN:

Villains let us plumb our dark side and misbehave outrageously. It’s a great way for us writers, who are usually gentle, law-abiding, pacifist souls, to kick loose and be bad. Sidekicks are steadfast, smart and loyal, the friend we wish we could have at our side. But it is the protagonist who really holds our heart. When I write, even though I use multiple points of view, the protagonist is the one in whose shoes I walk and whose feelings and passions I share. Not only do I have to care about my protagonist and all the ordeals I am subjecting them to, but in order to spend months or years in their company, I have to enjoy them too.

MYSTERY REVIEW - PUT ON THE ARMOUR OF LIGHT

PUT ON THE ARMOUR OF LIGHT
By Catherine Macdonald
Dundurn


Turn-of-the-century Winnipeg seems the perfect backdrop for this first mystery from a Manitoban with a background in history. Then toss in an unusual sleuth in the form of the Reverend Charles Lauchlan, some very unsavory behavior from the town’s leading citizens, a touch of romance, and of course, murder.

For the Reverend, the challenges in his life are provided by tending to his Presbyterian flock and trying to juggles repairs to the church along with limited funds. But all that changes when his former university roommate, Peter McEvoy is arrested for murder. McEvoy’s once-promising future has disintegrated to alcoholism, gambling and sleazy bars. Then he’s arrested for the murder of one of the city’s most prominent citizens. Only McEvoy can’t remember what happened.

Lauchlan agrees to be responsible once bail is granted. He doesn’t believe his friend, even in a booze-induced state, could do such a thing and that draws him into a quest for the real murderer. Fortunately, Sergeant Andrew Setter of the Winnipeg Police agrees and they form an unusual alliance in searching for the truth. As Lauchlan gets more emotionally attached to the daughter of his former teacher and mentor, her relationship with the son of the dead man’s business partner draws them both into that family’s darkest secrets. And, as time runs out for McEvoy, Lauchlan ends up at the wrong end of a gun.

Catherine Macdonald spins a tale of power, greed and intrigue that is certain to keep the reader engaged until the final pages. Put On The Armour of Light has all the right ingredients: a crime hidden under layers of assumptions; a time period that sets its own restrictions on investigations; and aroster of engaging characters, from the Reverend to the police office, to a female photographer used at crime scenes. That’s a terrific addition and she could probably spin out in her own series.

If you’re watching Granchester on PBS, you’ll want to read this book!

SCHMOOZING WITH EVA GATES

1.Who has influenced you the most in your writing career?

My many friends in the Canadian writing community. It’s one thing to write a book, it’s quite another to perfect it (as near as possible), to get it published, and then to market and publicize it. You can write a book on your own, but you need help and advice to do all that other stuff, and I have found the Canadian mystery community, and now the cozy community, to be very close-knit and friendly. It is all about networking


2. What are you working on now?

The third Lighthouse Library mystery, Reading up a Storm.

3. In what ways is your main protagonist like you, if at all?

Lucy Richardson is her name and she is not like me in the least! She’s young (and I am not), inquisitive, brave, impulsive. She is intensely loyal to her friends, however, and I do hope that if ever I was in her shoes, I could also be counted on to do the right thing by my friends.

4. Are you character driver or plot driven?

Character. I have all these wonderful, eccentric Outer Banks people and I just love tossing them into the mix and seeing what they’ll do next.

5. Are you a pantser or a plotter?

Total plotter. I began my career as a pantser, and now that I am with Penguin, they require a solid outline as part of the contract. And I have found that I love writing from an outline. All the hard work is done ahead of time and I can enjoy weaving it all together. Which isn’t to say that I won’t deviate from the outline if I have a good reason to, but an outline provides the structure in which I can write. I love it.

6. What do you hope readers will most take away from your writing?

Fun. Nothing but a few hours of laughter and entertainment. If you’ve had a hard day at work or your family is giving you grief, there is absolutely nothing better than to settle down with a good cozy novel and be taken away on a fun ride to an interesting place.

7. Where do you see yourself as a writer in 10 years?

Under my real name of Vicki Delany, I have sixteen published books, of different sub-genres. But now, I’ve found my niche and I will be very happy if in ten years I’m still writing cozies. I will mention, if I may, that Vicki Delany is writing the Christmas Town mysteries for Berkely Prime Crime of which the first, Rest Ye Murdered Gentleman, will be out November 2015. Just in time for Christmas.

