Monday Interview with #1 Internationally Acclaimed Thriller Writer Linwood Barclay

It gives me great pleasure to welcome, award winning author Linwood Barclay to Jamie Tremain’s blog. I have long been a fan from his days as a humour columnist with the Toronto Star. I faithfully followed the exploits of his wife Neetha and their two children. He is also an Oakville neighbour. No, no, he doesn’t pick me up in his Porsche and take me for coffee to discuss all things literary, but it’s nice to have such good company in the neighbourhood. Sit back and enjoy reading about a master of the thriller genre.

Pam:

Welcome and thanks for being here. Congratulations on winning the CBC’s bookie award for best Canadian Thriller A TAP ON THE WINDOW. What do these awards mean to you?

Linwood:

It’s always a treat to get some recognition for your work from readers and/or colleagues. You can be desperate to win an award, and miserable when you don’t get it, but aside from maybe the Booker or the Giller, I’m not convinced winning an award sells you one extra book. But they’re nice.    

Pam:

 A TAP ON THE WINDOW is by far your best. The circumstances your protagonist gets himself involved in would be the worst nightmare for most folks. Do any of the events happening in your books have a true element? Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation of picking up a teenage hitch hiker?

Linwood:

No, nothing like that has happened to me. On occasion, a plot element in one of my books may be inspired by something that has actually happened in the news. But I give it enough of a twist that it probably won’t be recognizable.

Pam:

What is a normal writing day for you?

Linwood:

When I am in the thick of writing a novel, which I am now, I tend to get to work by nine, and go until about two or three, or until I have at least 2,000 words, whichever comes first. But there’s a lot of getting up and wandering around and getting coffee and maybe going to the basement to play pool for ten minutes. I don’t like sitting at the computer for too long without a break.

Pam: Praise for Trust your Eyes

“Riveting, frequently scary, occasionally funny, and surprisingly, wonderfully tender. I could believe this happening to people living two streets over from me. Great entertainment from a suspense master.” -StephenKing

TRUST YOUR EYES came out in 2012 and had a technology theme. Without giving away any of the plot, its undertone of where we might be headed with technology is fascinating .i.e. the program WHIRL360.com  Is technology your thing, and if so what is your favourite device?

Linwood:

I like gadgets, but I’m not a real techie. I still need help to update my website, and I still have no idea what Instagram is, but I’ve embraced Facebook and Twitter (LOVE Twitter) and also use them as promotional tools. I like thinking about how these new social networks, and things like Google Street View, can be employed in modern crime fiction. As for my favorite device, I think it would be our MacAir, a super light laptop. Although my iPhone is surgically attached to my hand, for checking emails and playing Scrabble.

Liz:

 Is there a topic you would never write about? If so, why?

Linwood:

A critical analysis of the novels of Jane Austen is probably beyond me. I did a stint at Trent University recently as writer-in-residence and was asked if I’d like to do something different, like academic writing. “That’s where you’re looking at the really big movie options,” I said. I think there are plenty of topics I’d avoid for lack of interest. But if something came up in a book I was writing that some might find unpleasant, I don’t know that I’d say, well, I can’t write about that. 

Pam:

Do you have a work in progress? Can you give us a clue?

Linwood:

The book that will come out in August, No Safe House, is all done and put to bed. It’s a sequel to No Time for Goodbye, a big hit for me a few years ago. And right now I am writing the book that will come out in August, 2015, the first in a trilogy about my mythical Promise Falls.

Pam:

You have a big following in the UK and other parts of the globe. Would you say, although your books are situated in the US, that the genre is universal?

Linwood:

Absolutely. Take the aforementioned No Time for Goodbye. That book has done probably a couple of million copies around the globe. It taps into the fear of being abandoned by your family, and that’s a pretty universal fear.

 Pam:

You were recently honoured by the Royal York Hotel. They named a cocktail after you. Linwood Barclay’s Negroni! Tequila, Campari and sweet vermouth, with a grapefruit twist. You were certainly in good company. Margaret Atwood, Robertson Davies to mention a few. Have you tried it yet or do you prefer a beer?

Linwood:

I’m more of a white wine guy, if anything. When I heard about the drink, my wife Neetha and I dropped by to try it. The manager of the Library Bar is a very nice, and well read, guy. He treated us to the drink and it may not be the best metaphor for one of my books because I wasn’t quite able to finish it. But it was a lot of fun. I’ve never been much of a drinker. My idea of living on the edge is a Mike’s Hard Lemonade. 

