CRIME ON MY MIND

Who is that character?


You have entered a writer’s home. What happens here goes in my next book! How’s that for a warning sign. Actually, I saw it on Facebook this a.m. and thought that that it could just as easily say, “Beware, author!” After all, everything is fodder.

A couple of evenings ago, my go-to group for laughter (we call ourselves PBS – the Pink Bra Society) got together over food groups, including the wine food group. At one point, as never fails, a one-of-a-kind line was thrown out and the authors in the group scrambled for ‘dibs’. That, too will appear in a book somewhere, soon.

You can’t best these moments for latching onto some sentence, some gesture or even your own thoughts that will make the characters in your book sound realistic. It happens everywhere – at the car service centre, the bank, the hair salon. People being people, interacting and each adding his or her own take on life.

That’s what we strive for when creating characters. Each as unique as the person who will eventually read the book. We want protagonists who become our friends, someone we look forward to visiting every now and then…and as the author wishes, hopefully over a period of many years.

Two basic tools in every writer’s arsenal – look and listen. Try to store locations and events in your mind; hear what people are saying and savour the words. Your manuscript will start taking shape when you draw on what’s around you.

Of course, you probably didn’t need me to tell you that. You’ve likely stored up many ‘dibs’ lines already. Next step…sit down and write. Let it all flow out.

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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

MYSTERY REVIEW

Unholy Rites
By Kay Stewart and Chris Bullock
Touch Wood Editions


The last time I read a Danutia Dranchuk mystery, the RCMP constable was chasing the bad guys on Vancouver Island. This time she’s in Derbyshire, England, to research methods in crime reduction initiatives and working with the local police. While there, she’s made contact with her friend, Arthur Fairweather, whom she first met three years earlier, in the first book in the series, A Deadly Little List.

Arthur’s mum has died and Danutia travels to her funeral, only to be caught up in Arthur’s conviction that it wasn’t a natural death. It certainly seems an odd place to Danutia, when it’s revealed the town is getting ready for a well dressing ceremony and Arthur’s mum was heavily involved in it along with Celtic rites and rituals.

A series of mutilated goats, used in ritual killings perhaps, weave into a tale of a sketchy minister whom Arthur’s mum didn’t trust, her missing scrapbook, a young boy who goes missing, and a dear, or perhaps not so dear, friend of the deceased who dispenses herbal remedies.

When the brakes are cut in the car Danutia and Arthur are using, the case that really isn’t officially a case, takes on even more sinister tones. And when Arthur is kidnapped and held captive along with the missing lad, it’s up to Danutia and the local constabulary to find them both, before a madman kills them in accordance with the rituals of Old Beltane Day.

The setting is marvelous. Stewart and Bullock have drawn a small English town with it’s eccentric residents and countryside so real, it’s like taking a trip across the pond. The writers have drawn on a wealth of information about pagan rites and current ceremonies, which is all fascinating. And, as Danutia and Arthur join forces to track the killer, they also dance around their mutual attraction. However, when Danutia learns of her promotion to corporal, their evening’s celebration leads to unforeseen consequences.

Kay Stewart and Chris Bullock wortk together when both characters, Danutia and Arthur, are front and center. As a team, they write seamlessly. For the second book in the series, Sitting Lady Sutra, Kay Stewart was the solo author. It’s a strong series with interesting characters and always, unusual plots. I look forward to seeing where the next book takes them.


Kay Stewart is the author of police procedurals featuring RCMP Constable Danutia Dranchuk. Unholy Rites, written with husband Chris Bullock, is the third in the series. Kay has also published short stories, personal essays, and writing textbooks. She taught at the University of Alberta before moving to Vancouver Island to devote her time to writing. She is active in the crime-writing community, having served as National Vice President and President of Crime Writers of Canada and co-chair of Bloody Words 2011.

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.

CRIME ON MY MIND

Spring Cleaning


No kidding. It may not look like spring outside -- in fact, I think those ground hogs should be fired or at least retired with pension. But it's a good time to start spring cleaning. I don't mean the house -- not at the top of my list, believe me! But rather, your writing "house".

If you're like me, there is a lot of extra paper that seems to breed when you're in the middle of a writing task. Maybe it's just the sloppy filing techniques that slip in and take control. Even if, like in my office, those piles of paper and file folders, and even books, are in neat stacks on the floor (because there's no more room on the desk), they are an eye sore and a reminder that there's work to be done.

And what about those piles on the desk or desks, as the case may be? What is so important that it needs to be front and center until it's dealt with? Okay, maybe that in-basket of bills; that questionnaire you promised, in a fit of being helpful, to complete for someone; the list of email for the stores to be contacted re signings; and of course, the 'To Do' list that keeps getting longer or has yet another page added. I agree, they need to be front and center but isn't it better to deal with them sooner than later?

