Summer's here!!

The month of June has been almost a perfect spring month in my books. Sunshine, warmer temperatures and of course some rain. Still cool for sleeping at night, but most days perfect for grabbing lunch at an outdoor patio or backyard deck. But it seems along with summer's official arrival has come the humidity! Couldn't be postponed forever. So to that end I made sure I bought a floor-stand oscillating fan yesterday on the way home from work. No air conditoning in my digs, but I do have ceiling fans and now should be able to keep the air moving around.

We are carefully re-working the opening pages of Madelaine, thanks to the critique we received at Bloody Words, and it does seem to now flow so much better. But at this time of year, so many business and personal events seem to cut into our writing time its difficult to get the task completed!

For me, some recently discovered, and diagnosed, aches and pains are a mild interference to the writing at times as well. Will just have to work around them!

And now another morning's commute beckons; while it is lovely to be able to drive in daylight each morning now that I leave later the drive has lengthened from 50 minutes one way to well over an hour. Obligatory summer road construction and blinding sunshine contribute to the delay - I thought most people would be on vacation by now!

Enjoy the day & Cheers!

Liz

Bloody Words & More In Pics

Pam and I have now been able to combine our pictures and have a sampling to share.

Ottawa is truly a beautiful city, and to be able to enjoy this trip with perfect weather made the city virtually sparkle under the brilliant sunshine and blue skies.

Our room at the Marriott was on the 16th floor and afforded a great view. (Even if we did miss the view of the Tim Horton's on the street below!)

Where Pam wants to stay next time - The Chateau Laurier

After wandering the ByWard Market for a while, we decided to stop for a cuppa. A better Earl Grey I have not enjoyed!

Parliament Hill

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Time for Bloody Words to Begin

Pam, Louise Penny, Liz

Denise Mina - International Guest from Scotland

Pam With Anthony Bidulka

Liz, in the dark, with Vicky Delaney (well it was a 'mystery' conference after all!)

Lots of great memories and a wonderful time had by all.

Cheers!

Liz

Never a dull moment!

Yes we certainly are home and one of us had to get back to work today.... Back to reality and cooking and cleaning instead of a 4 **** hotel where the breakfasts were do die for. It was at least 40 years or more since I was in Ottawa and I remember we stayed in a small rooming house with friends. Changed days.
We did the tourist thing and walked to the Rideau River. Took pictures of the beautiful buildings and the famous ByWard market. I never saw so much jewelery in my life. It must be an Ottawa pastime in the cold winter months. We did enter a Spark Street Mall jewellery store. Not a market type store, but one with loads of beautiful semi-precious pendants and rings and also the real thing. We were most attracted to the Amber and Jade and Black onyx. It gave us, or I should say Liz an idea for the books but I am not at liberty to say what it is as it is still in the planning stage. The manager at the store was delightful and we had a lovely conversation about jewelery and then about books. www.alyeasjewellers.com .

But of course we were there for the convention and the books and it lived up to it's reputation. As Liz mentioned the mystery and crime writers were out in force and we were like kids in a candy store soaking up as much information as we could.
Friday night was a meet and greet over a glass of wine and buying books in the bookstore so that we could get them signed if we just happened to bump into our favourites. No stalking allowed. I am quite shameless when it comes to talking to complete strangers so I scored in that direction.
I found that my new microphone was invaluable to me and just before the panel discussions started I would go to the head table and as if I could leave my personal mic there. It was a wonderful icebreaker and usually it started lots of conversations. I told you I was shameless.

Linwood Barkley whom I have mentioned in a previous blog is a neighbor of mine as he lives in the next town. Thursday night he won the "Arthur Ellis" award and I managed to waylay him to sign his latest hardcover. Lovely man and thoroughly enjoyed his panel discussions.
Liz and I are in agreement about who we enjoyed the most and she gave you links so that you can peruse them at your leisure.

