Teacher to Storyteller

 Cathy Astolfo is an award winning novelist of the ‘Emily Taylor’ mystery series and so much more. After a successful career in education Cathy turned her sights to storytelling. Get yourself comfy and find out what makes this author tick.

Jamie:

•       Thanks Cathy for being our victim on Jamie Tremain’s blog. Can you tell us where you get the ideas for your stories?

Cathy:
A friend of a friend who read my first book assumed I’d had some kind of trauma in my life. I told her it was being an elementary school teacher! Seriously, though, every single one of my books and stories have roots in reality. Something I’ve read, seen, watched on television, heard about…and I confess, theses events can be pretty horrific. Evil happens and I am intrigued! I think it’s a desire to understand how and why people perpetrate terrible actions on others—and control it. After all, in a crime story, the author can punish the bad guys and reward the good. Unlike reality, where sometimes there is no happy ending. Be careful—I might be using one of these conversations in a book…

Jamie:

•       You wear many hats as a wife, mother, grandmother and a large extended family.  Are you disciplined when it comes to carving out the time needed to create novels?

Cathy: No, I’m terrible. I can’t advise anyone on how to carve out the time, because I don’t do it. I write a book every two years when I could easily do one a year, except I socialize a lot. I don’t regret my choices, though. Family and friendships are very important to me.

Jamie:

•       What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

Cathy: 
 To persevere. Never give up if you want to be a published author, if you want to share what you write. I would write no matter what, of course, but I’ve always had an impulse to have others hear and read what I write. It’s not easy to acquire an audience, however, especially in Canada. Many times I have almost given up and then I suddenly remember that advice.

Jamie:

•       Which fictional character do you wish you had created?

Cathy: Atticus Finch. I fell in love with him many years ago when I read To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time. He’s flawed, real, yet a thoughtful, brave and loving man. I still adore him!

Jamie:

•       Which fictional character do you wish you were?

Cathy: Tom Joad. I would’ve liked to be as brave and committed to making a difference as the character in The Grapes of Wrath. I have always been far too comfortable with my life, I think, to risk everything. He was forced by circumstances to either collapse or forge ahead and try to change the world. I have always admired him and wished I could be so courageous.

Oh boy, these are good questions! Do you realize I’ve chosen two male characters? This might have to go into a novel some day.

Jamie:

•       If you’re like so many of us, you have a pile of ‘next to be read’ books – what are you reading at the moment, and what do you hope to read next?

Cathy: Right now I am reading Deryn Collier’s second novel, Open Secret. I love Deryn’s writing, characters and plot twists. Next I will finish reading, “Lethal Ladies”. I’ve read Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, but not the other two. My sister-in-law gave me the collection because these are early female crime/mystery writers that she thought I would enjoy.

Jamie:
Would you ever consider collaborating? Could you?

Cathy:  I am currently collaborating on a movie script, so I would definitely consider doing that with a novel. Don't know if I could, though. Since I am not a scheduled person and write at erratic intervals. I would probably drive my writing partner nuts. Then again, maybe it would be good for me!

Jamie:

•       Do you have a preference of writing either a novel, short story or being involved in an anthology?

Cathy: I honestly have no preference. I love the writing process, whether it leads me to a short piece or a longer one. I write anything! Poems, scripts, short stories, novels. This doesn’t mean that everything I write turns out to be something anyone else would want to read, of course! I love the short story/poem for its challenge of choosing the perfect words, because you are forced by brevity to choose very wisely. I love the novel for its ability to really explore a character or describe a setting or follow a plot path that winds in surprising directions. Being involved in an anthology is so much fun because you have others to market alongside. (Did I mention that I dislike the marketing side of being an author? Being with writer friends helps a lot!) You pool your contacts and resources and it’s a wonderful experience.

Jamie: 

You have just launched “Sweet and Sensual” with five other authors published by Imajin Books. Six romantic novels in one package. Tell us about this experience.

Cathy: My publisher at Imajin Books, Cheryl Tardif, is a master of marketing. I would follow her to the ends of the earth! I was a bit shy about having Sweet Karoline included in this bundle, since it’s not a classic romance the way some of the others in the anthology are. It’s more in the Gone Girl style of romance! But as always, some of my best friends are included here, and that makes it fun. I met these wonderful women through writing and am eternally grateful that they are in my life, whether virtually or in person.