Pam:

TOO CLOSE TO HOME won the Arthur Ellis award for Best Novel in 2009. Give us your thoughts on conferences, book tours and all the social networking authors are expected to do.

Linwood:

They’re fun, and they’re exhausting. As publishers’ promotional budgets have shrunk, there’s been more pressure on authors to tweet, and post things on Facebook, to engage with readers directly. That can be effective, and the direct contact social media allows is rewarding, but it all takes time away from the writing, too. As the audience for my books has grown, there’s been greater pressure from my editors to make them even better, so I do much more rewriting than I did in the past. So I do the more important conferences, and the book tours, but beyond that I am pulling back on appearances. I have a book to write.  

Pam:

Do you have a favourite author and what are you reading now?

Linwood:

My favourite author is Ross Macdonald, whose novels I devoured when I was young, and whom I was fortunate enough to meet and correspond with. These days, I have a great many favourites. Right now I am reading Joe Hill’s NOS4A2, and next on the pile is Wayne Johnston’s A World Elsewhere. His recent novel, The Son of a Certain Woman, was terrific.

Pam: Your life and your books are well documented. Was the switch from journalist to author an easy transition for you?

Linwood:

The hard part was giving up the Toronto Star dental plan. It was not a major adjustment. I wrote five novels while still doing three columns a week, so when I went to books full-time, the workload lightened. Briefly. I find now I am busier doing one book a year, and no columns, than I was eight years ago doing a book and 120 columns annually. The thing is, I was writing novels in my teens and early twenties (none of which, thank God, were published) so I’m just going back to what I was trying to do in the first place.

Liz:  In your early days as a writer were you ever given advice you didn’t follow and now regret, or vice versa?

Linwood:

Ross Macdonald told me my writing was “too spare,” too quick. I needed to slow it down, work in my more detail. It’s why, when I go back and rewrite, my books get longer, because I’ve skimmed over the surface a bit too much. I think I’m always in a hurry, even when I don’t need to be.

Pam:

When you’re done for the day and scaring the living daylights out of us I believe you play with  trains. Tell us about this occupation? It looks more than a mere hobby.

Linwood:

I’ve loved model trains since my father made me a layout when I was around five years old. My layouts are slightly more ambitious now. It’s a great balance to what I do for a living. You create these entire worlds in your head, and then can unwind by heading to the basement and creating one with your hands. I go in fits and spurts working on the railway. It’s more a winter hobby, when you don’t feel like going outside. For a really good look at the layout, and why I build it, go here: http://vimeo.com/85803307

Pam:

This is my standard question. Have you ever considered collaborative writing?

Linwood:

My experiences with it have not always been rewarding. I like to work alone. But if the right thing – and the right partner – came along, I would consider it.

Liz:

Writing certainly appears to be in your blood - could you see yourself making a living following other pursuits?

Linwood:

Well, I have done other things. I’ve been a newspaper columnist and a reporter (still writing) and for 12 years I was an editor at the Star. And years ago, I ran a trailer park and cottage resort in the Kawarthas, which was fun at the time, but would not want to do again. I think, if this writing thing goes south, I’d like to cut grass all day with a lawn tractor. It’s one of the few jobs where you can instantly see what you have accomplished.

Thanks Linwood for letting us peek into your daily life as an author. I’m sure I would like a Linwood NEGRONI , so Liz and I will push to get our book published. When the Royal York come a-calling, with a Jamie Tremain whatever, be sure to try it out. Oh, maybe we would need more than one book published !!.

About Linwood

Linwood Barclay was born in the United States, but just as he was turning four, his parents moved to Canada, settling in a Toronto suburb. Linwood’s father, Everett, a commercial artist whose illustrations of automobiles appeared in Life, Look and The Saturday Evening Post, had accepted an advertising position north of the border.

As the major car accounts switched more to photography for their magazine advertising instead of illustrations, Linwood’s parents bought a cottage resort and trailer park in the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario. But when Linwood was 16, his father died, and he essentially took over running the family business (an experience he wrote about in his memoir, Last Resort).

At the age of 22, Linwood left the resort and got his first newspaper job, at the Peterborough Examiner.
In 1981, he joined the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest circulation newspaper. For twelve years he held a variety of editing positions, then became the paper’s humour columnist in 1993. A few thousand columns later, he retired from the paper in 2008 to write books full-time.