Saturday from 9am-6pm, with an hour for lunch, saw us in classes one after the other. Never a dull moment. The subjects were varied and very interesting. Some were interviews with the guest speakers. The lovely Louise Penny gave a wonderful interview and she made a speech on the Saturday night at the banquet. Denise Mina from Glasgow,the International guest of honour, another excellent interview. Looking forward to her books as they are supposed to be quite dark and very different from Louise. I met and talked to quite a few authors that I have not read so you can imagine how many books I brought home. I think it was ten!!

Vicki Delany, Anthony Bidulka, Rhys Bowen, Rick Moffini, RJ Harlick, Dr Brad Kelln to name but a few and of course the irrepressible Mary Jane Maffini.

Saturday evening we had enough time to Gussi ourselves up and joined the crowd for drinks and then we went in for the speeches and a lovely dinner. Seats were not assigned so we just joined a table that had empty seats and were very lucky to be sitting with a new mystery writer called John Moss. Add Master scuba diver trainer to his accomplishments. He was with his lovely wife Bev who is also a writer. Very interesting couple and good company. The other person at our table was Mario Bolduc. Mario is a screenwriter and author and writes in French. He has about 20 years experience in the business and teaches writing workshops.
Very good dinner partners.

Sunday morning we had the buffet breakfast. Wonderful.Then we were off to a class with a thriller writer named Dr Brad Kelln. The subject was... How to write about emotionally disturbed persons. EDP's. His qualifications go on for ever and is a Canadian expert in negotiations and dealing with violence and phycopaths. Just what everyone needs on a Sunday morning.
I am glad Liz takes good notes as I can't read my own hand writing .

Then we met with Kay Stewart for our critique. Some very good points she made and we have started revising the suggestions she made for our manuscript.

I look forward to my next conference and maybe next year we will be published authors. Wouldn't that be nice. I still haven't figured out how to get the pictures on but soon.

Slainte,

Pam

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

Four More Sleeps.....

….and then we are off to Ottawa and “Bloody Words”. I’ve spent a lot of this weekend trying to decide what to pack and then of that what is absolutely necessary! The conference promises “reams of books” as part of our package, so there must be room left in the suitcase for that.

But even more difficult than deciding what to pack is deciding which items on the agenda we want to attend. Saturday has been booked in blocks, with 3 topics and/or speakers running concurrently. And so many of them are of great interest…how to decide which is of more benefit?

No question though about wanting to hear Louise Penny, that’s a given!

Hard to believe its June 1 tomorrow, the weather has been sunny but definitely cool. Not that I’m complaining, for I do not suffer gladly the humidity our Canadian weather produces starting anytime now. Don’t get me wrong, I love sunny days and warm temperatures, just keep the energy-sapping humidity away please.

And only three days of work this week. Fly into Ottawa Thursday afternoon and return Sunday evening..and THEN I can enjoy a whole week away from work.

My granddaughter will be 4 in a week’s time, so a shopping/lunch trip is planned on her special day with her mum to see what Nana can buy for the birthday girl.

The afternoon is winding down and there are still chores I need to attend to, so I probably won’t post until after Bloody Words, or if Pam has her laptop with her and we can get it connected, perhaps we will blog from the hotel.

Cheers!
Liz

Printed and bound. Yea!

What dreary weather we are having. One day is nice and then we have high winds and rain. The gardens look good of course. Everything is so green. My favourite colour.

Liz and I had a very emotional moment this week when I picked up the manuscript from the printers of Madelaine, all bound and looking like a book. Next month it will be two years since we started our journey in storytelling. I can honestly say that it has been so much fun and a great learning experience for both of us. Long may Jamie Tremain continue.
Madelaine is being read in the bound form by two friends at work whom we really feel will give us an honest critique. So far so good.... No we didn't bribe them.

Last night I finished the first draft of editing and revising Body Perfect. It is 20 chapters but not quite finished. After the conference we will sit down and see where we want to finish up and where we will go from here. We have been throwing ideas around when we manage a coffee break together but nothing concrete yet.Liz is still very overloaded at work so she is especially looking forward to the break.

Pouring over the program for "Bloody Words" has us dizzy. We are in for a jam packed three days and there are some super speakers and events. It will be hard to cram them all in as there are three events going on at a time.