Jamie:

•       What is next for Cathy Astolfo? After all your promotion gigs, book fairs, library readings etc, have you a work in progress or do you take some down time before starting your next project?

Cathy: As usual, I have several projects on the go. One is a script rewrite, which I hope to complete by the end of this month (November) alongside my nephew. We’ll give it to my daughter to promote. (She’s a co-owner/producer of Sisbro & Co. Inc., a film production company.) After that, I plan to complete my novella, Up Chit Creek, an adult cozy mystery. Then I’m on to finish my young adult book, Saylor Hammett. See what I mean by erratic?

Thanks Cathy for sharing your writing life with us. Good luck with the movie script.

Catherine Astolfo retired in 2002 after a very successful 34 years in education. She can recall writing fantasy stories for her classmates in Grade Three, so she started finishing her books the day after her retirement became official. Her short stories and poems have been published in a number of Canadian literary presses. Her story, "What Kelly Did", won the prestigious Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Crime Story in 2012.

In the fall of 2011, she was thrilled to be awarded a four-book contract by Imajin Books for her Emily Taylor Mystery series (previously self-published), and has never been happier with this burgeoning second career.

Catherine's books are gritty, yet portray gorgeous surroundings; they deal with sensitive social issues, but always include love and hope. They're not thrillers, but rather literary mysteries with loads of character and setting. And justice always prevails. Her most recent novel from Imajin Books is Sweet Karoline, a psychological suspense. Sweet Karoline hit the top ten of Amazon Canada on its first day of release.

Selected bibliography

The Bridgeman: An Emily Taylor Mystery. Imajin Books, October, 2011
Victim: An Emily Taylor Mystery. Imajin Books, November, 2011
Legacy: An Emily Taylor Mystery. Imajin Books, April, 2012
Seventh Fire: An Emily Taylor Mystery. Imajin Books, July 2012
"What Kelly Did" NorthWord Literary Magazine, 2012
"Family Recipe"EFD1:Starship Goodwords. Carrick Publishing,2012
Sweet Karoline. Imajin Books. July, 2013
"The Three R's" Thirteen: An Anthology of Crime Stories, Carrick Publishing, 2013

Awards
Winner, Arthur Ellis Best Crime Short Story Award, 2012
Nominee, Zonta Club Women of Achievement, Brampton-Caledon, 2012
Winner, Derrick Murdoch Award, 2012
Winner, Bony Pete Short Story Award, First Prize, 2010
Winner, Bony Pete Short Story Award, Second Prize, 2009
Winner, Brampton Arts Acclaim Award, 2005
Winner, Dufferin-Peel Catholic Elementary Principal of the Year, 2002, the Catholic Principals Council of Ontario.
Winner, Elementary Dufferin-Peel OECTA Award for Outstanding Service, 1998

Websites: www.catherineastolfo.com; www.imajinbooks.com; www.sisbro.net; www.scribesdigest.com

Email address: cathy@catherineastolfo.com

Talk soon,

Slainte,

Pam, Liz and Jamie

A new use for an old item

Since I was born around the time of the ark, those of you under forty may not know what I am going on about. I’m talking about the iron and ironing board. Yes I know, many of you thought they'd been demolished years ago with the advent of permanent press fabric and no iron shirts etc.

I first learned to iron in home economics class when I was fourteen along with ‘How to make an omelette’ and ‘How to knit a pair of socks on four needles'.

When I first married I followed in my mother’s footsteps. She ironed everything. I stopped ironing the tea towels and underwear when our new dryer took out most of the creases. But I soldiered on and kept ironing even though I worked full time and raised three children.

I love linen clothes and the way to wear them is wrinkled. I just can’t do it. Nothing like a crisp shirt or blouse and my steamer works out the wrinkles in jackets or pants. Now before you say it…no, my husband does not iron. That is another blog! He does not want to take the pleasure of ironing away from me! I swear the steam keeps my complexion, well if not dewy its not dry. I’m sticking with that story.