After writing four comic thrillers featuring the character Zack Walker, Linwood turned to darker, standalone novels, starting with No Time for Goodbye, which became an international hit. The novel has been translated into nearly forty languages, was the single bestselling novel in the UK in 2008. Since then, all of Linwood’s novels have appeared on bestseller lists, and two of them – Trust Your Eyes and Never Look Away – are in development for film and TV.

Linwood studied English Literature at Trent University. He was fortunate to have some very fine mentors; in particular, the celebrated Canadian author Margaret Laurence, whom Linwood first met while she was serving as writer-in-residence at Trent, and Kenneth Millar, who, under the name Ross Macdonald, wrote the acclaimed series of mystery novels featuring the private eye Lew Archer.

It was at Trent where he met his wife Neetha. They have been married more than thirty years, and have two children, Spencer and Paige.

 http://linwoodbarclay.com/home/.

International Thriller Writers
http://www.thrillerwriters.org

For readers in Canada, here are several ways you can find my books.
http://randomhouse.ca/catalog

Next month I’m off to Nelson, British Columbia to have a word with author Deryn Collier. Her debut novel Confined Space was a winner. Check back here March 31^st to find out what her main guy Bern Fortin confronts in her new book Open Secret that launches April 8^th 2014.

Photo by Laura Wilby

Talk soon,

Slainte,

Pam and Liz

The Winter of our Discontent

"It is so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone”

John Steinbeck, The Winter of our Discontent

                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now is the winter of our discontent                                                            

Made glorious summer by this son of York

And all the clouds that low’r’d upon our house

In the bosom of the ocean buried                       

 Shakespeare’s Richard 111

                                                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I think John Steinbeck’s quote is more appropriate to our winter of discontent.

Winter is not my favourite time of year and especially so this past few weeks with heavy snow and freezing rain. Ice pellets rained down, and southern Ontario where I live and was blanketed with an ice storm most of us has never experienced. It caused untold misery to thousands of people who were caught in the blackout and cold for days on end. The damage to the trees is heartbreaking.

My writing group met at a tapas bar going into the New Year with some trepidation as it was -15 and freezing, but the seven of us enjoyed each other’s company with good food and drinks and swapped war stories of how we survived the ice storm of 2013. We stayed until midnight so we did talk writing as well.

Personally I was spared the power failure and was not affected when all around me was in the dark. Both sons and families and many friends were not so fortunate. I heard stories of courage and acts of kindness from many. The service workers were wonderful and what often happens in a crisis; the community pulls together.

We are still in the deep freeze along with the rest of the country. Roads are treacherous with ice and the cold is unrelenting. Lives have been disrupted from flights being cancelled and travelling to work Nye impossible for some.  The economy has to have suffered greatly and resources to cities and towns at an all time high. The cost will have to be passed on somewhere, most likely the taxpayers.

As I write this the news reports of good Samaritans who are waking up the homeless who sleep on grates over the subway are trying to coax them inside as they hand out toques and cups of coffee.

I was going to write about Jamie Tremain’s plans for the New Year, but I need to get my head around the changes that have taken place around me. I’ve always believed that change is good, change is inevitable. And as soon as we all get back to normal... what’s that?..I’ll start nagging at Liz again to send me some more of our manuscript to edit or revise, and I’ll do the same for her.

Interview Mondays, 2014 line up

               January 27^th.Award winning author Gloria Ferris.

Winner of the 2012 Bony Blithe Award for

"Cheat the Hangman"

                             Winner of the 2010 Unhanged Arthur for "Corpse Flower"

                        February 24^th #1 International bestselling author Linwood Barclay

Linwood Barclay is a Canadian humorist, author and former columnist. He has published books of autobiography and both humorous and dramatic detective fiction. 

Nominations: Barry Award for Best Thriller, Shamus Award for Best Original P.I. Paperback

Please be safe when your driving and keep warm. This is going to be a Jamie Tremain year, if I can just get started.

Slainte,

Pam

Bloody Words 2012

Home again after attending Jamie Tremain’s second Bloody Words conference; the first being in Ottawa in 2009.  And true to form it was another great weekend – a wealth of information and networking packed into three days.  Terrific panellists and guest speakers; Linwood Barclay and Gayle Lynds were in fine form.  Enjoyed listening to Dr. Peter Collins, whose degree in forensic psychiatry has involved him in many areas of law enforcement and criminal behaviour – it was fascinating and the time went by far too quickly.   My LinkedIn and Facebook contact list has now grown after the weekend.