Will keep you all posted about the latest in forensics and police procedural. At least Liz will tell you all about the Forensics as I am not sure if that is my forte.

Will write soon.
Slainte,
Pam

Excuses, excuses!

It's not so much writers block as .....any excuse not to do revisions or start something new. Life seems to be getting in the way at present. I can't even use the excuse that the computer is down. Not that Liz used that one as she really was tearing her hair out having no computer but she is up and running again. Maybe I just came out in sympathy with her.

This is Canada's Victoria Day holiday week-end. I think there are more Royalist in Canada than in Britain. Of course in Quebec it is Patriots Day not Victoria Day. Any day away from work is a good day for me.
I have been banished from my office as my eldest grandson uses it as his bedroom when he is here and I am sitting in my bedroom looking out at our cherry tree in full bloom. The sun has just gone down and I should be inspired, but I am not. The wind is very strong tonight and the trees are bent over. I love to watch this spectacle as it changes every minute. The garden is filling in nicely and the clematis looks very strong. So do the weeds. Too much rain.

I have been asked to watch "King Kong" with my grandsons but no, I will pass. I have a book I want to finish. I have read lots of mysteries but not thrillers and I picked up a book by Linwood Barclay. "No time for goodbye". He is one of the authors that will be at" Bloody Words". I am halfway through it and can't wait to find out the who , what, why and how. It is so well paced and very exciting. It's a genre I did not think I would like but I am now a fan.

Talking of genre. Liz and I have many discussions regarding this subject, trying to figure what genre we should write in. We hope lots of things will become clear to us at the conference.

Some black clouds have just rolled in and it is getting dark. I thought I would just curl up with my book now but noticed the bed does not have the clean sheets on it . Don't you hate that? But maybe you don't procrastinate like me.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend and I will talk soon.

Pam

Short & Sweet

Happy Mothers' Day!

As Pam mentioned my computer is in a non working status, and is currently in for repairs...thanks to my good friend Rebecca for the loan of her computer to check my email and to quickly post a brief blog.

Spent a lovely afternoon yesterday for Mother's Day with my oldest son and his family. My other son and his family joined in along with my daughter. A barbecue had been planned, but the weather was too unsettled to sit outside. However barbecued meats taste just as great indoors!

Friday evening saw my oldest son, William, and I take in the new Star Trek movie..what a treat!! Its something we share in common and have made it our special time to share in any new premieres, This one was AWESOME! I have fallen in love with the early Star Trek all over again..the new "young" Star Trek cast have nailed their characters perfectly and the whole movie was a wonderful ride from start to finish...bring on more!!!

Well as I said, this would be brief and I must not take advantage of the time loaned to me, so need to attend to other outstanding email.

I'll be glad to be back online - hopefully no later than Friday - and finish getting ready for our Bloody Words in less than a month!

Have a great week.

Cheers!

Liz

The Spring Run-off

Where does the time go? By all accounts Spring has arrived as the grass is green and the trees are in leaf. The forsythia is on the wane and the cherry tree and lilac will be next. The hosta and the forget- me-not are competing with the perennial ground cover for space. It seems I remember more plant names than I thought.

Since receiving my new hearing aids a few weeks ago it is a lovely surprise to notice the outside noises. When I sit on the deck I have noticed woodpeckers, mourning doves and loads of grackles making a terrible racket. I thought I could hear traffic but my husband assured me that what I was listening to was the river rushing through the ravine. The spring run-off. I try to look for the positive in situations and it is a pleasure to take them out (hearing aids) and just listen to the quiet.

I have to admit I need quiet when I am revising. As I speak out the sentences to myself to make sure it sounds right as well as written, it is best done in a room by yourself. Body Perfect is getting the line by line editing that is necessary but it is so slow. Just started on chapter two but I will persevere. Liz has been finishing up Madelaine but her computer crashed a few days ago.
She is one frustrated lady. Hope she is back soon.