So what has this to do with writing you ask?

My back has been bothering me for some time and I think it's because of all the sitting at the computer. My friend Vicki Delany writes from a standing position in her kitchen. She props up her laptop on a wall into the kitchen and voila. We all know how prolific Vicki is.

Soooo, the old grey cells were working as I thumped away at the ironing board enjoying the steam bath. I wanted to jot down some notes so I asked my grandson Riley to bring me my laptop to my permanent ironing station in the bedroom. I had an AHA! Moment

I hung up the crisp ironed shirt and moved the steaming instrument to the floor and set up my new office.

The board can be raised up and down to suit me and if I get tired I can sit. There is room for my coffee and a notebook. What more does a writer need? Now if I can only get my laptop to steam.

Its a good spot for plotting. Hmm , gives me an idea for a murder. Either the steam or the hot iron.

This is now the perfect height. And I can still watch the birds outside.

Check out the blog on Monday 24th. Read all about the indominable Cathy Astolfo chat about her writing life.

Talk soon,

Slainte,

Pam

NOIR AT IT'S BEST

 

Welcome debut novelist Dietrich Kalteis to Jamie Tremain’s blog. 

Congratulations on the publication of your first novel

 ‘Ride the Lightning”

                       definition: To be executed by electrocution in the electric chair:Webster’s dictionary

Dietrich: Thank you for inviting me, Pam and Liz, it’s nice to be here.

Jamie: Your short stories have been published widely and you were a finalist with a screenplay at a Los Angeles festival. How do you compare the discipline in writing a full novel with short story writing?

Dietrich: I started writing short stories, thinking a novel would be overwhelming at first. It allowed me to play around with different genres, see what felt best, and above all, to find my voice. When I finished one, I submitted it for publication while working on the next. Getting a short story accepted and occasionally getting feedback from an editor sure helped me learn and gain confidence along the way.

When I tackled my first novel, I liked its expansiveness and being able to extend the conflict, bring in back story, develop and focus on additional characters and build in subplots, something that wouldn’t be possible in a short story. I can’t say I like one form over the other, but having written quite a few short stories before I began a novel taught me to keep it tight and aim to maintain a page-turning pace.

Jamie: Do you identify with Karl Morgan the bounty hunter or Miro Knotts the lowlife drug dealer? Just wondering… about research. Were you a bad boy in your youth?

Dietrich: Miro Knotts is the kind of character a reader will likely love to hate, there’s not much that’s sympathetic about him. Readers are more apt to like Karl Morgan. I guess there are aspects of him that I identify with. He’s basically a good guy who makes a lot of poor choices that keep him living life on the edge. Was I a bad boy? Not really. I don’t have a lot of experience with some of the elements in the story, so I had to do a lot of research for this one.

Jamie: Do you plan to write a series featuring Karl Morgen?

Dietrich: I never intended Ride the Lighting to kick off a series. Karl learned enough from his mistakes throughout the course of the story that I think he’s not likely to repeat them in the future. I did borrow a minor character from the story though. Dara Addie becomes a main character in the next novel called The Deadbeat Club, scheduled for release in 2015, ECW Press. She’s a year older, a little wiser and twice as edgy.

Jamie: What are you currently writing or are you busy promoting Ride the Lightning.

Dietrich: I write full-time, so I have plenty of time to do both. I start early every day and write till noon, which leaves me lots of time for promoting Ride the Lightning. I just finished another crime story set during the heyday of the Barbary Coast, and I started working on a new one involving some smugglers set in Vancouver in present time.

Jamie: Most writers started out with other careers – what occupations have you held while developing your writing career?

Dietrich: I was a graphic designer/art director all my working career. I really enjoyed the work, but in the back of my mind there was a story teller dying to be heard. I penned my first attempt at a novel when I was sixteen, wrote it in longhand and kept the loose-leaf pages in a shoe box under the bed. Never did anything with it, but I knew writing was something I would return to one day. It took a heck of a long time from that first attempt, but here I am.

Jamie: Bouchercon 2014 will be underway in November.  What is it about writing conferences that appeal to you personally?