And how about those TBR piles on the floor. Granted, there's no more space on the bookshelves in any room in the house. But maybe if they were re-located to the floor of another room, the office would look less congested and more inviting. Because face it, there's little appeal in sitting at a desk trying to be creative when the setting is organized chaos. Unless you're someone who works best in the throes of organized clutter.

And when it comes to the actual writing, are you de-cluttered? Are your ideas in order or are there too many of them floating around in your head? Are you focussed on one writing assignment -- that novel, that short story, that blog? Or are you trying to juggle too many ideas along with the desire to proceed with several writing tasks at the same time? Many writers can do just that, have multiple series on the go or different types of projects. But if you're not one of those, its time to recognize that fact and priortize. At the very least, set up a system: the mornings for the novel and afternoons for the short story. Focus on one project at a time.

Also, don't be afraid to let go of ideas that clutter your brain but, realistically, won't ever be put to paper or computer screen. Write them down and file them away, if you don't want to totally abandon them...just stop thinking about them right now.

So maybe this blog is old hat to you. You regularly spring clean and even fall clean for good measure. Your desk is a welcoming surface; your office, an inviting haven; your mind, a focussed creative machine. That's so not me!

I need to get at that spring cleaning...and maybe, just maybe spring won't be far behind.

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.

CRIME ON MY MIND

Water-Witching for Unholy Rites



Unholy Rites, the third the Danutia Dranchuk mystery series, is due out in March from TouchWood. This time RCMP Constable Danutia Dranchuk finds herself drawn into investigating ancient rituals in England’s Peak District.

The idea of setting a book in England came years ago, when my husband Chris Bullock and I were at the Buxton Gilbert and Sullivan Festival to promote our first joint novel, A Deadly Little List. Chris is a man of many interests, however, and wasn’t ready to start a second novel right away. So I wrote Sitting Lady Sutra on my own, solving the problem of what to do with Chris’s main character by sending ex-patriate Arthur back to England to care for his ailing mother.

Meanwhile, during visits to Chris’s English friends and relations, we explored possibilities for a Peak District novel. Stone circles and abandoned mines seemed promising until we discovered local mystery author Stephen Booth had already claimed that territory. Then we came upon the popular local custom of well dressing and its attendant festivals, and thought “aha!”

Well dressing likely began as a pagan custom of bringing flowers and garlands to the quixotic springs that bubble up and disappear in this limestone landscape, in gratitude for the blessing of water. In late Victorian times, these simple garlands became elaborated into the forms we see today: large clay-covered panels depicting religious or secular scenes made entirely from natural ingredients such as flower petals, cones, seeds, and small stones. Hydrangea petals, with their wide range of hues, make spectacular skies; sprigs of parsley make luxuriant borders. When finished, these panels are erected adjacent to wells or other sources of water, blessed in a special ceremony, and after a week or so of slow disintegration, removed. The money raised through donations and accompanying activities help to support village churches, schools, and other community organizations.

Well dressing festivals take place in over a hundred Peak District towns and villages between May and September. Because we visited at different periods, we were able to talk to well dressers as they created the panels and to observe the blessing ceremony at several major sites, including Bradwell, Stoney Middleton, Whaley Bridge, and Tideswell. You’ll find photos on my website: www.kaystewart.ca.

Tideswell was crucial to our final choice of setting, for while we were exploring the area, we came across the history of Litton Mill, notorious for its exploitation and abuse of orphan child labourers during the Industrial Revolution. Here was another and much more sinister use of water that we could weave into our narrative, along with the story of Lindow Man, a prehistoric bog man most likely a victim of ritual sacrifice.

How do all these elements fit together? Read Unholy Rites and find out.


Kay Stewart is the author of police procedurals featuring RCMP Constable Danutia Dranchuk. Unholy Rites, written with husband Chris Bullock, is the third in the series. Kay has also published short stories, personal essays, and writing textbooks. She taught at the University of Alberta before moving to Vancouver Island to devote her time to writing. She is active in the crime-writing community, having served as National Vice President and President of Crime Writers of Canada and co-chair of Bloody Words 2011.

CRIME ON MY MIND

RESOURCES

Most of us mystery authors, especially those who write police procedurals, have formed contacts over the years with law enforcement personnel: detectives, patrol, command, criminalists. It’s pretty much necessary, because “making up” police procedures leads to a lot of mistakes, a lot of which comes from watching cop shows on TV.