Pam and I arrived in the middle of a torrential rain Friday afternoon – so much rain that Union Station had been evacuated due to flooding. And then a tragic shooting at the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto (just blocks away from our hotel) on Saturday brought home the fact that any of us can be affected by random violence – although this appears to have been a gang related shooting with one death, innocent lives are changed forever when caught in the crossfire.

Our manuscript evaluation was done by Deryn Collier which was extremely helpful and will keep us on track.  She had some great pointers and was very positive and supportive and we are more than grateful for her advice.  Needless to say you know what that means.....Draft 6 will be started before long.

Thanks also to Jim Shephard for some insight and tips discussed this morning – I’ll be adding his  P.E. Eyes to my reading list.  Along with Deryn Collier, Gayle Lynds and the new Linwood Barclay book due out later this year – just to name a few.

I can’t even imagine how much work and planning went into producing another successful conference and my hat’s off to all who were involved. Pam and I will start saving our nickels (pennies are soon to be extinct) in order to attend the next Bloody Words, which is skipping a year and will be again in Toronto in 2014. 

So after a very tiring but satisfying weekend, I now have to switch gears for returning to work tomorrow.

Have a great week and stay tuned for some new ideas coming to this blog in the near future!

Cheers!

Liz

October - And the Frost is on the Pumpkins

How did it get to be the middle of October already?  Is there someone I can complain to about time speeding by?

And this comes as a week off work draws to a close.  Beautiful weather for the most part, chilly and frost heavy mornings leading to pleasant afternoons.  The evenings draw dark so much earlier now and when I struggle to awake on a darkened morning I can endorse the ancestors’ view of sleeping when it is dark and working in the light!  At times that sounds mighty civilized to me.

The First draft of Body Perfect is basically done.  The last chapter has now revealed gaps  made apparent with some recent changes made along the way.  Pam and I have tentatively booked a Saturday to see how much revising Draft One will need.  I’d like to be optimistic and say none, but realistically I’m pretty sure that won’t be the case. However it will be good to start from page one and see how the story, and characters, have grown.

A new member of the family  has been welcomed into the household since I last wrote – Winston is a 10 week old rescue kitten.  Really, it was only a stop for cat food at PetSmart!

His cage labelled him as being very shy and needing time to get used to humans.  He had been there about 3 weeks along with his brother, whom he hid behind until he was adopted.  Shy he is, but he is making progress and likes to sleep next to me.  The challenge is getting him to the vet for a checkup.  Yesterday’s appointment came and went as he wouldn’t cooperate with being rounded up and put in the pet carrier.  Can’t imagine why not!  So another appointment is booked for two hours from now; needless to say the first opportunity presented to catch him will not be wasted!

And some kudos to the Brick Furniture company as well are in order.  Recently a dining set was ordered – table and 6 chairs, all needing assembly.  The chairs were fine, but when the table was unpacked a good sized gouge was discovered along the table top edge.  Dreading to make a call to complain (after recent battles with Bell Canada) I spoke to a representative.  No hesitation on replacement, and I was even told that I could go ahead and finish assembling the table and use it until the replacement arrived.  They would even deliver straight to the house; normally items are delivered to the local outlet and customers go and pick up their purchases to take home.   The replacement arrived when promised and the driver even took the time to assemble it!    I’m still waiting on a dresser to arrive, and once that’s here and set up, I intend to let the Brick know that they do have a very happy customer.  So easy to complain, and easy to not bother commenting when something does go right.

So aside from an oil change, and installation of snow tires on my vehicle, it hasn’t been a very exciting week off work.  But it has been a rest from work and that is the main purpose I suppose.  Managed to finish reading Linwood Barclay’s “Never Look Away”.  Wow…what a thriller, so many twists and turns.  I hated putting it down and stayed awake till midnight last night to finish.  Excellent story and keeps you turning the pages!

Well kitten catching time approaches, and as the sun rises higher the frost is melting away.  I’m thinking it’s time to find the ice scraper for the car before Monday arrives.

Have a great weekend.

Cheers!

Liz

Plotting ,Proofing and more!

Enjoying the sunshine sitting here at my desk answering emails and plotting. Not that they go together. My favourite place for plotting is the car on the way to work as I usually have uninterrupted time. Once I am in the office there is not a chance until Liz and I take a lunch break and usually try to catch up where we are with the stories.

Spent the early part of the morning listening to a lecture series on "Building Great Sentences".
Oh ,what I don't know; but I am willing to learn. It has been a few years since I was in a classroom so it was a dejavu thing. Grammar and rhetoric, propositions and cumulative syntax.