Dietrich: It’s great to get together with other writers, see old friends and make some new ones. Writing is a solo effort, so events like Bouchercon allow writers to get out of their caves and socialize. I’m raring to head to this year’s Bouchercon in Long Beach.

 Jamie: How long was Ride the Lightning in the works until it was published this spring?

Dietrich: It took three months to pen the first draft and about another nine to edit it into shape. I sent it to a handful of agents and publishers that accept submissions over the transom. When I got an email from Jack David at ECW Press, saying he wanted to publish the story, I nearly tipped off my chair.

Jamie: When not writing how do you like to spend your time?

Dietrich: Cooking, hiking, painting, playing guitar, taking photos, and I read a lot.

Jamie: You share black and white photography on your Facebook page – how did you become interested in this art form?

Dietrich: I’ve always loved photography as an art form. I directed a lot of photo shoots and took commercial shots when I was in the graphics industry. Now, I just like to get out into the city with a camera and look for something interesting to shoot. Going through Europe with a camera and a backpack is near the top of my bucket list.

Jamie: Has any particular author inspired your writing?

Dietrich: There are many great authors with incredible voices that have inspired me: Hunter S. Thompson, Ken Kesey, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, Tom Wolfe, William S. Burroughs, Leonard Cohen, just to name a few. As far as crime fiction, I am a huge Elmore Leonard fan. No one did it better in my opinion.

Thanks Dietrich for sharing your writing life with us. We wish you continued success with your future novels.

Thank you so much for inviting me Pam and Liz. It’s been fun.

Links for Dietrich.

http://dietrichkalteis.blogspot.ca/

www.facebook.com/dietrich.kalteis

If you want to meet Dietrich in person, on Nov 4^th he will be schmoozing and reading from his book Ride the Lightning at ….Noir at the Bar, Vancouver, Shebeen Whiskey House, 212 Carrall St. Vancouver

You can also catch him at Bouchercon in Long Beach CA, taking part in the panel ‘Round the world for murder’ on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 3:00 PM with Erin Mitchell, Cara Black, Sara Blaedel and Barry Lancet

Or at Book Warehouse, Main Street, Vancouver, Nov. 19^th for an evening of crime fiction with fellow Vancouver authors Owen Laukkanen, Robin Spano, E.R. Brown and Sam Wiebe.

Dietrich Kalteis's short stories have been widely published, and his screenplay Between Jobs is a past finalist in the Los Angeles Screenplay Festival. Dietrich lives in West Vancouver, BC, and his debut novel RIde the Lightning was published this past April by ECW Press.  

If you enjoyed this interview,check back next month as we grill Cathy Astolfo.

Slainte,

Pam and Liz

Red Flags

Those of you who follow me on Facebook would have seen a photo I posted on Monday as I began a long awaited few days away. The drive up to Wasaga Beach only took a couple of hours.  Fall colours are well underway, but the weak sunlight failed to highlight the colours to their full beauty.  

Still it was a nice, uneventful drive and we arrived early afternoon at the “resort” previously booked online. Let me digress a moment.   With a modest budget to plan a few days away, the selection was limited. But we believed we had found reasonable value while booking through Hotels.com and were excited to know we had three days to wind down.  A pile of books, decks of cards and no definite plans equalled some serious R & R.

Wasaga Beach is definitely geared to summer time tourists and this time of year is much quieter; the lodging was only a block from the beach! With sweaters and flannel hoodies I didn’t care about the cold as long as rain didn’t interfere.  Anticipated walks along the beach awaited.

Oh how photos can deceive. The booking promised a suite with living area and two separate bedrooms plus kitchenette. Perfect!  Upon check in we were led to our unit by a pleasant woman who advised that because it’s not summer season, there would be no regular housekeeping.  Not a problem – meant if we decided to veg in front of the TV or read all day we’d not be disturbed. 

But - you know when you get those ‘red flags’…..? 

Red Flag #1 – opened the door to our unit (across the lot from the parked car) and wondered if the aroma wafting out was unique to the area – best description -  cinnamon laced bleach.  Ok, it meant the room has recently been cleaned, not a bad thing.  But I’d have preferred a less intense scent to whatever commercial cleaner had been used.  And even with windows opened the smell never seemed to lessen.