I’ve been really lucky over the years, and no more so than with my current book. On a lark, six years ago, I asked a friend, a retired narcotics officer, who I might talk to in the Tucson Police Department (TPD), Tucson (Arizona) being where my books are set. He gave me the name of one of the four chiefs, a woman who at the time commanded the investigative services devision. She asked me to come in for a talk, which has led to a long friendship, and - for me - very important in that she’s given me access to pretty much anything and anybody I wanted to talk to in the agency.

In five years, I’ve had extensive interviews with detectives (fraud, sex crimes, narcotics), criminalists, gang specialists and a variety of department personnel, including civilians hired in many cases. I’ve been offered a ride in a police chopper, gone on patrol car ride-alongs, had detailed tours of the department’s state-of-the-art crime lab and evidence/forensics buildings. I’ve come to know fairly well the crime lab director and some of her staff, especially those who deal in cell phone, database, and computer crimes. About the only place I’ve not visited is the department training facility, but not because I didn’t want to.

Two contacts directly helped with procedural information for my 8th book.

One of my many friends is a supervisor at TPD’s brand new evidence/forensics building. Recently, during a routine visit to chat, he showed me the latest narcotics seizure: candy laced with THC, which is synthetic marijuana. The packages are clearly labeled “Keep Away From Children.” Hey, who really eats lollipops, gummy worms, candy looking like fruit, and a variety of other products? Since Arizona passed a law legalizing the sale of medical marijuana, this was the latest example of the stable drug crop of city: Tucson is only 60 miles from the Mexican border, on a key route for drug smugglers.

Since my current book features detectives, this is a bonanza, giving me a plot element I’d never have imagined.

Another visit that helped greatly came in the crime lab, where I spent several hours with two women in charge of analyzing cell phones seized at crime scenes. While I’ve long been familiar with computer geeky stuff, they astonished me with what’s now happening. Throw-away phones have become such a norm that tracing data from them is more difficult. You can purchase any of these phones at convenience stores for a low price, and pay just enough for ten or so calls. Once those calls have been made, the phone is no longer of use. Thrown away. To protect criminals from calling these phones once they’re in custody, the crime lab built an intense radio-frequency shielded room; when the phones are place inside, they cannot be called.

My next book may well be a “tell-all” book by a friend with years of work as a narcotics detective, including a variety of stings and arrests. He’s the second best story teller I’ve ever personally known; all I have to do is record, edit, and look for a publisher.

And so gone are the days of my first novels, when I literally made up computer/database stuff because I knew it was coming sooner or later. My main character, a PI, is now semi-retired, as I’m far more interested in writing true police procedurals. And I’ve got the support network to make sure I no longer “invent” what the police do.




David Cole is nearly done writing his 8th mystery, started 5 years ago. He works with friends in the Tucson Arizona police department, and this 8th book has a new central character, a detective who's also served 2 tours of army duty in Iraq. David is also working on 2 non-fiction books: Still Point, an autobiography of a talented family therapist, and On The Edge, an autobiography of a retired Tucson police narcotics lieutenant. His 3 cats still refuse to believe they can't go outside in winter.

CRIME ON MY MIND

Practice makes perfect!

I don't know how many times I heard that phrase growing up. Practice makes perfect. Half-an-hour of music each day, practice your cursive writing, arithmetic tables, reading skills, table manners, ice skating...it's what we're told to do in order to get ahead. Some of it paid off. And for that, I thank my parents. Although I still grumble that I didn't get to take ballet at an earlier age. Or piano. Or join the basketball team. Grumble, grumble.

These days, the same tenet still holds. Practice makes perfect (a state still being sought and slightly out of reach in most, okay, all instances.) But I try to get a half hour of practicing my choir music in every day; I practice tidying the house as I go along rather than leaving it all to one day; ditto for doing the filing.

It's also important with writing. Now that I'm starting book #4 in the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries, I'll start out with that rule as a very minimum for each work day. Because, in spite of all my good intentions, I never did write the book last fall. I kept waiting to see if it was wanted and then, I'd find other things that needed doing. All very legit at the time. So, now it's time once again to get back to the series. And I know that if I practice writing each day -- at least 15 minutes -- it helps.

I know the end product will be more disjointed than I'd like. But that's what second drafts are for. I enjoy the process of reading through and adding the details, fleshing out the southern Alabama town and the lives of the book club members. Of being 30-something Lizzie Turner and seeing the world through her eyes. There is hope. I know I'll get back into the groove. She's waiting there for me in that first draft.

I'd heard about the 15-minute rule before but it had to be a thousand words or nothing for me. And that demand one makes on oneself can be debilitating. My advice to self is, back off, visit with Lizzie and friends for at least 15 minutes a day (it can be done even with a busy schedule), make time for friends.

What advice do you give yourself when writing?

Linda Wiken/Erika Chase

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