This is all great stuff but you still need a good story and interesting characters. Liz just emailed to say how much she was enjoying a particular scene that she was revising. Long may we always feel that way and feel joy, doing what we are doing.

I should have proof read chapters 8,9,10 by the end of the day. That is half way through. Once the revisions are done and I have proofed the rest we still have to do a last revision together and work on the last chapter to find a way to wrap up the story.

I have sent the info to Liz regarding the "Bloody Words "conference at the end of May. They are holding it in Toronto this year at the Hilton. Giles Blunt www.gilesblunt.com will be there and Linwood Barclay http://linwoodbarclay.com/ The International author is Deon Myer http://www.deonmeyer.com/ and so many others I would like to have a chat with. I am not familier with Deon Myer so will check him out. We will have to see how the money goes.

How the time passes. It is nearly 1:15pm and I am still in my jammies.
Make the most of the Spring like weather and we will talk soon.

Slainte,

Pam

This and That

It's Saint Valentine's Day and I don't see any roses,chocolates or tickets to a far off vacation from my beloved. But then again I forgot all about it. I will have to put all my love into his dinner tonight!

I did get a present from Peter last week. A 12 hour DVD series of lectures on
" Exploring the Writer's Craft- Building Great sentences. So far so good. Next lecture later today.Is he trying to tell me something?

It is nice to relax today knowing that tomorrow is a holiday. It is family day in Canada. Usually on a Sunday I am scrambling to get ready for the work week.

Liz has been vacationing but she emailed to say she had revised Chapter eight and was working on nine. I am continuing to rewrite the synopsis and source suitable agents for our work.

The winter in Southern Ontario where we both live has been neither here nor there. Not enough snow to get upset about and the snow plows lie idle. I hope this means an early spring. Not that I am a gardener by any stretch of the imagination. In fact I am very good at killing off house plants. My favourite orchid lost its flowers last year. Now , there is nothing so pathetic as an orchid with just those pointy leaves that attract dust. I even forgot to water them. Well maybe that is what you have to do. A little neglect and the little beauty started flowering in my bedroom window.

I can't even remember the name of it but alas it was not to last. Stumbling around in the dark the other morning as I do, I decided to straighten the orchid . It was attached to a long stick . Giving it a yank to get it upright........it sort of came away in my hand. Well I just stuck it back in the pot and hope it will graft or whatever you call it. Maybe I could talk to it until it's all healed?



I have just missed an event at the library I wanted to see but I will make sure I don't miss the next one. Linwood Barclay, who I have mention before,will be talking about his new thriller "Never Look away". His latest to be released this month on the 23rd is "Fear the Worst". This event is on march 2nd at Oakville Public library.

Off to do my homework!!

Talk soon,
Slainte,

Pam

Wanted – More Hours in a Day!

Is it just me, or is 24 hours not enough anymore to get everything done in a day! Ok, deduct 8 hours (if you’re lucky) for a good night sleep, that leaves you with 16 hours. Should be lots of time. Well, for me, deduct another 2 hours per work day for travelling, then another 8 for actually working and that leaves a grand total of 6 hours. Deduct one more hour for getting ready for the day; well there’s still five.

So on an ideal day when traffic doesn’t jam up; and there are no errands to run, there should be a good couple of hours left for writing – but wait. Another meal is needed, perhaps some laundry and minor day to day chores. And, oh selfish of thoughts, a little down time to just unwind? Well as you can see, that’s probably why week days are not productive writing days! No worries, I am not going to dissect the weekend in a similar fashion – doesn’t take a genius to see that the biggest block of time is spent at work, or sleeping (and the challenge is not to confuse the two), and so which one can be sacrificed? Apparently neither right now, so the juggling will continue.

I think both Pam and I feel the frustrations of demands that encroach upon our preferred vocation of writing, but we will persevere. In the meantime, another copy of “Madelaine” is in the hands of a friend. One who is about to go on a week’s vacation, and she is anxious to read our tale, so I will await Anne’s comments by month’s end.

As for the aforementioned “down” time, I am trying to spend more time reading and have recently finished Linwood Barclay’s “Lone Wolf” – great read, and a lot of fun - I love it when a book can make me laugh out loud - even in the midst of serious stuff like a gruesome murder. I truly believe Canadian humour is quite distinct and it comes through nicely in this book. Following up on the heels of “Lone Wolf” is ”The Delicate Storm” by Giles Blunt. Again, another very well written crime story, with enjoyable characters. Characters, who like most of us, are flawed, but yet still struggle to do the right thing.