Red Flag #2 – no phone in the unit.  Huh…guess its assumed everyone has a cell phone these days, but then how would we contact the service desk if there was a problem?  (ie how can we get rid of this smell!)

Red Flag #3 came when I looked into my bedroom (and I use the term loosely) where a double bed filled most of the room. A miniscule bedside table with a reading light made for a Barbie doll completed the décor.  No dresser, not even a fold up luggage stand to put my suitcase on.  A tiny alcove of a closet with mismatched plastic hangars would be it for unpacking.   The bed had seen better days, but hey, I’m the type of person who can sleep pretty much anywhere so I wasn’t concerned.   (That would be Red Flag #4, if you’re keeping count)

At least the unit was clean.  Handy to the beach, and shopping we wanted to do.  And shopping we did – I bought a small bed side light knowing that the one provided would not suffice for my planned reading binges.   With only a ceiling light in the living area – no light beside the couch, there’d be no reading there.  Oh, the couch.   Yes, that got covered quickly with a spare sheet before either of our derrieres made contact.  Not exactly a large couch either, the only other seating available were two mismatched chairs meant for the kitchen table, and one of those was pressed into service as a coffee table.

The bathroom was clean – but just like the kitchen and sitting area, the curtains were not exactly sewn for privacy, if you get my drift.  Looked for the light switch – and looked.  Not in the room itself, or by the door.  However, around the corner – BEHIND the fridge, I found it.  Imagine the middle of the night, stumbling to the washroom and groping past the coils of the fridge to find the switch. Yep.

 Light Switch!

Finally came time to call it a night.  Managed to fit my CPAP machine on the tiny bedside table and was too tired to read.  Ah…time to drift off to sleep.  Or not…listened to the rain, and tried, and tried, to get comfortable.   The bed creaked and groaned more than a haunted house. Sleeping right on the box frame might have been softer!  At least using my CPAP machine allowed me to escape the cinnamon/bleach bouquet for a while.  (2 days later and at home, I still get whiffs of the scent when using the CPAP).

Needless to say the next morning, after comparing notes on both bedrooms, we decided there was no way we’d be able to spend another night, so we packed up and left.  Ironically the office didn't even question why we were leaving after just one night. 

The day wasn’t a total loss, sun shining and breezy; a walk along the beach came to pass.  A drive into Collingwood and more time spent by the water satisfied the urge to be by the lake, if only for an hour or too.

 

All in all, an interesting start to a week of vacation. But next time, a thorough review on Trip Advisor will be the rule of thumb…in hindsight reading about our accommodation after returning home showed the concerns raised by other travellers. At least I did gain a new reading light.

And now, Thanksgiving approaches, and despite the disappointment of a flubbed vacation, there is so very much to be thankful for.

This month’s interview will feature Deitrich Kalteis – be sure to check back for that later this month.     

Cheers and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Liz

September Summary

Summer’s gone – the warm breezes filling my writing room may well be the last gasp of summer. Not looking forward to this winter, based on predictions that it could be worse than the last one. Memories of that season are still too fresh in my mind.

I’ve been settling into my new location at work, getting acquainted with new faces and learning how to adapt to a slightly different work environment. Missing so many of my friends back up on the sixth floor though and it’s not as easy to grab a coffee or share lunch as I’d hoped.   Very glad then to have seen so many familiar faces Friday night at our company’s annual Gala and Rewards evening.  Several co-workers received well-deserved awards, among them two who won the top prize - a week long cruise later in January when all the annual convention winners world-wide assemble for a week of fun and sun aboard a luxury cruise ship in the Caribbean.

Pam and I had a Jamie Tremain day last Saturday, directing our focus to submit Body Perfect to another publisher. The publisher who’d had the manuscript for several months, decided against it a couple of months ago. C’est la vie.   So back on the submission trail we go.

During the summer months, both Pam and I suffered family losses and are regrouping in the aftermath.  It knocked us off our writing stride and it’s been an uphill climb to regain the rhythm, but we will persevere.  We’re certainly not unique in having major life events occur, and life still does go on.  Perhaps just a little differently.  For me, it’s meant not taking anything for granted, to live each day grateful for the blessings I enjoy, and to make a difference.

