Blog-Letter June 2022

 June 1, 2022

Well hello, June!

June - still feels like the end of a school year, holding the anticipation of summer-long freedom from books and exams. Birds chirp the loudest, the greenery is lush and the days are longer. The fragrance of  freshly mowed grass is a welcome return. (Apologies to those with allergies) Maybe a summer vacation to anticipate adds to the joy of June. And winter seems so far away!

Liz's Book Reviews - Two this month!

From Chevy Stevens  - Still Missing

One of my favourite authors! I read "That Night" several years ago and was thoroughly engaged by her style of writing. So, I recently downloaded "Still Missing", not realizing it was her debut novel. What a non-stop read!  I was hooked from the very first page and went along for the ride with Annie O'Sullivan as she relived her abduction and captivity at the hands of a psychopathic monster. A brilliant tale, which I read in two sittings. It was so hard to put down.

 

How the abduction affected not only Annie but her family and friends make this a book that touches base on all our human emotions. No wonder Chevy Stevens is a New York Times Bestseller!

This month I also reviewed "The Pure World Comes" by Rami Ungar

When I was a teenager I loved gothic horror stories. The creepier the better. And I hoped this one would deliver, but sadly, I think it fell short. While there was gothic terror combined with daring science and technology of 1894 England, in my opinion, it lacked substance.

The protagonist is a young housemaid, Shirley Dobbins, employed with the Avondale family. Content enough with her station in life, her world quickly changes when she finds herself working at The Hunting Lodge, an estate outside of London, England after a family tragedy renders the Avondale heirs orphans. A mysterious uncle, Sir Joseph Hunting, comes to take his niece and nephew to live with him at his estate - Hunting Lodge. Shirley accompanies them.

She becomes involved with the baronet’s mysterious scientific project, while at the same time contending with romantic interest from Griffin Avondale.  Terrifying visions and apparitions haunt the Lodge and Shirley must put the pieces of the puzzle together to save herself and others.

During the story, Shirley’s ties with Jack the Ripper add another layer to the ghastly and gruesome events unfolding at Hunting Lodge.

The story premise is good, but it felt rushed, with not enough time spent building the gloomy, eerie suspense I had hoped for.

Still, if you like hideous scenes of gore, and an underlying awkward romance this might be for you.

    

                                                           

Pam's thoughts on June                     

"June is bustin' out all over."

 I loved singing this song at the top of my lungs. From the Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical -Carousel . I was with an amateur theatre group in my teens and this was one of my favourites as we attempted to put on the musical. 

June is certainly bustin' out in the garden and it feels long overdue. The Magnolia and other tree blossoms are superb this year. Rhododendrons and all manner of green popping up. 

I married in June and arrived in Canada in June to see the world, but here I've lived for the last fifty-six years. Stop doing the math!

June 2007 is also a significant year. Liz and I started on our collaborative journey as Jamie Tremain that year. So what do we have in store for this June to celebrate our fifteen years of working together?

We were still blondes when we started out!

A patio for lunch overlooking Lake Ontario and making plans to publish book #6. The third in our Grant's Crossing series. Editing, rewriting, beta readers' input and formatting our new baby - Acting Off-Script - A Grant's Crossing Story. We'll also decide on a book cover design with our designer extraordinaire, Jennifer Gibson.

Stay tuned for  updates on the publication date.

May 24th-28th

I attended the virtual Maple Leaf Mystery Conference last week. Liz had other plans so we'll watch the recordings together. Always eager to learn new things and listen to my fellow authors from Crime Writers of Canada.

It was great to see both old friends from past live conferences and new authors participating. There was something for everyone so kudos to the organizers of this event. I saw many familiar faces amongst the moderators and interviewers.

 A star-studded lineup shared their writing life. Maureen Jennings of  Murdoch Mysteries fame and Ian Rankin, who hails from my hometown of Edinburgh. I'm a big fan of his REBUS books and his favourite pub the Oxford bar. That's Rebus's favourite bar, I'm not sure about Ian.

Saturday afternoon was our very own Canadian maestro, Vicki Delany, the prolific author of 40 books.  Listening to her speak about her writing process was fascinating, but daunting. Very good interview.

Check their web pages and links for more information.

As awesome as this virtual platform is my hope is for a live conference in the future.

Chat in July.

Last Word from Liz:

And only because it's June, here's an appropriately themed quick and easy recipe - and oh..one which will NEVER be served at any Jamie Tremain function! However, if you might be a fan, do let us know!

