My First Blog

When Vicki asked me if I wanted to join Type M for Murder, my first impulse was to say, “Thanks anyway.” Coincidentally, my publisher had recently suggested that maybe I could put a little something together for AmazonConnect, which is a blog-type space for authors of books listed by Amazon.com. My first impulse was to say, “Thanks anyway.” I was even less enthusiastic when AmazonConnect rather brusquely informed me that my Internet browser (the latest version of Safari for the Macintosh) wasn’t compatible. Screw this, I thought. Like readers really want to know my favourite single malt. (It’s Lagavulin, BTW, just in case you want to buy me a drink at the next Bloody Words).

Remember the Famous Writers School of Westport, Connecticut? Yes, the same outfit that ran the Famous Artists School, the Famous Photographers School, and the Famous Private Detectives School. The idea was that a bunch of “famous writers” taught you via correspondence the secrets of, well, becoming a famous writer. In 1968, around the time I got kicked out of the Royal Canadian Air Force, I decided I wanted to be a writer. My mother, despairing that I would ever amount to anything, enrolled me in the Famous Writers School. I learned how to format a manuscript properly (knowledge that many aspiring writers evidently lack, according to my editor), plus a few other useful things.

But I also learned the two Big Lies of writing. I was young and stupid and didn’t know they were lies, of course, but they were. The first one was that it’s not really you who does the writing. Some muse perched over your shoulder actually dictates the stories to you, you just type. The implication, of course, is that writing isn’t really work. Hah! Anyone who’s written anything longer than a letter to grandma knows writing is hard work. Maybe not real work, as defined by my mother, but hard work nonetheless. And when was the last time a muse wrote a technical manual about how to jack up rail cars?

The second Big Lie perpetrated by the Famous Writers School was that once your book is published, you just sit back and the royalties roll in. Hah! For the royalties to even trickle in, someone has to buy your book. For that, they have to know about it. And counting on your publisher to put a lot of effort - i.e., money - into getting the word out is, to put it politely, unrealistic.

What the Famous Writers School didn’t tell its vic - uh - students was that writing and publishing were just the beginning of the process of becoming even a moderately well-known writer (hell, even a virtually unknown writer). You also have to be your own publicist. You’ve got the promote the hell out of you books, get out and get in people’s faces and shout, “Buy this book!” Hence, my participation in this blog. It’s a way to get in your face and shout, “Buy my books,” without spitting on you.

That’s it for today. For more info about my books, check out my little website. I think there's a link from the main page.

Montreal, Tuesday, July 4, 2006
Happy Independence Day to our American cousins.

On Watching The Maltese Falcon - OR - Why do I bother?

So I just got back from seeing The Maltese Falcon at the George Eastman House here in lovely Rochester, NY. A Sunday night screening of a 50-year-old film, six bucks a pop, and the place was packed. I know the script by heart and watch it every time it comes on TCM and at least once a year I pull out the DVD, but there's no way you pass up the chance to see it on the Big Screen. And I know I'm not supposed to do this, that I should just let go and enjoy the film, but the entire time I watching it I couldn't help but thinking that there was no way I'm ever going to write anything that great. Which is a stupid thing to admit on a blog that I hope leads people to buy my books (several copies each, please) but come on, let's be honest here. Now if you know the movie, you know that the script is almost word for word from the book. So sitting there, listening to lines that resonate like lines from The Odyssey must have resonated with Greek mystery writes a couple of millennia ago, I wonder why the hell I bother.

And then Sam Spade spoke to me.

It’s the great end line of the film – not written by Dashiell Hammett but suggested on the set by Bogart himself.

“It’s the stuff that dreams are made of.”

Okay, it’s corny. But sometimes corny’s true.

Cheers,
Charles

Type M for Murder

Type M for Murder

Happy Canada Day to everyone! In honour of our nation's birthday, I suggest that everyone read a Canadian mystery novel today. I, however, will be falling down on the job, as I'm currently reading a book sent to my by my cousin Sheila in South Africa. It's called the Native Commissioner by Shaun Johnson and is the story of a man who worked for the S.A. government in the apartheid years - his job was a "native commissioner" and how the conflict between what he wanted to do in relation to the black people he oversaw, vs what he was told to do by his bosses brought about disaster to him and his family. It's very good, and reminding me of those days in South Africa. I lived there from 1973 - 1984. As I read, I'm smiling at seeing all those words that I haven't thought of in years. Bottle store = a liquor store, the bioscope - believe it or not a movie theatre. The character's wife has just bought him a safari suit. But you can be sure that once I've finished the Native Commissioner I'll be back to mysteries - and Canadian mysteries at that.

Happy Canada Day, whether you celebrate it or not,

Vicki

Welcome to Type M for Murder

Launching

The first entry for our new blog – wow, this is exciting. Welcome.

We are a varied group, with only one thing in common – we love mysteries. We love to read them and we love to write them. We are all members of Crime Writers of Canada; mostly Canadians (including a brand-new Canadian) with one American, who kindly places Canadian characters in all his books. I'll let the others introduce themselves.

I’m Vicki Delany, and as well as being the launch of this blog, it's also release month for my second novel, Burden of Memory. Release month is pretty exciting – seeing the real book for the first time, admiring the beautiful cover art, reading the reviews on the back (there is a review of Scare the Light Away from Drood Reviews that I hadn't even seen before). Having lunch with the lovely and talented Charles Benoit and his wife Rose in Rochester. (My publisher is American, so it is easier if I drive down to Rochester to sign books to be returned to Poisoned Pen than to have the books cross the border twice). Setting up the launch party, doing interviews, arranging some booksignings,

A friend of mine at work bought a copy of Burden of Memory for her son to give his teacher as an end-of-the-year present. He had me write, "This is to Mrs. X, from my very good friend, Sheldon." Sweet.

I've had two interviews recently – one for Mystery Women n the UK with Julian Maynard-Smith, who I enjoyed meeting at Goldsboro Books in London in March. Keep an eye out for the interview at http://www.mysterywomen.co.uk/). I also had a really fun interview for Spinetingler magazine (due out July 20th at http://www.spinetinglermag.com/). What made that interview fun was that Lou Allin (author of the Belle Palmer series) and I interviewed each other. So I got to ask questions as well as write them. It was interesting just how similar our questions were.

If you're in the neighbourhood (and even if you're not) consider yourself invited to my launch. The party will be at Scene of the Crime bookstore (address below) on Saturday July 8th from 2 - 5. There will be lots of good food, plenty of great conversation, and the opportunity to see what other books Don has for sale. I'm hoping to persuade my mom to make the fabulous punch that was such a hit last year. The launch party for Scare the Light Away was the biggest event at Scene of the Crime all year, and I am sure that this year's party will be just as much fun. Sadly, Don and Jen are closing the bricks-and-mortar version of Scene of the Crime in August, so my party will probably be the biggest one this year, as well. It's always sad to see a bookstore go out of business. But Don will be keeping his online store open. He specializes in first editions and collectors' items. (http://www.murdermysteriesandmore.com/)

So: Welcome to our blog. We hope you drop by regularly and see what we have to say. Comments are more than welcome, and if you're surfing the 'net, why not follow the links to our web pages.

Scene of the Crime
2464 Lakeshore Road,
(southwest corner of Lakeshore Rd and Bronte Rd)
Oakville, Ontario
Contact Don Longmuir: 905-469-6731