Getting back on the writing track took a big step forward last weekend.  After a morning of writing and planning, Pam and I enjoyed a lively lunch with fellow writers, Gloria Ferris and Donna Warner.  They both willingly share helpful advice and we had some laugh-filled brainstorming.  Another aspect to our meeting was discussing the desire we all have to develop a writing-related group to offer resources, advice and to promote other authors in the area. As well as sharing writing and publicity ideas.   We now have the fledgling beginnings of a group – more details to follow in the near future.  I’m quite excited about this venture.

Speaking of writing resources, Donna Warner’s blog offers great tips and advice – be sure to check it out.

And Jamie Tremain’s next interview will be posted later this month featuring Cathy Ace – fun lady and successful author of the Cait Morgan series.

I leave you with this gem from one of my favourite Twitter sites – Haggard Hawks Words   @HaggardHawks   -  A  quilicom is an utterly pointless or irrelevant matter raised in a conversation.       With municipal elections around the corner, this could come in handy!

Cheers!

Liz

A chat with Erika Chase

Today’s guest is Erika Chase. Oops I mean Linda Wiken. This talented writer was formerly a mystery bookstore owner in Ottawa. She uses the name Erika Chase to write the Ashton Corners Book club mysteries.        

Jamie:

 Welcome Linda to Jamie Tremain’s blog. Thanks for being here. Congratulations on your fourth book in the series.

You have a fantastic blog ‘Mystery Maven’.You post and invite others to bare their souls. Your reviews of other authors are always spot on. Is a blog essential to today's writer for their ‘platform’ or is this just something you like to do?

Linda:

Thank you! And the answer is, both. Part of the writing experience is promoting our works. Gone are the days of relying on publishers to do all of it, unless you’re a big name author, of course. So, along with launches, signings and readings, social media has become indispensable and along with Facebook, Twitter and those others I haven’t even started looking into, there are blogs. So many readers are now bloggers and reviewers and that’s great! It’s a boon to authors and we’re happy to be involved in the experience. However, I really enjoy wearing my other hat and being a blogger. I get to learn more about my colleagues and ‘meet’ readers, too!

  

Jamie:

Tell us about your work in progress. Has Lizzie Turner, your protagonist, used her sleuthing skills yet again or are you trying something different?

Linda:

Book #5, by Erika Chase, which is due on my editor’s computer at the end of this month, does involve Lizzie Turner and the Ashton Corners Mystery Readers and Cheese Straws Society. This time, they get a big surprise when Bob Miller’s long lost granddaughter turns up and confronts him. But that’s not the only surprise she has in store. And, you know there’s gotta be a murder, too!

As soon as that’s on its way, I’m starting a second series with Berkley Prime Crime, the Culinary Capers Mysteries. This series will be written by the real me – Linda Wiken.

Jamie:

Your mysteries are in the cozy genre. When running Prime Crime bookshop you had many genres to choose from. Why cozies?

Linda:

Although I do read a bit of everything, I mainly read for enjoyment. And there’s nothing more enjoyable and yes, cozy, than a traditional mystery. I like the sense of community, the puzzle and the chase a cozy provides.

I also watch TV and movies for enjoyment. If I want gritty and bleak, I read the newspapers. Real life provides enough of that.

Jamie:

'Ashton Corners' is located in Alabama. How did you find your voice to sound like those southern folk? Do you have connections there or do you rely on pure research?

Linda:

Talk about find a voice. I actually borrowed from the public library a set of tapes for actors who are working on accents. I love Southern accents and when I’m writing, I hear the dialogue in ‘Southern’.  Although, sadly, I’m not able to replicate it at readings. I’ve done a lot of research on the internet using various site,s and Google street view, too. I buy a couple of magazines from the South, each month. I read lots of books, mysteries and others set there. And, I have a couple of “sources”, one who lives there, one who used to live there. It all combines on the page.

Jamie:

Your first book,  A Killer Read, was nominated for an Agatha Award  for Best First novel in 2012. Tell us about that experience.