SAUTEED JUNE BUGS

Ingredients:

• 12 (that's one dozen) live June Bugs
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Chili Powder

Easy Peasy Directions:

• Add the olive oil to a skillet and heat until the oil shimmers (is it afraid of the live bugs about to descend into it?)
• Toss in the June Bugs (because they are NOT going voluntarily)
• Saute for about 5 minutes, or until the screaming stops - mine not theirs
• Sprinkle with salt and chilli powder
• Garnish with fresh parsley
  
• Serve immediately (I suggest copious amounts of a good Cabernet Sauvignon as a wine pairing)

 

 

Honestly, this is a serious recipe but I couldn't resist some commentary.

Cheers?

Pam's having the last word...Yuck and more Yuck!

Blog-Letter April 2022

 April 1, 2022

No fooling - it's April!  But if you enjoy pranks associated with this date, keep on reading!

The Spaghetti Harvest - This classic April Fool's Joke from 1957 is still an all-time favourite.

And following in the tradition:

1986 - Le Parisien reported the Eiffel Tower was to be dismantled and re-assembled inside the new Euro Disney Park.

1965 - Denmark Parliament, as noted in a Copenhagen newspaper, passed a law decreeing that all dogs be painted white to improve road safety at night when they could be more clearly seen.

2008 - Canada's WestJet airlines advertised their most spacious overhead cargo bins, and would charge passengers an extra $12.00 to use these 'sleeper cabins'.

2009 - Germany's BMW advertised new 'magnetic tow technology'. This would allow drivers to cut their car engine, and get a free ride by locking onto the car ahead via a magnetic beam.

Liz Here: When I worked in the corporate world, I loved April Fool's Day. The best prank I pulled was when my desk was located outside the small copy room.  I always arrived at work at least an hour before anyone else, so it gave me the perfect opportunity to put my plan into action. I'd prepared signs and put them in place. Over the photocopier I posted an official document from HP, advising that new voice-activated technology had now been installed, and provided instructions on how to 'speak' to the printer.  The best part was as soon as an unsuspecting co-worker began reading the sign, I had my finger on the print button (all of us connected via a network to the printer so I could select 'print' from my own computer).  Priceless to see their face when they commanded "Print" and their copy spit out.

 

 

Pam here! I'll leave the jokes and pranks to Liz.

I promised a review of Ann Cleeves' first novel in a new series. The Long Call. This book was written in 2019 after the success of the Shetland, and  Vera television series. You may have enjoyed the TV series of Jimmy Perez in the arctic weather and the treeless terrain that is Shetland out in the North Sea, off the coast of Scotland. Or VERA, entertaining us in her quirky ways in Northumberland and Tyneside in the north of England. 

This new series takes us to North Devon. It's not an area I'm familiar with but by all accounts, it's a beautiful part of the country. It's not all cream teas and thatched cottages. The Long Call has a new Detective Inspector by the name of Mathew Venn. Cleeves' characterizations in her books are what make them so memorable. And this book doesn't disappoint.

D.I. Venn is mourning his father's death in the Two Rivers region where he grew up. He's working on his first major case since he returned and was totally focused on the body found on the beach. A man was stabbed to death sporting a tattoo of an albatross on his neck. Who is this man? Who hated him enough to end his life? What Mathew found in his investigation was a community with secrets. Deadly secrets.

You will meet the characters that surrounded this man's life. But who ended the life of Simon Walden?

Book #2 The Heron's Cry is now available. I'm looking forward to reading more about DI Mathew Venn.

The Long Call is also a new television series. Let's hope it comes to North America soon.

Liz and I had the pleasure of meeting Ann Cleeves at the Bouchercon conference in Toronto a number of years ago. Ann has been awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger and has over 30 critically acclaimed books to her credit. 

                                                                  

Books, Old and New

I cannot live without books. 

I've always been surrounded by books of all kind. My father, Alister William James, wrote poetry and many articles. 







I cherish his Writers and Artists Yearbook, circa 1974.



My H.G.Wells "The History of the World" volumes are falling apart but still have a place in my many bookcases. Our home always had a set of encyclopedias ( you know, the Google and search engines of the day) and we used the library often.


In 1963,  my boyfriend, (later my husband)  gave me a gift of a copy of NJAL'S SAGA. It was a Penguin Classic costing 5 shillings.

In the introduction, it claims to be the mightiest of all the Icelandic Saga's. It was written by an unknown author in the last quarter of the thirteenth century- somewhere around the year 1280. My copy is brown with age and the front cover has torn off. No, I've never read it. At seventeen I was not so interested in the middle ages. My interests were in the Beatles' latest song. But after thanking him profusely I stashed it in my bookshelf where it has languished for fifty-six years.