8. What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to know about you?

That I have sixteen published books?

9. What do you like to read for pleasure?

I read crime novels almost exclusively, with the occasional non-fiction thrown in. I am particularly enjoying the modern gothic format these days by writers like Kate Morton, Carol Goodman, or Simone St. James. My favourite book of 2014 was The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, followed closely by The Secret Place by Tana French.

10. Tell us about your book in a Tweet:

When a priceless first edition Jane Austen is stolen from the Lighthouse Library, Lucy finds herself ensnared in a real-life mystery—and she’s not so sure there’s going to be a happy ending....

Eva Gates is the author of the Lighthouse Library cozy series from Penguin Obsidian, set in a historic lighthouse on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, featuring Boston-transplant librarian, and highly reluctant sleuth, Lucy Richardson. The first in the series, By Book or By Crook, will be released in February 2015. Eva is the pen name of bestselling author Vicki Delany, one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers. Eva can be found at www.lighthouselibrarymysteries.com and Vicki at www.vickidelany.com

CRIMINAL TENDENCIES

It's question time again and here's what our three mystery authors are answering today: Are female victims over-represented in fiction and if so, why?

MARY JANE MAFFINI:

I haven't done the math on this! However, I think it's possible because I think we may be more outraged by violence against women than men. Kids and animals are verboten. But a bigger concern is the graphic description of torture or sexual violence, quite aptly called 'torture porn'. It ratchets up our outrage. but is it serving another purpose and one which should make us think twice.

LINDA WIKEN:

My own feeling is that they are not over-represented. I think the fiction is mirroring what we read about and view in the media every day. Females are, generally speaking, more vulnerable in society. They therefore are prime candidates for the role of victim in fiction, as in life. I agree with MJ about the taboos surrounding children and animals, even though not all authors adhere to these. So, next in line are women. Members of minority groups are also on that continuum but are not as frequently portrayed as the victims in fiction.

R.J. HARLICK:

I can’t say I have ever noticed if too many victims are women. I might even suspect that more men get killed in crime novels, because they are the ones more likely be involved in violent situations.

Normally I don’t pay attention to gender distribution. But not long ago I found myself having to read a lot of mysteries, more so than usual. As I’m reading one book after another, it suddenly struck me that in many of them there was a much higher proportion of men in positions of authority or power than women. Most of the female characters were in supporting roles as wives, girlfriends, sidekicks, etc., with few taking on any significant role in the stories. Even the bad guys were more likely to be male than female. Now I did notice that this tendency seemed to be more apparent in books written by men than by women, but still many of the female writers were just as guilty.

So I asked myself why this would be the case and I’m afraid the only answer I could come up with was that the stories being written are essentially reflecting the real world. It also explains my inattention to gender distribution. I am just reading what I see happening around me on a day-to-day basis.

So my fellow writers maybe it is time we did something about it and add a little more gender equality into our writing. But you know what, even as I write this I am realizing that the majority of characters in my current book are male. Sheesh, you can’t win.

BLOOD WILL OUT
By Jill Downie
Dundurn



This is the third in the Moretti and Falla mystery series and by far, the most intricate. There are so many layers, each adding texture to the plot, that a variety of readers will be entertained. That the series is set in Guernsey, is a large part of the charm.

For the thespians in the crowd, the plot revolves around a new play put on by the Island Players. The playwright, Hugo Shawcross, claims to be a vampire and that’s what his play is about, much to the initial chagrin of some of the influential members of the group. But the play must go on, and as rehearsals begin, so do the murders.

For the mystery lovers, it’s a solid one starting with the death of a recluse and ending with a murderer consumed with greed and jealousy, determined to erase long-hidden secrets and anyone trying to expose them.

We’re also introduced to a new police officer from London, Aliosio Brown, whose Met training will be invaluable, or so the Chief Officer hopes.

We see a gentler side to Inspector Ed Moretti and a personal growth in his partner, Detective Sergeant Liz Falla. It’s her aunt, Elodie, who reveals much about the detective, about the actors and the play, and who adds a possible love interest for Moretti.

From reading this, you know that Downie has an insider’s knowledge of the theatre and a love of it. But, equally obvious is her command of the mystery genre and the ability to infuse the discipline and routines of police work with an emotional layer. And don’t forget her passion for Guernsey. It has all the ingredients wanted by an armchair traveler.

Eagerly awaiting my next trip to that magical isle!