You have all heard of our friend Louise Penny whom we admire very much. Her latest book, "The Murder Stone" won an "Agatha" at the conference" Malice Domestic"on the week-end. Don't you love that name?
We are just thrilled for her and it is much deserved. If you have not read her work I suggest you do as they are beautifully written. Her fifth book is due out in October.
When we go to "Bloody Words" next month we will be meeting with Louise. I can't wait to pick her brain and hopefully learn lots about the publishing world from her along with a slew of other authors and editors.

We have our plane tickets so now we have to pack a suitcase. I just can't pack light. It is only three night but..... Who knows what one wants to wear the next day.
and we need lots of room for all the books we will be bringing back!!.

Talk again soon.

Pam

The Hangman

I have finished re-reading Body Perfect and now I am ready to start the revisions. It was exciting to read the story again after about six months hiatus as we finished Madelaine. From the beginning Liz has said that this could be a series. The characters are strong and could just as well move on to the their next case with no problem at all. I did not find much I wanted to change in the story and not much grammar and typo errors. We will see what my partner says and start work on the conclusion with a natural move to the next in the series.

What a learning curve this has been for both of us. I subscribe to oodles of magazines on writing and search the internet. Of course my library is full of help from different authors and editors but I find I learn the most from the books that I enjoy and now try to emulate.

The nominations for the Arthur Ellis Award. (Arthur Ellis is the nom de travail of Canada's former official hangman.) These awards are for the best crime novel in Canada and I am excited about three of them as I have met them personally at one time or another.

Louise Penny who we hope to chat with at the conference. She is nominated for her latest book " The Murder Stone". Wonderful book in the Armande Gamache series.

Linwood Barclay is a former Toronto Star humorist. He has been nominated for his second stand alone thriller called "To close to Home". His previous work was called "No time for Goodbye"and was the best selling novel in Britain in 2008. I will try and read his latest book before the conference. He was a speaker at the Elora Festival where I first met Louise Penny.

The other author is Maureen Jennings. I met Maureen at "Word on the Street". A super festival that they hold at Queens Park every summer where you can listen, meet and greet all your favourite authors and find all things literary. Maureen was manning a table with a slew of books all with her name on them. I bought one that looked interesting and asked some inane questions like, "How long have you been writing". Well it should have been obvious as she was very prolific. I was not familiar with her work. When I was at home that evening settling down to watch some television a series came on I had not seen before. It was the "Murdoch Mysteries".
Maureen is their creator.
Good luck to all of them.

Talk soon,
Pam

Sloughing off Slothfulness!

Slothful says she…well here’s my weekend’s activities.

Yesterday saw me off to the bank at 9 a.m. to take care of some paperwork. Then it was off to work for 4 hours of overtime. Sadly the 4 hours made only the smallest of dents in the volume of work awaiting us tomorrow. On Friday I likened the load to us swimming upstream in quicksand. While others have been loaned to us from various departments to help out, it still becomes so overwhelming to think we may never get on top of the volume of applications which need attending to!

I arrived back home just after 3 pm and without hesitation made my own dent…on my couch, where I drifted off almost immediately into blessed slumber! Awoke, took care of several loads of laundry; some vacuuming and dusting also cried out for attention. And then it was more sofa time. When I finally turned on the TV I realized I had been missing out on a Law and Order marathon day! One of my favourite television series, I catch it whenever I can. So after a healthy dose of the fictional workings of what man is capable of inflicting upon his fellow human (or maybe NOT so fictional after all) it was off to bed.

This morning I attended Church, afterwards went for lunch at a favourite restaurant overlooking the water and then back home. Put my laundry away…and wonder of wonders even ironed! In between, I have been tidying up Madelaine…we will be taking the story along on a travel drive when we attend the conference in June so want it in tip top, ready to go, shape. Because of course, surely there will be a connection made and a full manuscript needed at a moment's notice!

And now as Sunday evening draws to a close, the thought of work once again intrudes on all other thoughts. It will be another very busy week, both at work and personally. Never enough hours in the day to get through it all. At least I have started another of my famous lists to prepare for our Bloody Words Conference – what to take and what needs to be purchased!

Well, do have a good week! I’ll be back again, but probably not before my partner. She may feel she has been slothful, but in reality, we all need a good dose of that at times.

Cheers!
Liz