 I did read with great delight the latest book from 
Gail Bowen. 
 "A Darkness of the Heart"

The Queen of Canadian Crime fiction is a well-deserved title. I have read many of the Joanne Kilbourn books in this series and you will not be disappointed. As a master storyteller, the tension builds with many references to contemporary Canadian life.
I adore her husband (Joanne Kilbourn's husband) who always has a martini ready for her at the end of the day after she has been out sleuthing. She trained him well! This is Gail's 18th book in this series.


My next author is the irrepressible Ian Rankin.  His latest book in the Rebus series "In a House of Lies". The author of twenty-three books in this series alone, I was expecting Rebus to be put out to pasture. But no, he is now in retirement but still manages to interfere and get himself involved with the cops in the Leith and Gayfield Square police stations. I am always intrigued by his books as he wanders around my home town of Edinburgh and mentions many landmarks and pubs I know well. (Not the pubs so much but I know of them) Gayfield Square police station was a walk away from where I was brought up and my husband was a policeman at Leith station many years ago. This book is a trip down memory lane for me.
An award-winning author, he has done it again with a thrilling story right to the end.

Barbara Fradkin is a fixture as a  Canadian crime writer with her award-winning series featuring Inspector Green. Her new series,  the Amanda Doucette Mysteries are equally compelling. I have just finished Prisoners of Hope. The location is the beautiful Georgian Bay and the Thirty Thousand Islands area of Ontario. An intrepid amateur sleuth, a handsome RCMP boyfriend and some interesting characters make up this mystery and highlight the plight of foreign domestic workers. Oh yes, and a murder. 






The Girls Whispered Murder is the 2nd book in the Izzy Walsh Mystery series. Set in the '50s this cozy mystery is well researched for accuracy and is a fun read. We can look forward to more Izzy escapades from Lynn McPherson in the future.






While working on book three in the Dorothy Dennehy Mysteries, Liz Lindsay and I, as 
Jamie Tremain are looking forward to launching book number two Lightning Strike soon. Date to be determined. 

Check back next week for a few more books and their authors.

Slainte,

Pam

Tram tracks and jumping curbs!

It has been a few weeks since I blogged. I have been recovering from my night to the big city to see some of my favourite authors at Harbour Front. I should say that my car is recovering...
Let me explain.

Driving from Oakville to the city has never been a problem for me and for years I have made the trip on business and pleasure without any mishaps. Well, I am not sure why I should suddenly feel so disoriented. I made the highway and took the appropriate cut-off for downtown. Weather was fine, traffic light but as I searched for a sign to lead me to the parking for Harbour Front I made my first mistake. I made a right turn instead of left and to my amazement this guy was waving his arms and trying to tell me something. This is the big city after all and there are lots of kooks around. It turns out that I was the kook and was now on the tram tracks . The beads of sweat and heart palpitations not withstanding, I did what every good driver would do.. I jumped the median and got into the right lane.

I know , I know, not a good idea especially for the car . There was a sickening scraping of metal and lots of bumps but I just kept going and went around the block.
That should have been the end of it as I finally went in the right direction, off to the left and I could now see the signs for the parking.
Now I have been driving for 42 years and have a clean record , except for a couple of parking tickets so what happened next was beyond my ken. yes , you guessed it. I was on the tram rails again!!! This time I panicked properly and went over the curb and beetled it to the nearest parking lot and sat and wondered about the damage to my car.

I decided to venture into the theatre where the readings were and said a few prayers that I did not puncture my exhaust or anything else for that matter. This episode rather took the wind out of my sails but I was determined to listen to Ian Rankin and Denise Mina and a few others.

The place was packed and I met a nice guy by the name of Fergus who must have been Ian Rankin's biggest fan. He was born in Canada but knew more about Edinburgh , Scotland my home town than I do. Ian Rankin's books are based in Edinburgh with his Inspector Rebus series. This young fellow knew every pub and street name and had visited the scenes of the crimes many times. A true fan.

I enjoyed Denise Mina as she is very funny. I think I blanked out any others reading as I kept worrying about my car. I did not stay to do any smoozing. Finding my car drivable was my goal and I did not hang around.
I made it home with no mishaps and the car seems neither the worse for wear. I can't say the same for me. I probably aged 10 years overnight.

Liz and I are still revising Body Perfect. Slow but sure. We have had some positive feedback from co-workers who have read the manuscript. That is always encouraging. Now we just need to find an agent that enjoys the story as much.

Check back in a few days and I will let you in on my journey to Bruce County to the beautiful Georgian Bay.

Talk later,
Slainte,
Pam