And now that I’ve spent almost half an hour on this entry (multi-tasking while eating dinner I’ll have you know!), it’s time to turn my attention to the re-formatting of a sample of “Madelaine” we are preparing to send out for review.

So as the allotted hours in this particular day are fast fading, I’ll just close and say

Cheers!

Liz

Home Again

What a weekend! The Bloody Words Mystery Conference in Ottawa ended yesterday and it was terrific. Canada has a blossoming network of superb and masterful crime and mystery writers, worthy of international acclaim they have received! Name dropping will follow shortly. And Pam will be providing some photos.

The flight to Ottawa was less than an hour, or equal to my daily commute to work on the highway each day. We flew with West Jet and it was a good experience - nice to see a company live up to their advertising!

Ottawa weather was sensational and Pam and I took to the streets on Friday. Wandered the Sparks Street mall - with an unplanned visit to a local jewellry store which Pam can tell you about, and then over to the ByWard Market, http://www.byward-market.com/ which was established in 1826.
Stopped into a tea shoppe and enjoyed a delightful pot of Earl Grey and sinfully delicious scones sitting outside in the sunshine, watching shoppers and tourists (hard to tell the difference) pass by.

As we wound our way back to the Marriott we strolled the grounds of the Parliament Buildings, enjoying the scenery and appreciating the fact that we could even get that close to our icon of government and political history. No barricades or guards to impede your walk.

Back to the hotel to get ready for the registration and the start of workshops and panels, but lamenting the fact that we seemed doomed to the Starbucks facility within the hotel, not finding a Tim Horton's coffee shop within easy walking distance! (We are SUCH java connoisseurs!) As well, the hotel was situated in the government area of Ottawa so there is not much business activity after 5 pm...in fact the Starbucks in the hotel closed up at noon on Sunday!

The weekend found us mingling with established authors, newly published authors, and those like us who have finished their work and seek the means and venue to get it published! We received a valuable critique of Madelaine and agreed that the points and concerns raised need attention. So we will need to do some rework and polishing.

Our favourite Canadian author, Louise Penny, had an amazing interview which we sat in on. At the end of the interview Pam went up to Louise, who reached across the table to give her a hug, and then Pam mentioned that I was with her. Louise immediately rose from her seat and came off the podium to give me a hug and say it was wonderful for us to meet! She is a very classy lady...throughout the conference we often ran into her and her lovely husband Michael - in the lobby and the elevators, and she was always quick with a greeting and warm smile.

Other authors we met and listened to on panels include Anthony Bidulka , http://www.anthonybidulka.com/home.php from Saskatchewan. I definitely will be looking for his Russel Quant series! Rick Mofina, http://www.rickmofina.com/ from Ottawa, was also a treat to listen to and I have purchased one of his books, "Six" to read.

And so many of these wonderful writers are also incredibly funny....we attended a "Liar's Panel" first thing Saturday morning and I have not laughed so much in a long time. Great story tellers (of course), their task was to answer questions posed by the moderator and then the audience had to determine if they were telling the truth or not...all in aid of fundraising for literacy awareness. If their story was true, the attendee had to cough up a loonie ($1 dollar coin), but if the author had been rightfully deduced to be fibbing, their penalty was $5 or more. Great fun moderated by another wonderful and very funny Canadian author, Mary Jane Maffini http://www.maryjanemaffini.ca/

The international guest speaker was Denise Mina http://www.denisemina.com/index.htm- again I purchased one of her books. She is from Scotland and was an absolute riot to listen to...can't wait to start reading her work as well. Pam will likely tell you more about Linwood Barclay http://www.linwoodbarclay.com/ and Vicky Delaney to mention a couple.

Saturday evening was the Gala Dinner, good meal, and even better conversations.

The time went far too quickly and as we were checking out of our hotel room, I took one last look out of our 16th floor window. As my gaze wandered over the streets below, I called to Pam and asked her to look at the scene below. "Tell me what you see" I said. Puzzled Pam did so, but wondered what she was looking for. So the first clue - "Look for something red" resulted in her seeing a red car parked on the street. I asked her to look just past that red car; she still wasn't sure what she was looking for....until I pointed out the familiar red and yellow of a Tim Horton's coffee shop! All the time just up the street from the hotel! Obviously our attention to detail needs some fine tuning.

What a wonderful time we had, far too much information to even scratch the surface here, but it was well worth every penny (and lack of Tim's coffee) to be there.

I'll leave room for Pam to add more and look for more links to favourite authors to be added soon.

Cheers!

Liz