 Linda:

Incredible! I could not believe it when I got the phone call. There are so many cozies published each year in the U.S., and Malice Domestic has such a large attendance, I never even dreamed about a nomination. But wow, it was sure fun. They treat their nominees real nice and I have a lot of happy memories. Plus, it’s great incentive to keep writing!

Jamie:

Why a ‘nom de plume’? How was Erika Chase hatched?

Linda:

The idea for a book club series came from my editor at Berkley Prime Crime. This happens a lot at big publishing houses and they usually require their authors who write those series to use a pen name. I chose Erika in honour of my late father, Erik. Chase, because it’s near the beginning of the alphabet.

This new series, which was my idea, will therefore be under my real name. 

Jamie:

Writing, cooking, and music are big parts of your life – do you have other items on your “bucket list”?

Linda:

Travel! There are so many places overseas I’d love to visit. I adore old European towns and head to those parts in any city I visit. There are still so many countries I haven’t seen.

Jamie:

 

Speaking of cooking – if you could invite any author, living or dead, to a home cooked dinner, who would you invite and what would you serve?

Linda:

That’s easy. Alice Munro. I have most of her books and just love her use of words to share the lives of her characters. Everyone is important in her short stories. Every word counts.

What to serve is a different matter. My secret is that although I’m a foodie (I love books, magazines, TV shows about food), I’m not a very creative cook. But I think I’d go for something light, like a quinoa salad, grilled chicken breasts and also, while the BBQ is going, some veggies. And then again, if Alice Munro were coming, I’d stew about it for many days and end up changing my menu at the very last minute. It’s been known to happen!

Jamie:

Is collaborative writing something you would consider?

Linda:

I’ve never considered it so don’t really know if it’s for me. Except, if someone suggests it, I’d think seriously about it. I really admire those of you who are able to do that – to make the work read seamlessly and to remain on speaking terms!  I think of Victoria Abbott, Charles Todd, and Jamie Tremain of course.

Jamie:

Who is your favourite author and do you style your writing after anyone in particular?

Linda:

I don’t have a single favourite author when it comes to mysteries. There are so many I admire, truly. A lot of times it depends on the mood I’m in when reading. But I must admit, I do keep going back to Andrea Camilleri and Martin Walker, probably because of their settings!  I also try to read most of the Canadians and wouldn’t dare name a favourite for fear of…well, you know, we do write mysteries and know how to kill people.

I try not to style my writing after anyone however, I do read a lot of my colleagues in the Berkley Prime Crime cozy world who I think do it right. They’re inspiration.

Jamie:

Conferences, book signings and readings are all part of an author’s promotional role. Is this something you enjoy or are you itching to get back to the writing?

Linda:

Although it takes up a lot of time that should be spent writing, I really enjoy all of the promoting part. It’s fun to meet with other authors, to get to know readers and hopefully attract new ones, and to just take a break from the computer. But there’s always a part of me that wants to get back to the writing, and my brain keeps an eye out for anything that could be considered “research” at any event.

Linda/Erika at a recent book signing with the dynamic duo known as

Victoria Abbott.       

Thanks Linda for sharing your thoughts on Erika’s journey. We wish you well with your future books.

BIO

Erika writes the Ashton Corners Book Club mysteries for Penguin/Berkley Prime Crime.  In a parallel life Erika Chase is also known as Linda Wiken. A former mystery bookstore owner (Prime Crime Books in Ottawa, ON, Canada), Linda is also a short story writer. She is a member of those dangerous dames, The Ladies' Killing Circle.

Her short stories have appeared in the seven Ladies’ Killing Circle anthologies (three of which she co-edited), and in the magazines Mysterious Intent and Over My Dead Body. She has been short-listed for an Arthur Ellis Award, Best Short Story, from Crime Writers of Canada.

Before life in the world of mystery, she worked as an advertising copywriter, radio producer, journalist and community education worker.  Besides writing and reading mysteries, her other passion is choral singing and she is a member of two choirs.

Okay, maybe one more passion -- chocolate!

She shares her house with Keesha and Mojo, her two Siamese cats. Actually, they allow her to live there.

You can find Linda at   Erika Chase  and   Mystery Maven 
Canada


Talk soon,

Slainte,

Jamie